Mrs Dalloway
Mrs Dalloway
Mrs Dalloway
Hello, Mrs. Woolf, it is a delight to talk to you today. We would like to turn mostly to
the discussion of one of your novels – “Mrs. Dalloway”, we will also talk over some facts of
your own biography and their connection to the events described in the book. Let us begin
with the main character of the book - Mrs. Dalloway herself. Some readers would probably
say that her life choice in favor of calm and secure living is not the best she could do, as she
abandoned Peter Walsh, with whom Mrs. Dalloway had a real connection. What is your
Good afternoon. Thank you for having me today. To begin with, I understand that
there are those who would rather stay with their beloved one. However, we shall consider the
fact that the relationship between Peter and Clarissa were not so perfect, as Mr. Walsh is a
man with strong and, unlike Mrs. Dalloway, quite moderate views. Clarissa was not ready at
all to spend her whole life with a man who could not really make her feel serene, even after
their meeting many years later she could see, that his living was not settled. This woman, in
my opinion, has her own vision of a proper life, and even though a reader can realize that her
thoughts are sometimes quite different from what she says and that there are some secrets
which stay unrevealed for people around, her character is solid, she knows what she wants,
and it is the best thing about Mrs. Dalloway. I do respect her choice and support such
Mrs. Woolf, you have mentioned that Clarissa has some secrets from people around
her, but we would like to draw reader’s attention to one more character of the novel, whose
inner concerns are much more explicit – Septimus Smith. His part of this story contrasts
sharply with Mrs. Dalloway’s picture of the world. Could you tell us more about this man, his
part in the narrative and maybe, if this information is not too personal, about the influence of
narrative are quite calm, hasteless, especially women’s ones, it looks like the War passed
them by, however we can not deny, that there is an unhealed wound on the whole nation, and
the character of Septimus is the confirmation of that. This man with a sensitive, kind heart had
to do horrible things, which he regrets about. Furthermore, he realizes that he loses his
identity, that he had lost it long ago… (pauses) And I wanted to give readers such a contrast
between two simultaneous lines to express the horror of War, the hopelessness of its
witnesses and the fact that civil life has fallen behind, not feeling the pain, the grief. Now,
when two World Wars are just a part of our past, I am glad to see, that people remember, that
they care about their fallen ancestors. As for my state of mind, I do have some problems, I
must admit, and Septimus’ attitude towards his doctors and methods of treatment is partially a
therapy for those with mental issues has taken a huge step forward in the twenty firs century,
and people with Bipolar disorder or Posttraumatic stress disorder can truly be helped to.
Now, let us go back to female characters of the novel, we would like to talk about
young Clarissa and Sally and the tension between them. It can be seen that this motif came to
the novel from your biography and Sally is a reflection of Vita Sackvill-West. Your works
were extremely popular in the seventies because you have touched such topics as non-
traditional sexuality and woman’s independence, they became a manifesto of the feminist
movement of these years. We would like to ask you about the place of your sexual orientation
and views on women’s rights, their reflection in your works and your attitude towards current
Of course, nowadays we can talk about it openly, I hope you understand that things
were not the same back then. Undoubtedly, my position is reflected in many works, including
“Mrs. Dalloway” and both Clarissa’s feelings to Sally as a young woman and her freedom as
a mature woman show my position on women’s rights. I know that twenty first century
became the time of various sexualities, we could not think that there would be so many of
them, but I am delight to know that people all around the world can finally be themselves
after all those years of hatred and misunderstanding. As for Vita, she was my inspiration, my
support and dearest friend and I am glad that Clarissa kept warm feelings to Sally, they were
not so close at the moment of narration, but here we once again meet Mrs. Dalloway’s stream
of consciousness, her secrets from external world and see that Sally has been having a place in
Mrs. Woolf, thank you for coming today, we have learned a lot from you and we will
Thank you.