Orlando

Orlando Woolf’s interpretations of the role of marriage as illustrated in Orlando are symbolized by the gold wedding band, which in turn symbolizes eternity, and perhaps Orlando him/herself, who experiences marriage having both male and female traits. Orlando, beginning the novel as a young nobleman and transforming into a female with the movement into the 19th century, finds herself yielding to the structures of society; she begins to feel alone while “everyone is mated except myself” (pg.246). However, again transforming; Orlando feels a tingling over her entire body which centers, at last, on the second finger of her left hand. She becomes acutely aware of gold rings, which surround her everywhere she looks; “It now seemed to her the whole world was ringed with gold” (pg.241). This tingling on Orlando’s finger indicates that something is lacking- something which would not allow her orlando, marriage, ring, society, gold, finger, century, while, transforming, tingling, something, orlando’s, however, female, alone, 19th, young, yielding, yield, world, woolf’s, whole, wedding, values, turn, traits, time, therefore, take, symbolizes, symbolized, symbol, surround, submissively, structures