Patriarchy Heterosexuality

In Adrienne Rich’s Theory of compulsory heterosexuality, she discusses the erasure of lesbian existence in feminist literature as well as in society in general and heterosexuality as a political institution. Rich examines the relationship between compulsory heterosexuality and the patriarchy. The novel Orlando also explores topics concerning the patriarchy and gender. Although the novel does a good job of dismantling gender and gender roles, it does relate to compulsory heterosexuality as it is defined in Rich’s theory throughout the course of its plot.

Despite the lack of acknowledgement of the main character Orlando’s sexuality throughout the novel and their change in biological sex, the presence of compulsory heterosexuality in the novel is striking when it is examined. For example, before Orlando’s transformation when they were referred to as a man, Orlando was described as having romantic relations with only men. The passage that first described Sasha as “a figure which… the loose tunic and trousers of the Russian fashion served to disguise the sex”, and refers to her as “the person” but the moment that Sasha is described as seductive and attractive to Orlando, he assumes her to be a woman(Orlando, 37). Sasha also does turn out to be a woman, which

However, the narrator did not mention her newfound interest in men until she began to return to England, where gender roles were more strictly enforced than with the gypsies with whom she had spent her previous years as a woman. When she began to travel to England, and during her time in England after her transformation, Orlando began to change her behavior based on how she was supposed to act as a woman. This suggests that perhaps she was making a “the retreat into sameness-assimilation” mentioned in Rich’s theory in order to ensure her safety and status in this