77 pages • 2 hours read
Virginia WoolfOrlando
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1928A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Essay Topics
How does time function in Orlando? Why does Woolf use the passage of time in this way?
What is the role of the narrator? How does the narrator differ from Woolf? What effect does Woolf's use of the narrator have?
What does Woolf say about English values? How does she satirize elements of English identity? How might the post-World War I historical context inform her argument?
What effect does it have that Woolf labeled Orlando a biography? Why did Woolf fictionalize a biography rather than write a novel? How does Woolf criticize the methods and tools of biographers?
How do clothes reflect gender and identity in the text?
What does Woolf say about humanity’s connection to nature? What role does nature play in the text?
Many characters struggle to conform to societal expectations in Orlando. What might Woolf be saying about conformity?
How does the gender fluidity of Orlando, Harriet/Harry, and Shel reflect Woolf’s argument about gender?
What role do clothes play in creating identity? How does it reflect gender and class?
What does Woolf say about poetry, literature, and writing in Orlando? What is Woolf satirizing in the characters of Orlando and Nicholas Greene? How does Woolf’s stylistic shifts in each chapter support her claims?
Related Titles
By Virginia Woolf
