By some Dexterous Deference to The Spirit of the Age Woolf’s Staging of Othello Beheld Through Early Twentieth Century Racial Anxieties

Abstract

Orlando, Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel, has been skillfully analysedfor a century, with a great focus on its gender representations and fantastical historical narrative. We have chosen to centreour research on a particular moment before the protagonist’s self-imposed exile and gender change, in which he and his lover, Sasha, escape the court’s trappings and wander into a performance of Othello. We argue that the choice of the play is relevant in multiple ways. Firstly, it showcases Woolf’s dedication to referencingthe literary canon and illustrating the protagonist’s immaturerelationship with literature. Secondly, it is important because it specifically engages with nineteenth century literary criticism, Shakespearean criticism and performance, and its connections with white supremacy. Finally, it is pertinent due tothe centrality of public discourse around interracial relationships in the early twentieth century, and how the character of Othello signifies a danger to British decency and the maintenance of heteropatriarchal relationship norms.