'Vita & Virginia' Movie Directed by Chanya Button and Related Questions & Answers (Thinking Activity)
ORLANDO : A BIOGRAPHY
VITA & VIRGINIA
'As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.'
Preface : The blog is a response to the thinking activity given by Vaidehi Hariyani madam - our professor at Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University - Bhavnagar. In this blog I am going to deal with a few questions and would attempt to answer them all at the best of my ken regarding 'Orlando : A Biography' novel written by Virginia Woolf, published on 11th October, 1928.
'Orlando : A Biography' by Virginia Woolf :
Orlando, Virginia Woolf's sixth major novel, written and published in 1928 is a fantastic historical biography, which spans almost 400 years in the lifetime of its protagonist. The novel was conceived as a "writer's holiday" from more structured and demanding novels. Woolf allowed neither time nor gender to constrain her writing. The protagonist, Orlando, ages only thirty-six years and changes gender from man to woman. This pseudo-biography satirizes more traditional Victorian biographies that emphasize facts and truth in their subjects' lives. Although Orlando may have been intended to be a satire or a holiday, it touches on important issues of gender, self-knowledge, and truth with Virginia Woolf's signature poetic style.
Orlando was written at the height of Woolf's career. It was an extremely popular book when it was published. In the first six months after publication it sold over eight thousand copies, whereas To the Lighthouse sold less than half that amount. Woolf's income from book sales nearly tripled with the publication of Orlando.
Vita & Virginia by Chanya Button :
Vita & Virginia is a 2018 biographical romantic drama film directed by Chanya Button. The screenplay, written by Button and Eileen Atkins, is adapted from the 1992 play Vita & Virginia by Atkins. The film stars Gemma Arterton, Elizabeth Debicki, and Isabella Rossellini. Set in the 1920s, Vita & Virginia tells the story of the love affair between Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf.
The film had its world premiere as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2018. It was released in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2019, and in the United States on 23 August 2019.
(Source : Wikipedia)
Q&A :
(1) How far do you feel that Orlando is influenced by Vita and Virginia’s love affair? Does it talk only about that or do you find anything else too?
Ans. : At the most I can say that yes, the novel 'Orlando : A Biography' is influenced by Vita and Virginia's love affair. My supportive arguments are here to endorse the statement :
• Virginia Woolf inscribes the photo of Vita Sackville on the initial page of the novel publication.
• Vita and Virginia are said to have shared bed which can be considered as one aspect of their fondness towards each other. Perhaps to show this relationship in her novel, Woolf might have altered Orlando's gender to give voice to the homosexual and its acceptance in then England society; esotericism plays pivotal role in her doing so.
• Another thing is that Virginia seems to be giving voice to the feminie spirit in literary circles of English Literature. When Orlando turns into woman, he (she) does not get appreciated by the critics for his poem 'The Oak Tree' which he had been writing when he yet was a male, moreover he (she) gets criticized for being a female and writer in addition.
(2) Who do you think is confused about their identity Vita or Virginia? Explain with illustrations.
Ans. : First of all, lwt us have the understanding of what the term 'Gender Identity' signifies. :
• Cambridge Dictionary : 'a person's feeling of having a particular gender'
• Merriem Webster Dictionary : 'a person's internal sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female'
Now, moving ahead to the question, we can say that Vita seems to be having gender identity issues; for the sake of illustration, she is imposed with the female identity by her mother who represents the then social mores of being a female what should be in her and what should not be, this perplexes Vita, for she feels herself in both the way - male and female. She wants to be with her husband and simultaneously with Woolf which reveals the fact that she is either not clear about her gender identity or she wants to be both which was against the code of social protocol of early twentieth century England.
This question can further be illustrated with the fact that Vita struggles to mark a place as an authority when her husband (in movie) tries to cajole her to pay a visit to a party he is invited in, but Vita rejects and storms off but eventually comes around to her husband's request and goes to the party; here in the party hall she - even for a single moment - does not look at any man and adds that if anybody tries to kiss her hand (particularly men), then he will get his face slaped by her. So, this shows that even though being a woman, she possesses masculine quality and traits which seem to lead her into bed relationship with Woolf and later on with numberless women throughout her lifetime.
(3)What is society’s thought about women and identity? Do you agree with them? If Yes then why? If no then why?
Ans. : Let us have brief overview of women's condition in different societies across the glob keeping modern statistical evidence in mind :
The Women's Reservation Bill or The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 9 th March, 2010, is a pending bill in the Parliament of India which proposes to amend the Constitution of India to reserve 1/3rd of all seats in the Lower house of Parliament of India, the Lok Sabha, and in all state legislative assemblies for women. The seats were proposed to be reserved in rotation and would have been determined by draw of lots in such a way that a seat would be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections.
The Rajya Sabha passed the bill on 9 March 2010.[1] However, the Lok Sabha never voted on the bill. The bill Lapsed since it was still pending in Lok Sabha and the Lok Sabha expired in 2014. (Source : Wikipedia)
The status of women in the Victorian era was often seen as an illustration of the striking discrepancy between the United Kingdom's national power and wealth and what many, then and now, consider its appalling social conditions. During the era symbolized by the reign of a female monarch, Queen Victoria, women did not have the right to vote, sue, or – if married – own property. At the same time, women participated in the paid workforce in increasing numbers following the Industrial Revolution. Feminist ideas spread among the educated middle classes, discriminatory laws were repealed, and the women's suffrage movement gained momentum in the last years of the Victorian era. (Source : Wikipedia)
Coming down to the crux of the question as what society's thought about women and identity is, the answer I would want to give, especially in context of 'modern India' would be : women have been constant subject to injustice and being more vitriolic, the tool to look after family, to produce the 'progeny' in order to perpatuate 'patriarchal heirarchy,' to please the men's sensual desires, and 'Devi' like figure who cannot overthrow their moral threshold (a powerful tool devised by patriarchy to control feminine spirit and restrain their individual identity) and freedom - all in general.
Another tool to do so is to held the feminine identity regulated by the sceptors of masulinity is to regard them as 'Aadarsha Naaree' (or an 'Ideal Woman.') If women get raped by males in India, they are treated and seen with mean and wile eyes by the society, whereas on the other hand males are pardoned by 'the elders' for being merely 'men.'
(4) What are your views on Gender Identity? Will you like to give any message to society?
Ans. : I would opine when it comes to gender identity that it is an individual aspect of one's life that should never be bugled on the street but if it has to be done then there is a problem of acceptance in various orthodox soicial institution. Gender identity is not solid in individuals as we have an example of Vita Sackville and virginia Woolf, for the very fact science has proven is that In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Twenty-two of these pairs, called autosomes, look the same in both males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, differ between males and females. Females have two copies of the X chromosome, while males have one X and one Y chromosome. So, keeping this fact in centre, we cannot deny that apart from some physical features needed for survival and reproduction, all the humans are same on emotional, physical, and mental level. If one wants to have multiple relationship of any kind, be it mental or physical, others must not nose in what they are doing, for it is their business that what to do or what not to with their body.
Another drawback of orthodox social institutions is that they have solidified the gender identity in males and females. The notion that being women or a girl, one is supposed to cherish only feminine quality even if the masculinity is bursting within oneself, whereas on the other hand, males are considered derogatory or 'effeminate' if they cry or have emotional outbursts on some points in life, which is outrageous. So, I would like to have a word of advice to the society which believes in such horrible series of accepted, and solidified belief system that we all must mind our own business keeping our butts aside out of others' as long as it has nothing to do with our own life.
In India, it was an act of marvel that judiciary commended homosexuality.
Homosexuality in India has been a subject of discussion from ancient times to modern times. Hindu texts have taken various positions regarding homosexual characters and themes. Rigveda, one of the four Vedas, the principal sacred texts of Hinduism, says Vikriti Evam Prakriti (meaning what seems unnatural is also natural), which some scholars believe recognises homosexual dimensions of human life, like all forms of universal diversities. The ancient Indian text Kamasutra written by Vātsyāyana dedicates a complete chapter on erotic homosexual behaviour. Historical literary evidence indicates that homosexuality has been prevalent across the Indian subcontinent throughout history, and that homosexuals were not necessarily considered inferior in any way until about 18th century during British colonial rule. However, under the Islamic law of Fatawa 'Alamgiri during the Mughal Empire, male homosexual intercourse was punishable by flogging or stoning for a Muslim. On 6 September 2018, a 5-judge constitutional bench of Supreme Court of India invalidated part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, hence making homosexuality legal in India. In striking down the colonial-era law that m67yade gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, one judge said the landmark decision would "pave the way for a better future." This ruling also applied to Jammu and Kashmir state under Article 141 of the Constitution of India and Delhi Agreement 1952, as section 377 of IPC and Ranbir Penal Code is prima materia and Judicial Pronouncements were extended to Jammu and Kashmir. (Source : Wikipedia)
(5) Write a note on the direction of the movie. Which symbols and space caught your attention while watching the moive?
Ans. : We have been the part of movie screening of 'Vita & Virgina' which has been directed by Chanya Button. On the 12th January, 2022, our professor Vaidehi Hariyani had arranged a movie-screening of the movie as a part of our syllabus regarding 'Orlando : A Biography' novel written by Virginia Woolf which has more to do with Vita & Virginia's relationship.
While the movie was being screened, I found that initially the voice pf women is given importance which outlines that the movie collects tints of feminism. Another thing that I found interestingly are presented as follow :
• Trance-Dance of Virginia Woolf.
• The 'X' mark on Woolf's writing room.
• The Cinematography of passing hours, days, months, and seasons shown as changing in plants and nature in the movie.
• The paranoia of Woolf is shown in an utter striking manner, e.g., when she feels like greenery growing out from the floor where her husband Leonard sits, ravens attacking on her when she sojourns in a castle with Vita. All these combining form the creativity employed by the team of movie makers.
(6) "Vita and Virginia" had to be made into Bollywood adaptation, who do you think would be fit for the role of Vita and Virginia?
Ans. In the movie, Elizabeth Debicki plays Viriginia Woolf and Gemma Arterton plays Vita Sackville-West. If 'Vita & Virginia' were to be made into Bollywood adapataion, perhaps Alia Bhatt would be fit for Virgini Woolf's role and Deepika Padukone for Vita Sackville-West's role :
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