This thesis explores Woolf's concept of androgyny through a comparison of her nonfiction essay A Room of One's Own and her fiction-fantasy novel Orlando. Recent and past critical writings on Woolf and androgyny have been consulted, as well as primary sources including her works, private letters, and diaries. Woolf's concept of androgyny embodies a fundamental dilemma. In A Room of One's Own, Woolf calls for spiritual and mental androgyny while avidly supporting physical, social, and cultural differences between men and women. In Orlando, Woolf creates a character who is unable to reach mental androgyny because of social conditioning of gender and sex roles. The dilemma lies in Woolf's embrace of stereotypical ideas that distinguish men and women, while in the end, such differences inhibit the mental and spiritual androgyny she exalts. The findings shed new light on Woolf and the controversy of her \"androgynous vision\" by exposing the fundamental dilemma.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis explores Woolf's concept of androgyny through a comparison of her nonfiction essay <em>A Room of One's Own</em> and her fiction-fantasy novel <em>Orlando</em>. Recent and past critical writings on Woolf and androgyny have been consulted, as well as primary sources including her works, private letters, and diaries. Woolf's concept of androgyny embodies a fundamental dilemma. In <em>A Room of One's Own</em>, Woolf calls for spiritual and mental androgyny while avidly supporting physical, social, and cultural differences between men and women. In <em>Orlando</em>, Woolf creates a character who is unable to reach mental androgyny because of social conditioning of gender and sex roles. The dilemma lies in Woolf's embrace of stereotypical ideas that distinguish men and women, while in the end, such differences inhibit the mental and spiritual androgyny she exalts. The findings shed new light on Woolf and the controversy of her "androgynous vision" by exposing the fundamental dilemma.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Holman, Crystal Gail"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - restricted","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2001,"date_issued":"2001-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2001-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:18:50Z","subjects":["A Room of One's Own","gender","androgyny","Orlando","Virginia Woolf","Arts and Humanities","Classics","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/106","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Holman, Crystal Gail"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1900-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2001-08-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["A Room of One's Own","gender","androgyny","Orlando","Virginia Woolf","Arts and Humanities","Classics","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1156/viewcontent/holman0731.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/106"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis explores Woolf's concept of androgyny through a comparison of her nonfiction essay A Room of One's Own and her fiction-fantasy novel Orlando. Recent and past critical writings on Woolf and androgyny have been consulted, as well as primary sources including her works, private letters, and diaries. Woolf's concept of androgyny embodies a fundamental dilemma. In A Room of One's Own, Woolf calls for spiritual and mental androgyny while avidly supporting physical, social, and cultural differences between men and women. In Orlando, Woolf creates a character who is unable to reach mental androgyny because of social conditioning of gender and sex roles. The dilemma lies in Woolf's embrace of stereotypical ideas that distinguish men and women, while in the end, such differences inhibit the mental and spiritual androgyny she exalts. The findings shed new light on Woolf and the controversy of her \"androgynous vision\" by exposing the fundamental dilemma.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Dilemma of Woolf's Androgyny: A Close Look at Androgyny in A Room of One's Own and Orlando."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Holman, Crystal Gail"],"dc:date.available":["1900-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2001-08-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis explores Woolf's concept of androgyny through a comparison of her nonfiction essay A Room of One's Own and her fiction-fantasy novel Orlando. Recent and past critical writings on Woolf and androgyny have been consulted, as well as primary sources including her works, private letters, and diaries. Woolf's concept of androgyny embodies a fundamental dilemma. In A Room of One's Own, Woolf calls for spiritual and mental androgyny while avidly supporting physical, social, and cultural differences between men and women. In Orlando, Woolf creates a character who is unable to reach mental androgyny because of social conditioning of gender and sex roles. The dilemma lies in Woolf's embrace of stereotypical ideas that distinguish men and women, while in the end, such differences inhibit the mental and spiritual androgyny she exalts. The findings shed new light on Woolf and the controversy of her \"androgynous vision\" by exposing the fundamental dilemma.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/1156/viewcontent/holman0731.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/106"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["A Room of One's Own","gender","androgyny","Orlando","Virginia Woolf","Arts and Humanities","Classics","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["The Dilemma of Woolf's Androgyny: A Close Look at Androgyny in A Room of One's Own and Orlando."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:18:50Z"}