Mrs. Dalloway in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Feb 20, 2014 Maggie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction, fiction, british, boxall-1001, classics, guardian-1000

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm surprised that so many people like this book, for it is really about a boring woman going through a not-too-exciting day in her life. There is not much action. But I enjoyed the story, and I am delighted by its acclaim.

The book is set in the 1920s. It is about Clarissa Dalloway, an upper class London lady in her fifties, preparing for a party that she is going to host that night. The narration follows her thoughts as she thinks about her past when she was 18 and loved but rejected Peter Wals I'm surprised that so many people like this book, for it is really about a boring woman going through a not-too-exciting day in her life. There is not much action. But I enjoyed the story, and I am delighted by its acclaim.

The book is set in the 1920s. It is about Clarissa Dalloway, an upper class London lady in her fifties, preparing for a party that she is going to host that night. The narration follows her thoughts as she thinks about her past when she was 18 and loved but rejected Peter Walsh, and befriended and maybe even had a crush on wild Sally Seton. She thinks about her mortality, and how she has failed her devoted husband sexually. We see Peter's thoughts as he returns from India to arrange the divorce of Daisy, a woman young enough to be his daughter that he wants to marry. He resents Clarissa for having thrown away her youth to become a mere upper class hostess, but recognizes his own unfulfilled life. We see Clarissa's daughter Elizabeth, a girl of 18 who loves the country and dislikes parties, but is destined for the same life as her mother. Behind her is Doris Kilman, a poor pious teacher, who jealously hates Clarissa, and tries but fails to influence Elizabeth to adopt a simple, religious, lower class life. Also in London is Septimus Warren Smith, a man who fought in the War, gained honour, but now suffers from "shell shock", or what we now know as post-traumatic stress disorder. His distressed Italian wife Rezia, who really just wants society to see them as as normal happy couple, brings him to Dr Holmes, a middle class doctor, then Sir William Bradshaw, an unempathetic upper class doctor who threatens to isolate Septimus. Septimus experiences a brief return to sanity before committing suicide. There are other characters whose thoughts we are briefly, before everything culminates in the party at night.

This story is a critique on London social life in the 1920s. There is a contrast between the upper and lower class characters, with people like Sir William Bradshaw and Clarissa appearing cold and snobbish to others, while the lower class characters like Septimus and Miss Kilman are seen as victims, forced to their actions by societal oppression. This is brought out especially by the relationship between Bradshaw and Septimus. Bradshaw is a capable and seemingly kind doctor, but Septimus and Rezia sense that he does not care, that his goal is to manipulate them to fit his wishes. Septimus, made powerless by his diagnosis, jumps. Dr Holmes pronounces him a coward, but in Septimus' suicide we recognise his last assertion of independence, his one means of escaping the intolerant hypocrisy of the doctors. In the background is the royal family, who, in an early scene, are seen to have gained the admiration and adoration of the masses, but without reciprocal feelings as they remain distant from the people.

But Woolf makes this more than a mundane criticism of societal classes through her style of writing, which weaves through the consciousness of the characters and allows us to see not only who appear to be but also who they really are. Clarissa, for example, is not just the upper class snob that Sally observes her to have become. She remembers Peter's criticism of her settling for a comfortable life, and it disturbs her. She seems cold and unaware, but inside, there is an abundance of self-reflection, nostalgia and regret. She bottles these up and hides them, showing only a hard, proud facade, thus enabling herself to go through life with composure and dignity. Miss Kilman, too, is similar to Sir Bradshaw in her desire to assert dominance over another person. For the moment she fails, but not before we see her hatred and pride.

In all the characters, there is a sense of unfulfilled ambition. Clarissa has lost her passionate youth, and settled for a conventional marriage and life. Peter did not become the writer he wanted to be or found the love he yearns for. Sally, once so rebellious, is married to a bald mill-owner with five boys. Pompous Hugh Whitman who craves only the company of the rich and famous gains his wish but not status as an odd job worker in the royal court. Lady Bruton is heavily involved in politics, yet cannot play a significant role in it on account of her gender and her inability to write letters. Septimus has fought for the values of a nation which ends up condemning him. Rezia wants only to be seen as happy, but she imagines people judging her with her schizophrenic husband and lack of children. Elizabeth, who just wants to be surrounded by animals in the country, has little chance of being anything but an upper class hostess. There are many more examples of unfulfilled lives. What Woolf seems to be saying is this: that regardless of social status, gender or age, we are all victims of our circumstances. Because our plans and characters are so rarely in line with our circumstances, we do not get what we strive or yearn for.

Pardon me as I go into religious reflection. I couldn't help but see in the character's lives a reflection of the Christian life. For Jesus calls us to take up our crosses and follow Him, but so often, I do not, pleading the comfort of my present life, and asking why I should give up the things that make me happy and successful. But God has great plans for us that we cannot imagine, and by staying in our comfort zones, we resist His power to create good things for us. And so we go on doing what we think best for ourselves, rejecting his wisdom, and find ourselves in lives and situations that we had never meant to get into.

But back to the story. Despite their disappointments, Septimus and Clarissa find closure. Septimus gets over his insanity, and it is telling that he commits suicide in his one moment of sanity, for it is a bold assertion of autonomy in a society that threatens to take away his freedom. He may have died, but through death he fought against the powers that oppress. Clarissa sees in Septimus' death her disgrace. She, unlike him, has succumbed to the influences in society, and let them bring her to a disappointing life. But she comes to terms with this. In the middle of the party, she goes to a room, and in privacy, discards the "triumphs of youth" and the memories of failure that accompany them. Unlike Peter, who till the end yearns for a memory of Clarissa that may never return, Clarissa accepts her menopausal age and the things she has lost along the way.

The doctors' attitude to Septimus' condition was interesting. Septimus has classic PTSD – he returned from the war with newfound manliness, but has lost all emotion, unable to mourn for Evans or love his wife or share her desire for children. I did some reading up and found out that in those times, PTSD was not well known, and shell shock was condemned as cowardice or malingering. We see the same attitude in Dr Holmes judgment of Septimus' "Cowardice!". How much of his Woolf's experience with mental illness, now suspected to be bipolar disorder, did she incorporate into Septimus' illness? Did Woolf face the same discrimination in her struggles with her illness? If so, it is a tragic reflection on the attitudes of the medical profession that to a certain extent still prevails today.

I like the repeated imagery. The chiming of Big Ben with its "leaden circles" marks the passing of time through the day and the transition between scenes. The opening and closing of doors, windows and curtains marks the boundaries between the public and private life, and although Clarissa put on a bold front in her public life, she, like Septimus and other characters, treasures privacy,

Woolf's ability to go beyond the outward appearance to delve into the minds of characters reflects a capacity for insight into the human nature, and makes Mrs Dalloway refreshing and fascinating. ...more

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May 08, 2017 Pam rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 2017, for-school

So, meh. I read it, it was okay. Took about an hour so not much time lost. Before Woolf fans jump down my throat, I LIKE Woolf's writing. LOVE A Room of One's Own. But this one left me lukewarm. ...more

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