Gender Identity Perplexity——A Study On Orlando’s Character In Woolf’s Orlando From The Perspective Of Gender Performativity

Judith Butler, the prestigious feminist theorist in contemporary America, holds that behind the expressions of gender, there is no ontology identity which is formed in the process of gender performativity. Gender does not have the so called internal essence which submits to the repeat of a series of behaviors within the gender regulations. Orlando, one of the the most distinctive works published in1928by the famous British writer Virginia Woolf, portrays an aristocratic and young man who transcends time and gender. Orlando, born in the16th century England, experiences a legendary life with a change from a man into a woman during300years.Based on the theory of gender performativity proposed by Judith Butler, this thesis with the focus on identity awareness tries to orientate the gender identity of Orlando through the character’s emotional change and social experience in the novel, and elaborates on the homosexual relationship and heterosexual love. Besides, the thesis is devoted to the discussion of the paradox of sex and gender identity when the character’s sex cannot meet the certain requirements of gender identity. Through the discourse analysis, this thesis finds out that Orlando attempts to escape the inconvenience and troubles brought by the new sex with the help of gender performativity. Finally, Orlando strengthens the body and subverts the performativity, to be specific, she realizes ego in the way of cross-dressing.There are five parts in this thesis, and the first chapter introduces the research background and the significance of the study. On the basis of the topic of identity, this thesis analyzes the novel Orlando from the perspective of the theory of Gender performativity, which is the novelty of the research. The second chapter is literature review about the research achievements at home and abroad on Orlando. The third chapter is devoted to the discussion of the theory of Gender Performativity and the interpretation of some concepts of Psychology related to sex. The fourth chapter conducts the detailed analysis on twenty classic examples of the novel Orlando based on the theory of Gender performativity. The last part draws the conclusion and presents the limitations of the research together with the suggestion for further study.