Her choice of words throughout her speech shows how passionate she is about this cause and helps prove that women must overcome these so-called ghosts to achieve their goals and dreams. In her speech, Woolf repeatedly uses the phrase “only to be herself.” This sentence can really speak to the reader and make them take a step back and realize that in this day and age, for a woman to truly be herself, she may have to make sacrifices in the world of her profession. Individuality is something no one should ever take lightly. Using this phrase truly strengthens her argument and could potentially motivate women to want to be ambitious enough to have the courage to overcome the stereotype that women should hold back and simply express themselves. In addition to this phrase, Woolf uses an excellent choice of diction in the overuse of the words “angel” and “ghost.” One particular phrase that stands out is: “If I hadn’t killed the angel, she would have killed me” (Woolf 378). This powerful and compelling metaphor truly shows that if women do not overcome their fear of being themselves in front of men, they will be overwhelmed by this fear and may not have the chance to do so..