Androgyny In Orlando

This dissertation aims to analyze Woolf's feminist thought through a case study of her fantastic historical biography Orlando, with a focus on Woolf's theory of androgyny.Androgyny refers to consummation and integrity of human nature in ancient times. The concept is first put forward by Plato. It is not until Woolf who develops this concept into a new theory with more connotations. On the basis of Woolf's androgynous theory, the brain of human being is marked by the characteristics of both sexes. Androgyny is not only an ideal relationship between two sexes, but also a writer's optimal state. Mutual tolerance and respect between sexes will prevent gender opposition and lead to freedom and equality.In academic circles, Woolf's androgynous theory has met with fierce opposition among feminists. Elaine Showlater is the first representative and Julia Kristeva is the next. The former just takes Woolf's theory of androgyny as a metaphor for sexlessness and sterility rather than a feminist viewpoint, and the latter thinks that androgyny is no more than a Utopian ideal, which is a retreat from sexism and a reconciliation between two sexes.The author of the dissertation holds that Woolf's androgynous theory, which is a strategy to extricate women from dilemma, plays a positive role in solving the problem between both sexes. In Orlando, the protagonist Orlando undergoes miraculous sex change at the age of thirty. After sex change, Orlando is deprived of everything and foiled everywhere. Lady Orlando finds it quite difficult to take a step in theman-dominated world which used to be completely under his control when he was a nobleman. No matter how hard she has tried, Orlando fails to get rid of the shackles and sexism in the patriarchal society. Looking back on the past days when he occupied a privileged status and enjoyed his life as a man, Orlando can't help sinking into hesitation and confusion. Being at a loss, she turns to frequent change in clothes, which gives her a special identity of androgyny and enables her to make a reassessment of the traditional value.The dissertation points out that what confuses Orlando also confuses feminists before they can find a way out. The social experience of androgynous Orlando implies a possibility of fusion between both sexes. By creating the androgynous protagonist Orlando, Woolf deconstructs the gender binary system and comes up with a solution to the problem of sexism, that is, harmonious coexistence between genders. Moreover, it is from feminist perspective that the dissertation reveals that the realistic meaning of Orlando lies in the criticism it makes against the deep-rooted sexism in the patriarchal society.The dissertation also indicates that Woolf's contributions to the feminist literature consist not only in the theory of androgyny she first proposes, but also in the fact that she develops the theory into a brand new writing method for women writers to alleviate the confrontation between two genders, which is of great significance in the history of feminist thought.