Lost in Time: Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway masterfully captures the blurring of past and present, presenting time as fragmented yet continuous in the minds of its characters.
Early in the novel (around page 8), Clarissa steps out into London, her mind drifting between past reflections and the present, as she prepares for her evening party. She has recently recovered from an illness that forced her into bed rest and changed her life. Now, enjoying the fresh air and the surrounding city, she looks forward to hosting a gathering that will bring people together.
At this moment, "She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged. She sliced like a knife through everything; at the same time was outside, looking on."
This duality—feeling both young and old, present yet detached—exemplifies how Woolf explores the fluidity of time, with Clarissa existing in multiple moments of her life at once. She feels youthful and energized, especially after her illness. Contrasting her lively spirit, she also feels "unspeakably aged," reflecting on the opportunities of her youth she missed when she was still simply Clarissa Parry, before becoming "Mrs. Dalloway."
Though her experiences have shaped her, Clarissa often feels incomplete and inferior to other women, particularly in education, politics, and social connections. She frequently feels like an outsider, looking into her husband's political world—a part of it, yet never fully belonging. The phrase "outside, looking on" also captures her tendency to reflect on her past from the perspective of her older self, observing her younger self’s thoughts, actions, and liveliness.
As Clarissa takes her walk through London to pick up flowers, her shifting perceptions and frequent jumps to memories illustrate how the past lingers in our minds, continuously shaping how we experience the present.
Though her experiences have shaped her, Clarissa often feels incomplete and inferior to other women, particularly in education, politics, and social connections. She frequently feels like an outsider, looking into her husband's political world—a part of it, yet never fully belonging. The phrase "outside, looking on" also captures her tendency to reflect on her past from the perspective of her older self, observing her younger self’s thoughts, actions, and liveliness.
As Clarissa takes her walk through London to pick up flowers, her shifting perceptions and frequent jumps to memories illustrate how the past lingers in our minds, continuously shaping how we experience the present.
Great analysis! I absolutely love when authors foreshadow their novel in the beginning and I'm a little surprised we didn't catch that in our discussion. Overall great find and awesome post!
ReplyDeleteI like your reading of that moment in front of the mirror where Clarissa self-consciously and deliberately "assembles" her persona and self before re-emerging into the world. As with so much in this novel, we see a clear connection between the "fragmented" experience of time and memory alongside a keen awareness that none of us is every "strictly in the present"--we are our present selves, but those selves are comprised of all the versions of ourselves we've been previously. Clarissa STILL IS young Clarissa Parry on some level--and we get a kind of confirmation of this idea later in the novel, when Peter remembers young Clarissa's "transcendental theory" of how people connect and shape each other through intersubjective relationships--and we recognize that this is entirely consistent with her "defense" of her parties, which she is convinced that Peter and Richard "misunderstand." Connected to this misunderstanding, of course, is the way Peter disparages her as a future "perfect hostess"--she HAS lived out his prediction, in some sense, but she has done so on her terms. It's easy to see the present-day Clarissa "hostess" role as a natural and consistent outgrowth of her early ideals. She has changed (as has he, as have all of us), but she "still is" that eighteen-year-old girl on some level.
ReplyDeleteVirginia Woolf definitely utilizes time in an interesting and unique way throughout Mrs. Dalloway. I agree that the way the narrative (when it is through Clarissa's perspective) dips in and out of the past reflects how Clarissa is mentally in both the past and the present. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNice blog post. Yeah, Clarissa definitely thinks back to her past a lot in this book, and it might be a side effect of her having recovered her strength from her illness. Youthful people have a lot of energy, and I think Clarissa had a lot of energy, too, when she recovered from her illness, even as old as she was.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think the idea you were getting at also applies to other questions we've asked about the book. The question of happiness, where we wonder if Clarissa is happy with her life with Richard or if she would have preferred marriage with Peter, can be answered the same way. Not fully yes or no, and at times a bit of one more than another. The quote you chose to demonstrate this was a very good example. It all demonstrates, like you said, the fluidity of the novel.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm spending too much time on college applications, but this post reminds me of an essay prompt which discusses the ways in which we "get younger as we grow older." Maybe you've heard of it, haha. I think Clarissa embodies this idea perfectly; she continues to grow older physically, but she seems to become more naïve at the same time. She gains all these insecurities as she's immersed in the world of nobility, surrounded by people who make her feel inferior. Rather than being the free spirit that she used to be, unconcerned with society's expectations, she has these new fears and lives her life doubting who she truly is, like a young woman who has yet to find her way. Cool Idea!
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis of the way Woolf uses age to convey Clarissa's emotions. I agree that it gives the book an interesting angle that I didn't give much thought while I was reading. Great post!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting blog post! I really love how Woolf uses Clarissa's ages in order to write about how she feels and how she constantly compares herself to her younger self. Clarissa existing in multiple periods of her a life is a sentence that I think perfectly summarizes Clarissa in this book. This definitely makes for a very interesting introspection into Clarissa.
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about how Woolf uses continuity in her descriptions of both time and her characters. I think Mrs. Dalloway, as a novel, does an amazing job of presenting the whole person as they narrate. The book doesn't leave out a single perspective, and readers can really see how a character is viewed in different sectors of society. Clarissa is a great example of this: she's always hyper-aware of those around her, what they may think of her, what she thinks of herself, and how her past experiences have led her to this very moment. The idea that those around us have lives as detailed as our own is such an interesting thought, and you did a great job tackling it in this post!
ReplyDeleteGood work, Woolf’s blending of past and present through Clarissa’s consciousness really captures the fluidity of time, where memories and present experiences are intertwined.
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