The Ambiguity of Gender in Virginia Woolf's "Orlando"

“A fine gentleman like that, they said, had no need of books. Let him leave books, they said, to the palsied or the dying. But worse was to come. For once the disease of reading has laid upon the system it weakens it so that it falls an easy prey to that other scourge which dwells in the inkpot and festers in the quill. The wretch takes to writing”. Thus thought Mrs. Grimsditch, a housekeeper in Virginia Woolf’s sixth novel “Orlando”. Being a woman of the Elizabethan era, she quite obviously was ignorant to the advantages of education. The English Renaissance however, saw a marked increase in the numbers of women writers. While few works are known to have been published by women in England before 1500, over one hundred works were composed or translated by Englishwomen between 1500 and 1640. Though this is an impressive increase, it was, of course, a mere fraction of the thousands written by men. During Shakespeare's time, changing social, economic, political, technological and religious factors affected literacy and the practice of writing for both men and women. The advancement of capitalism segregated the private and public spheres of work and home, causing a gendered division of labour in which men left the household to make money, while women stayed home to manage the domestic affairs. This rise of professionalism was part of the humanist movement which emphasized the potential, freedom and dignity of "Man." The Elizabethan era brought the Renaissance to England. Elizabethan women from wealthy and noble families were sometimes allowed the privilege of an education. But the above privileges that were provided to women are not to be misinterpreted as being for their upliftment in society. They served a rather opposite purpose. An Elizabethan woman would have to learn the intricacies of governing a household, and becoming skilled in all housewifely duties. Her polished personality would be an added advantage to her husband’s status and good name. Her education