Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Examining what Woolf calls the “androgynous mind” in her fictional narrative A Room of One’s Own, I will analyze the function of bisexuality in portraying androgyny in Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway. I will address how Woolf’s exploration of sexual orientation in the characters of Septimus Smith and Clarissa Dalloway illustrates the value of the androgynous mind and its capacity to overcome patriarchal, masculine modes of writing. Furthermore, I will discuss the work of French feminist Hélène Cixous and the theory of écriture féminine in relation to Woolf’s own writing. Drawing on Cixous’ “The Laugh of the Medusa,” I will demonstrate how Woolf’s own concept of androgynous writing both upholds and complicates the ultimatum of Cixous’ essay, one which challenges women to write from the experience of their bodies. Addressing the sexual orientation of Woolf’s Septimus and Clarissa through the sexual spectrum of experience within the body, I will ultimately evaluate the androgynous mode’s indispensability as a tool to overcome phallocentric language and its capacity to transcend oppressive definitions of bodily experience, sexuality, and identity.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Brandie Siegfried
The Sexual Spectrum of the Androgynous Mind in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway
Examining what Woolf calls the “androgynous mind” in her fictional narrative A Room of One’s Own, I will analyze the function of bisexuality in portraying androgyny in Woolf’s novel, Mrs. Dalloway. I will address how Woolf’s exploration of sexual orientation in the characters of Septimus Smith and Clarissa Dalloway illustrates the value of the androgynous mind and its capacity to overcome patriarchal, masculine modes of writing. Furthermore, I will discuss the work of French feminist Hélène Cixous and the theory of écriture féminine in relation to Woolf’s own writing. Drawing on Cixous’ “The Laugh of the Medusa,” I will demonstrate how Woolf’s own concept of androgynous writing both upholds and complicates the ultimatum of Cixous’ essay, one which challenges women to write from the experience of their bodies. Addressing the sexual orientation of Woolf’s Septimus and Clarissa through the sexual spectrum of experience within the body, I will ultimately evaluate the androgynous mode’s indispensability as a tool to overcome phallocentric language and its capacity to transcend oppressive definitions of bodily experience, sexuality, and identity.