Are Clarissa and Septimus Two Sides of The Same Coin?
In Virginia Woolf's book Mrs. Dalloway, we are introduced to two seemingly different characters: Clarissa Dalloway is throwing a party, while Septimus is struggling to hold on to his sanity. One is a wealthy woman preparing to entertain London's upper class, and the other is a World War I veteran who has become increasingly disconnected from the world around him. If these two were strangers walking down the street, they wouldn't even bat an eye at each other. They come from different backgrounds, live very different lives, and face problems that seem completely unrelated. Clarissa spends her day worrying about her party, reflecting on her past, and thinking about her place in society, while Septimus struggles with the psychological consequences of war in a world that doesn't try to understand him. So why does it seem like near the end of the story Woolf is trying to connect these two characters? The crazy thing is they never meet, but when Septimus dies, there seems to be a connection between the two.
Despite their differences, Clarissa and Septimus share a lot in common, particularly when it comes to their thoughts and their relationship with death. One of the most interesting moments in the book occurs when Clarissa hears about Septimus's suicide during the party. Instead of hearing the news and simply not caring, she falls into her thoughts and reflects on the death of a random guy she has never even met. She thinks about his decision to die and the idea that he has preserved something of himself. "Then (she had felt it only this morning) there was the terror; the overwhelming incapacity, one’s parents giving it into one’s hands, this life, to be lived to the end, to be walked with serenely; there was in the depths of her heart an awful fear" (Woolf, 282). This moment is interesting because Clarissa has spent much of the book worrying about her own life, her problems, and the guy who lives rent-free in her head, Peter Walsh. Septimus experiences these struggles far more intensely, but both characters grapple with questions of existence and their place in the world. Clarissa can hide her inner turmoil behind the role of a hostess, while Septimus's psychological suffering makes it extremely difficult for him to fit within society. It's almost as if they are experiencing two different versions of the same problem. We see both characters' private thoughts, showing us that what a person seems on the outside doesn't necessarily reflect what is happening internally.
Overall, I think the connection between Clarissa and Septimus is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. At first, I didn't see why Woolf needed to include two characters whose lives seemed so unrelated, but their connection becomes much clearer when you look past their outward circumstances. Clarissa and Septimus are certainly not experiencing the same things, and I definitely wouldn't say that Clarissa's worries are equivalent to Septimus's suffering after the war. Clarissa can participate in society and maintain the appearance that everything is normal, while Septimus becomes increasingly alienated from it. Both characters reveal the complex inner thoughts and struggles beyond the superficial. We spend so much time judging people based on what we can see that we forget how much we don't know about them. As for the book itself, it was very difficult to follow at times, and again I found myself falling asleep at times. I give this book 13 parties out of 38 Buckingham Palaces.
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. The Modern Library, 1928.
Despite their differences, Clarissa and Septimus share a lot in common, particularly when it comes to their thoughts and their relationship with death. One of the most interesting moments in the book occurs when Clarissa hears about Septimus's suicide during the party. Instead of hearing the news and simply not caring, she falls into her thoughts and reflects on the death of a random guy she has never even met. She thinks about his decision to die and the idea that he has preserved something of himself. "Then (she had felt it only this morning) there was the terror; the overwhelming incapacity, one’s parents giving it into one’s hands, this life, to be lived to the end, to be walked with serenely; there was in the depths of her heart an awful fear" (Woolf, 282). This moment is interesting because Clarissa has spent much of the book worrying about her own life, her problems, and the guy who lives rent-free in her head, Peter Walsh. Septimus experiences these struggles far more intensely, but both characters grapple with questions of existence and their place in the world. Clarissa can hide her inner turmoil behind the role of a hostess, while Septimus's psychological suffering makes it extremely difficult for him to fit within society. It's almost as if they are experiencing two different versions of the same problem. We see both characters' private thoughts, showing us that what a person seems on the outside doesn't necessarily reflect what is happening internally.
Overall, I think the connection between Clarissa and Septimus is one of the most interesting aspects of the book. At first, I didn't see why Woolf needed to include two characters whose lives seemed so unrelated, but their connection becomes much clearer when you look past their outward circumstances. Clarissa and Septimus are certainly not experiencing the same things, and I definitely wouldn't say that Clarissa's worries are equivalent to Septimus's suffering after the war. Clarissa can participate in society and maintain the appearance that everything is normal, while Septimus becomes increasingly alienated from it. Both characters reveal the complex inner thoughts and struggles beyond the superficial. We spend so much time judging people based on what we can see that we forget how much we don't know about them. As for the book itself, it was very difficult to follow at times, and again I found myself falling asleep at times. I give this book 13 parties out of 38 Buckingham Palaces.
Hey Alberto, you did a really good job of connecting these two characters together. I totally agree that Clarissa, while different, is also similar in their questions of life and their place in it. I totally agree that they are somehow connected, even spiritually, with Clarissa finding new meaning through Septimus's death, and it really could be a representation of the connection of life.
ReplyDeleteHi Alberto, when reading the book, I was also unsure of why Woolf included both charactars since they are so different. Bringing up the party scene in this blog really ties everything together. I was really suprised as to how much the death had an impact on Clarissa, but as you said it shows the battles that Clarissa is also fighting. I wonder if this death impacts Clarissa so deeply because she is thinking about suicide, or if her thoughs about dying make her bothered by the suicide. Overall great blog that uncovers a lot of details!
ReplyDeleteHey Alberto! I must admit I also did not see the immediate connection between these two characters, like you said, their problems seem entirely unrelated, though the core of it seems to be related. They both fear what their place is in their respective lives and are unsure where they fit within that box! Nice blog post (I like your rating of the novel)!
ReplyDeleteGreetings Alberto, nice blog! It was so interesting to see these two seemingly unconnected characters intertwine at the party. In the end we do end up seeing how close they actual are together in their thoughts and perceptions of reality. However, it seems their struggles with their thoughts are formed by different circumstances. Septimus likely experiences depression as a result of his PTSD, whereas Clarissa has a constant, dull discontentment with life. While Clarissa may never go as far as to kill herself, she understands the reasons that Septimus did. Wow what a bleak ending, but good job on your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Alberto! I totally agree with your point that Clarissa and Septimus experience different versions of internal struggles that are similar to each other. The fact that they never met makes the connection even more interesting because it shows how completely different people who have completely different life experiences can struggle with something strikingly similar. Makes me wonder how people living normal lives besides Clarissa are also struggling with isolation. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI like this depiction of Clarissa and Septimus relative to each other: it makes sense to see them as on a kind of spectrum of mental health. There are similar underlying anxieties and fears, and the novel makes clear in a range of ways that Clarissa is closer to Septimus psychologically than anyone would guess by looking at the two of them. And as you suggest, that's the point: Clarissa is able to maintain the socially appropriate facade, to "pass" as a normal and sane person (while everyone remains ignorant about the turmoil inside), while Septimus has lost the ability to hide it--the turmoil is on the surface.
ReplyDeleteHey Alberto! Great post. While I'm not 100% sure about the classic dhar man moral of the story, I do agree that it's interesting how Clarissa has this deep unknown connection with Septimus, and despite their own individual plots developing both robustly throughout the story, they never even interact, and the only way their paths connect is through her hearing about his death.
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