5. Mrs. Dalloway: (pg. 8)

5. Mrs. Dalloway: (pg. 8) “She would not say…was outside, looking on.”:
Woolf wrote her personal feelings into the character of Clarissa. Woolf recognized that she had things to be happy about: she had a good marriage, she was physically okay, and she had survived the war and the tragedies of her early life. However, she felt empty. She felt isolated and nervous. She tried to learn about things by reflection and by learning about things she hoped to feel as if she belonged. But when she dissected things, she still felt on the outside and alone. Mrs. Dalloway was a typical wealthy female character of the time. She was not educated in schools but was trained on responsibilities of maintaining a household. She reflected about things but because of her lack of education or the way people viewed women in this time, she discredited herself. Her husband was a traditional character. If she had married Walsh perhaps the reflective side of her nature would have been developed. By writing about these internal conflicts in Clarissa, Woolf calls attention to the dilemma for most women of the time who were by nature intellectual but were not encouraged to develop these aspects.

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.

“Virginia Woolf.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 27 September 2009. 27 September 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf