Mrs Dalloway- the book. Review on Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

Story

Its a hot day in June, 1923, as the wealthy upper-middle class Clarissa Dalloway prepares to throw a party for her friends. She is the wife of Richard Dalloway, an affluent Member of Parliament. Its just a matter of one day when a chain of everyday events are traced. As the day begins, Clarissa a renowned upper society hostess, buys flowers for a dinner party she plans to give that evening, where prominent society guests and political figures will mingle. Meanwhile, a parallel series of events unfolds in which the World War I veteran Septimus Warren Smith walks on the edge of sanity, and society itself. Throughout the day, other intriguing characters also enter the narrative.

The Encounters

Peter Walsh, a man Clarissa hasn't met for thirty years, pays her a surprise visit. Soon her thoughts take her back to the summer of 1890 and she reflects on the choices she made as a young woman and how they shaped her life and affected her. Juxtaposed upon Clarissa's story, her character and elite social position, is that of Septimus. While the prosperous Mrs.Dalloway purchases her flowers, Septimus sits in Regent's Park listening to the sparrows sing to him. He is young and shattered in spirit. The poor Septimus has no resources to improve his health or position in life. Yet the two individuals share common fears. Toward the end of the book, their lives intersect, just for a moment in time.

The Story of Septimus

The side story of Septimus Warren and his death is very touching. It is a sad reminder of war and its impact on people who are involved, their struggle to return to a “normal” life. Woolf allows us to see how people we don't actually know touch our lives in unexpected ways. I believe this novel still applies to today's society.

Narrative

Ms. Woolf uses flashbacks as a method to broaden the novel's timeframe from a day to a lifetime. Stream-of-consciousness technique allows the characters' thoughts to travel back and forth in time, reflecting their emotions, and enriching them tremendously as complex personages. It is also how the human mind thinks which is not in a linear manner. Interior monologues have been around from Robert Browning’s time I guess(if you have read his poems: My Last Duchess etc.)

Themes Explored

Communication/ Privacy The party opens ways to communicate. Even Clarissa knows that Independence can be loneliness too. Peter tries to explain the contradictory human impulses toward privacy and communication by comparing the soul to a fish that swims along in murky water, then rises quickly to the surface to frolic on the waves. Clarissa sees Septimus’s death as a desperate, but legitimate, act of communication.

The War and disillusionment with the British empire Shown most conspicuously in Septimus’s character. English citizens, including Clarissa, Peter, and Septimus, feel the failure of the empire as strongly as they feel their own personal failures.

Death Middle-aged Clarissa has experienced the deaths of her father, mother, and sister and has lived through the calamity of war, and she has grown to believe that living even one day is dangerous. Septimus embraces Death than facing another day.

The Threat of Oppression Oppression is a constant threat for Clarissa and Septimus in Mrs. Dalloway, and Septimus dies in order to escape what he perceives to be an oppressive social pressure to conform. It comes in many guises, including religion, science, or social convention. Miss Kilman and Sir William Bradshaw are two of the major oppressors in the novel: Miss Kilman dreams of felling Clarissa in the name of religion, and Sir William would like to subdue all those who challenge his conception of the world.

If you are starting out with Woolf the start with ‘To The Lighthouse’. As for ‘MD’, if you take your time and read deeply, Woolf will touch you in a way that you won't forget. Watch the movie “The Hours” or read the story for a unique experience. Catch hold of a Oxford World's Classics edition of ''Mrs. Dalloway''. Read the introduction carefully, and check the explanatory notes as you read through the text.