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MRS. DALLOWAY (1925) - Coggle Diagram
MRS. DALLOWAY (1925)
THE PLOT
It's the narration of Clarissa Dalloway's day and her thoughts, plus the story of Septimus Smith.
Clarissa wants to buy some flowers for her party and on the way she meets her longtime friend Hugh. When she comes back home, she meets her old suitor Peter Walsh, but their chat is interrupted by her daughter Elizabeth.
The point of view then shifts to Septimus, a veteran of World War I who suffers from shell shock. His psychiatrist Sir William Bradshaw deosn't listen to him nor his wife Lucrezia, and diagnoses “a lack of proportion.” Septimus finds escape in death.
Richard Dalloway (Clarissa's husband), after a lunch with Lady Bruton, buys some flowers for his wife and both of them get ready for the party.
Clarissa meets her old friend Sally at her party and learns about the death of Septimus; she even talks again with Peter and gets lost in her thoughts.
THE THEMES
Fear of Death: Middle-aged Clarissa has experienced the deaths of her father, mother, and sister and has lived through the calamity of war, and she has grown to believe that living even one day is dangerous.
Disillusionment with the British Empire: English citizens lost much of their faith in the empire after the war. Clarissa, Peter, and Septimus, feel the failure of the empire as strongly as they feel their own personal failures.
Threat of Oppression: Oppression is a constant threat for Clarissa and Septimus. It comes in many guises, including religion, science, or social convention. Miss Kilman and Sir William Bradshaw are two of the major oppressors in the novel.
Communication vs. Privacy: The characters in the novel struggle to find a good balance between communication and privacy. Clarissa sees Septimus’s death as a desperate, but legitimate, act of communication.
THE CHARACTERS
Sally Seton
As a girl, Sally was without inhibitions, and as an adult at the party, she is still effusive and lacks Clarissa’s restraint. She thinks saying what one feels is the most important contribution one can make to society.
Septimus Smith
He is a veteran of World War I that suffers from shell shock. He lives in an internal world and the one outside of him seems to be threatening; infact Septimus chooses to escape his problems by killing himself.
Richard Dalloway
He is Clarissa's husband; he considers tradition of prime importance, rather than passion or open communication.
Peter Walsh
he is middle-aged and fears he has wasted his life, but sometimes he also feels he is not yet old. He cannot commit to an identity, or even to a romantic partner.
Clarissa Dalloway
She the heroin of the novel that has difficulty balancing internal and external life. Her world consists of glittering surfaces and she is always mixing the past and the present; she also has a tendency toward introspection.
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