A Study Of Gender Identity In Orlando From The Perspective Of Queer Theory

Virginia Woolf(1882-1941)was a famous British female writer and feminist,she is considered as a pioneer of twentieth century modernism and feminism,and a representative of modernist movement.Her works covers a wide range,including novels,essays,letters,memoirs,and other genres,with representative works such as Mrs.Dalloway and To The Lighthouse.As a modernist writer,she often deploys the writing technique of stream of consciousness and treatment of time and space in her works.Among her many works,a work named Orlando: A Biography stands out for its unique biographical writing style and peculiar character portrayal.In the book,Virginia narrates the life of the eponymous protagonist,male aristocrat Orlando,whose life spans over several centuries,but also shows incredible gender fluidity after a transformation from male to female.Woolf explores multiple themes in this work:gender differences between men and women,the social constraints on people’s behavior,“straight time”,or “time on the clock”,in contrast to “queer time”,or “time of the mind,”and how to achieve one’s true self while complying with “the spirit of the times.” With the format of a biography,the book itself does not only serve as a record of the protagonist’s own thoughts,but also the author’s thoughts on Orlando’s behavior through the comments of the narrator.By narrating the life experiences and the different roles of male and female Orlando and the contrast between them,the author subverts the binary opposition of male and female gender in a nearly ironic way,at the same suggests that one’s true self should demonstrate both male traits and female traits.In the novel,Orlando has encountered several subversive acts that to certain extent defies the gender presumption of him/her,and it is after transition from a male to a female body that allows Orlando to see the intangible rules that permeates the society,which is an aspect of heterosexual matrix,and eventually breaks free from them.The timeline in Orlando’s life is quite different from others’,since it can be stretched and shortened,unlike the physical time on the clock.And it is this unique timeline that offers Orlando a chance to better understand his/her gender identity.Orlando’s communication and resistance to this force can be seen as a manifestation of gender performativity,and it is through this process that the gender identity of both male and female Orlando can be gradually established.Judith Butler’s theory of heterosexual matrix and gender performativity provides credibility for fluidity of gender,therefore,analyzing the formation of Orlando’s gender identity from the perspective of these two theories can yield a more comprehensive result on the formation and correction on Orlando’s gender identity.This paper is divided into six parts.The first part is the introduction,which provides a review of the existing research on Orlando at home and abroad,at the same time clarifies the feasibility and rationality of using queer theory to analyze the novel.In the body part,part two introduces and discusses the theoretical framework mentioned in the paper,mainly Judith Butler’s heterosexual matrix and performativity theory in the queer theory category.Part three discusses the influence of heterosexual matrix on Orlando and how Orlando breaks free from it after several subversive acts,eventually entering a different timeline called “queer time.” Part four focuses on the formation process of Orlando’s gender identity,how performativity solidifies Orlando’s male identity and how it gradually “corrects” female Orlando’s behavior to make her more fit into the society.Part five discusses the formation of Orlando as a whole: the incredible lifespan allows the multiple selves of Orlando to mix together,and it is the change in Orlando’s sex that leads to a more harmonious life.Part six is the conclusion part,this part summarizes the whole thesis and points out the practical significance of Orlando’s life story in real life.