The aim of this paper is to consider the close relationship the lifestyle and sexuality of Martin Pargiter in Virginia Woolf's The Years has with the changing discourse of British imperialism, paying attention to both Woolf's Mr Bennett and Mrs Brown and her diary. Woolf observes in the former that 'in or about December 1910 human character changed', and in the latter writes that 'Peter Pan, Barries [sic] play [...] was a great treat'. Woolf's works reveal that it was appropriate for men of that period, including Martin, to stay as immature as Peter Pan. The paper posits that the British Empire was not moving toward expansion in the Edwardian socio-cultural discourse. At the same time, the discourse of new liberalism effected changes not only in social policies, but also at the level of individual lifestyles, in which traditional masculinity, once employed to advocate empire building, grew increasingly irrelevant. As an imperial subject facing this situation, Martin is not able to accept that he should physically and mentally grow up, which leads him to reject the prospect of having an intimate relationship with and marrying a woman; he tries instead to keep his youth. In other words, what Woolf tries to do through Martin is describe a new conception of life and sexuality that suits the Edwardian situation. The Years takes into account the changing notions and growth of that era.
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