Two Cafeterias Passages

In the excerpt “Two Cafeterias,” by Virgina Woolf she uses imagery of the meals that are served, her tone, and the behavior of the individuals to illustrate the men and women’s different place in society. In the first passage she is in the men’s cafeteria, in the second passage she is in the women’s cafeteria. She observes the meals and the people throughout the excerpt, comparing and contrasting them in more ways than most would think. We must take into consideration that women had a much lower place in society compared to men, the men were the higher ups, this is perceived through “Two Cafeterias.”
As you read what Virginia has to say about her observations of the two different environments, they became clear. When she is in the men’s cafeteria,

she began to describe the food in great detail and how the men acted in the environment, “nobody ever smoked a cigar or drank a glass of wine.” Thus giving the image of this perfect place to socialize, and nothing bad ever happens. As for the women’s cafeteria, it isn’t nearly as nice, this wasn’t a place to take a break and socialize. She states that everyone was “assembled in the big dining-room,” she is already entailing that this was going to be nothing like the men’s meals.
Woolf also explained her observations of the two different meals she endured during this visit. In passage #1 she begins to refer the sides of the meal as “sharp and the sweet.” She continues to explain the meal ,which isn’t expected, it is much nicer, very sophisticated higher up meals. In passage #2, she states “the plate was plain.” There was nothing to this meal it was very simple, not a whole lot to it, she starts off by saying “here was my soup.” The two meals obviously differentiate between the two passages, the men were treated with a greater satisfying meal than the women.
Now, take a look into Woolf’s tone of voice in each of the two passages she wrote. The tone in the first passage differentiates very much from the second passage. She tells the first one in a very descriptive up beat manner. There was more to tell in this aspect, there was a greater option of food, it was a social time. They received red and white wines that were full all the time. In the second her tone became bland. There was not nearly as much to tell, the food was bland and this was not social hour for them.
Overall Woolf’s purpose was to show the differences of how men and women were treated in society. They were treated very differently this was greatly conveyed though the tone of the writer, the behavior of the individuals, and especially the way the food was described. It has obviously improved over the years, yet women seem to still be viewed as less than what men are. We say women are “equal” but, I think we still have a long ways to go until we get there.