Virginia Woolf: A Literary Pioneer and Her Novel 'Mrs. Dalloway', Appunti di Inglese

Scarica Virginia Woolf: A Literary Pioneer and Her Novel 'Mrs. Dalloway' e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! VIRGINIA WOOLF • She was born in 1882 and she grew up in an intellectual environment. She was educated at home, so she didn’t attend school but she came in contact with many young intellectuals, with whom she formed the Bloomsbury group. • She fought for the feminist rights, she wrote about the women’s cause and gave lectures in favour of the feminist movement. • In 1912 she married Leonard Woolf, which whom she set a printing house in 1917, the Hogarth Press, which published and promoted the publication of experimental and controversial works, including Virginia’s own writings. • She suffered from depression for most of her life → her mother died when she was only 13 and her father died when she was 22. 2 years later, even her much loved brother Toby died and all this caused her nervous breakdowns. • In 1941, perhaps as a result of a more severe breakdown she committed suicide by drowning at the age of 59. • Critics seemed undecided about her place in English literature. Anyway, recently she has been reevaluated and considered one of the greatest English novelists. MRS. DALLOWAY (1925) • The story takes place in one single day in June 1923. The story opens with Clarissa Dalloway going out to buy flowers for the party she is holding later in the day. • She returns home and is preparing for the party, when an old suitor, Peter Walsh, calls to see her. After the talk, Clarissa returns home after lunch. At the party she is conscious of her old suitor’s critical eye. • She leaves the party and in private she considers life, human relations, death and her role in society. • Writing this novel, she was influenced and affected by WW1 and its aftermath → this is evident in the character of Septum’s Warren Smith, who is a shell-shocked veteran of this war and in the end he commits suicide as a result of this post-traumatic stress. • Virginia did not believe in the supremacy of European culture and colonialism, but she empathised with the countries of the empire which began to demand independence → this attitude is embodied by Peter Walsh who, despite working in the Indian civil service, does not like the Empire. • Richard and Clarissa Dalloway seem to represent the establishment, which Virginia did not believe in. Narrative technique: • She focused on perceptions, thoughts, feelings and memories expressed through the use of the stream of consciousness and particularly trough the use of the indirect interior monologue. • Even if there are similarities with Joyce’s Ulysses, Woolf’s thought patterns are coherent and logical and her grammar and punctuation are conventional. There is also an omniscient narrator who acts as a link between the characters to guide the reader. However, no judgment is given and the reader is left to make up his/her mind about characters and events.