• ISSN: 2382-6282 (Print); 2972-3108 (Online)
    • Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Lang. Lit. Linguist.
    • Frequency: Bimonthly
    • DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL
    • Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Jason Miin-Hwa Lim
    • Managing Editor:  Jennifer X. Zeng
    • Indexed by:   CNKI, Google Scholar, Crossref,
    • E-mail: ijlll_Editor@126.com
IJLLL 2015 Vol.1(2): 142-147 ISSN: 2382-6282
DOI: 10.7763/IJLLL.2015.V1.28

Virginia Woolf’s Gendered Language

Gönül Bakay

Abstract—According to Julia Kristeva, women feel the separation from mother as a lack. This lack, the anguish of separation from the mother can be best expressed bysilence and repetitions. Kristeva also states that the best period for self-expression for women is the time of the semiotiques stage when the subject is alone with the mother in her womb. Circular form of narration, repetitions and silence constitute the best forms of expression for women. Celebrated novelist Virginia Woolf employs language as a major tool for providing insight intothe identities of characters. However, the characters’ identities are fluid and never fixed, hence language conveys this ambiguity. Drawing on the theories of Julia Kristeva, this paper aims to examine Woolf’s use of language to express especially female feelings, thoughts and sentiments in five of her novels (The Voyage Out, Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse, The Waves and Orlando).

Index Terms—Communication, gender, Julia Kristeva, language, Virginia Woolf.

Gönül Bakay is with Bahçeşehir University, Turkey (e-mail: gonulbakay@gmail.com).

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Cite:Gönül Bakay, "Virginia Woolf’s Gendered Language," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 142-147, 2015.

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