Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) [Chapter 4, pp. 98-104] is an English poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor, and author of the Dictionary of the English Language (1755). Johnson broke the mold in English dictionary writing, focusing on words of everyday usage, as well as “hard words” that earlier glossaries had concentrated on. He was the first to illustrate words with quotations from great writers like Shakespeare, and he set a standard that influenced all later English language dictionaries, (“Samuel Johnson: Who Was He, and Why Is He so Important to the English Language?”).  Johnson makes an appearance in Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando.

In the novel, at the end of the 18th century, Orlando spends her time trying to uncover the wisdom of the great male wits of the age, Johnson, Boswell, and Williams, but her sex make it impossible to speak freely with them. The speaker describes these three figures as “roman looking shadows” who have had a prominent influence on society and are comfortable with this. “... There was the Roman-looking rolling shadow in the big armchair—he who twisted his fingers so oddly and jerked his head from side to side and swallowed down the tea in such vast gulps. Dr. Johnson, Mr. Boswell, and Mrs. Williams—those were the shadows’ names,” (Orlando 224). This description is added to represent the influence Johnson, Boswell, and Williams have had on English society. However, Orlando takes the time to make fun of star-struck people in love with the image of intellectuals and great writers, just like she was before meeting them, (“Orlando Is the Virginia Woolf Novel We Need Right Now”). In doing so Woolf produces great satiric comedy. Virginia Woolf’s Orlando including Dr. Samuel Johnson as a character reminds the reader how sex makes it difficult for Orlando to speak freely as a woman. 

Sommerlad, Joe. “Samuel Johnson: Who Was He, and Why Is He so Important to the English Language?” The Independent, 18 Sept. 2017, www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/samuel-johnson-google-doodle-who-was-he-dictionary-james-boswell-writer-publisher-wit-a7952616.html.

Scutts, Joanna. “Orlando Is the Virginia Woolf Novel We Need Right Now.” Vulture, 12 Oct. 2018, www.vulture.com/2018/10/why-virginia-woolfs-orlando-feels-essential-righ....