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Grace Robinson
A London socialite whose reception room is “the antechamber to the presence room of genius.” Only the greatest writers and intellectuals of the 18th century gather at Lady R.’s, and Orlando is ecstatic when she receives an invite to attend one such gathering. Lady R. is described as “the modern Sibyl,” which is a reference to Sibyl Sophie Colefax (1874-1950), a real-life London socialite whom Woolf mentions in the preface of the novel. The novel refers to Lady R. like a prophetic figure, only she doesn’t speak truth as expected. The genius of Lady R.’s reception room is but an “illusion,” and Orlando is disappointed when not a single witty word is uttered there. Lady R.’s “illusion” of truth underscores truth’s subjectivity, and even implies that truth is nonexistent; however, the absence of wit at Lady R.’s also implies that writers and poets are simply ordinary people, whose wit is found mainly in their published works. Otherwise, the intellectual elite are normal people who speak of banalities, like the weather and their gout.
Lady R. Quotes in Orlando
The Orlando quotes below are all either spoken by Lady R. or refer to Lady R.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
Then the little gentleman said,
He said next,
He said finally,*
Here, it cannot be denied, was true wit, true wisdom, true profundity. The company was thrown into complete dismay. One such saying was bad enough; but three, one after another, on the same evening! No society could survive it.
“Mr. Pope,” said old Lady R. in a voice trembling with sarcastic fury, “you are pleased to be witty.” Mr. Pope flushed red. Nobody spoke a word. They sat in dead silence some twenty minutes. Then, one by one, they rose and slunk from the room.
[…]
*These sayings are too well known to require repetition, and besides, they are all to be found in his published works.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lady R. Quotes in Orlando
The Orlando quotes below are all either spoken by Lady R. or refer to Lady R.. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
Then the little gentleman said,
He said next,
He said finally,*
Here, it cannot be denied, was true wit, true wisdom, true profundity. The company was thrown into complete dismay. One such saying was bad enough; but three, one after another, on the same evening! No society could survive it.
“Mr. Pope,” said old Lady R. in a voice trembling with sarcastic fury, “you are pleased to be witty.” Mr. Pope flushed red. Nobody spoke a word. They sat in dead silence some twenty minutes. Then, one by one, they rose and slunk from the room.
[…]
*These sayings are too well known to require repetition, and besides, they are all to be found in his published works.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
