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Definition of Hyperbole
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations intended to emphasize a point... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements are usually quite obvious exaggerations... read full definition
Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which a writer or speaker exaggerates for the sake of emphasis. Hyperbolic statements... read full definition
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Women Without Desires:
In Chapter 4 of Orlando, as Orlando becomes immersed in late-18th century English society, she also discovers entrenched sexism in nearly every part of life. When she meets Nell, who quickly becomes a close and platonic female friend, Orlando feels excited at the prospect of a female-centric relationship. However, Woolf's narrator quickly interrupts Orlando's happiness with a hyperbole on the nature of men, thus demonstrating how both literature and society often prioritize men's voices over the voices of their female counterparts:
All they desire is—but hist again—is that not a man's step on the stair? All they desire, we were about to say when the gentleman took the very words from out of our mouths. Women have no desires, says this gentleman, coming into Nell’s parlour; only affectations. Without desires [...] their conversation cannot be of the slightest to anyone. “It is well known,” says Mr. S. W., “that when they lack the stimulus of the other sex, women can find nothing to say to each other. When they are alone, they do not talk; they scratch.”
Here, Mr. S.W. uses hyperbole to espouse his theory regarding women and their dependence on men. Of course, the female sex does not literally scratch at one another when left with "nothing to say to each other," but Woolf uses this hyperbolic image to illustrate age-old and quite misogynistic beliefs about women. Because men have the privilege to center themselves in society—and have always had this privilege—it is unfeasible for Mr. S.W. to even imagine women enjoying each other's company without the thought or presence of a man. Woolf's use of hyperbole is intentional, playful, and humorous, as she literally interrupts the narrative of Orlando to demonstrate the male tendency to interrupt.
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Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—"You're a Woman!":
When Orlando meets Shel in Chapter Five of Orlando, Woolf utilizes hyperbole to demonstrate the importance of their unorthodox attitudes towards sex and gender:
“You’re a woman, Shel!” she cried. “You’re a man, Orlando!” he cried. Never was there such a scene of protestation and demonstration as then took place since the world began.
The claim that Orlando and Shel's exclamations cause the largest scene of "protest and demonstration [...] since the world began" is a hyperbolic exaggeration from Woolf. However, the humor of excessive statements in this passage underscores a key point that Woolf makes throughout Orlando: the most important qualities within people—especially within those who pursue relationships with others—are not social status, wealth, or even traditional markers of gender and sexuality. Orlando feels attracted to Shel because he exhibits traditionally feminine characteristics despite inhabiting a male body, whereas Shel feels the exact opposite about Orlando.
Unconcerned with what society determines masculine or feminine, Shel and Orlando embrace each other and their abilities to vacillate between sexes. Woolf's hyperbole is perhaps sarcastic in nature—because she likely believes that queer attraction should not be "news" to the world. However, knowing her audience and her time period, Woolf still playfully establishes the assumption that Shel and Orlando's epiphanies cause an immense scene of protestation.
Related Themes:
