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A review by kaushalaperera
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"Death was defiance. Death was an attempt to communicate; people feeling the impossibility of reaching the centre which, mystically, evaded them; closeness drew apart; rapture faded; one was alone. There was an embrace in death."⌛
'Mrs Dalloway' sets on a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway in 1923 as she prepares to host a party in the evening. Within a day we encounter several different people who are interconnected in some way. Clarissa Dalloway, the protagonist is a high society lady in her early fiftees with all the comforts in life. Her day is interrupted by her former lover Peter Walsh who seems to be lost after Clarissa rejected him. Flashbacks of their lives come to play as the story goes on. Meanwhile, Septimus Warren Smith is a war veteran who is suffering from shell shock. Doctors consider him to be mad and try to separate him from the rest of the world. The author goes on mentioning about other characters, their flashbacks and inner monologues that take place throughout this hot summer day🥂
I must say that the story is absolutely interesting as it is intertwined with various themes such as time, death, class, psychology and a little bit of homosexuality, which was quite uncommon at that time. The writing style of Mrs Dalloway is known as 'stream of consciousness' where the main focus lies on the inner voices of these complex characters. Virginia Woolf is known for her modernist work of literature. She perfectly depicts the post war mentality in England, where life seems to be meaningless and monotonous. Characters seek comfort in day to day changes and their past experiences when things get too tedious. They are often distracted. Their minds are present and absent at the same time as they try to convince themselves that life is good and they are enjoying the moment. The way she describes mental illness is unusually gorgeous. Even the least significant bits of the day face great significance by her way of writing, be it a random stranger falling asleep on a park bench or the warm wind in mid June.
The same qualities that make this book so special made it a little bit difficult to get through. There's a lot of things happening at once and I needed some time to process in between. After all, isn't that how our mind works? Spinning around continuously and endlessly until we get stuck in a loop of thoughts? ❤️
"Still, the sun was hot. Still, one got over things. Still, life had a way of adding day to day."🍃
'Mrs Dalloway' sets on a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway in 1923 as she prepares to host a party in the evening. Within a day we encounter several different people who are interconnected in some way. Clarissa Dalloway, the protagonist is a high society lady in her early fiftees with all the comforts in life. Her day is interrupted by her former lover Peter Walsh who seems to be lost after Clarissa rejected him. Flashbacks of their lives come to play as the story goes on. Meanwhile, Septimus Warren Smith is a war veteran who is suffering from shell shock. Doctors consider him to be mad and try to separate him from the rest of the world. The author goes on mentioning about other characters, their flashbacks and inner monologues that take place throughout this hot summer day🥂
I must say that the story is absolutely interesting as it is intertwined with various themes such as time, death, class, psychology and a little bit of homosexuality, which was quite uncommon at that time. The writing style of Mrs Dalloway is known as 'stream of consciousness' where the main focus lies on the inner voices of these complex characters. Virginia Woolf is known for her modernist work of literature. She perfectly depicts the post war mentality in England, where life seems to be meaningless and monotonous. Characters seek comfort in day to day changes and their past experiences when things get too tedious. They are often distracted. Their minds are present and absent at the same time as they try to convince themselves that life is good and they are enjoying the moment. The way she describes mental illness is unusually gorgeous. Even the least significant bits of the day face great significance by her way of writing, be it a random stranger falling asleep on a park bench or the warm wind in mid June.
The same qualities that make this book so special made it a little bit difficult to get through. There's a lot of things happening at once and I needed some time to process in between. After all, isn't that how our mind works? Spinning around continuously and endlessly until we get stuck in a loop of thoughts? ❤️
"Still, the sun was hot. Still, one got over things. Still, life had a way of adding day to day."🍃