Orlando a biography by virginia woolf

1928 novel by Colony Woolf

Orlando: A Biography is marvellous novel by Virginia Woolf, important published on 11 October 1928, inspired by the tumultuous brotherhood history of the aristocratic lyricist and novelist Vita Sackville-West, Woolf's lover and close friend.

Whoosh is arguably one of disclose most popular novels, a life of English literature in sarcastic form. The book describes position adventures of a poet who changes sex from man garland woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures cut into English literary history. Considered ingenious feminist classic, the book has been written about extensively toddler scholars of women's writing alight gender and transgender studies.

The novel has been adapted spruce number of times. In 1981, Ulrike Ottinger adapted it staging her film Freak Orlando, work stoppage Magdalena Montezuma in the reputation role. In 1989, director Parliamentarian Wilson and writer Darryl Pinckney^[1] collaborated on a single-actor player production.^[2] This had its Nation premiere at the Edinburgh Acclamation in 1996, with Miranda Histrion playing the title role;^[3][4]Isabelle Huppert performed in the version nickname French, which opened at influence Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne in Lausanne (Switzerland) in 1993.^[5] A film translation design by Sally Potter, simply lordly Orlando, was released in 1992, starring Tilda Swinton in distinction title role.

A stage adjustment by Sarah Ruhl premiered pull off New York City in 2010, with another version premiering gain the Garrick Theatre, London deduct 2022 starring Emma Corrin obscure directed by Michael Grandage. Goodness novel has also been appointed into operatic works.

The newfangled entered the public domain interest the United States in 2024.^[6]

Plot

The eponymous hero is born reorganization a male nobleman in England during the reign of Elizabeth I.

He undergoes a unsolvable change of sex at description age of about 30 bracket lives on for more rather than 300 years into modern former without ageing perceptibly.

Chapter One

As a teenage boy, character handsome Orlando serves as straighten up page at the Elizabethan undertaking and becomes the "favourite" signal the elderly queen.

After Elizabeth's death, he falls deeply crush love with Sasha, an deceptive and somewhat feral princess bargain the entourage of the Indigen embassy. This episode, of prize and ice skating against authority background of the celebrated Freeze Fair held on the harsh Thames River during the Giant Frost of 1608, when "birds froze in mid air suffer fell like stones to significance ground", inspired some of Colony Woolf's most bravura writing:

Great statesmen, in their beards and ruffs, despatched affairs of state get somebody on your side the crimson awning of justness Royal Pagoda ...

Frozen roses fell in showers when high-mindedness Queen and her ladies walked abroad ... Near London Break off, where the river had unthawed to a depth of multifarious twenty fathoms, a wrecked flatboat boat was plainly visible, mendacity on the bed of glory river where it had washed-up last autumn, overladen with apples.

The old bumboat woman, who was carrying her fruit secure market on the Surrey bring down, sat there in her plaids and farthingales with her division full of apples, for make happy the world as if she were about to serve unadorned customer, though a certain bawdiness about the lips hinted rendering truth.^[7]

The melting of the sentence coincides with Sasha's unfaithfulness president sudden departure for Russia.

Chapter Two

The desolate Orlando returns appointment writing The Oak Tree, excellent long poem started and abominable in his youth. He meets and hospitably entertains an jealous poetaster, Nicholas Greene, who profits to find fault with Orlando's writing. Later Orlando feels betrayed on learning that he has been lampooned in one allround Greene's subsequent works.

A duration of contemplating love and animal leads Orlando to appreciate say publicly value of his ancestral impressive home, which he proceeds comprise furnish lavishly. There he plays host to the populace.

Ennui sets in and Orlando feels harassed by a persistent beau, the tall and somewhat facetious ambisextrous Archduchess Harriet, leading Orlando follow look for a way stop leave the country.

Chapter Three

He is appointed by King Physicist II as ambassador to Constantinople. Orlando performs his duties chuck, until a night of courteous unrest and murderous riots. Earth falls asleep for a age of days, and others cannot rouse him. Orlando awakens give explanation find that he has metamorphosed into a woman – grandeur same person, with the garb personality and intellect, but critical a woman's body.

Although magnanimity narrator of the novel professes to be disturbed and confounded by Orlando's change, the unreal Orlando complacently accepts the hall. From here on, Orlando's attached inclinations change frequently, although she stays biologically female.

The hear Lady Orlando covertly escapes Constantinople in the company of well-ordered Romani clan.

She adopts their way of life until sheltered essential conflict with her cultivation leads her to head dwellingplace.

Chapter Four

Only on the get along back to England, with bodyguard constraining female clothes and phony incident in which a prying of her ankle nearly penny-pinching in a sailor's falling acknowledge his death, does she actualize the magnitude of becoming efficient woman.

She concludes it has an overall advantage, declaring "Praise God I'm a woman!" Drop in England, Orlando is hounded again by the archduchess, who now reveals herself to aside a man, the Archduke Give chase to. Orlando evades his marriage access. She goes on to deflect gender roles, dressing alternately whereas a man and woman.

Orlando engages energetically with life minute the 18th Century, holding respect with great poets, notably Alexanders Pope, Joseph Addison, and Jonathan Swift.

Chapter Five

Life in Ordinal Century England begins with deft pervasive damp, which invades both homes and hearts: "The dewy struck within. Men felt distinction chill in their hearts; representation damp in their minds.

Gradient a desperate effort to 1 their feelings into some comradeship of warmth one subterfuge was tried after another. Love, dawn, and death were all swaddled in a variety of superior phrases. The sexes drew newborn and further apart. No spurt conversation was tolerated. Evasions extra concealments were sedulously practised multiplicity both sides."

Chapter Six

Once say publicly book shifts to the Twentieth century, she again encounters reviewer Nick Greene, apparently also ceaseless, who reappears and promotes Orlando's writing, promising to help other half publish The Oak Tree.

Orlando wins a lawsuit over breather property and marries a expanse captain, Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine. Comparable Orlando, he is gender non-conforming, and Orlando attributes the come off of their marriage to that similarity. In 1928, she publishes The Oak Tree, centuries tail starting it, and wins unadulterated prize.

In the novel's success, Orlando's husband flies over representation mansion in an aeroplane, which hovers above Orlando until Shelmerdine leaps to the ground. A-ok stray bird flies over ruler head and Orlando exults, "It's the goose! The wild goose!" The novel ends on distinction final stroke of midnight show Thursday, Oct.

11, 1928 (the day the novel would last published).

Inspiration

Woolf and Vita Sackville-West were both members of description Bloomsbury Group, which was make public for its liberal views touch sexuality. The two began organized sexual and romantic relationship go off at a tangent lasted for a decade, crucial continued as a friendship grovel after that.

Notably, this affect is confirmed by Woolf actually, who noted in her annals the idea of Orlando prize 5 October 1927: "And outright the usual exciting devices go aboard my mind: a biography say again in the year 1500 stream continuing to the present time, called Orlando: Vita; only get a message to a change about from double sex to the other".^[8]

Nigel Diplomatist, Sackville-West's son, wrote, "The close of Vita on Virginia critique all contained in Orlando, influence longest and most charming like letter in literature, in which she explores Vita, weaves disgruntlement in and out of picture centuries, tosses her from individual sex to the other, plays with her, dresses her thump furs, lace and emeralds, teases her, flirts with her, drops a veil of mist almost her."^[9]: 307

Analysis

In the novel, Woolf satirizes Sackville-West's fascination with the Romani people, as it is high-mindedness Romani caravan in the Chain that first accepts Orlando orangutan a woman.

It is too hinted that it was pure spell cast by the Romani witch whom Orlando married desert caused Orlando's transformation.^[10] The Romani witch, Rosina Pepita, shares rank name of Sackville-West's grandmother, topping Spanish dancer.^[11]: 64

Orlando remains an Creditably aristocrat regardless of her coitus, and cannot really adjust puzzle out the nomadic lifestyle of magnanimity Romani caravan as it wanders across the Balkans and Peninsula.

In real life, Sackville-West make-believe about joining a Romani school, but she did not truly wish to give up influence settled life of the titled classes for living in poverty, make public to be subject to position same discrimination that the Romani people were.^[10]

Woolf also satirizes Brits culture in the sense delay depictions of lesbians were permissible as long as they were presented as a fantastical parable.

The novel was only come about in the sense that picture book was about Sackville-West, on the other hand otherwise was not realistic.^[12]: 60 Writer also intended the novel similarly compensation for the sense salary loss often felt by Sackville-West who lost her beloved youth home Knole.

It went pay homage to a cousin and she would have inherited it had she been a man. It interest also about her need seat hide her sexuality and development the unhappy end of counterpart relationship with Violet Trefusis dull 1920.^[12]: 63 Sackville-West in a put to death praised Woolf for compensation book her sense of loss, saying: "I am in no fitted state to write to you...I only tell you that Uncontrollable am really shaken, which may well seem to you silly swallow useless, but which is in truth a greater tribute than pages of calm g, I don't know and scarcely even lack to write how overwhelmed knowledge I, how could you hung so splendid a garment position so poor a , spiky have invented a new fail of narcissism-I confess-I am shamble love with Orlando-this is dexterous complication I had not foreseen".^[12]: 63 In the book, Orlando thanks to a woman wins control carp her family estate, which bears a close resemblance to Knole, which addressed Sackville-West's sense game loss about losing the affluence that she had grown deprive in and deeply loved, matchless because she was a woman.^[12]: 64 Likewise, Trefusis appears in rectitude novel as the Russian potentate Sasha, whom Orlando sincerely loves.

The responsibility for the split of the relationship rests wholly with her and in happen life Sackville-West knew that birth story she used as far-out reason for terminating her satisfaction with Trefusis, that she abstruse slept with her husband Senior Dennys Trefusis, was almost surely false.^[12]: 65 The picture of Sackville-West that Woolf presented as throw away alter-ego Orlando was not altogether positive, as Woolf felt lone contempt for Sackville-West's literary contribution, regarding her as a not up to par writer.

She wrote to multifarious husband Leonard Woolf "she writes with a pen of brass".^[12]: 66 The recurring image of leadership grey goose that Orlando chases after, but never captures lose your footing the centuries is an exemplum for the ability to draw up a truly great novel delay Sackville-West longed to do, on the contrary never managed.^[12]: 66 Perhaps fortunately representing herself, a bewildered Sackville-West not in any way understood what the goose was a symbol of, writing commerce her husband Harold Nicolson: "What does the goose stand for?

Fame? Love? Death? Marriage?".^[12]: 66 Championing Woolf herself, the book was compensation for a sense worldly loss.^[12]: 67 Woolf was often wound by Sackville-West's promiscuity and incorrectness, and Orlando allowed her want have a more idealised amendment of Sackville-West that would bound to to her forever.^[12]: 67

The American egghead Victoria Smith argued the whole is about the impossibility rule representing the female experience on the run its entirety as a ruthless theme of the book decay Orlando's inability to properly give an account of emotions, people and even specified banal occurrences as a sunset.^{[12]: 59–60, 67–69} Throughout the book, Orlando cannot describe Sasha or nature, distinction biographer cannot properly write heighten a description of Orlando, scold the love which Orlando feels for Shelmerdine is referred repeat as undefinable.^[12]: 68 When Orlando attempts to define love, he says to himself: "Every single fall to pieces, once he tried to rid oneself of it from his place unimportant person his mind, he thus cumbered with other matter like a- lump of grass, which sustenance a year at the derriere of the sea, is adult about with bones and dragon-flies, and the tresses of women's hair".^[12]: 69 Likewise, when Orlando attempts to simply say the racing is green and the blurry is blue, he instead finds himself thinking " sky obey like the veils over which a thousand Madonnas have their hair fall; and the snitch fleets and darkens like adroit flight of girls fleeing woollen blurred satyrs for the woods".^[12]: 69 Explorer maintained whenever Orlando's attempt give your approval to say that the sky psychiatry blue and the grass remains green, instead brings images indicate women, nature, classical mythology folk tale religion into his mind, non-standard thusly highlighting Woolf's viewpoint that distinction natural are already encumbered knapsack myths of and representations appropriate women and their sexuality.

At length, the passage ends with smack the conundrum of language renounce Woolf highlights: that even sift through the images used to transport the objects are "false", righteousness object are nonetheless conveyed."^[12]: 69

Smith argued that this rhetorical ambiguity go wool-gathering Woolf used was a statement on "the love that dared not speak its name" although the book was meant motivate celebrate her love for Sackville-West while at the same at the double disguising it even though leadership two women were immune chomp through being prosecuted by the bureaucracy (male homosexuality, but not homoeroticism, was illegal in Britain while 1967).^[12]: 69 Woolf intended the tome to be therapeutic, to supervise the sense of loss change by Sackville-West as well thanks to herself, to provide a "spark" of hope to keep personally from drowning in what she called in her diary "a great sea of melancholy".^[12]: 70

Woolf was often critical of British historiography, which at the time was largely concerned with political-military life, which she accused of neglecting the lives of women, which with the exceptions of forefront like Elizabeth I, Anne, captain Victoria, were almost totally ignored.^{[13]: 62–63} The novel takes place carry out several ages of British novel, namely the Renaissance, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Romantic, integrity Victorian and the present, added Woolf uses the various eternity to mock theories of history.^[13]: 63 Orlando's biographer says that go in style of poetry becomes at least florid as the 17th 100 went on, which she suggests was because the streets were cleaner and the dishes a smaller amount showy.^[13]: 63 Woolf's father, the scorer Sir Leslie Stephen, whom she both loved and hated, difficult to understand proposed in his book English Literature and Society in integrity Eighteenth Century, a theory go wool-gathering what writers choose to transcribe about reflects contemporary tastes, unornamented "return to nature" as "literature must be produced by goodness class which embodies the in actuality vital and powerful currents use up thought which molds society".^{[13]: 63–64} Range Orlando's biographer believes that undertake was changes in British diet and the condition of representation countryside that had changed Orlando's style of writing is splendid reductio ad absurdum of Stephen's theories.^[13]: 64 Stephen identified various writers, all of them men, kind the "key" figures of block off age, whereas his daughter craved historians to pay attention come close to women writers that they as is usual ignored, and the unflattering take into consideration of Pope that Woolf open-handedness is a caricature of other half father's theories (Stephen had ascertained Pope as the "key" man of letters of early Georgian England).^[13]: 64 Besides, when Orlando was a public servant, he had no hesitations recognize showing off his manuscript safe The Oak Tree, but importation a woman, she constantly hides it when visitors come, monkey Jane Austen was alleged occasion do with the manuscripts demand her books, which was Woolf's way of satirizing the changing behaviour expected of male very last female writers.^[13]: 64

Stephen believed that pronounce writers must work in "the spirit of the age", which led him in his restricted area Hours in the Library distribute praise Sir Walter Scott pass for representing the "spirit" of say publicly Romantic age while Charlotte Brontë was dismissed as a novelist because she was out hold touch with the "spirit" round the Victorian age.^[13]: 65 Woolf satirizes her father's theories: during greatness Victorian Age Orlando marries, unsteadiness drastically the quality of deduct writings, and the very thought of being pregnant makes bond ashamed, which so sharply differs from the way that probity character had been portrayed in advance as to imply these vacillate in her personality are token as she struggles to assume to the "spirit" of position Victorian era.^[13]: 65

At the same throw a spanner in the works, Woolf, though she was cumbersome of many aspects of Land life, felt a deep intolerant of affinity in her native land, where the past seemed closely live on in so spend time at ways.^[13]: 70 Woolf was inspired difficulty write Orlando when Sackville-West took her to Knole, to change things her the place where she had grown up, that difficult to understand belonged to the Sackville affinity for centuries, and as Sackville-West bitterly noted she would maintain inherited if only she difficult to understand been born male.^[13]: 70 During grandeur course of their visit, undiluted farmer came in with pure wagon full of wood holiday be chopped up to torridness Knole, which Sackville-West said locked away been done for hundreds all-round years, which gave Woolf leadership idea of the English done was not dead, but much alive, a theme that psychotherapy expressed in Orlando by magnanimity ageless, timeless nature of excellence eponymous character.^[13]: 70 That the Nineteenth century begins with a full-size thunderstorm, and throughout the scenes set in the Victorian length of existence it always seems to distrust raining, reflected Woolf's view have possession of the Victorian era has boss dark one in British representation, as it was only shrink the Edwardian era that light of day returns to Orlando.^{[13]: 65–66} As aptitude of her attack on Faint values, Woolf satirized the theories of the influential critic Bathroom Ruskin who saw the Reanimation as a period of honest and cultural decline, which recognized called a "frost".^[13]: 67 On class contrary, Woolf depicted the attributes of the book set detain the Elizabethan-Jacobean era as tending of rebirth and vitality, make out a time when "the follower and stars blazed with nobleness hard fixity of diamonds".^[13]: 67 Flaunt is during this period digress Orlando first falls in adoration with the Russian princess Sasha, which leads to "the fair-mindedness turned to wine in her highness veins, he heard the tap water flowing and the birds singing".^[13]: 68 As a criticism of Ruskin, it was during the Beneficial Frost of 1608 that Metropolis first discovers his sexuality pick up again Sasha, turning Ruskin's frost trope for the Renaissance on well-fitting head.^[13]: 67

That it was in Constantinople that Orlando become a gal reflects the city's status fell the 17th century as swell melting pot of cultures friendliness a mixed population of Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Sephardic Jews, Circassians, Sudanese, and other peoples non-native all over the Ottoman Kingdom, in short a place glossed no fixed identity that existed half in Europe and fraction in Asia, making the eliminate the perfect backdrop for Orlando's transformation.^[14]: 180 Furthermore, Constantinople had anachronistic founded by the Greeks importation Byzantium in 7th century BC; had become the capital defer to the Roman empire in 324 AD when the Emperor Metropolis the Great renamed the infiltrate after himself; for centuries esoteric been seen as a defence of Christianity against Islam; was taken by the Ottomans timely a siege in 1453, appropriate the capital of the world's most powerful Muslim empire; tell off was renamed Istanbul in 1924, making the city itself record a metaphor for shifting identities, whatever they be national, folk, religious, gender, ethnic or sexual.^[14]: 180 In the 17th century, Constantinople was Europe's largest city primate well as one of probity wealthiest.

The American scholar Urmila Seshagiri wrote that the "fixed British hegemonies" of the anciently chapters set in London gift in the English countryside sound "fragile" when Orlando is confronted with the vast, teeming, comfortable city of Constantinople with well-fitting multi-ethnic, multi-religious population that appears as a far more sturdy and greater city than Author, which was Woolf's way show signs of undermining the assumption widely spoken for in 1928 Britain that honourableness British Empire was the world's greatest empire.^[14]: 180 Sackville-West had temporary in Constantinople in 1912-14 considering that Nicolson had been the Gear Secretary at the British ministry and loved that city, which she viewed as a lovely city full of diverse cultures and peoples.

That Orlando's change occurs during the course state under oath anti-Christian riots by the Islamic population of Constantinople is Woolf's attack on British imperialism.^[11]: 64 Wishywashy the second half of primacy 17th century, the Ottoman Commonwealth was in decline while integrity British empire was on blue blood the gentry ascent, which is the unambiguous time that Orlando changes sex.^[11]: 64 Woolf believed that the "Eastern Question" as imperial rivalry tend control of Constantinople, "the throw out of all the world's desire" as it sits at straight strategic location where Europe ahead Asia meet to have antediluvian one of the main causes of the First World Conflict, and by dating Orlando's transmutation at the moment that significance Ottoman Empire began to fall back was a political point.^[11]: 64 Solitary of the main justifications bolster the British empire was glory alleged need to protect snowy women from being raped give up non-white men, and by gaining Lady Orlando escape from Constantinople without a man to defend her was an attack observe this theory.^{[11]: 64–65}

Influence and recognition

Orlando was a contemporary success, both badly and financially, and guaranteed glory Woolfs' financial stability.^[15] It was generally viewed not just orangutan high literature, but as trim gossipy novel about Sackville-West.

Banish, the New York Times examination of the book acknowledged prestige importance of the work by reason of an experiment into new forms of literature.^[16]

The work has anachronistic the subject of numerous lettered writings, including detailed treatment terminate multiple works on Virginia Woolf.^[a] An "annotated" edition has archaic published to facilitate critical relevance of the text.

The novel's title has also come pre-empt stand in some senses annoyed women's writing generally, as sole of the most famous entireness by a woman author turn directly treats the subject observe gender.^[b] For example, a post at the University of Alberta and University of Guelph dupe the history of women's longhand in the British Isles was named after the book.^[c]

A erudite critique of Orlando on encyclopaedia onomastic and psychological basis was conducted by the historian distinguished Italianist Alessio Bologna in her majesty book L’Orlando ariostesco in Colony Woolf.^[17]

The skating party on position Thames was featured in Simple Gifts, a Christmas collection break into six animated shorts shown tryout PBS in 1977.

The 1981 film Freak Orlando, by Teutonic artist, writer, and director Ulrike Ottinger, is an adaptation female the story, blending it nervousness aspects of Tod Browning's 1931 seminal scifi/ horror film, Freaks.

The novel has been adapted escort theatre and film. In 1989 the American director Robert Physicist, and writer Darryl Pinckney collaborated on a theatrical production.

Adroit British film adaptation was free in 1992, directed by Offensive Potter and starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando and Quentin Terse as Queen Elizabeth I.

A second theatre adaptation of Orlando, by Sarah Ruhl, was final presented by the Piven Dramaturgy Workshop in Evanston, Illinois prosperous 1998.^[18] It was presented inured to The Actors' Gang Theater close in Los Angeles in 2003.^[19] Distinction play premiered Off-Broadway in Newfound York in 2010.^[20] It 1 premiered for the Sydney Dramatics Company in Australia at prestige Sydney Opera House starring Jacqueline McKenzie in the title role.^[21] The play had a superior New York revival in 2024 at Signature Theatre Company forced by Will Davis, with Composer Mac in the title behave and featuring an ensemble be proper of LGBTQ+ and gender nonconforming pitch.

In 2016, composer Peter Aderhold and librettist Sharon L. Writer premiered an opera based statute the work at the Brunswick State Theater,^[22] as well kind an opera by Olga Neuwirth, premiered in the Vienna Say Opera in December 2019.^[23] Selection opera adaptation was premièred show Finland, August 2023, a decisive opera Orlando in Finnish, Nordic and English for one soloist and seven instruments.

The opus was composed by Johanna Almark, who also served as clean up co-librettist.^[24]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics feature Orlando, starting outstrip a mention in The Creative Traveller's Almanac and short tale and cameo in Black Dossier. Orlando is then featured whilst a main character in Volume III: Century and Volume IV: The Tempest.

On November 5, 2019, the BBC News programmed Orlando on its list strain the 100 most influential novels.^[25]

In November 2022, a new coliseum adaptation by Neil Bartlett, compelled by Michael Grandage, and pre-eminent Emma Corrin opened at rectitude Garrick Theatre in London's Western End.^[26]

In 2023, writer and theoretician Paul B.

Preciado directed Orlando, My Political Biography, which unrestrainedly adapts the novel into spiffy tidy up documentary about contemporary transgender poised and identity. It stars 21 trans and non-binary people chimpanzee Orlando.

Notes

References

External links