The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of <i>A Room of One’s Own</i>

Juan Wang; Minqin Wang

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own

Juan Wang, Minqin Wang

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 6)

Received: 17 July 2023 Accepted: 7 August 2023 Published: 26 December 2023

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Abstract

This paper makes an in-depth study of the formation of Woolf’s androgynous view, pointing out that its formation not only depends on the western background, but also is greatly influenced by Buddhism. Firstly, the connotations of Woolf’s androgynous view are summarized into three aspects: desexual connotation embedded in the “One”, dynamic trait represented by the “taxi” image, and psychological tendency embodied in androgynous writing. Then the western background resources for Woolf’s androgyny, feminism and psychoanalysis, are specifically analyzed. Finally, the logic of Buddhist androgyny affecting Woolf’s androgyny is illustrated: this paper defines Buddhist androgyny as a spiritual state dependent on sexual conversion, gender combination and desexualization, which is both the path of enlightenment and the fruit of enlightenment. Woolf’s androgyny works in the same way with Buddhist androgyny. Although Woolf herself had no direct connection with Buddhism, she was inevitably influenced by the widespread interest in it in her Bloomsbury circle, her husband’s strong support for it and her cousin’s eastward trip to Asia. The influence of Buddhism on the words and images in Woolf’s writing is also confirmed in her works, such as A Room of One’s Own. The three connotations of Woolf’s androgyny can be proved to be related to the influence of Buddhist androgyny.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 11, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13
Page(s)	244-252
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Androgyny, Buddhism

References

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[2]	Jian Pan. (2008). Virginia Woolf’s Concept of Androgyny and its Writing. Journal of Hunan University (Society Sciences) (2). pp. 97. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1008-1763.2008.02.017.
[3]	Woolf, V. (2001). Collected Essays of Woolf I-IV. Xuejun Zhang trans. China Social Science Press, pp. 195, 584, 288.
[4]	Goldman, J. (2006). The Cambridge Introduction to Virginia Woolf. Cambridge University Press, pp. 102.
[5]	Farwell, M. R. (1975). Virginia Woolf and Androgyny. Contemporary Literature (16), pp. 451. doi: 10.2307/1207610. 451.
[6]	Sriratana, V. (2011). “Carrying consciousness like a feather on the top, marking the direction, not controlling it”: Virginia Woolf and Buddhist consciousness. In Daniel Meyer-Dinkgrafe (ed.). Consciousness, Theatre, Literature and the Arts 2011. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 88-97.
[7]	Rado, L. (1997). Would the Real Virginia Woolf Please Stand up? Feminist Criticism, the androgyny debates, and Orlando. Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (26), pp. 147-169. doi: 10.1080/00497878.1997.9979158.
[8]	Woolf, V. (1977). A Room of One’s Own. Grafton, pp. 106, 7, 8, 30, 63, 80.
[9]	Pawlowski, M. M. (2001). Virginia Woolf and Fascism: Resisting the Dictators’ Seduction. PALGRAVE, pp. 56.
[10]	Minqin Wang. (2023). Inner Alchemy as the Chinese Ancient Psychology—— What Lies behind Carl Jung’s Misreading of Richard Wilhelm’s Anima and Animus. Religious Psychology, Henghao Liang ed. Religious Culture Press, pp. 3-24.
[11]	Wilhelm, R. The Secret of the Golden Flower. Cary F. Baynes trans. HBJ, pp. 117-118.
[12]	Zuyan Zhou. (2003). Androgyny in Late Ming and Early Qing Literature. University of Hawaii Press, pp. 8, 11.
[13]	Burton-Rose, D. (2012). Gendered Androgyny: Transcendent Ideals and Profane Realities in Buddhism, Classicism, and Daoism. In Transgender China, Howard Chiang and Palgrave Macmillan ed., pp. 69, 75.
[14]	Sirimanne, C. R. (2016). Buddhism and Women- The Dhamma Has No Gender. Journal of International Women’s Studies (18), pp. 275-276.
[15]	Kohn, R. E. (2010). Buddhism in Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts. Notes and Queries (57), pp. 233, 234. doi: 10.1093/notesj/gjq031.
[16]	Streufert, M. J. (1998). Measures of Reality: The Religious Life of Virginia Woolf. Oregon State University, PhD dissertation, pp. 28.
[17]	Laurence, P. O. (1991). The Reading of Silence: Virginia Woolf in the English Tradition. Stanford University Press, pp. 53.
[18]	Brazier, D. (2016). A Certain Kind of Mindful Man. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies (15), pp. 213-220. doi: 10.1080/14779757.2016.1180635.
[19]	Samson, A. (2014). Culture, Religion and Cognition: Buddhism and Holistic Versus Analytic Thought. ProQuest LLC, PhD dissertation, pp. 157.

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Wang, J., Wang, M. (2023). The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(6), 244-252. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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Wang, J.; Wang, M. The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(6), 244-252. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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Wang J, Wang M. The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(6):244-252. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13,
  author = {Juan Wang and Minqin Wang},
  title = {The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {11},
  number = {6},
  pages = {244-252},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231106.13},
  abstract = {This paper makes an in-depth study of the formation of Woolf’s androgynous view, pointing out that its formation not only depends on the western background, but also is greatly influenced by Buddhism. Firstly, the connotations of Woolf’s androgynous view are summarized into three aspects: desexual connotation embedded in the “One”, dynamic trait represented by the “taxi” image, and psychological tendency embodied in androgynous writing. Then the western background resources for Woolf’s androgyny, feminism and psychoanalysis, are specifically analyzed. Finally, the logic of Buddhist androgyny affecting Woolf’s androgyny is illustrated: this paper defines Buddhist androgyny as a spiritual state dependent on sexual conversion, gender combination and desexualization, which is both the path of enlightenment and the fruit of enlightenment. Woolf’s androgyny works in the same way with Buddhist androgyny. Although Woolf herself had no direct connection with Buddhism, she was inevitably influenced by the widespread interest in it in her Bloomsbury circle, her husband’s strong support for it and her cousin’s eastward trip to Asia. The influence of Buddhism on the words and images in Woolf’s writing is also confirmed in her works, such as A Room of One’s Own. The three connotations of Woolf’s androgyny can be proved to be related to the influence of Buddhist androgyny.
},
 year = {2023}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own
AU  - Juan Wang
AU  - Minqin Wang
Y1  - 2023/12/26
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 244
EP  - 252
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
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AB  - This paper makes an in-depth study of the formation of Woolf’s androgynous view, pointing out that its formation not only depends on the western background, but also is greatly influenced by Buddhism. Firstly, the connotations of Woolf’s androgynous view are summarized into three aspects: desexual connotation embedded in the “One”, dynamic trait represented by the “taxi” image, and psychological tendency embodied in androgynous writing. Then the western background resources for Woolf’s androgyny, feminism and psychoanalysis, are specifically analyzed. Finally, the logic of Buddhist androgyny affecting Woolf’s androgyny is illustrated: this paper defines Buddhist androgyny as a spiritual state dependent on sexual conversion, gender combination and desexualization, which is both the path of enlightenment and the fruit of enlightenment. Woolf’s androgyny works in the same way with Buddhist androgyny. Although Woolf herself had no direct connection with Buddhism, she was inevitably influenced by the widespread interest in it in her Bloomsbury circle, her husband’s strong support for it and her cousin’s eastward trip to Asia. The influence of Buddhism on the words and images in Woolf’s writing is also confirmed in her works, such as A Room of One’s Own. The three connotations of Woolf’s androgyny can be proved to be related to the influence of Buddhist androgyny.

VL  - 11
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Juan Wang

School of Arts and Humanities, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China

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Minqin Wang

School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China

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APA Style

Wang, J., Wang, M. (2023). The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 11(6), 244-252. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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ACS Style

Wang, J.; Wang, M. The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2023, 11(6), 244-252. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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AMA Style

Wang J, Wang M. The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own. Int J Lit Arts. 2023;11(6):244-252. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13,
  author = {Juan Wang and Minqin Wang},
  title = {The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {11},
  number = {6},
  pages = {244-252},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20231106.13},
  abstract = {This paper makes an in-depth study of the formation of Woolf’s androgynous view, pointing out that its formation not only depends on the western background, but also is greatly influenced by Buddhism. Firstly, the connotations of Woolf’s androgynous view are summarized into three aspects: desexual connotation embedded in the “One”, dynamic trait represented by the “taxi” image, and psychological tendency embodied in androgynous writing. Then the western background resources for Woolf’s androgyny, feminism and psychoanalysis, are specifically analyzed. Finally, the logic of Buddhist androgyny affecting Woolf’s androgyny is illustrated: this paper defines Buddhist androgyny as a spiritual state dependent on sexual conversion, gender combination and desexualization, which is both the path of enlightenment and the fruit of enlightenment. Woolf’s androgyny works in the same way with Buddhist androgyny. Although Woolf herself had no direct connection with Buddhism, she was inevitably influenced by the widespread interest in it in her Bloomsbury circle, her husband’s strong support for it and her cousin’s eastward trip to Asia. The influence of Buddhism on the words and images in Woolf’s writing is also confirmed in her works, such as A Room of One’s Own. The three connotations of Woolf’s androgyny can be proved to be related to the influence of Buddhist androgyny.
},
 year = {2023}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Influence of Buddhist Androgyny on Woolf’s Androgyny -- A New Exploration of A Room of One’s Own
AU  - Juan Wang
AU  - Minqin Wang
Y1  - 2023/12/26
PY  - 2023
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 244
EP  - 252
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20231106.13
AB  - This paper makes an in-depth study of the formation of Woolf’s androgynous view, pointing out that its formation not only depends on the western background, but also is greatly influenced by Buddhism. Firstly, the connotations of Woolf’s androgynous view are summarized into three aspects: desexual connotation embedded in the “One”, dynamic trait represented by the “taxi” image, and psychological tendency embodied in androgynous writing. Then the western background resources for Woolf’s androgyny, feminism and psychoanalysis, are specifically analyzed. Finally, the logic of Buddhist androgyny affecting Woolf’s androgyny is illustrated: this paper defines Buddhist androgyny as a spiritual state dependent on sexual conversion, gender combination and desexualization, which is both the path of enlightenment and the fruit of enlightenment. Woolf’s androgyny works in the same way with Buddhist androgyny. Although Woolf herself had no direct connection with Buddhism, she was inevitably influenced by the widespread interest in it in her Bloomsbury circle, her husband’s strong support for it and her cousin’s eastward trip to Asia. The influence of Buddhism on the words and images in Woolf’s writing is also confirmed in her works, such as A Room of One’s Own. The three connotations of Woolf’s androgyny can be proved to be related to the influence of Buddhist androgyny.

VL  - 11
IS  - 6
ER  -

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