Nature is a central theme in all of Virginia Woolf's novels. Orlando especially captures a very direct relationship with nature. Nature in the novel becomes its own character. Orlando finds comfort in nature and spends much time by their favorite oak tree. Orlando's poetry book is inspired by that very oak tree. The oak tree grows up with Orlando throughout the novel, a symbol of the passing of time. Nature centers Orlando's life the same way it center Woolf's novels.

A recurring theme in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse is the idea of interiority and exteriority and how we present ourselves in public versus when we are in private. Lily Briscoe in To The Lighthouse acts as the observer within the novel, carefully viewing the Ramsay family and the other guests while trying to interpret their behaviors and actions. This is made especially clear later in the novel after Mrs. Ramsay's death when Lily was fixated on how Mrs. Ramsay presented herself and what may have been her private thoughts. Mrs. Ramsay is very careful about how she presents herself and holds traditional values, such as her views on marriage. The novel deals with the curiosity of how people may differ from what they show society and how they are when alone with their most intimate thoughts.

Virginia Woolf's novels all deal with the topic of class, some novels more subtly than others. Mrs. Dalloway notes how class can affect many things such as illness. Two of the most prominent characters are Mrs. Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith. Mrs. Dalloway is of the upper class with a husband in politics, allowing her to meet people of prestige and host parties for others in her class. Septimus Smith falls towards the middle class and is a war veteran suffering from PTSD. Throughout the novel, we switch between their different lives and perspectives that differ extremely from one another. In the novel, the character of Sir William Bradshaw is introduced and tries to "help" Septimus. In reality, Bradshaw only wishes to make Septimus conform to the society he desires to create, and until he can conform, Bradshaw sends him away. When Septimus commits suicide at the end of the novel, his death is mentioned to Mrs. Dalloway at her party as a simple inconvenience rather than the death of a person. Virginia Woolf criticizes the upper class in subtle ways throughout the novel by contrasting and comparing the lives of Septimus and Mrs. Dalloway and introducing unlikeable characters such as Sir William Bradshaw.

Gender is a major theme in all of Virginia Woolf's novels but in A Room of One's Own Woolf focuses on how the issue of gender affects women and especially women writers. Woolf focuses on the needs women have to be able to pursue their craft comfortably. Woolf believes it is essential to have privacy and a place to yourself where you can have full focus on your craft. This can be difficult for women, Woolf observes, as they tend to be caregivers in the lives of others and do not have as many opportunities as men. In fact, Woolf in the beginning of the novel is at an all-male university where she cannot visit certain areas because she is a woman.

Elizabeth Outka brings a new lens on how to interpret Mrs. Dalloway by focusing on the influenza pandemic that she lived through. Outka reflects on how Septmius is not the only "survivor" in the novel, but Clarissa as well, surviving the influenza virus. Clarissa is hinted throughout the novel to have just recovered from a serious illness. In fact, there are comments on how the illness has lingering effects that continue in her. Outka directs our attention to the specific language used by Woolf that demonstrates the effect illness has had on Clarissa's mental state and how she views the world since her illness. Outka points out one instance where Clarissa retreats to her bed in the attic and how she feels "suddenly shriveled, aged. breastless..." as she struggles to walk up the stairs. Clarissa compares the bed she spent time in during her illness to a coffin. Outka also uses the essay "On Being Ill" by Virginia Woolf to further demonstrate her observation.

The Hours is a film directed by Steven Daldry based on Mrs. Dalloway. The movie follows three women that are in different time periods, two of which take inspiration from Virginia Woolf and Clarissa Dalloway. The character of Septimus Warren Smith is broken up into characteristics woven between all the other characters. Richard in the movie has a huge focus on mental health, as he suffers from the reality of his condition with AIDS. He represents the different men in Clarissa's life from the novel. The movie has the central themes of continuing to live for the sake of someone else and accepting loss or change.

Jamie Hovey points out the racial undertones in Orlando. Throughout the novel, the "moors" head is mentioned several times. The head is a stark contrast against Orlando's nobility and whiteness. Hovey titled the essay, "Kissing a Negress in the Dark," a direct quote from the novel that demonstrates other races as exotic. Hovey points out how the characters of the "gypsies" in the novel provide Orlando a space to come to an understanding during their switch in gender due to the way Orlando views them: foreign. On page 398, Hovey sums up the relationship between Orlando's sexuality and these "foreign" characters: "...Orlando appreciates the excised subjects of colonial discourse to create for its protagonist a sexuality that is not bourgeois or heterosexual." Orlando's character represents a liminal space. Throughout the novel, Orlando does not seem to fit in with those in their class so they often spend time with the lower class. The same is true with Orlando's sexuality and gender. The use of these "exotic" and "foreign" characters amplifies Orlando's liminality.

Louise Westling focuses on Woolf's depictions of nature throughout her novels, with a more focused lens on To The Lighthouse. Westling notes the middle of the novel during the "Time Passes" section where nature begins to take over the Ramsay's summer house in the absence of people and regardless of the things they left behind. Westling sees the novel as a critique of the anthropocentric view of nature. Westling points out how humans express humanistic factors on nature and try to control it. This overcoming of nature in a way makes the effects of the Ramsays seem insignificant. Westling brings our attention to the fact that Woolf mentions issues to "dismiss" them and take them in a different direction, the way she did with nature. This method of hers, as Westling points out, is best seen with Mr. Ramsay, who starts the novel as one who believes himself of high intelligence, but by the end of the novel sees nature for what it is and not the use it has for him.

Both Orlando and To The Lighthouse deal with the theme of nature's indifference and the inability to capture nature in art. Orlando is a writer and constantly struggles to capture nature as it is in real life. He believes that writing cannot truly capture its beauty, much to his frustration. Lily Briscoe in To The Lighthouse has a similar issue with her painting. Nature's indifference is made even clearer in this novel as it spends passages focused on nature taking over Ramsay's home, disregarding everything they left behind. To The Lighthouse being published before Orlando introduces these ideas of artistry and nature which Woolf spends much focus on in Orlando.

Louise Westling points out the human desire to capture and control nature. This is emphasized in To The Lighthouse, and Orlando. Orlando represents this flaw through the inability to capture nature for what it is. In their poetry, Orlando can not describe the nature they see, and it leads them to grow extremely frustrated. The narrator in the novel also goes as far as treating nature as a God-like figure who shapes us. Orlando also uses nature as a tool to describe something foreign to them. When Orlando first meets Sasha, they can not seem to be able to describe her in English words and instead compares her to naturalistic aspects.

Both novels hold central themes of writing and gender. When Olrando transitions they have to come to terms with the new identity and try to understand how that identity affects how people perceive them and how they interact with others. In A Room of One's Own, Woolf discusses all the ways being a woman affects their ability to write, determining they need the finance and security to be able to have a room of their own in which they can put their complete focus into their work. Woolf also mentions the distinct difference in how men are perceived compared to women; a strange curiosity that Orlando can experience due to their shift in gender. Woolf makes a clear distinction in both novels between the men and women from an artist's standpoint, emphasizing how vastly different their experiences are.

Both To The Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway bring perspectives of a lower class and their interactions with and ideas about the other characters. In To The Lighthouse we see Charles Tansley, a student of Mr. Ramsay, who comes from the lower class and finds himself stuck between disgust for the Ramsays and the other guests and the need for their admiration and the need to prove himself. Similar to Peter Walsh who finds himself with contrasting ideas on Mrs. Dalloway or Septimus Warren Smith who shows distrust of Sir William Bradshaw.

Orlando is constantly questioning their identity as a writer and if they can even be one due to the fact it feels to them like something that nobility cannot do. Orlando is in a liminal space between the upper and lower class where they do not feel really comfortable in either. This is similar to Mrs. Dalloway who is married to Richard Dalloway, a political work. Mrs. Dalloway hosts and entertains those of more prestigious backgrounds. Regardless, Mrs. Dalloway finds comfort with people like Peter Walsh and Sally Setoon who do not fit in with upper-class crowds. Mrs. Dalloway also relates much to Septmus in the novel whose life is completely different from hers in terms of class and likelihood. Both characters are not defined by a particular class but instead find themselves between both.

Both novels deal with the topic of gender and class, as well as the affects it has on a person. In A Room of One's Own Woolf discusses the troubles of women writers and how they are already at a disadvantage due to their gender. She claims they need a higher class to be able afford the time and space to work. Mrs. Dalloway is torn between her life as a hostess and one of more rebellion, such as Sally Seton. Throughout the novel, Peter Walsh undermines Mrs. Dalloway's passion for hosting and shows he finds it ridiculous by frequently minimizing and criticizing her interests.

Both novels follow the characters' expressions that they outwardly present and the thoughts and ideas they keep to themselves. Woolf demonstrates how we may act in front of others and how that differs from when we are alone. Mrs. Dalloway and Mrs.Ramsay take moments alone in the novel where they feel peace in their solitude. Lily Briscoe in To the Lighthouse fights her curiosity about what Mrs. Ramsay must be thinking during that time. This interiority of Mrs. Ramsay's character is something so private that it becomes a mystery.

In both novels, the characters have a deep connection with nature. Orlando finds solitude and peace similar to how Septimus Warren Smith at times can be relaxed by his natural surroundings. Both characters are fixated on nature and at times it even frightens Septimus and frustrates Olrando, who tries to control it.

Orlando, like Mrs. Dalloway, is a liminal character that is stuck between two social classes. Orlando does not feel comfortable with their nobility but does not necessarily fit in with the company they seek. They go back and forth from both social worlds but have the privilege of nobility always being open for them when they choose to return.

To The Lighthouse has its own racial undertones with the descriptions of Lily Briscoe and Mrs. Ramsay. Mrs. Ramsay in the novel is known to be beautiful; she is often described as "Greek" and angular. Lily Briscoe is described with "Chinese eyes" and is described as undesirable or not as beautiful. Mrs. Ramsay is a traditionalist who believes everyone should get married and aspire to the kind of life she has. Lily Briscoe rebels against Mrs. Ramsay's ideas. Both characters are depicted as opposites.

After Orlando's transition from man to woman, Orlando starts to become hyperaware of the things they must keep to themselves due to the social standing of women during their time period. On the boat to England, Orlando notices the different ways women are treated and begins to feel the constraints of that social world. Orlando, even before the transition of gender, enjoyed spending time in solitary away from their social position in the world. In a way, Orlando is forced to keep more to themself, losing a choice of what they want to keep interior and what they exteriorly show.

The social systems in Mrs. Dalloway deal directly with class and how the different classes of different characters affect them, such as the stark differences between Sir William Bradshaw and Septimus Warren Smith. These characters are on completely opposite ends of the class spectrum, and the way they treat the world is just as different: Sir William Bradshaw who tries to control it, and Septimus who is afraid of the world.

Lily Briscoe can also be considered a character that is in between two classes. One end can be Mr. Ramsay and the other Charles Tansley. Lily Briscoe, being the observer of the novel, is in constant conversation with both characters, usually in a negative way due to Charles Tansley's incessant mocking of her and Mr. Ramsay's need for sympathy. She rejects ideas from both sides and paves her own way with her opinions despite the opinions and ideas surrounding her.