After reading Virginia Woolfs Middlebrow, it indisputably clear that Virginia Woolf identifies herself as

a highbrow. But something that needs to be addressed is the true meaning of the word highbrow to
Woolf. Although the word highbrow generally refers to an individual of a higher class and social status,
I dont think thats what she intends in this essay. I truly dont think that Woolf wrote this essay using
the word highbrow to discuss the issue of class differences and social positions. I say this because
Woolf refers to highbrows as being the man or woman of thoroughbred intelligence who rides his mind
at a gallop across a country in pursuit of an idea and refers to the lowbrows as being the man or
woman of thoroughbred vitality who rides his body in pursuit of a living at a gallop across life. Although
one would think that this reference to the different purposes in life of each group indicates class
difference, I believe that the essay is referring to the cultural intelligence of different groups of people.
The highbrows are those who are highly cultured and have great intelligence in such an area, such as
Shakespeare, Dickens, Byron, Shelley, and Keats, all people Woolf refers to as highbrows in her essay.
Highbrow, based on the individuals referenced in her essay, is a group of individuals constituted by
cultural intellects, artists, writers, poets, and individuals, as Woolf so aptly described, that are wholly
incapable of dealing successfully with what is called real life. Lowbrow is a group of people constituted
by people that work as maids, stockbrokers, conductors, miners, and essentially laborers that arent
lesser than the highbrows. Theyre just individuals that arent as culturally intelligent and dont have the
diversity in knowledge of a highbrow. Its a relationship where lowbrows need highbrows and honour
them just as much as highbrows need lowbrows and honour them.
The third group that Woolf makes reference to in her essay is that which she calls the middlebrows.
The middlebrow is a group that lies between the highbrows and the lowbrows. An individual in this
group is the man, or woman, of middlebred intelligence who ambles and saunters now on this side of
the hedge, now on that, in pursuit of no single object, neither art itself no life itself, but both mixed
indistinguishably, and rather nastily, with money, fame, power, or prestige. In other words, and
individual with no purpose in life who is driven usually by money or power. This is the group that Woolf
targets in this essay, and more specifically targets a reviewer that did the review of one of her books.
Woolf targets this individual and constructs her essay through the use of satire to establish her
argument and get her point across to the reviewer. Woolfs line of argument is that he failed to address
her as a highbrow, something that insults her for she knows who she is and understands herself in a way
that a middlebrow doesnt. She states that we highbrows read what we like and do what we like, and
praise what we like, referring to the fact that she does not need the opinions of others in order to know
things about herself and in order to determine her likes and dislikes. Woolf lives in a more realistic
manner that isnt based on societal views or opinions of her. To contrast, middlebrows are shown in her
essay as being people that are what we refer to today as going with the flow. They dont think for
themselves and are always trying to reach the standards of the highbrows and always trying to be like
them in every way they can. They purchase first editions of dead writers, always the worst; pictures, or
reproductions from pictures, by dead painters, and they never purchase anything that is original. In her
essay, Woolf also refers to the middlebrow style of writing as being this mixture of geniality and
sentiment stuck together with a sticky slime of calves-foot jelly, indicating that it lacks realism and
originality and depicts life in a way that isnt real. She then takes it a step further and criticizes them for
having no living taste and for trying to pass this off as the taste of a highbrow. Summarily, Woolf argues
that people such as the reviewer are middlebrows. People that lack originality, lack realism, that have no
opinion of their own, and that live doing what they can to be like a highbrow, without actually getting
there.
To address the usage of satire that was mentioned in the previous paragraph, Woolf makes various
references to the supposed intelligence of the reviewer at the beginning of her essay where she refers
to him as being a man of obvious intelligence and a great critic, who is also a great novelist, a rare
and enviable combination in a sarcastic tone. She later gives a very condescending description of a
middlebrow, making subtle hints that she is referring to the reviewer, such as when she says, It is very
kind of the middlebrows to try and teach them culture, and when she refers to them as the busy-
bodies who run from one to the other with their tittle tattle and make all the mischief. Woolf even
criticizes the B.B.C as being basically the main source of the strife between the high and lowbrows and is
an institution made of middlebrows. The final paragraph is where Woolf once again refers directly to the
reviewer by thanking him, in a sarcastic tone, for his courteous and interesting review. In this
paragraph she then makes her final point, in hopes that if the reviewer were to read it, he would get
the message.
I would say that Woolf was very successful in the presentation of her argument. It was an interesting
utilization of analogy, satire, and description that allowed for a very clear picture of not only her
descriptions but of her intent. The utilization of the highbrow terminology as meaning one of a higher
cultural intellect made the piece amusing, meaningful, and strong and allowed me as the reader to
understand that she was attempting to insult the critic for being a pest who doesnt know what hes
talking about for he is simply doing that which he believes others will approve of rather than having his
own opinion or doing things simply because he wants. The analogy of the fungus was a quite interesting
one for it depicted the spread of the middlebrow mentality and how it is affecting those in the society.
Some of the sarcasm and criticism of the critics, such as the comment made at the very end of the essay
about killing them with her pen, made the essay interesting and amusing and allowed for me as a reader
to see this essay as more than just an extremely long rant. All in all, Virginia Woolfs Middlebrow is a
well-written piece that utilized numerous devices such as sarcasm, tone, analogy, and satire in order to
not only a point, but to also turn that point into a story. And I was able to get the message.