Book Review: Orlando by Virginia Woolf
“Life without illusion is a ghastly affair”
“I’m sick to death of this particular self. I want another” says Orlando to himself as he is frustrated by people looking down on him. And the women he loves, consuming him whole and leaving pain and agony.
As a character in this novel, Orlando is a nobleman with a lineage over five hundred years old. He is proud of what he has achieved and is looking forward to making a name amongst the noble.
Orlando, a born man, is already transitioning through his way of life as an esteemed respectful noble and a man who enjoys dirty and low-life nights in pubs and inns. He is questioning the serendipity of his life as every woman he ends up falling in love with swindles her way out of Orlando’s life.
He is suffering from the lethargy of thought as no words are good enough for him to avail. Critics laughing at him add fuel to the flame, and noblemen looking down is just what was needed to send Orlando trickling down a vortex of depression. He locks himself up in his lavish house. He writes plays and romances for himself, which he later burns out of antagonism and inhibition.
Orlando leaves his country as an ambassador and is soon stricken by a trance-like state and sleeping for 7 days straight; Orlando awakes with a hollow between his legs. Charm, in his demeanor and power of a man, goes through extremes as a woman, falls in love with men of virtue and men who lust behind her figure but nothing around her agonizes of her womanhood.
Orlando adapts rather quickly to being a woman and restarts her life in her own interest.
This story that quickly moves through time and space swiftly is something every individual must read and enjoy. It’s a livid adventure and a beautifully melancholic biography. The book starts off as a light-hearted parody, but the steam laid by Virginia Woolf soon dies down. So she tries to now understand Orlando more and even relates to her as a woman. Both Orlando and Virginia fear criticism. They both lock themselves to find solitude amidst the chaos in their own thoughts.
As a person, Virginia always believed in gender neutrality. The faint similarity between men and women is clearly visible throughout the novel.
Orlando is a relaxing book with subtle parts that may ache you in the heart. Still, the sweetness of Orlando’s journey through time, gender, and her own cognition is fascinating. The first-person narrative with the writer taking over throughout is quite polished and cannot be refrained from.
Orlando is not an exact representation of Virginia’s work, but the body finds its way to reach her roots. A person who is first introducing themselves to Virginia or even an avid Woolf lover will surely enjoy this treasure.
The rocky route is what makes it amusing, and as Orlando says- “All extremes of feeling are allied with madness.”
A review by Simran Matta
