Orlando Time Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Nothing could be seen whole or read from start to finish. What was seen begun--like two friends starting to meet each other across the street--was never seen ended. After twenty minutes the body and mind were like scraps of torn paper tumbling from a sack and, indeed, the process of motoring fast out of London so much resembles the chopping up small of identity which precedes unconsciousness and perhaps death itself that it is an open question in what sense Orlando can be said to have existed at the present moment. (10.69)

While driving quickly out of London, Orlando sees life like a rapid-fire camera capturing brief moments.

Quote #8

Braced and strung up by the present moment she was also strangely afraid, as if whenever the gulf of time gaped and let a second through some unknown danger might come with it. The tension was too relentless and too rigorous to be endured long without discomfort. She walked more briskly than she liked, as if her legs were moved for her, through the garden and out into the park. (6.82)

It is incredibly difficult for Orlando to remain in the present moment as she is constantly reminded of the past.