The Performance of Gender : Wilde’s Aestheticism and Woolf’s Modernism

Abstract

This research paper examines the concept of gender as performance in the works of Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf, two writers situated in distinct yet interconnected literary traditions. Drawing upon Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, the research paper explores how Wilde, through the aesthetics of theatricality and artifice, destabilizes the rigid moral and gender codes of the Victorian era, while Woolf, through modernist experimentation, interrogates and transcends binary constructions of identity.

Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy–manifested in works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest–emphasizes the artificiality of social roles, exposing gender as a construct performed under cultural and aesthetic pressures. His flamboyant persona and trials further highlight the performative dimension of sexuality and identity in the fin-de-siècle period. In contrast, Virginia Woolf, through novels such as Orlando, To the Lighthouse, and the seminal essay A Room of One’s Own, articulates a vision of gender fluidity, intellectual freedom, and psychological interiority. Her narrative techniques–particularly stream of consciousness and the notion of androgyny–offer a radical critique of patriarchal structures while envisioning more inclusive models of identity.

The comparative analysis of Wilde’s aestheticism and Woolf’s modernism reveals both convergence and divergence. While Wilde externalizes performance through wit, satire, and flamboyance, Woolf internalizes it by exploring consciousness, multiplicity, and fluid subjectivity. Together, they provide a literary foundation for contemporary debates in feminist and queer theory, demonstrating literature’s role in challenging normative identities and expanding cultural understandings of selfhood.