Introduction
The theme of clothing and its impact on people has been depicted in various novels, articles, and other publications. Clothes seem to have a significant effect on how people are perceived and even what roles they should act. The mentioned topic was raised in two notable literary works – Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders. Despite the fact that these books were written in different centuries, they contain a number of common points. Below, the theme of clothes and costumes and their impact in the mentioned novels – through the lens of these book’s essentials – will be discussed.
Orlando Summary
Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando is one of those literary works that could not be fully appreciated in its day because it seems to have been written for future generations. Gender issues discussed in the novel were not addressed at the time of publication. Today the topic of self-identification is one of the hottest. In the story, Wolfe reflects on women’s nervousness, male dominance, and the relationship between both sexes.
Orlando, the main character in the novel by Virginia Woolf, lives from the mid-16th century to the mid-20th century, mainly in England, although he has lived in Turkey for some time. Although Orlando is born a man, he becomes a woman by the will of providence. This allows the character to understand society from a male and female point of view. Even as a noble, independent, Orlando admits to the fact that she has to obey the opinion of the majority, that she must get married in order to have a calm and stable life. Orlando’s unique experience in different guises and centuries allows her to clearly see the prejudice against women as if they are second-class people.
Moll Flanders Summary
Moll Flanders is a diary novel; in the preface, the writer stated that he allegedly found the diaries of the protagonist and decided to publish them. This technique allowed him to lead a free story about the joys and sorrows of his heroine. The narration is conducted in a calm manner; there are no invented plot moves and skillfully woven composition. Moll Flanders’ imaginary diaries describe her entire life. This is a novel about the moral evolution of a simple woman. In it, Defoe showed what a detrimental effect his contemporary society has on the morality of ordinary people.
The protagonist is the child of a thief; she was brought up with the money of the parish and then was a servant of wealthy people. A modest and naive girl fell into the environment of cynics and predators. She was convinced with her own eyes that in modern society, everything is bought and sold. Throwing away all moral standards and religious precepts, Flanders becomes cold, calculating, and selfish. The pursuit of wealth and pleasure became the goal of her life. All her illusions and naive girlish dreams were dispelled by the harsh reality. Moll has adapted to the society around her; she herself became a predator. Flanders asserted in life with the same weapons that were used against her.
The Role of Clothes in Orlando
In the novel, clothes seem to symbolize the artificiality of gender as a societal institution. Indeed, clothing is constantly used in order to obscure one’s real gender identity, and Woolf aims to show the vacillation between males and females in this regard. The protagonist’s sex is being consciously demonstrated by appealing to fluctuations within the scope of clothes. After Orlando’s transformation from a male into a female, the narration carefully makes an emphasis that there is nothing else in the protagonist’s look that changes to the same extent. In particular, when Orlando tends to wear trousers, he is believed to be a man. On the other hand, when the protagonist dons a dress, she is considered a woman. Hence, given the rationale above, it may be reasonable to say that Orlando’s clothing but not the body defines the protagonist’s gender identity.
Then, the abovementioned facts are relevant to the other characters who are categorized to a particular gender identity founded on what their clothing suggests in this vein. For example, when Orlando meets Sasha for the first time, her masculine clothing makes Orlando think that she is a boy. Moreover, when Archduke Harry decides to put on a dress and disguise himself as a female, Orlando assumes that he is a woman. In the framework given, the narration stresses the popularity of the 16th century’s style of dressing that was significantly feminine even for the males’ fashions. The author seems to claim that all people have both male and female traits, and there is no person that would be completely of one gender or another. Woolf (1928) states, “often it is only the clothes that keep the male or female likeness, while underneath the sex is the very opposite of what it is above” (p. 112). Thus, clothes have a substantial impact on the development of the protagonist’s character and the story as a whole.
The Role of Clothes in Moll Flanders
Clothing may be considered as an instrument that assists Moll in being a wife, beggar, or thief. What is more, clothes are the protagonist’s opportunity to draw people’s attention to her personality as a gentlewoman. In order to become this gentlewoman, she does her best to keep away from the roles that are dictated by the established societal norms. The protagonist does not aspire to serve as many other females. Societal expectations are also an important aspect that makes her break the mentioned norms and rules. The primary thing desired by Moll is wealth, which motivates her to move towards her goals. The most uncomplicated ways that might help her to survive are the ways of a liar and a thief. Hence, she utilizes her charm and false clothing in order to thieve particular costly things and seduce males. The protagonist demonstrates significant abilities to change the clothing as she claims, “everything looked so innocent and so honest about me, that they treated me civiler than I expected” (Defoe, 1722, p. 205). It is visible that for her, it was essential to use all available means to achieve her aims.
The most repeated roles that the protagonist acts during the changes of the clothes are a wealthy woman and a criminal. The former provides Moll with a great degree of benefits, as well as allows her to be among people from the high class. Meanwhile, the second role is a challenge to the social norms, and due to a number of risks, she has to disguise her personality by changing various clothing. If there is a necessity to be dressed as a beggar or a male in order to steal, Moll does it without any hesitations. It should be noted here that it is quite challenging to determine any other specific reasons for Moll to change clothes aside from the ones mentioned above. The features of her origin make the protagonist consider the social order as the dimension for struggling and using people to attain the aims even when the ways to do it are fraudulent.
Comparison of the Theme of Clothing in the Novels
There are some similarities within the scope of the clothes and costumes in Orlando and Moll Flanders. The protagonists of both these novels tend to change their clothing when they want to disguise their identity and act in non-accordance to the established social rules. They are successful in this undertaking and achieve their main aims. Such a state of affairs allows assuming that the authors of the novels are in solidarity with the idea that clothes determine the way in which a person is expected to act and who he or she should be. This is a pressing issue for society as people do not try to look at each other deeper than the veil that is visible initially and apparently. This layer defines how one is treated – starting from functions that he or she executes in the social order and ending with his or her gender identity.
Conclusion
To conclude, the topic of clothes and costumes in the novels Orlando and Moll Flanders was discussed. It was found that clothing plays a crucial role in the narration of these two books. It was also determined that the authors demonstrate a similar vision on the issue of the overabundant influence of clothing in the way people percept each other.
References
Defoe, D. (1722). Moll Flanders. Barnes & Noble Classics.
Woolf, V. (1928). Orlando. Rosetta Bools LLC.