15. Mrs. Dalloway: (pg 31)

15. Mrs. Dalloway: (pg 31) “Lovely in girlhood… for example on the river beneath the woods at Clieveden…she had failed him.”:
The Clieveden woods are a scenic area next to the Thames River in London, England. Woolf brings the beautiful and calming imagery of the woods to the reader while at the same time leading into a confusing tone. Clarissa feels empty; she is at a loss as to what is the nature of love and desire. She can sense it more clearly with women, but she still doesn’t feel it completely. Woolf was much the same. In her diaries, she wrote about being a victim of childhood sexual abuse by one of her brothers, and this event had an impact on all sexual relationships in her future. Woolf fills Clarissa’s character with a similar uncertainty. Woolf develops Clarissa as an isolated and alone character. Victims of abuse may feel uncertain, isolated, and separated from others.

“Cliveden Woods, from ferry, London.” www.old-picture.com. 2006-2008. 29 September 2009. http://www.old-picture.com/europe/Cliveden-Woods-ferry-London.htm

Hussey, Mark. Preface. Virginia Woolf. Mrs. Dalloway. By Virginia Woolf. 2005 by Harcourt Incorporated. 27 September 2009.

Scott, Bonnie Kime. Introduction. Mrs. Dalloway. By Virginia Woolf. 2005 by Harcourt Incorporated. 27 September 2009.