Mrs.

Dalloway A story of love and friendship, communication and loneliness, society and oppression, disillusionment, past and present
Virginia Woolf - "in order to create, unconsciousness is necessary."

David Daiches - The pattern of the novel is woven with extreme delicacy, and the various elements from Mrs. Dalloways past brought into the present through a variety of persuasive devices. The prose itself is carefully cadenced and at times almost poetic, though never rhetorical. The highly individual sense of significance which provides the basis of the plot pattern is conveyed through style and imagery through the suggestiveness and cunning of the language. As an innovative, modernist writer of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf uses as literary techniques the stream of consciousness or the interior monologue, enriching them with stylistic devices such as themes, motifs, symbols in order to ensure the in-de th com rehension of her com le! characters, of their inner struggles and insecurities. "n #$rs. %alloway&, characters are symbols of the different as ects of the contem orary 'ritish society, which was highly conservative and hierarchical. (hroughout the novel, characters are dee ly aware of their social standing) those in the u er class cherish their family history and come from aristocracy whereas those in the lower class find it very difficult to move u wards on the social ladder. *ames and titles are still im ortant in this ost-war 'ritain for they reveal the social status of the characters) +larissa becomes $rs. %alloway after marrying ,ichard %alloway- the rebellious .ally .eton becomes /ady ,osseter 0 a dramatic change since it im lies a great shift from a somehow childish name to one of clear social stature. (hemes +ommunication vs rivacy (hroughout the novel, +larissa, .e timus, 1eter and other characters confront themselves with 2ee ing the balance between finding outlets for communication with each other and also maintaining one3s rivacy. 4or instance, +larissa struggles to o en a ath to communication and throws arties to draw eo le together but also longs for rivacy. Although the first way of life can seem shallow and artificial, the other can lead to loneliness and eventually, isolation. +larissa also finds that loneliness becomes inevitable as eo le grow older, 5ust li2e the old woman living near her. 6ust about every character in Mrs Dalloway feels isolated in some way. Although many of them are bound by tradition, class, history, love of em ire, or survival of trauma, they still feel very alone in the world. Woolf uses meta hors of thread and fish swimming in water to indicate how loose the connections between eo le are. 1eo le see each other as ob5ects, not as sub5ects- +larissa3s arties aim to bring eo le together but really become gatherings of a bunch of isolated individuals. (he isolation that eo le feel throughout Mrs Dalloway brings with it dee feelings of fear 0 that the entire world is

against them. "n the end, +larissa feels more of a connection to .e timus and the old lady across the way than to anyone else. %isillusionment with the traditional symbols of 'ritish 7m ire (he 'ritish 7m ire, during the 89th century, seemed an invincible force, as it e! anded more than any other, becoming the greatest em ire the world has ever seen. (he aftermath of the war was shoc2ing and disconcerting) although 'ritain and its allies won the war, the devastation shattered the system from its dee structure. 7ngland became vulnerable and the citi:ens lost much of their faith in the 7m ire, and they were less willing to acce t the hierarchical constraints. "n 892;, when Mrs. Dalloway ta2es lace, the old establishment and its o ressive values are nearing their end. 7nglish citi:ens, including +larissa, 1eter, and .e timus, feel the failure of the em ire as strongly as they feel their own ersonal failures. (hose citi:ens who still cham ion 7nglish tradition, such as Aunt <elena and /ady 'ruton, are old, 5ust li2e the system that they try to reserve. (he fear of death (houghts of death lur2 constantly beneath the surface of everyday life in Mrs. Dalloway, es ecially for +larissa, .e timus, and 1eter, and this awareness ma2es even mundane events and interactions meaningful, sometimes even threatening. At the start of the day, when +larissa goes to buy flowers for her arty, she remembers a moment in her youth when she sensed that something terrible was going to ha en. +larissa and .e timus remember the same line from .ha2es eare3s +ymbeline- #4ear no more the heat o3 the sun = *or the furious winter3s rages.& which is from a funeral song that celebrates death as a comfort after a difficult life. %eath comes very naturally into her thoughts due to her having e! erienced the death of her arents, her sister and the misfortunes of war. .e timus3s suicidal embrace of death, ultimately hel s her to be at eace with her own mortality. 1eter Walsh, who is so insecure in his identity, grows frantic at the idea of death and finds distractions to 2ee his mind off the morbid thought. > ression

(he threat of o ression lingers constantly over +larissa and .e timus, and .e timus dies in order to esca e what he erceives to be an o ressive social ressure to conform. "t comes in many guises, including religion, science, or social convention ?two ma5or o ressors are $rs. @ilman and .ir William 'radshaw - both wish to convert the world to their belief systems in order to gain ower and dominate othersA. +larissa herself lives under the weight of that system and often feels o ressed by it, but finally acce ts the conventions of the atriarchal society, while .e timus chooses to ta2e his own life and save his soul from the o ressors rather than to subdue to them. $otifs (ime

>ne of the ama:ing things about Mrs Dalloway is the creative use of time. (he novel starts in an early morning in 6une 892; and ends the ne!t day at ;am- that means fewer than twenty-four hours ass during the course of the story. (his com act use of time means that you have to read closely because every moment counts. 'ecause of this, a lot ha ens in the course of 5ust a few minutes ?usually in thoughts more than in actions. (ime im arts order to the fluid thoughts, memories, and encounters that ma2e u Mrs. Dalloway. 'ig 'en, a symbol of 7ngland and its might, sounds out the hour relentlessly, ensuring that the assage of time, and the awareness of eventual death, is always al able. >nce the hour chimes, however, the sound disa earsBits #leaden circles dissolved in the air.&, indicating how e hemeral time is. +larissa, .e timus, 1eter, and other characters are in the gri of time, and as they age they evaluate how they have s ent their lives. (his is articularly oignant for +larissa whose reoccu ation with time relates to her fear of death. .he3s dee ly aware that as time asses, she gets closer to death, and she feels odd that life will go on 5ust the same without her. 6ust as she 2nows that time e!isted long before her, she3s aware that it will go on long after her bones have turned to dust. (ime is so im ortant to the themes, structure, and characters of this novel that Woolf almost named her boo2 The !ours. .ha2es eare (he many a earances of .ha2es eare s ecifically and oetry in general suggest ho efulness, the ossibility of finding comfort in art, and the survival of the soul in Mrs. Dalloway. +larissa quotes .ha2es eare3s lays many times throughout the day. 'efore the war, .e timus a reciated .ha2es eare as well, going so far as as iring to be a oet. <e no longer finds comfort in oetry after he returns. (he resence of an a reciation for oetry reveals much about +larissa and .e timus, 5ust as the absence of such a reciation reveals much about the characters who differ from them, such as ,ichard %alloway and /ady 'ruton. (raditional 7nglish society romotes a su ression of visible emotion, and since .ha2es eare and oetry romote a discussion of feeling and emotion, they belong to sensitive eo le li2e +larissa, who are in many ways antiestablishment. Trees and Flowers (ree and flower images abound in Mrs. Dalloway. (he color, variety, and beauty of flowers suggest feeling and emotion, and those characters who are comfortable with flowers, such as +larissa, have distinctly different ersonalities than those characters who are not, such as ,ichard and /ady 'ruton. (rees, with their e!tensive root systems, suggest the vast reach of the human soul, and +larissa and .e timus, who both struggle to rotect their souls, revere them. +larissa believes souls survive in trees after death, and .e timus, who has turned his bac2 on atriarchal society, feels that cutting down a tree is the equivalent of committing murder. Waves and Water Waves and water regularly wash over events and thoughts in Mrs. Dalloway and nearly always suggest the ossibility of e!tinction or death.

(ime sometimes ta2es on waterli2e qualities for +larissa, such as when the chime from 'ig 'en #floodCsD& her room, mar2ing another assing hour. ,e:ia, in a rare moment of ha iness with .e timus after he has hel ed her construct a hat, lets her words trail off #li2e a contented ta left running.& 7ven then, she 2nows that stream of contentedness will dry u eventually. (he narrative structure of the novel itself also suggests fluidity. >ne character3s thoughts a ear, intensify, then fade into another3s, much li2e waves that collect then fall. .ymbols The Prime Minister (he rime minister in Mrs. Dalloway embodies 7ngland3s old values and hierarchical social system, which are in decline. (he rime minister is a figure from the old establishment, which +larissa and .e timus are struggling against. Mrs. Dalloway ta2es lace after World War ", a time when the 7nglish loo2ed des erately for meaning in the old symbols but found the symbols hollow. Peter Walshs Poc et nife and !ther Weapons 1eter Walsh lays constantly with his oc2et2nife, and the o ening, closing, and fiddling with the 2nife suggest his flightiness and inability to ma2e decisions and suggests his defensiveness. The !ld Woman in the Window (he old woman in the window across from +larissa3s house re resents the rivacy of the soul and the loneliness that goes with it, both of which will increase as +larissa grows older. +larissa sees the future in the old woman) .he herself will grow old and become more and more alone, since that is the nature of life. As +larissa grows older, she reflects more but communicates less. "nstead, she 2ee s her feelings loc2ed inside the rivate rooms of her own soul, 5ust as the old woman rattles alone around the rooms of her house. *evertheless, the old woman also re resents serenity and the urity of the soul. +larissa res ects the woman3s rivate reflections and thin2s beauty lies in this act of reserving one3s interior life and inde endence. 'efore .e timus 5um s out the window, he sees an old man descending the staircase outside, and this old man is a arallel figure to the old woman. (hough +larissa and .e timus ultimately choose to reserve their rivate lives in o osite ways, their view of loneliness, rivacy, and communication resonates within these similar images. The !ld Woman "in#in# an Ancient "on# > osite the ,egent3s 1ar2 (ube station, an old woman sings an ancient song that celebrates life, endurance, and continuity. .he is oblivious to everyone around her as she sings, beyond caring what the world thin2s. (he narrator e! lains that no matter what ha ens in the world, the old woman will still be there, even in #ten million years,& and that the song has soa2ed #through the 2notted roots of infinite ages.&

$haracter %ist $larissa Dalloway (he heroine of the novel, +larissa is analy:ed in terms of her life, ersonality, and thought rocess throughout the boo2 by the author and other characters. .he is viewed from many angles. +larissa en5oys the moment-to-moment as ect of life and believes that a iece of her remains in every lace she has visited. .he lac2s a certain warmth, but is a caring woman who is touched by the eo le around her and their connection to life in general. +larissa feels that her arties are her gift to the world and is roud to share herself with others. .he loves to be acce ted but has the acuity of mind to erceive her own flaws, es ecially since her recent illness. +larissa is a re resentative of an u ity 7nglish gentry class and yet, defies categori:ation because of her humanity and her relation to her literary double, .e timus Warren .mith. .he is su erficially based on WoolfEs childhood friend, @itty $a!se. &ichard Dalloway +larissaEs husband, ,ichard is in love with his wife but feels uncomfortable showing his affection. A member of the government, he continually must attend councils, committees, and im ortant meetings. <e is called on by /ady 'ruton for counsel, but is viewed by .ally .eton as not reaching his otential. .he and 1eter feel that he would have rather been in the country on a farm. +larissa was attracted to him for his direct ideas, command of situations, and facility with animals. 'li(a)eth Dalloway +larissa and ,ichardEs daughter, she is described as strangely dar2 and e!otic loo2ing. .he garners much attention from suitors but would rather s end her time in the country with her father and dog than at her motherEs arty. .he is close to $iss @ilman but finds $iss @ilman odd and aw2ward at times. .he sometimes imagines that she may be a veterinarian so that she can care for animals. Peter Walsh +larissaEs beau before ,ichard, 1eter does not see +larissa often after their brea2 u . <e had moved to "ndia, married, se arated, and then fallen in love again. (he day of the novel, he returns to /ondon and visits +larissa. (here is still an intensity between them and 1eter reveals later to .ally .eton that +larissa ruined his life by refusing to marry him. <e rethin2s much of their time at 'ourton and decides to attend +larissaEs arty even though he hates her arties. <e waits the entire arty 5ust to s ea2 with her or be near her. "ally "eton*%ady &osseter As a young woman, she was +larissaEs best friend, staying with +larissa at 'ourton because she was considerably oorer than +larissa. .ally en5oyed causing a raucous by ma2ing outrageous claims and acting on a rebellious instinct that led her to smo2e cigars, run na2ed down the halls, and do other cra:y stunts that were not condoned by +larissaEs relatives. .he re resents +larissaEs true

but unfulfilled love. As an older woman, she has sur risingly married a wealthy man and had a family, though she retains many of her s irited qualities. +u#h Whit)read A ro er 7nglish gentleman, <ugh feels that he ma2es an im ortant contribution to 7nglish society by writing letters to the /ondon (imes, hel ing different committees, attending arties at the 1alace, and giving to small charities. <e has been friends with +larissa since childhood. 1eter and ,ichard find him stiff and boring. Miss ,ilman (he woman whom ,ichard has hired to tutor 7li:abeth in history, she is continually at odds with +larissa. .he has communist sym athies and feels bitter and re ulsed by those of wealth and rivilege such as +larissa. +larissa detests the attention she ta2es from her daughter as well as her self-sacrificing, condescending demeanor. "eptimus Warren "mith >ften considered +larissaEs do elganger, .e timus was a successful, intelligent, literary young man before World War ". %uring the war, he wins many honors and friends. After a good friend, 7vans, is 2illed, he reali:es that he can no longer feel. $arrying ,e:ia in an attem t to move on, .e timus never regains an emotional attachment to the world. (he cou le moves bac2 to /ondon and .e timus returns to his good 5ob, but he slowly sli s into further de ths of des air and horror. <e hears voices, namely of 7vans, and becomes e!tremely sensitive to color and natural beauty. (he doctors com ound his roblems by ignoring them, and they become the embodiment of evil and humanity, in his mind. When %r. <olmes ushes into his home to see him, .e timus throws himself out the window to his death. %ucre(ia Warren "mith .e timusE wife, /ucre:ia lived in "taly before marrying and made hats with her sister. .he is young and fun loving, but becomes seriously humiliated and sad when .e timus starts sli ing into insanity. .he wanted a normal marriage with children, not a man who tal2s to himself. When they first met, he had introduced her to .ha2es eare and listened to her. ,e:ia tries to rotect her husband from the doctors, but, in the end, she cannot. %ady -ruton (he daughter of a general, she is an older woman much more concerned with the 'ritish 7m ire than relationshi s or society. .he invited ,ichard, but not +larissa, to lunch causing +larissa to question her own ur ose. .he and +larissa have little in common. Dr. +olmes

(he overbearing doctor who first treats .e timus, he insists that nothing is wrong with .e timus and commands that ,e:ia try to 2ee his mind on other things. .e timus views him with hatred, feeling that the doctor re resents the evils of human 2ind trying to stifle him. "t is <olmes rushing u the stairs ast ,e:ia that ersuades .e timus to 2ill himself. "ir William -radshaw (he esteemed sychologist who treats .e timus after %r. <olmes, 'radshaw recommends rest in the country for .e timus so he can be reoriented to 'radshawEs strict ideal of ro ortion. <e recogni:es that .e timus is seriously suffering from ost-war anguish. <e is hated by .e timus because he re resents humanity along with <olmes, by ,e:ia because he tries to se arate the cou le, and by +larissa because he ma2es the lives of his atients intolerable. %ady -radshaw (he doctorEs u standing wife, the /ady tells +larissa of .e timusE death, bringing unwanted death into +larissaEs arty. (he /ady is a very good amateur hotogra her, but, ironically, had a mental brea2down years ago. The Prime Minister (he man erceived as close to royalty by 7nglish society, the 1rime $inister is 2ind enough to visit the arty. (he guests are sur rised at how ordinary he a ears. $any of the other characters reflect on him throughout the novel. 'llie +enderson +larissaEs oor, quiet, and less than sociable cousin, 7llie is only invited to the arty because another of +larissaEs guests invites her. +larissa thought her too dull to invite. .he s ea2s only to ,ichard at the arty. (he rest of the time, she sim ly observes the guests and gathers gossi to tell her friend, 7dith. Miss +elena Parry +larissaEs old aunt, $iss 1arry is art of the memories of 'urton, where she chastised .ally and befriended 1eter. At the arty, she tolerates the crowds and s ea2s to 1eter about 'urma. $ost are sur rised that she is still alive. The old woman (he neighbor whom +larissa could view in the house ad5acent, the old woman seems a mystery to +larissa. (hough she often a ears to be connected to others in her life, +larissa admires the elder neighborEs rivacy. +larissa watches the woman as +larissa loo2s outside after hearing of .e timusE suicide. (he old womanEs turning off the lights to go to bed triggers +larissaEs reali:ation that she must return to life and her arty.

David Daiches - in Mrs Dalloway "irginia #oolf achieved the sensitive organi$ation of tenuous insights which she had earlier come to consider the function of the novelist. The significant moments in experience are the moments of insight. %.M. &orster - 'the hidden life that appears in external signs is hidden no longer ( )and* has entered the realm of action. +nd it is the function of the novelist to reveal the hidden life at its source'.