Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part D (2024)

Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is a pioneering work that explores the fluidity of gender and the concept of androgyny, challenging the rigid binaries that have traditionally defined gender identity. Through the life of Orlando, a character who transitions from male to female and spans centuries, Woolf dismantles the conventional notions of gender, presenting it as a social construct rather than a fixed biological reality. This paper examines Orlando through the lens of feminist and queer theories, focusing on how Woolf's portrayal of gender fluidity and androgyny interrogates the boundaries between male and female identities. By analyzing key passages and the symbolic significance of Orlando's transformation, the paper argues that Woolf’s narrative anticipates contemporary discussions on gender nonconformity and serves as a critical text in the discourse on gender identity and expression. The study seeks to highlight Woolf’s contribution to feminist and queer literature, emphasizing how Orlando remains a relevant and radical exploration of the complexities of gender in the modern world.