Queer Theory and Performativity in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando

by Nick Stonaker

A reading of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando may yield varied interpretations ranging from what Supple calls a philosophically “confused mind” to Haner’s considerations of Woolf’s commentary on the transgender experience, yet there is an underlying commonality of ideas that rely on Queer Theory amidst these readings that is undeniable. Orlando, as a character, exhibits clear characteristics of both the traditional feminine and traditional masculine archetypes, which grants these readings validity, especially Haner’s assertions considering the presence of “sexual fluidity and ambiguous gender identity”. Still, the most notable sections of Woolf’s writing are perhaps her character descriptions and direct, literal comments on gender that defy simple categorization, especially anything like a set of binary definitions. Looking at the story directly through the lens of Queer Theory in the form of Butler’s ideas on imitation, sexuality and gender, particularly at Orlando’s physical descriptions and behavioral preferences or tendencies, yield an important early perspective on performativity and imitation, and equally as important, the potential fabrication of gender itself.

The physical characteristics of our titular character are repeatedly described in detail, yet they vary in symbol and meaning at different moments throughout the narrative. Perhaps because Orlando is a variable character who changes sex or perhaps because of the changing characters and environments surrounding her, she is seen differently by characters with differing perspectives. Yet throughout the changing descriptions, some things persist, such as the description of her legs. This description, among others, combines traditional characteristics of the masculine and feminine: “And then she praised him; for his love of beasts; for his gallantry; for his legs.” (Woolf 16). Woolf even acknowledges the repetitious nature of their praise, “That he had a pair of the shapliest legs that any Nobleman has ever stood upright upon has already been said” (36). Still, the importance of these descriptions, for our purposes, are as precursors and context surrounding a conversation of performativity and sexual identity. They blend perceptions of Orlando that are further obscured and subverted by her behavior; “No farmer knew more about the crops than she did. She could drink with the best and liked games of hazard. She rode well and drove six horses at a gallop over London Bridge. Yet again, though bold and active as a man, it was remarked that the sight of another in danger brought on the most womanly palpitations” (Woolf 60). Orlando truly defies any binary description, something that confuses her surrounding characters. This narrative progression directly relates to and supports Butler’s assertion that “gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original” (14). How can Orlando be categorized by gender? If she has been both a man and a woman during her considerable lifetime, and clearly has characteristics of both the traditional man and woman by the story’s climax, she has transcended the categorization of even heterosexual, homosexual or any other traditional sexuality, simply existing as a nuanced human being with characteristics of both the feminine, masculine and the uncategorized. This gives narrative context to the assertion that, “queerness subtends all forms of sexual desire and practice, including heterosexuality” (Pramaggiore). Orlando refutes the idea of original genders and even sexuality by transcending the concepts altogether.

In the context of Woolf’s narrative, Orlando creates a new conversation considering the origins of gender and its fabrication through her transformation. Her sex change and her considerable range of romantic experiences make us question, as readers, her true origin in regard to gender. Woolf writes at the very beginning of her story, “there could be no doubt of his sex” (2), but what of Orlando’s gender? Butler’s idea that, “gender is performative in the sense that it constitutes as an effect the very subject it appears to express. It is a compulsory performance in the sense that acting out of line with heterosexual norms brings with it ostracism, punishment, and violence” (16). Perhaps Orlando’s irrefutably masculine sex at the start of her story is only bound by this compulsory phenomenon, for even at its beginning he exhibits a sensitivity that later observers would note and make sense of considering Orlando’s newfound feminine sex. This is even further reinforced by what Woolf leaves out of her descriptions; “The reader is trusted to contribute the physiognomic content the novel conjures through its subtext” (Parvulescu 5). This physiognomic content not only reveals a character’s state of mind, but also a window into their complexity of identity.

Orlando, and even surrounding characters, in particular Sasha, provide such a complexity of behavioral and physical characteristics that the idea of performativity is argued and effectively explained within the narrative, also proving substantial and vital to each character’s identity. Without their fluidity in gender normative behavior and description, Sasha and Orlando lose much of their identity. Further, Orlando efficaciously and independently implants many of the ideas considered in Queer Theory through character description and progression alone.

Works Cited

Butler, Judith. “Imitation and Gender Insubordination.” Inside / Out, ed. Diana Fuss, Routledge, 1991, pp. 13–31.

Haner, Sezgi Öztop. “The Transgender Experience: Cross-Dressing and Sex-Change in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.” Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 21, no. 4, Oct. 2022, pp. 2166–74.

Parvulescu, Anca. “The Biography of a Face: Virginia Woolf’s Orlando.” Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 46, no. 4, 2023, pp. 1–22.

Pramaggiore, Maria. “Queer Theory.” Oxford Bibliographies, 2013, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/display/document/obo-9780199791286/obo-9780199791286-0185.xml.

Woolf, Virginia. “Orlando.” Project Gutenberg Australia, Apr. 2002, gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200331.txt.