Orlando-A Woman Writer's Pilgrimage

Virginia Woolf is not only a great novelist in England, but also one of the forerunners of modern feminist literary criticism. Her works are full of concerns for women. Her unique viewpoint of the relation between women and the artistic creation has become the hot topic of modern literary criticism.As a woman writer, Woolf explores the theory of"women writing"in her writing practices insistently. Therefore, we think"women writing"is an aspect which cannot be neglected in the study of Woolf's literary theories. Through analyzing Orlando: A Biography we find that the novel contains the theoretical explorations and writing practices of"women writing". In her feminist masterpiece A Room of One's Own Woolf poses a series of methods to construct the writing tradition and writing strategies of women writers which include that women should be aware of their dissimilation; women should have their own material and mental rooms; women should write with their own language and the"androgynous vision". These theories have full embodiment in Orlando. So more than a legendary biography, the novel is a record which reflects the history of women writers and their mental pilgrimages.There are three parts in this thesis. The first part expatiates on Woolf's unique feminism from four aspects. Firstly, women lack economic independence and material rooms and Woolf points out that the patriarchy is the root of these disadvantages. Secondly, the mental dependence caused by the first aspect is more covert and dangerous because it can kill women's artistic creativities. Thirdly, constructing women's own language is a way to get rid of the limitations of men's thinking patterns and languages. And finally androgyny is a perfect mental state for writers, especially for women writers. Women writers could use it to free from the bias of sex and achieve their fulfillments.The second part mainly analyses the growth history of women writers and the predicaments which they came across reflected in Orlando: A Biography. Orlando finished her"The Oak Tree"after four centuries. From 17th century to 20th century women writers in Western had experienced a course from inexistence to existence and from immaturity to maturity. The different adventures of Orlando reflect the conditions of her contemporary women writers; meanwhile, they also reflect the social and literary development of England. But the gravest problems for women writers are still the lack of mental and material rooms.The third part combining women writers'predicaments with the novel's plots illustrates that androgyny not only helps Orlando to finish her poem and become famous but also offers a way to success for all women writers. With androgynous mind women writers can realize their writing aims and equal status with men. The significance of androgyny is not limited to literary creation but lies in the harmonious relation between men and women.