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Orlando - Chapters I & II incl. the Preface
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I really enjoyed reading the Preface to "Orlando". All the people credited with helping Woolf create the story, providing the background and historical information, were included. Except Vita Sackville-West herself! But the book is dedicated to her after all.I've finished Chapter 1, which seemed to go on for a great many pages. The description of the surroundings from Orlando's teenaged years through the Great Freeze were wonderful, I thought. And the story of the Russian Princess is a nod to Vita's having run away with Violet Trefussis, I think, but I could be wrong. The two women were chased after by their respective husbands and returned home. LOL! I'm moving on to Chapter II tonight.
Thanks, Ally! This is wonderful read, as much as I remembered it being when I read it decades ago.
Ellen
I prefer not to read it as a one to one correspondence to Sackville-West, though it was dedicated to her and Woolf came up with the idea by thinking of her. To me the interesting thing is how Woolf played with the gender throughout (tying in with her preoccupation with both 'women's writing' and 'androgyny' see Room of One's Own). A one to one reading of Orlando as a document of Sackville-West's life, I feel, is reductive. It is a work of fiction, after all -- and Woolf is an excellent writer.
Lorraine wrote: "I prefer not to read it as a one to one correspondence to Sackville-West, though it was dedicated to her and Woolf came up with the idea by thinking of her. To me the interesting thing is how Woolf..."I am approaching the reading this way also, not knowing a great deal about the relationship between Woolf, and Sackville-West. I am looking forward to reading both the explorations of the male and female Orlando. A Woolf scholar wrote that this was intended to explore "new narrative forms, with new ways of understanding our human existence in time."(Maria DiBattista)
Oh dear! So is now the the May read? Where did time go? I really wanted to participate, but I'm writing some exams in May.Hopefully I'll catch up at the tail end. :(
the interesting thing about Orlando too, for those of you who haven't read up on the Woolf, is that (in her diaries) she spoke of writing it as a 'break' from 'serious' fiction (her other novels). So Flush and Orlando are the 'relaxing' novels -- what she wrote to 'cleanse' herself. The question about DiBattista's quote imo is how this 'difference' (if indeed applicable) manifested itself in Woolf's aesthetics. So many modernists felt it was their job to 'explore new narrative forms' -- this had to do with the age they were living in. And Woolf was tormented by it -- in writing The Hours she really struggled, and Between the Acts is of course unfinished. Yet she saw these brilliant books -- Flush and Orlando -- as 'not serious art'. Extremely queer. I haven't quite got my mind around it yet!
Lorraine wrote: "the interesting thing about Orlando too, for those of you who haven't read up on the Woolf, is that (in her diaries) she spoke of writing it as a 'break' from 'serious' fiction (her other novels). ..."I think what she meant, by these novels 'not being serious', was that they involved little emotional stress. Books such as To the Lighthouse were based, loosely, on her own childhood. And, therefore, entailed the recalling of painful memories. Orlando and Flush: A Biography did not involve her in the same process and, therefore, were less stressful. Therefore, she could have a 'rest' while writing them. BTW, did you know that Woolf planned the order in which she would write her novels months maybe years in advance.
yup :) but I don't think the rest did, eg Mrs. Dalloway. In fact TL was written with less problems -- Mrs Dalloway, TL -- these were the least problematic I think. She had problems trying to write The Waves -- The Hours caused the most problems I think.
Lorraine wrote: "I prefer not to read it as a one to one correspondence to Sackville-West, though it was dedicated to her and Woolf came up with the idea by thinking of her. To me the interesting thing is how Woolf..."Oh, yes, Lorraine. "Orlando" is more than a "love letter to Vita Sackville-West", which is how it's referred to by a great many Woolfians. The way Woolf plays with gender is really amazing, and I think this is a comment about the difference between men and women in English society during her time. I'm really enjoying this book very much.
Vikz wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "the interesting thing about Orlando too, for those of you who haven't read up on the Woolf, is that (in her diaries) she spoke of writing it as a 'break' from 'serious' fiction (he..."What I really enjoy about "Orlando" is the complete freedom Woolf must have felt in writing it. The fluency of the language and her free expression of her imagination in this book is so different from that in her "serious" novels. It's as though they were work, and this is play. Love it.
I just saw on article on the internet that I thought I'd pass on to you all. It's called, "Gender and Unity of the Self in Virgina Woolf's 'Orlando'", and appeared on the Student Pulse website. Here's the link:http://studentpulse.com/articles/523/...
I enjoyed reading this, and hope you all do as well. Thanks so much!
Ellen wrote: "Vikz wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "the interesting thing about Orlando too, for those of you who haven't read up on the Woolf, is that (in her diaries) she spoke of writing it as a 'break' from 'serious..."I agree, their is a great deal of play and humour within this work.
Ellen wrote: "I just saw on article on the internet that I thought I'd pass on to you all. It's called, "Gender and Unity of the Self in Virgina Woolf's 'Orlando'", and appeared on the Student Pulse website. Her..."Thank you for sharing, I did enjoy this article and I think it will enhance my reading, particularly with the statement about Hegelian undertones in Woolf's representation of difference in gender. I found it interesting that the author brought up-then immediately dismissed-the idea that the female Orlando represented Woolf herself (with Rita being obviously the male Orlando). I'm going to read into this, I found it an interesting take, more so than the (in my humble opinion) somewhat boring and common-of-the-time notion of the exploration of the inherent self vs the Other.
Rebecca wrote: "Ellen wrote: "I just saw on article on the internet that I thought I'd pass on to you all. It's called, "Gender and Unity of the Self in Virgina Woolf's 'Orlando'", and appeared on the Student Puls..."Thanks, Rebecca. I'm glad the article help reveal more about "Orlando". I'm going to give some thought to your comment regarding the inherent self vs. the other. Interesting... Have a wonderful rest of the weekend!
you guys might want to read "A Writer's Diary" -- Leonard Woolf took out all the stuff re Virginia Woolf's writing in her diaries and compiled it into that little book; it's interesting and has stuff (of course) on Orlando too
Lorraine wrote: "you guys might want to read "A Writer's Diary" -- Leonard Woolf took out all the stuff re Virginia Woolf's writing in her diaries and compiled it into that little book; it's interesting and has stu..."Yes, Lorraine, I read "A Writer's Diary" before I decided to read ALL of Woolf's diaries and letters straight through. Though abbreviated, "A Writer's Diary" does provide much insight into Woolf's writing processes and her successes and failures, and about how her writing affected her mental states. Thanks!
Mod
Jennifer W wrote: "I've just started chapter 3, but I wanted to say how much I loved Woolf's language and style when talking about Orlando's "affliction" with reading and writing. Wonderfully said!"I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying "Orlando", Jennifer. The entire book continues in the same style and language, so you will most likely really like reading it. I'm looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on it. Thanks!
Bright Young Things
Books mentioned in this topic
Orlando (other topics)To the Lighthouse (other topics)
Flush (other topics)
Orlando (other topics)
Ally