In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf gives an introspective lens into Clarissa Dalloway. As the novel begins, she appears to be discontent with where her life has gone: constantly thinking about the past and how past decisions have affected her present. Clarissa feels as if she does not fit in with her husband’s social circle which is who she interacts with on a daily basis. She feels she is uneducated compared to them, making her seem incompetent when they start talking about things such as politics. For instance, Woolf mentions “she knew nothing; no language, no history; she scarcely read a book now, except memoirs in bed.” To her, she is put in the position of Richard Dalloway’s wife; she hosts his parties and does other tasks while he does politics and meets with important people. This divide is brought to light when she is not invited to a lunch party with Richard and feels excluded from everyone because she cannot talk about politics at this lunch.
However, as the novel unfolds it becomes apparent that her discontent is more complex than originally assumed. One of the central sources of her discontent is a passing remark Peter Walsh made to her many years ago: calling her the "perfect hostess." Seemingly a casual comment on Peter’s end, it ended up ingrained in her mind for the past thirty years. The comment was particularly irritating to Clarissa because Peter’s prediction was correct all those years ago. She feels that Peter judges her for capitulating to societal norms and marrying Richard Dalloway which put her in her current role. For Clarissa, Peter’s observation suggests superficiality, implying that her life has been reduced to managing the social rituals of parties and gatherings. This idea wounds her because it undermines her sense of self. As the novel comes to a close we see why the comment turned out to be so personal. While she is hosting her party it is revealed she sees her parties as a way of making life: bringing people together where everyone is deep in conversation. She takes pride in her parties and believes she is doing something important but she puts weight behind Peter’s view of her which makes her question herself. Peter sees what she feels as important and meaningful to be superficial and a waste of potential from her younger self.
I agree, but also the conflict between personal expectations and other peoples' expectations of them. Such as Peter Walsh, he doesn't represent society but it still matters.
ReplyDeleteI also agree, but I feel Clarissa is weighed down even more especially at the party when she thinks its a failure and when people start talking about septimus' death. Overall, the pressures of the life Richard wants Clarissa to live is definitely apparent and we see this weigh her down in her thoughts. Great Post!
ReplyDeletePeter sees her as discontented with her life, but maybe that was just because he wasn't in it. Clarissa's feelings of less than could be a large contribution as to why she and Ms. Kilman never truly got along, and yet, Clarissa lived a fine life. She feels satisfied at the end of her party so maybe she wasn't unhappy with her role as 'the perfect hostess' after all.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I think it is more the fact that Peter Walsh's perception of Clarissa that doesn't align with her perception of herself that causes her distress. The moment when Clarissa's distress is relieved is when she forgets about Peter's thoughts and decides to embrace her role as you define it, a person whose parties are "making life".
ReplyDeleteI would also agree but I think that she feels most at distress when this version of herself that she tries to be, this Mrs. Dalloway, is threatend by Septimus's death and the prospect of the party falling apart. I think she has if nothing else convinced herself to be happyt in the role of Mrs. Dalloway as opposed to clarissa.
ReplyDeleteI agree, especially with the idea that Clarissa's problem comes from the clash between how others see her and how she sees herself. The perception of Peter challenges her all the time.
ReplyDelete