Scarica Mrs. Dalloway di Virginia Woolf e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! VIRGINIA WOOLF Virginia Woolf is one of the most important English female writers. In her works she wanted to talk about ordinary life and events and to describe ordinary people, in order to point out their actions and emotions. In particular she thought that people were always hit by a myriad of emotions and sensations, and therefore her purpose was precisely to give voice to this inner world of the characters, and no longer to describe the events of the story but the impression these events left on the character. M Dallowa Plot Mrs. Dalloway is one of the most famous novels by Virginia Woolf, it tells the events that take place in a single day, in July 1923. The protagonist of the novel, Clarissa, is organizing a dinner party at her house, so she goes to buy some flowers for the party. As she renters the flower shop she sees Septimus, and his wife Lucrezia. Septimus is an estate agent, who was shell shocked by the war, in fact he suffers from a mental illness due to war. Septimus is going to a session with Doctor William Bradshaw, a famous specialist, who tells him that had to be taken to one of his clinics. Shortly after, however, Septimus commits suicide, he would rather die than see himself inside such a place, so he throws himself out of a window. During this day Clarissa also meets Peter Walsh, the man who used to love. At the party all of the characters reunite, and Clarissa finds out about Septimus's suicide in fact she meets Doctor Bradshaw who tells her what happened. Although Clarissa did not know Septimus, she is still impressed and feels empathy for what happened to Septimus. Setting The novel is set in a small area of London, in particular at the protagonist’s house, and tells the events of a single day in June. Technique Virginia uses cinematic techniques like flashbacks and close-ups. The omniscient narrator dissapears in her novels, and the point of view often shifts between the different characters. Virginia also used the so called tunneling technique, that allows the reader to experience the characters recollection of their past, since there are frequent flashbacks or moments in which the characters think about past events. The characters There are many characters, and all of them are linked to each other by the dinner party organized at Clarissa’s house. Clarissa is the protagonist of the novel, and she is an upper middle class woman, just like Virginia Woolf. She is characterized by these opposing feelings, on the one hand there is her need of freedom, in fact she is married to a very conservative and conventional man, Richard Dalloway that , represses her in a sense, and on the other hand there is her class consciousness. So she struggles constantly to balance her internal life with the external world and this is why her mood seems to fluctuate, at some moments she seems delighted, at others she seems depressed. And also the events of this day make her reflect and think about her past and her life. Another important character is Septimus, a veteran of war that is mentally damaged because his friend died during the war. He commits suicide because he is no longer able to fit in and adapt to society after the war. Although they didn’t know each other, Clarissas and Septimus’ characters are very similar and they are connected to one another because they have the same responses in physical terms and depend on their partners for stability and protection. But the substantial difference between the two, is the fact that Septimus has removed himself from the external world, instead he lived in an internal world in which he feels guilty of his friend's death. Septimus chooses to escape his problems by killing himself, a dramatic and tragic gesture that ultimately helps Clarissa to accept her own choices, as well as the society in which she lives. Virginia’s aim Virginia's idea with this novel is to make us understand the way in which the characters react to situations and to give us an insight into their thoughts and feelings. She wanted also to show the humanity of her characters, going beyond their social mask. Themes One of the most important theme in this novel is the passing of time, and how it affects the characters, reactions, decisions and thoughts, but also the time marked by the clock reminds the reader the passing of time, and the awareness of eventual death. There Is this close Relationship given by the external time marked by the strike of the Big Ben and the internal time given in particular Clarissa’s thoughts that emphasizes how much time is passing, in fact she goes back and forth between past memories, events of the present and future plans. Style Unlike Joyce, Virginia Woolf doesn’t use the inner monologue to describe the characters' thoughts directly, she never lets their thoughts flow without control, but she always maintains a logical and grammatical order, in fact she uses a poetic and emotional language. Another difference with Joyce, are the moments of being, that are rare occasions of insight, while Joyce's are called epiphanies. Domande pag 323 1 What is the setting in time and place? Mrs. Dalloway is one of the most famous novels by Virginia Woolf, it tells the events that take place in a single day, in July 1923. It is set in a small area of London, and in particular mosto of the scenes take place at the protagonist’s house.
