Virginia Woolf's Orlando:
A Biography
Chapter Six
1) Get into groups of two (no more
than two).
2) Translate, unpack, or decipher
some of the difficult moments of the text.
3) Pick one:
-
Proper subjects for biography (the
wasp discussion)
-
Life, Life, Life (270) Kristen Martha
-
Lady R..'s drawing room
-
Nicholas Greene (276) He is important
because he recalls the glory days of yore
Locate her poem and he is going to market
Is he a father? Margo and Shane
-
Ectasy (287) Rebecca and Julene
-
The Serpentine and the toy boat 283
--coded way of talking about pregnancy--water as fertility; serpentine
is phallic symbol; being which is not itself but becomes something else
Anna and Christy
-
The wild goose (migratory) and the
kingfisher (hunter, elusive) Curtis and Michele
-
The image of scraps of paper (307)
-
multitude of selves (308)
she calls out her own name; layers of self, different characters or temperments.Search
for true self Lisa and Joy
-
the man at Twitchet's table (313)
-
200 guineas (315)
-
"Please do not touch" and the gallery
(318-319) Jenet and Betsy
The manor and her former self belongs to the past
Vocabulary:
fritillary: Any of various bulbous
plants of the genus Fritillaria, having nodding, variously colored, often
spotted or checkered flowers.
obeisance:A gesture or movement
of the body, such as a curtsy, that expresses deference or homage.
scullion:A servant employed to
do menial tasks in a kitchen.
landau: A four-wheeled carriage
with front and back passenger seats that face each other and a roof in
two sections that can be lowered or detached.
soilure: 1. Soiling or the condition
of being soiled. 2. A blot, stain, or smudge.
Kew: A district of western Greater
London in southeast England. The famed Royal Botanic Gardens were
established here in 1759 and presented to the nation in 1841.
kingfisher: 1. A kingfisher, especially
one of the genus Halcyon. 2. A fabled bird, identified with the kingfisher,
that was supposed to have had the power to calm the wind and the waves
while it nested on the sea during the winter solstice.
verdigris: 1. A blue
or green powder consisting of basic cupric acetate used as a paint pigment
and fungicide. 2. A green patina or crust of copper sulfate or copper
chloride formed on copper, brass, and bronze exposed to air or seawater
for long periods of time.
prince consort: the husband of
a sovereign queen.
omnibus:A long motor vehicle for
passengers; a bus.
perorate: To conclude a speech
with a formal recapitulation. 2. To speak at great length, often in a grandiloquent
manner; declaim. (peroration, noun)