Clarissa

            After finishing Mrs. Dalloway, it took me a while to decide whether I really liked the book or not. The writing style was hard to follow, and it generally just wasn’t the type of book I normally choose to read. The books running themes and change in perspective was what really convinced me that I liked it more then I disliked it.

            One of my favorite aspects of the book is the focus on people’s personalities, thoughts, human nature, and the purpose of existence in general.  One of the most intriguing aspects of the book is Clarissa’s view of the world relative to the way she acts. She thinks,

“We are a doomed race, chained to a sinking ship…as the whole thing is a bad joke let us… mitigate the suffering of our fellow prisoners…decorate the dungeon…be as decent as we possibly can” (Woolf 68)

If you ask me, she truly shows a frame of mind that is both carefree and cynical. Each of the characters in the book is truly unique. She shifts her writing style as she switches characters. To me, this was one of the most enjoyable traits of the book and is one of the main reasons I enjoyed it.

            Her writing is tinted with philosophical questions and perhaps meaning, something which I don’t normally find in the literature I read regularly. She constantly addresses aspects of life and asks questions about the nature of the universe. For example, when Clarissa lies down in her bed, Woolf narrates, “She would lie down…But—but—why did she suddenly feel, for no reason that she could discover, desperately unhappy” (Woolf 106). The question of ‘why’ is constantly asked, but is never really answered, which goes well with the morbid truth of the world that we are shown through each individual perspective.

            A third theme that I found interesting was the passage of time; something that Clarissa feels is escaping her grasp and leading to her inevitable death. This focus on time is evident when Clarissa describes a cloud crossing the sun, “silence falls on London; and falls on the mind. Effort ceases. Time flaps on the mast. There we stop; there we stand. Rigid, the skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame” (Woolf 42). She also tries to continually cheer herself up. She Sais that she isn’t as old as she believes she is, saying things like, “she had just broken her fifty-second year. Months and months of it were still untouched. June, July, August!” (Woolf 31).

            Clarissa’s life and personal philosophies contradict. She hosts countless parties, decorates with bright flowers, feigning joy in a watchful and judgmental society. Her atheism and cynicism contrast greatly with her lifestyle. She lives normally with her husband in London and should have no reason to question the world or experience a depression of any sort, but then again it might just be her nature.