| Orlando is one of the masterpieces of modernist writer Virginia Woolf.It attracts a large number of readers for its witty style and innovative genre.As Woolf’s best-seller,Orlando does not lack discussions on serious issues.And time is one of its core problems.Woolf not only integrates time into the narrative form of this work,but also expresses her thoughts on time through the discussion of different themes so as to ultimately reveal the relationship between time and modernity.Based on the philosophical thoughts of time in the modern context,this thesis analyzes time from the narrative and thematic perspectives,examines the historical and cultural context beneath the representation of time,and explores the relationship between people’s perception of time and the changes in modern society in Orlando.The first chapter of this thesis analyzes time as narrative forms in Orlando.Woolf in Orlando devotes plenty of pages to depict external objective time,indicating the changeable and the unchangeable of the objective world during the passage of time.At the same time,Woolf continues to employ the portrayal of psychological time in this"biography" that is based on physical time.Through psychological time Orlando is able to break through the shackles of physical time and obtain freedom.In Orlando,the combination of physical time and psychological time is in a balanced state.Through this balance Woolf expresses her dialectical thoughts on the relationship between po wer and freedom,and between transiency and eternity.The second chapter analyzes time as thematic matters in Orlando.The construction of time sequences also plays a role in the expression of thematic meanings.Woolf incorporates her philosophy of time into different themes.Firstly,the fourhundred-year timespan reveals a strong sense of history,highlighting the dimension of the past of time.Secondly,through the psychological time the narrator is able to explore a series of thematic ideas through Orlando’s inner activities,in which the reflection on death makes Orlando aware of the transient nature of life and urge Orlando to actively face the dimension of the future.Finally,the protagonist’s anxiety throughout the novel draws the reader’s attention to the dimension of the present.Chapter three explores how time in Woolf’s eyes serves as a way to deal with the modernist predicament.Orlando ’s anxiety and pressure are also experienced by modern people to an extent.In modern society,with the popularization of standard time and the pursuit of efficiency,modern people have to be over conscious and worry about the present time,which is cut off from the past and the future.Time can be both a problem for people and also the solution to the problem.In response to this anxiety and depression of the present,people can act like Orlando,shifting their attention to the past and the future,extracting self-identity from the past,and gaining motivation for actions from the future so as to ease the pressure of the present.In summary,Woolf integrates her philosophy of time into the text from the aspects of narrative forms and thematic meanings,and reveals the modern people’s special perception of time.People’s perception of and response to time are closely related to their living conditions.Woolf deeply cares about the situation of modern people,criticizing the suppression of humanity by industrial modernity,and actively exploring ways to deal with the anxiety and nothingness felt by modern people.With Woolf’s inspiration,people should recognize the continuity of time rather than focusing too much on the present anxiety,and strive to maintain their authentic selves during the passage of time. |
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