Was Sasha a Russian ballerina on ice in Orlando?
Monday 24 March 2008 by Paula Maggio
Did Lydia Lopokova serve as inspiration for the character of the Russian princess Sasha in Virginia Woolf’s Orlando?
That was the question that popped into my mind after reading a review in The Guardian of Judith Mackrell’s book, The Bloomsbury Ballerina, which tells the story of modernist ballerina Lydia Lopokova.
The Russian ballerina took London — and the Bloomsbury circle — by storm for the 11 months of her first tour there, beginning in September 1918.
But according to the Guardian article, her sudden flight from the ballet world to take up with a Russian lover in July of 1919 disappointed the Bloomsbury crowd. By the time she returned in 1921, they were no longer enamored of her.
The review says Woolf only once made “significant fictional use” of Lopokova — as the inspiration for Rezia in Mrs. Dalloway.
However, I see another. I am struck by the similarities between the single-minded ballerina Lydia Lopokova and the exciting Muscovite princess, Sasha of Orlando.
Both moved with great grace and energy — Lopokova on the stage and Sasha on the ice. Both were charismatic. Lopokova mesmerized her audiences, and Sasha enchanted Orlando. Both were unconventional, mysterious, adventurous, and well-traveleled. And both had a dangerous side.
Lopokova and Sasha both ran off to Russia after a brief stay in London. And each of them captured the heart of a quintessential Englishman. For Lopokova, it was John Maynard Keynes’s heart, which resulted in a long-lasting marriage. For Sasha, it was Orlando’s, which resulted in heartbreak for the young lord.
All of this just brushes the surface. Feel free to add some strokes of your own — on either side of the issue.
Interesting, and likely, but not the only source– isn’t it commonly accepted that Sasha is based on Violet Trefusis, Vita’s first love? (with Orlando being based, of course, on VSW– another “quinessential Englishman,” if we allow for a fluid conception of gender, which Woolf does)
Of course in that relationship it was Vita who fled (back to her husband), but Vita felt deeply betrayed by Violet, who had very possibly consummated her recent marriage, despite promising Vita that she would not.
that should obviously be *quintessential* (sorry, I’m a v bad typist)
Maitresse, thanks for your comments.
I know about the connection between Violet and Sasha, which is likely the primary one.
But I can’t help picturing Lydia as the model for Sasha’s Russian-ness.