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    Mrs. Dalloway (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Mrs. Dalloway (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Mrs. Dalloway (MAXNotes Literature Guides)
    Ebook152 pages50 minutes

    Mrs. Dalloway (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

    By David Gracer

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    About this ebook

    MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions. MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherResearch & Education Association
    Release dateJan 1, 2013
    ISBN9780738672595
    Mrs. Dalloway (MAXNotes Literature Guides)

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      Book preview

      Mrs. Dalloway (MAXNotes Literature Guides) - David Gracer

      Bibliography

      SECTION ONE

      Introduction

      The Life and Work of Virginia Woolf

      Virginia Woolf was born Adeline Virginia Stephen in London on January 25, 1882, and died by suicide on March 12, 1941. She came from a family of writers: her father, Sir Leslie Stephen, was a prominent writer during Queen Victoria’s reign, and her maternal grandfather was William Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair.

      Virginia Stephen and her sister Vanessa were interested in the arts from their childhoods, Vanessa in painting and Virginia in writing. Their mother’s death in 1895 took a great toll on them, and they were sexually abused by their stepbrother, George Duckworth. Virginia suffered her first mental breakdown when she was thirteen years old and several were to follow throughout her life.

      The Stephen sisters settled in Bloomsbury, a section of London that was an unofficial artist’s colony before and after World War I. Virginia married Leonard Woolf in 1912, and in 1917 they started Hogarth Press which operated out of their home in London. Virginia Woolf worked as a typesetter and reader for the press from 1917 to 1937. In addition to the works of the Woolfs’ friends, such as E.M. Forster and Katherine Mansfield, many of Virginia Woolf’s books, including Mrs. Dalloway, were first issued by the Hogarth Press.

      Woolf was prolific, with over 35 essay collections, biographies, and novels being published during her lifetime. Her journals and her many other books were published posthumously. Although she is best known for her novels, Woolf’s essays are often anthologized. The essays reveal Woolf’s interest in social questions as they relate to the arts and women writers. She attacked what she considered outdated ideas about literature, arguing that literary expression should not overlook any aspect of human life. While she claimed that the right to vote made no difference to her, Woolf wrote that women must never be silenced. Throughout her texts, Woolf promotes the role as author for literary women.

      Despite a successful career, Woolf’s private life was deeply and consistently troubled. Her comfortable marriage did not assuage periods of depression, prompted by self-doubts and, to a lesser extent, world affairs. Recalling the horrors of World War I, Woolf and others watched developments in Germany, and dreaded the prospects of another brutal war and the triumph of anti-semitism.

      Also, having endured several breakdowns, Woolf knew the toll mental instability exacted from herself and on her husband. Fearing of another breakdown, Virginia Woolf filled her pockets with stones one day in March 1941, to make herself heavier when she leapt into the River Ouse.

      Historical Background

      The world of Mrs. Dalloway is dualistic, meaning that it concerns two opposites. Though London is calm, basking in sunlight and peace following World War I, the reader sees the inner struggles of the characters, who are fraught with contradiction and unhappiness.

      The war is a real, tangible presence in the novel. Memories of it are still fresh, in the comments about the sons and husbands killed and in an example of war’s legacy: Septimus Warren Smith, a soldier who had been traumatized by the violence he had witnessed. In Woolf’s time, victims of post-battle stress were called shellshocked, and their mental conditions were misunderstood.

      The novel reflects the work of Sigmund Freud, a German doctor who revolutionized the new field of psychology with the publication of his first work, An Introduction to Psychoanalysis, in 1916. The Woolfs were familiar with Freud’s work, having published translations of his writings.

      Mrs. Dalloway occupies an important place in modern literature. It follows a principle of Henry James, an American writer who spent most of his life in Europe. He described the power of situating the action of a novel in the mental life of the characters. That Mrs. Dallowaytakes place in a single day prompts comparisons to James Joyce’s Ulysses, an epic examination of a day as lived by three citizens of Dublin, Ireland. While Woolf said she disliked the novel, it must have influenced her direction in plot, characterization, and the transmission of sensibility.

      Master List of Characters

      Clarissa Dalloway—A woman giving a party on the evening of the day with which the novel is concerned; She is busily arranging details for her big evening. She is 52-years-old.

      Richard Dalloway—Clarissa’s husband, a well respected and powerful public official; He is 55-years-old.

      Peter Walsh—An old friend of Clarissa’s who just returned from a trip to India; There was some chance of romantic involvment between Peter and Clarissa, long before. He is 53-years-old.

      Hugh Whitbread—An old friend of Clarissa’s; Condescending and arrogant, he is disliked by most of the characters who know him. He is 51-years-old.

      Sally Seton—An old friend of Clarissa’s; While the two have been out of touch for a long time, Sally was once very important to Clarissa. She arrives at the party as Lady Rosseter.

      Septimus Warren Smith—A man who returned from World War I before the action of the novel; He is effected by his experiences there. He is approximately 30-years-old.

      Lucrezia Warren Smith (Rezia)—Septimus’ wife; small and nervous, especially about her husband; She still possesses some beauty. He brought her to England from Italy, and she makes hats. She is 24-years-old.

      Dr. Holmes—Septimus’ doctor, recommended by Mrs. Filmer, the Smith’s cook; Unable to help his patient, the doctor calls in Sir William Bradshaw.

      Sir William Bradshaw—The specialist called in to cure Septimus; He has plans to send Septimus to a special home, where he will have a

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