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Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf

Start date: June 1, 2025

Finish date: June 30, 2025

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Jan 01, 2013 Candi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-shelf, book-i-own, winter-mini-challenge-2015-2016

"She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on. She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day. Not that she thought herself clever, or much out of the ordinary."

Virginia Woolf takes us through a single day in 1923 in post-World War I London. She does so with gorgeous prose "She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on. She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day. Not that she thought herself clever, or much out of the ordinary."

Virginia Woolf takes us through a single day in 1923 in post-World War I London. She does so with gorgeous prose and a stream of consciousness writing that takes us directly into the very minds of both Clarissa Dalloway herself as well as those to whom she comes in contact. It is as if one could hear every little musing and wandering thought process of each person we encounter in any ordinary day. Imagine hearing all this – it could get a bit busy and confusing as all these thoughts crowd in on us! Indeed, sometimes it was a bit disorienting as a reader to jump from one mind to the next; one must truly be patient to follow the flow of thoughts within this novel in order to be rewarded.

As Clarissa makes preparations for an evening party, she reflects on her past, her present and her future. Time itself plays a large role in this novel. "The clock was striking. The leaden circles dissolved in the air." When a former lover, Peter Walsh, returns to England from India, Clarissa contemplates her own identity. She examines her view of her inner self in relation to the scrutiny of Peter Walsh and what she believes he thinks of her. She perceives that he thinks of her as being empty and only interested in social concerns, prosperity and parties. She feels there is so much more to her than meets the eye. Can one ever really know the innermost workings of another human being? She frequently ponders death and what her own death would mean in the context of the life she has lived.

"Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bond Street, did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived, Peter survived, lived in each other, she being part, she was positive, of the trees at home; of the house there, ugly, rambling all to bits and pieces as it was; part of people she had never met; being laid out like a mist between the people she knew best, who lifted her on their branches as she had seen the trees lift the mist, but it spread ever so far, her life, herself."

Ms. Woolf introduces us to another haunted individual within this book. A young veteran of The Great War, Septimus Warren Smith has survived the war but at great cost. Suffering from what appears to be post traumatic stress disorder, Septimus is in a downward spiral and is not able to obtain the proper psychological help needed to reverse the effects of the horrors he has witnessed. His young wife, displaced from her own country and family following her marriage, is a victim in her own right. She is not equipped to handle the trauma her husband suffers. She desires children and a stable life that Septimus is not able to provide given his illness. Unknown to one another, Septimus Smith and Clarissa Dalloway's stories are fundamentally linked together in a way which will become apparent to Clarissa on the evening of her party.

Undeniably, Virginia Woolf is a brilliant writer. I have adored two of her previous works, The Voyage Out and A Room of One's Own. Mrs. Dalloway is one I certainly respect as well. However, I found the flow of thought a bit more difficult in this compared to the others I have read thus far. Essentially, depending on whose psyche I happened to be meandering through at any given moment, I was either completely submerged or floundering to get a grasp. This affected my overall enjoyment of the book but not my admiration for the beautiful language and the talent of Ms. Woolf. I will continue to read her work and perhaps come back to this another day when I can more fully immerse myself and hopefully gain even further insight.

3.5 stars ...more

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Jun 16, 2025 Theresa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england, classics-and-classic-redos, single-day, contemporary-general-fiction, pop-sugar-2025-reading-challenge

I'm not sure why I waited until now to read this. It was never on any required reading list, probably because I studied French literature and history. I've shied away from it I think mostly because I thought it was written in what's called 'stream of consciousness' style - whose other examples I found nearly unreadable - specifically Finnegans Wake back in college. Or maybe I was just not ready to read it, that now is the perfect time as I can relate to the inner life of these mature characters I'm not sure why I waited until now to read this. It was never on any required reading list, probably because I studied French literature and history. I've shied away from it I think mostly because I thought it was written in what's called 'stream of consciousness' style - whose other examples I found nearly unreadable - specifically Finnegans Wake back in college. Or maybe I was just not ready to read it, that now is the perfect time as I can relate to the inner life of these mature characters and an understanding of that era in London.

It opens very simply with Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway deciding to take a walk and purchase the flowers for the party she is hosting that evening. As she walks, we know her inner thoughts, what she sees but also memories triggered, worries that surface. It's intimate, while at the same time providing a picture of a specific street and day in June 1923. What then happens is that the reader hops to someone encountered or some who shares a sight or an experience (a car backfiring or sky writing), and the narrative shifts to that person, then another, and another, eventually circling back to Mrs. Dalloway and those who we have already accompanied.

Because that is what we are doing here - the reader is accompanying Mrs. Dalloway and those she encounters or impact her through a single day. It doesn't sound all that complex or involved, but the truth is that we learn so much about this world that is changing forever, and both joy and tragedy are experienced, uncertainty, acceptance of changes to one's life, the perception of menopause in women of a certain age, marriage, and more. I personally was extremely moved by the WWII veteran suffering shell shock and mental illness, but especially the burden and loneliness of his wife, Rezia.

The writing is often quite beautiful, lyrical and poetic. I love the references to flowers throughout, both the flowers themselves and as colors. How we see everyone as they see themselves, and as they think others see them, and also as those others actually do see them was revelatory, and in the case of those witnessing Rezia and her mentally ill husband, almost tragic.

I want to mention how much I love the cover of the ebook edition I read:

. To me it catches the essence of the book - a street scene but also a woman at her dressing table. I'll have to add this edition to my wishlist to buy in print on one of my bookstore rambles. I know I have at least one other print copy floating around my TBR Towers but I am easily seduced by a good cover.

When I do find a print copy, I'll likely take a stroll with Mrs. Dalloway again. ...more

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May 30, 2022 Celia rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended-read, voracious, kindle-list, 2022-read, ten-year-challenge, classics, gilmore, wholesale, 1001-challenge, 2022-kindle-counted

From supersummary.com:

Mrs. Dalloway, one of Virginia Woolf’s best-known novels, was published in 1925. The entirety of the novel takes place over the course of one day in London, in June of 1923. At the start of the novel, in the morning, Clarissa Dalloway, the protagonist, makes last-minute preparations for her party scheduled for that evening. As the day progresses, readers meet various characters, major and minor, and learn about their thoughts and feelings about the past, present and future. ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Jenn Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ Schu rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, snakesandladders

This is the first book that I've read by Virginia Woolf and I had no expectations excepting that she is a notable classic author. Admittedly, my first attempt at reading the story, I was quite confused. It was a free download and I thought I must have picked up an unedited version of the story, but I was to later find out that this was a style of writing that I had not encountered. Virginia Woolf writes her story in the form of writing known as stream of consciousness, where there are sudden ris ...more

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Aug 06, 2014 Kris (My Novelesque Life) rated it it was amazing

4.5 STARS

"Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional high-society woman in post-World War I England. It is one of Woolf's best-known novels.

Created from two short stories, "Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street" and the unfinished "The Prime Minister," the novel addresses Clarissa's preparations for a party she will host that evening. With an interior perspective, the story travels forwards and back in time and in and out of the characters' ...more

1 like · Like · see review