Gender Roles Revisited in Orlando

As we continue with the metamorphosis of Orlando, we see Woolf make a profound departure from the boundaries of her earlier work.  In contrast to To the Lighthouse, Orlando ignores the constraints of gender and time and instead they are explored freely and openly throughout the course of the novel.  I like to think of Orlando as being neither male nor female, because both of those designations require an acknowledgement that it is the opposite of the other.  To be male is to necessitates the recognition of the female as the Other, and this contrast better defines what the male is, and vice versa.  While Orlando does identify as male at the start of the plot, his transformation into a women marks his (her) transcendence of human sexuality, and (s)he is therefore able to take on both roles simultaneously. 

It is important to note that Orlando does not separate itself from sex entirely, but rather he/she sees explores both realms equally.  Perhaps this is Woolf’s take on the psychological aspect of gender identity, where one’s gender is not defined by biological means rather than their perception of the self and how society defines gender.  Interestingly enough, Orlando begins as a fortunate young male, and his attitude towards women is surprisingly hedonistic.  During this part of the novel Woolf introduces the male gaze, which is refreshing in a way as this is the first novel we have discussed in class where a male protagonist directly explores his sexual desires (I think of Jacob’s Room as being less from Jacob’s point of view than Orlando is from that of the title character).  Orlando’s social status certainly aids his sexual encounters, although ironically he is at first reprimanded by Queen Elizabeth for kissing a girl in his youth.  This is the only time where we see a woman of higher authority than Orlando, and her unreceptive view of sex foreshadows those that we see again in the Victorian era. 

We experience a gap of about 200 years between Orlando’s time as a young nobleman and the beginning of his life as a woman, during which Orlando is in Constantinople.  After one particular sexual encounter, Orlando is put in a stupor that ultimately yields his transformation into a woman.  With this part of the novel, Woolf again begins to explore sexuality but this time from a woman’s point of view.  In contrast to the relatively overt sexuality of the male version of Orlando, our female Orlando quickly discovers the differences in female sexuality.  She lives in a time of repressed sexuality, which is symbolized by her encounter with the sailor where even the exposure of her ankle is almost enough to kill him.  While noble Orlando was given free reign during his association with King James, Orlando’s social status does little to affect her sexuality as a woman.  Orlando is expected to conform to social standards set for women, and she is confronted with an interesting paradox between men and woman:  Men, who are the pursuers of sex, determine what is socially acceptable and permissible among women, who Woolf portrays as the more sexual of the two genders but must abide by the standards set by men.  It is interesting that we are allowed to see such flexibility through the same character’s eyes, which offers the reader to explore sexuality through a single point of view and become a part of the same transformation that Orlando endures.