Orlando

Orlando by Virginia Woolf is a classic which was sold as a bestseller during her own historical time. However, it appears to be difficult reading for a modern common reader who does not know well her writing style or the philosophical origins of her ideas. The extremely rich language of Woolf requires a slow reading, but not a very close one, because the narrative is scattered and mixed with visual and bodily sensations. It all reminds one of reading poetry instead of a consistent storytelling.

Nevertheless, her ideas about feminine and masculine which can be found in both sexes, and which are not entirely defined by the way the body appears, can be seen as very progressive even nowadays when gender is still a hot topic for some social and political groups. We also found interesting her ideas about the ego and its composition of multiple imaginary I’s which keep the traces of all past human interactions and experiences.

In this line of thought, the question about ‘otherness’ in culture, opinion and lifestyle opens up. At some moments, like during the time Orlando lived with the gypsies in the Turkish mountains, Woolf shows how defensive people can be against the other, the different or the external person.