1

The original title for Mrs Dalloway was The Hours, suggesting that time itself plays an
important role in the novel. Limited by time, Woolf offers a deep insight into the human mind,
showing that long-lasting medical analysis is not always superior when it comes to
representing the mental states of characters. The thoughts of Clarissa and Septimus are well
kept from other people in society and their outsides do not reflect them. Clarissa is regarded
as the perfect wife, mother and hostess, while Septimus is considered to be the brave, manly
war hero. On the outside they seem to embody gender stereotypes, yet the defining of their
roles is not obvious when comparing the conscious and the unconscious parts of the text, that
is to say what is actually written and what can be read between the lines. Even though Woolf
perhaps intended to categorize Clarissa and Septimus into opposites when it comes to sanity
and gender, the text itself might prove otherwise.
It is surprising to find that Buddhists talked about the stream of consciousness back in the
5th Century BC. Their accounts of the substrate consciousness all refer to an individual stream
of consciousness, or vina-sota, that carries on from one lifetime to the next.
Much later in history, William James coined the term stream of consciousness in his
book The Principles of Psychology1 (1890): .... it is nothing joined; it flows. A river or
a stream is the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter,
lets call it the stream of thought, consciousness, or subjective life. The attempt at
introspective analysis in these cases is in fact like seizing a spinning top to catch its motion,
or trying to turn up the gas quickly enough to see how the darkness looks.
Through this metaphor, we can define the phenomenon as the continuous and contiguous
flow of sensations, impressions, images, memories and thoughts which are experienced at all

1 Principles of Psychology - William James 1890..p:45

levels of consciousness, and generally associated with the persons subjectivity or sense of
self.
In an attempt to connect the psychological concept with the literary field, psychological
novels were developed in the 20th Century. The term was first used in a literary sense by May
Sinclair in her 1918 review of a novel by Dorothy Richardson. Other authors well known for
this style include Katherine Mansfield, William Faulkner and, most notably, James Joyce.
Writers such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, tried to capture the total flow of their
characters consciousness, rather than limit themselves to rational thoughts. This narrative
technique, was employed so as to portray an individual's point of view by given the written
equivalent of the characters thought processes.
Another appropriate term for this device is Interior monologue where the individual
thought process of a character associated to his or her actions are portrayed in form of
a monologue that addresses the character itself. Therefore, it is different from the dramatic
monologue or Soliloquy where the speaker addresses the audience or the third person.
By voicing their internal feelings, the writer gives freedom to the charcaters to travel
back and forth in time. Mrs. Dalloway went out to buy flowers for herself and on the way her
thoughts moves in past and present giving us an inssight into the complex nature of her
character. It is a style of writing developed by a group of writers at the beginning of the 20th
century. It aimed at expressing in words the flow of a characters thoughts and feelings in
their minds. The technique aspires to give readers the impression of being inside the mind of
the character. Therefore, the internal view of the minds of the characters sheds light on plot
and motivation in the novel.

This is evidenced all through Mrs Dalloway (1928). By featuring their internal
feelings, Woolf allows her characters thoughts to travel back and forth in time, reflecting and
refracting their emotional experiences .This characteristic is illustrated right from the
beginning of the novel.
Clarissa Dalloway aged 50 suffers a flashback from the time when she was 18, which
was caused by the sound of the hinges: (...) with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could
hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air.
How fresh, how calm, stiller than this of course, the air was in the early morning; like the flap
of a wave; the kiss of a wave; chill and sharp and yet (for a girl of eighteen as she then was)
solemn, feeling as she did, standing there at the open window (...).2 In this way, we can see
how Clarissas thoughts were incited by an outside sensory stimulus. The novel opens as the
central character, Mrs. Dalloway, goes out to buy flowers for her party, which is to be taking
place in the evening of the same day. Its a sunny morning in London in June 1923 and
Clarissa walks through the streets of London and enjoys the beauty of the fresh morning.
Bond Street fascinated her; Bond Street early in the morning in the season; its flags flying,
its shops, no splash; no glitter;.. Interestingly enough, Woolf in her Diary entry from May 25,
1932, says: society, buying clothes,all England spoilt, terror at night of things generally
wrong in the universe, buying clothes, how I hate Bond Street and spending money on
clothes 3. It is conceivable that Woolf, with her apathy towards the materialistic consumption
society symbolized by the precise location of Bond Street in London, wanted to criticize the
society and its public social gestures, which get in the way of peoples communication and
create a sense of loneliness in human existence. During her preparation of the novel, Woolf
notes in the Diary, I want to give life and death, sanity and insanity; I want to criticize the
2 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.
3 Jurnalul unei scriitoare-Virginia Woolf 1980- Univers, Bucuresti

social system, and to show it at work, at its most intense 4.

Clarissas mind is flooded with a stream of impressions and images. All these lead her
mind to the most important association with Bourton, which seems to be Peter Walsh, who
she characterizes by his smile, his pocket-knife and letters he was sending her, but she found
them awfully dull 5. We can see, how a mere squeak of the hinge on the door transports
Clarissas mind and us as readers into the past, at Bourton so fluidly, without interrupting
the constancy of the continuous flow into which more and more characters are gradually
merging. They live their ordinary lives, think of others, observe, watch and are watched at the
same time, all with their pasts, sorrows, and joys, leaving their marks on others, making some
everlasting impression in their mind, their paths crossing for some hidden underlying purpose
of which they are all unconsciously aware.
The first three pages, until Clarissa meets Hugh Whitbread, do not on the surface appear
to be containing any significant information for the reader about Clarissa or her relationship to
anything else in the outside world. However, this could be misleading, since an attentive
reader who reads between the lines might easily notice that there is something more
interesting about Clarissa, than about any other ordinary middle-aged woman on an ordinary
summers day. Virginia Woolf seems to have reflected much of her own sensible vision of life
in the character of Clarissa, who just like Woolf gets so easily carried away by the absurdity
and strangeness of human existence, coming and going, by the momentary reverie, out of
which Clarissa is jolted out and brought back to the physicality of the real world by some
outward symbol Big Ben striking or an automobile with a royal personage. Clarissa, like
Woolf, senses some emblematic pattern in the landscape, and the pattern has very little to do
4 Jurnalul unei scriitoare-Virginia Woolf 1980- Univers, Bucuresti
5 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.

with what she actually sees 6. Clarissas mind reveals this extremely sensitive approach in
her vision of things around, which is not just accidentally close to Woolfs own. Woolf,
through Clarissas thoughts, expresses her preoccupation with the plight of the modern,
fragmented disillusioned world, especially as a reaction to the traumas of the First World War.
Woolfs desire is to overcome this fragmentation through the integrity of aesthetic form
which she offers us in Mrs. Dalloway.
Mrs. Dalloway in her reverie observes intensively the pulsing life around her which
evokes rather mixed feelings in her. On the one hand, she devotedly feels part of it, but on the
other, she can not help feeling this incredible separateness from everything, loneliness which
accompanies one constantly. she too, loving it as she did with an absurd and faithful
passion, being part of it, she too, was going that very night to kindle and illuminate, to give
her party. But how strange, on entering the Park, the silence, the mist, the hum 7.
Something similar happens when she is mending the dress for her party, as just the movement
of the needle makes Clarissas deepest emotions arise: ...drawing the silk smoothly to its
gentle pause, collected the green fold together and attached them, very lightly, to the belt. So
on a summers day waves collect, overbalance, and fall; collect and fall; and the whole world
seems to be saying that is all more and more ponderously, until even the heart in the body
which lies in the sun on the beach says too, That is all. Fear no more, says the heart.
Looking at Clarissas summers in Bourton, Peter Walsh was one of her dearest friends, and
most importantly, her old suitor. He arrives in London from India, and goes right away to see
Clarissa. After so long, it is impossible to deny the feelings that their chat is able to evoke.
Focusing on Peter, despite having married with an Indian woman, he still has feelings for
6 Naremore, James. The World Without a Self. London: Yale University Press,
1973.
7 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.

Clarissa and remembers when she rejected him: ...it almost broke my heart too, he thought;
and was overcome with his own grief, which rose like a moon looked at from a terrace,
ghastly beautiful with light from the sunken day. I was more unhappy than Ive ever been
since, he thought. And as if in truth he were sitting there on the terrace he edged a little
towards Clarissa; put his hand out; raised it; let it fall. There above them it hung, that moon.
She too seemed to be sitting with him on the terrace, in the moonlight.8
On the other side of the coin, Septimus Warren Smith was a World War I solider. He is
also very attuned to lifes deep meaning and has intense reactions, like those triggered by the
noise from the tyres, expressed by means of interior monologue: And there the motor car
stood, with drawn blinds, and upon them a curious pattern like a tree, Septimus thought, and
this gradual drawing together of everything to one centre before his eyes, as if some horrow
had come almost to the surface and was about to burst into fames, terrified him (...) It is I
who am blocking the way, he thought. Was he not being looked at and pointed at; was he not
weighted there rooted to the pavement, for a purpose? But for what purpose?9
Septimuss wife tremendously suffered his husband mental illness and suicide attempt. To
love makes one solitary, she thought.10 Yet, Rezia could not speak her mind, and that is the
reason why we get to know her by jumping into her mind: For she could stand it no longer.
Dr Holmes might say there was nothing the matter (...) She could not sit beside him when he
stared so and did not see her and made everything terrible, sky and tree, children playing,
dragging carts, blowing whistles, falling down; all were terrible. And he would not kill

8-9 -10 - 11Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.

9
10

himself; and she could tell no one (...) Look! Her wedding ring slipped she had grown so
thin. It was she who suffered but she had nobody to tell.11
ForClarissagivingapartymeansmuchmorethanforanyoneelse.Itisawaytoshareher
greatestgift,awayhowClarissa,withherpersistentsenseofsomedeepinnerloneliness,
attemptstobringpeopletogetherandthusperhaps,compensateforthelackoftruepersonal
affectionsinherlife.Shecouldseewhatshelacked.Itwasnotbeauty;itwasnotmind.It
wassomethingcentralwhichpermeated;somethingwarmwhichbrokeupsurfacesandrippled
thecoldcontactmanandwoman,orofwomentogether.12Itwasthedesiretoexperiencethat
pleasureofthehumanintercoursethatlinkedBloomsburymembers,andthatClarissacould
havefoundinapotentialintimaterelationshipwithPeter,orSallySeton,whensheyielded
tothecharmofawoman,notagirl,orawomanconfessing,astohertheyoftendid,some
scrape,somefolly13Duringthepreparationofthenovel,WoolfwritesinherDiary:Ifone
could be friendly with women, what a pleasure the relationship so secret and private
comparedwithrelationswithmen14
When Septimus, close before his death, relishes for a while some inner peace and
freedomfromhisdisturbingmentalstate,hefeelsconnectedtohisdeadwarfriendEvans:
hismessagesfromthedead;donotcutdowntrees;tellthePrimeMinister.Universal
love:themeaningoftheworld15SeptimusdesiretotellthePrimeMinistersuggeststhat
Septimussenseofthetruemeaninginlifeisnomorecompatiblewiththesuperficialsocial
fabricepitomizedbythePrimeMinister.Hisattempttocommunicatefurtherthemessageof
universallovereachesClarissasmindwhoatherpartyhearsaboutthedeathoftheuknown
youngman.Clarissa,inthesolitude,awayfromthecrowdandnoiseofherparty,through
Septimussdeath,isabletofullyrecognizethemessageoftruemeaninginlifeandrealize
thathersuperficialself,gossip,lies,chatter,doingthingstomakepeoplethinkthisorthat
11
12,13, 15, 16 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.
13
14 Jurnalul unei scriitoare-Virginia Woolf 1980- Univers, Bucuresti
15

washerdisasterherdisgrace.Discrepancybetweentheexternallimitedandtheinternal
boundlessselfofClarissa,presentinherthoughtssincethebeginningoftheday,aresuddenly
delicatelyharmonizedandthiscomestoherinformofsomeincredibleinnerrevelationor
discovery, some inner peace with the death as she stands at the window, seeing the old
womanintheroomoppositeTherewasanembraceindeath.16
SheunderstandsthatSeptimushadthrownhislifeaway,yet,heplungedholdinghis
treasurehepreservedhisvision.Shefeelsintuitivelywhyhedidit.Sheknowsnowhow
importantistofollowonesinnervoice,toliveoneslifeinaway,thatifitwerenowtodie,
twerenowtobemosthappythesamefeelingshehadfeltoncebeforeinherlife,years
agointhepresenceofSally.JustasSallyproposedapathtofreedomforClarissainthepast,
nowSeptimusinhisdeath,providesClarissawithsomenewilluminatinghorizons,someodd
sensethatdeathwasnottheendbutratherabeginning.KelleysuggeststhatSeptimusdoes
notonlypreservehisownvision,butalsothatofMrs.Dalloway,awomanwhoseactivitiesin
thelimitedworlddemandsomesacrificetopurifyherownsenseofunityfrominsincerityor
socialliesandhencewecanunderstandhisdeathasredemptionforClarissa.
Havingexperiencedthisincrediblesenseofbeingcomplete,Clarissagoesbacktoher
partywhichisforheranoffering;tocombine,tocreatehergreatestgift.Yetsheisnot
enjoyingit.Sheistrappedinherinabilitytogodeeper,beneathwhatpeoplesaid(andthese
judgements,howsuperficial,howfragmentarytheyare!),17 andshefeelsthatherparties,
despite they bring people together, do not break the hard, solid, superficial surface of
conventions.Peoplearenotthemselves,beingtakenoutoftheirordinaryways,withtheir
perfectclothes,gestures,smiles.They,atsometimeattheparty,thinkthisorthatoneof
another,withtheirhiddensuspicions,anxities,yettheyfailtorecognizewhatonereallyis
likeunderthesuperficialfaade.
Sally says, what can one know even of the people one lives with every day? and
paradoxically,SallyandPeterseeClarissaasameresnob,aperfectgoose.Forthereshe
was.Clarissatheperfecthostess.Yetonenotknowingpeople;notbeingknown,it
indeedremainsunknowntoanyoneattheparty,thatClarissatheperfecthostess,isnow
morecompletethaninthemorning,whenshesaidshewouldbuytheflowersherself
16
17 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.

Nevertheless,Woolfnolongertruststhisfactual,recognizableperspectiveonlifeand
humanrelationshipsasherpredecessorsdid,andbelievestheideaofsayingofanyonethat
theywerethisorwerethatisnolongeradequate.Sheisinthepursueofexpressingthe
reality,whichisnotjustamerereflectionofthevisibleworld,butratheranattemptto
translateintothenovelvarious,innumerablequalitiesofthehumansoul.Human
relationshipsinMrs.Dallowayare,therefore,notofacertaingivenquality,sinceWoolf
didnotconsiderherselfreliableenoughtomakeonedimensionaljudgementsabouther
charactersandexpressimpressionswhichshouldalsoholdgoodforothers.Thenature
ofthenovelseemstosuggestthathumanpersonalitiesemergedifferentlyinfrontof
differentpeopleandthatthereisanobviousdiscrepancybetweencharactersoutside
appearancetosocietyandhisinnerself.ClarissaandSeptimuscouldintheeyesofsociety
appearascompleteopposites,butthereaderwhoisadvantageandcanearesdropontheir
innerthoughtsandimpressions,canseehowtheircommunicationisachieved.
Individual past, ones recollections, dreams and memories are always relevant in
understanding an individual, and since characters in Mrs. Dalloway are in their mutual
interaction never fully aware of one anothers private thoughts, emotions, moments of
revelation, but even trivial moments which are like buds on the tree of life, their
relationships are characterized by their inability to go under the surface and enjoy the
pleasureofthehumanintercoursesincerely,withoutpretending,liesandsocialmasks.This
incompletenessofonesknowledgeofoneanothermakeshumanbeingsinMrs.Dalloway
despite they are socially defined at the superficial external level appear as solitary
travelersintheflowoflife.Arewenotallprisoners?asksSally 18.Everycharacteris
indeedtheprisonerofhisownfluxofthoughtsandimpressions,hisownpast.Facilepublic
gesturesthatwemakeourattempttocommunicateandescapetheinnerlonelinessare
alwaysjustapproximate,thuspeoplesbehaviouristheroughestguidetowhattheymean
.

19

AllcharactersinMrs.Dallowaythroughoutthenovelaredrivenbyadesiretofindthe
meansforcommunicatingeffectivelywithoneanother.RichardforinstanceatLadyBrutons
lunchthinksofhowtocommunicatehislovetoClarissayethefailsto,PeterandClarissas
communicationduringtheirshortmeetingshowssignsofinsincerity,Lucreziasfrustration
18 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.
19 Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.

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springsfromanapparentlackofcommunicationinhermarriageandSeptimusinstinctively
feels that he has to communicate the universal message of love. Clarissa also wants to
establishreal,genuinecontactwithothers,andexperiencesaglimpseintosomethingmore
profoundandilluminatinginsolitude,ratherthaninthenoiseofherparty.Forpartiesbring
people together, yet the superficiality of the communication achieved by means of such
mechanical and empty behaviour, shows, how in a profound sense, characters in Mrs.
Dallowayarelonelierthaneverinacrowd.On the whole, the analysis of these characters has
allowed us to identify Woolfs use of stream of consciousness. The writer represents the full
richness, speed, and subtlety of the mind at work. She once said: I can only note that the
past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus
we don't have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.20

Bibliography:

Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf- 1928 Harcourt Inc.

Principles of Psychology- William James 1890 - New York : Holt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stream_of_consciousness_%28psychology%29
Jurnalul unei scriitoare-Virginia Woolf 1980- Univers, Bucuresti
Naremore,James.TheWorldWithoutaSelf.London:YaleUniversityPress,1973.

20 Jurnalul unei scriitoare-Virginia Woolf 1980- Univers, Bucuresti

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