What happens in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando?

In Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel Orlando, the protagonist begins as a 16-year-old nobleman in 1588 who finds favor at the Elizabethan court and writes a poem titled "The Oak Tree." During the reign of Charles II, Orlando is appointed ambassador to Constantinople and is granted a dukedom. Following a mysterious seven-day sleep, Orlando awakens as a woman.

As a woman, Orlando experiences the intellectual society of 18th-century London, eventually seeking relief in the city's bawdy street life. She later marries to gain respectability during the Victorian era. By 1928, she returns to London, reunites with a poet friend named Sir Nicholas Greene, and finally publishes "The Oak Tree." The novel concludes at her country estate, where she reflects on her centuries of adventure.

Throughout the narrative, Woolf uses Orlando’s transformation to parody changing literary styles and explore themes of androgyny, gender constraints, and the creative life of women.12