aIt's hard for me to believe that this novel was not written during the 2000's, it's so ahead of its time. From gender transformations to references to real life places and people, and very relatable expressions concerning how the world perceives the individual and gender norms, I felt like I was reading a parody fiction from a year or so ago, not 1928! Orlando deals with head spinning and ear ringing questions: questions that have left some feeling unsure about those around them and others sure of themselves. Questions about how the heck Virginia Woolf managed to write such a powerful, feminist text. This story spans over hundreds of years while following a protagonist that only reaches the age of thirty-six. This protagonist begins as a strapping young man, poetic and romantic, a favorite of the queen and lover of a seductive and backstabbing Russian princess. The middle of the story finds its main character in despair over a broken heart and battered pride before he takes an alarmingly long nap and wakes up as a woman (and no, there is no inclusion of a scientific explanation for this). The confusion of this novel's middle is precisely what drives it to its end -- Orlando growing accustomed to her new life as a woman (and the new societal expectations that that brings), and even falling in love and marrying a man. The lack of what one could call solid details pertaining to how Orlando suddenly becomes a member of the opposite sex is exactly what hammers in the nail of Woolf's main point: gender is a construct that confines as well as defines. Orlando is a story that explores years worth of history while pointing out the timelessness of man and woman's relations and expectations within the creations of societies. This book is as incredibly entertaining as it is baffling. But the more I reflect on it, the more I sort of glean from my lack of full understanding. I think it is meant to keep its readers keen to ask questions and explore how a bizarre life like Orlando's could be possible in the real world. It is also a book that plays with the malleable terrains of time, examining how time operates in fictional terrains just as much as realistic ones. All in all, this novel stands out for its unique content and execution of thought-provoking inquiries concerning many gender-related concepts. I would've likely not read it on my own (it was one of the multitude assigned to me in my literature classes), but I highly recommend it!



A couple of my favorite quotes from Orlando:

"Orlando had become a woman--there is no denying it. But in every other respect, Orlando remained precisely as he had been."

"I have sought happiness through many ages and not found it; fame and missed it; love and not known it; life--and behold, death is better."

This novel did not turn out to be what I was expecting. Then again, I really didn't have that many expectations other than that it would deal with how a woman named Mrs. Dalloway fits into British society. This story is so much more than that. Written in stream-of-consciousness style, this novel spans over a single day and gives its readers glimpses into the psyches and backgrounds of several different characters. I'm not going to lie and say that I got used to this unique format of storytelling; if anything, I got more confused the farther I read. But the perks of reading books in classes is that the most important themes and concepts are usually delved into to better understand. While Mrs. Dalloway is certainly not one of my new favorite novels, its ability to highlight the parts of post-war (WWI) British society within the intricate lives and struggles of its main characters is impressive. You have Mrs. Dalloway, the woman who throws parties to satisfy her societal standing and block out her intense arsenal of emotions and questions she cannot fully embrace. Her husband, Richard, who is unable to express his love for his wife in spoken words. The ex-lover, Peter Walsh, drifting and unhappy with the way his life has turned out. And a young wife struggling to understand her recently returned soldier husband and his undiagnosed PTSD. The ways Woolf weaves together these different characters' experiences into a narrative that expresses the irreversible changes that the world was just beginning to face as its post-war reality are hard to fully pick up on, but profound nevertheless. I had some issues with how she portrays suicide; at times she seems to over glorify the concept and paint it in a spiritually noble light, which doesn't seem like too far of a stretch considering her own demise. But overall, this novel raises interesting questions about the meaning of life, regrets from the past, and how one can choose to deal with the future. It forced me to think and read critically, and I am grateful to have read it within the guided setting of my literature class since I probably would not have chosen to read it on my own. 


Some of my favorite quotes from Mrs. Dalloway:

"He thought her beautiful, believed her impeccably wise; dreamed of her, wrote poems to her, which, ignoring the subject, she corrected in red ink."

“What does the brain matter compared with the heart?”

“It is a thousand pities never to say what one feels.”
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I've been waiting to read this novel for a while now. Thanks to my literature class, I can check it off my list! I had expectations to see a certain type of romance in this book that I didn't really end up seeing at all. Overall, this book was a lot more grim than I expected. It is certainly a gothic novel infused with elements of horror. The story essentially follows two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and the transformations of the members of both families in terms of love, revenge, and marriage. There is a lot to unpack that I have discussed in great detail in my literature class, from the social implications of Brontë's social life, how the book was received by reviewers and readers alike, its messages concerning male and female relationships, and its difficulty in being placed in a set novel genre. It also allows for conversations about whether we see love, lustful obsession, or supernatural connection between Catherine and Heathcliff. I would sum it all up as just plain strange. But I appreciate it at the same time because I have not read a novel that has made me think hard and long about what its underlying messages and themes are expressing in a long time. One of the coolest things about this novel is its ability to place its characters within what seems like an untouched world. It is as if the strange happenings and relationships between the two families are not impossible within the scope of the setting of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; it certainly adds to the supernatural, horror, and gothic elements of the book as well. I have enjoyed reading and studying it through a particularly theological lens, and I recommend it to readers who are looking for a novel that allows them to explore its content through a numerous amount of perspectives (especially the Broadview version I read and is pictured above).

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One of my most favorite quotes from Wuthering Heights:

"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."