Essay on Mrs. Dalloway: Virginia Woolf's 1925 Novel Set in Post-WWI London

Mrs. Dalloway got published on the fourteenth of May, 1925. The author of the book is called Virginia Woolf. The period of the book is after the First World War. The setting of the book is in London, England. The book got created from two novels, which are "The Prime Minister" and "Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street." The book is about Mrs. Dalloway's preparations for a party that she is to hold on that particular evening. The book has an interior perspective, and it travels to and from time. In 2005, the book got included on the list of Time as one of the best 100 English novels that got written in 1923.

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The book is one of the best novels by Woolf. The book covers the life of a woman from the morning to night of one day. Clarissa Dalloway is a housewife, in the upper-class. That day, she goes out to her neighborhood in London to get ready for the party that she is to hold on that evening. That lovely day reminds her of the best time that she had during the past time in Burton countryside. Additionally, Clarissa thinks about the choice that she had made for a husband. She had married Richard, who was a reliable man, rather than Peter Walsh, who was demanding and enigmatic. Additionally, Clarissa thinks about how she did not have a chance to spend time with Sally Seton, who was her close friend.

Peter brought back the conflict after he visited Clarissa that day. The book also talks about Warren Smith, who is a First World War veteran. Smith suffers from stress, and he spends most of the time in the park, together with Lucrezia, his wife. Peter Walsh observes the two in the park. Warren has a problem with hallucination, mostly hallucinating with Evans, his friend, who had perished in the war. Late that day, warren got admitted to a psychiatric hospital, from where he kills himself trough jumping out of the window. During that evening, the party slowly becomes a success. Clarissa meets all the characters found in the book and the people she had met in the past. She additionally hears about the death of Warren at the party.

The styles used in the book include flashbacks. The story's events happen in the year 1923. Also, the book uses the consciousness stream in storytelling. Every scene in the book discusses the thoughts of every single character. Throughout the story, the author switches from direct speech to indirect speech in an appropriate manner. The story narrates about approximately twenty characters, but the bulk of the book gets spent on Clarissa Dalloway and Warren Smith. The main themes of the novel include mental illness and time and secular living.

Clarissa Dalloway

Clarissa Dalloway gets considered the novel's heroine. She constantly struggles to balance the external world with her inner life. Clarissa's world is one that consists of beautiful events such as parties and fashion. However, as life goes on, she tries to get away from such comforts to establish a deeper meaning of life. Clarissa yearns to live a private life, which is full of meditation and reflection about her past, which is unlikely among the rest of the characters.

Additionally, Clarissa is emotional and is concerned about how she appears in public. Also, she does not like sharing about her life matters with other individuals. She does not like disclosing about her issues to other people, which makes others feel that she is shallow.

Continually thinking about her present and past life, Clarissa tries to console herself after her memories, which were not that pleasant. Throughout the novel, she has a fear of aging and dying. However, her actions, such as buying flowers, depict life affirmation. Clarissa does not regret her decision to marry Richard, for she believes that life spent with Peter Walsh would be much difficult. However, at that same time, she remembers that Peter was her passion and that she sacrificed so that she could live an upper life. Some of the time, Clarissa hopes that life could begin again so that she could mend some of the parts. Through watching her old neighbor through the window, Clarissa gains hope and peace of mind. She also understands that someday; however, she will have to die, and thus, she should come into terms with reality. Similar to Septimus, she feels the repressive forces that life subjects her, and she understands that she did not have another life to live apart from that. She decides that she will live the way life comes.

Peter Walsh

Peter Walsh is a character in the book Mrs. Dalloway, who gets viewed as homeless. Peter comes from India, where he was adopted. The reason Peter comes to London is to get a divorce for Daisy, who is the woman that he loves. However, the novel does not fully convince us that Peter loves Daisy. The reason for this is that Peter loved Clarissa very much. Throughout that day, Peter gets occupied with Clarissa's memories. Even at that time that Peter tries to declare his love for Daisy; he cries and enquires from Clarissa whether she loves his husband, Richard.

The view that Peter has helps us in observing the changes that have happened in London. Peter had been living in India up to 1923, when the World War I had just come into a conclusion. Due to the distance between India and England, Peter could notice the changes that had occurred when he was away. According to his views, the morals and manners of people had changed drastically. Peter is a critic of the British rule, although he had acted as a perpetrator in India during the colonial times.

Peter also claims that he does not care about how other people think about him. However, we observe this as centrally to the truth. The truth of the matter is that he compares himself with others most of the time. For instance, he compares himself with Richard, and even wishes that he could be in his situation.

Peter finds comforts in memories, which include his own and those of other individuals such as Clarissa. Throughout the text, Peter is at a state of potential motion and notion when the smiths and the Dalloway's arrive at home. Peter finally decides to attend the party that was held by Clarissa, and he says to himself that it is the truth concerning their soul, themselves, fish-like, and individuals living under the ocean (Dalloway 161). The "fish-like" movement shows Peter's path in the book.

Clarissa Dalloway and Peter Walsh

Peter was a past friend to Clarissa, and they shared a romantic life. Peter criticizes Clarissa due to the life that she lived. According to him, Clarissa was living a superficial and shallow life. Peter is not happy with Clarissa because she decided to leave him. Additionally, she does not trust that Clarissa loves Richard and that she chose him over Peter. Walsh also criticized Clarissa because he thought that she acted rational and calm.

Peter thinks about Clarissa's independence and the way that she has remained stack in her personality. Peter remembers that these qualities of Clarissa had remained for thirty years. Peter thinks "That was the devilish part of her-this coldness, this woodenness, something very profound in her, which he had felt again this morning talking to her; impenetrability" (Dalloway 60). Peter, similar to Clarissa, links Clarissa's characters with her sexuality. According to Peter, Clarissa is not only cold and impenetrable but also a prude (Dalloway 8).

Clarissa tries to think about the current conflict. She wonders how a person can create a connection without him/her sacrificing independence. She imagines the isolation of people in terms of rooms, where every individual stays in their room. The problem comes in when one tries to build a connection between the individual rooms, without violating the independence of every occupant. In trying to come up with a solution, Clarissa thinks about religion and love. She, however, comes up with the conclusion that the virtues of faith and love cannot protect an individual's independence and privacy.

Works Cited

Woolf, Virginia. "Mrs. Dalloway, ed." Stella McNichol (1925 (1925).