While we
are still reading through Mrs. Dalloway
(being only 40-50 pages in right now) I find it interesting (to quote Howie)
how a lot of things already seem to have happened.
I know that Clarissa just started her day and is walking around and
that isn’t too important, but a lot of things seem to be happening on this day.
First of all, she has just recovered from a serious case of influenzas
(something we talked about in class) and that this is her first real outing.
Mrs. Dalloway seems to really be reflecting on her life. Then she hears a motor
car backfire and “might” have seen the queen or some other important royalty.
If I had almost seen royalty (or a celebrity which is the modern equivalent) I
would definitely consider that the highlight of my month but then immediately afterword Mrs. Dalloway sees skywriting.
Skywriting would have been new and exciting for that time and Mrs. Dalloway
seems to also have been awed by this. After Mrs. Dalloway gets home her former
lover (or something equivalent) shows up. This is the same guy she was thinking
about earlier in the day and he just happens
to show up on this exact day. Not only does he show up, but he also
confides that he loves someone else but at the same time he kisses Mrs.
Dalloway only to have her daughter come in. All this seems to be happening on
the morning of a very important party.
I think
that a lot of very important events already seem to have happened, events that
are life-changing/altering. From the essay we read in class it seems like Virginia
Wolfe was trying to argue that every person going about their everyday lives is
a potential story. That typical Edwardian writers stick to overdone stories of
dramatic romance and conquest. In a way Wolfe is not completely leaving that
sphere of Edwardian influence. Mrs.
Dalloway, with its many events, including a love triangle, has much of that
same Edwardian drama. I think that Wolfe wanted to create a new and “modern”
style of writing. In this book it seems like she is definitely trying some new
narrative styles, but it has a lot of the same drama that she criticized in her
essays.
Personally,
I really like that something is
actually happening (cough unlike The
Mezzanine cough). Maybe Wolfe is using this drama as a further
critique of Edwardian literature? Maybe it’s because she’s trying to focus on
the new narrative and not stray too far into an experimental plot?
I like the idea of how Woolf might not be doing what she set out to do as well as she thought she was, and it's an interesting notion to think about. In terms of drama, I think Woolf was talking about more extravagant plots that almost seem to drag along the character, which certainly is not the case with Clarissa. The major difference in the Edwardian drama that I think Woolf is trying to combat is one where the character gets washed away in the action instead of driving it. In Mrs. Dalloway, it seems much more like Clarissa's actions, whether past or present, are clearly driving the plot and the drama.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I truly appreciate the fact that unlike in the Mezzanine, there is action. However, Woolf is able to intricately balance Baker's niche for deeper exploration of character while also adding her own flair which is at some points, reminiscent of Edwardian/Victorian literature. However, the plot is not the main premise of the book. While it is there, I would say the plot doesn't drive Clarissa's actions, but rather, her actions drive the plot. Her thoughts and memories on that day in London allow us flashbacks of her past, and insights into who she truly is as a person.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting point to bring up. I don't know if Woolf was necessarily saying that drama was a bad thing - I got the impression that she was criticizing more a lack of character, and less an abundance of drama (although I think she did criticize that too). She thought the character should be a vehicle through which we glimpse the author's point, and I think she's doing just that. (My interpretation of her essays might be different than yours - this is just my opinion on them.)
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting to think about this in a modern, post-Woolf (and post our reading of The Mezzanine) context. There was nothing that came before that resembled modern fiction, with so much characterization and so much going on between the lines. Maybe what Woolf thought wasn't anything close to drama then seems a lot more like drama to us now, especially after reading The Mezzanine.
I think it's interesting that you point out that Woolf has not totally left the Edwardian sphere, referring to the dynamic between Clarissa, Richard, and Peter, because I hadn't really looked at it like that before. This is also a bit ironic considering Woolf's stance that it is time to move on into the modern world of literature. However, I think that despite the underlying thoughts that Clarissa has about Peter and their past throughout the book, I would argue that Woolf's focus is not on this and it is not really a factor in the plot, as it doesn't affect Clarissa's actions and decisions as it might in an older Edwardian or Victorian novel.
ReplyDeleteAs we've reached the end of the novel I would say that a lot of drama has happened in the Clarissa storyline since those first 50 pages. Reading it now it seems that Clarissa is rethinking her old decisions and all the old choices she made. It's almost like the flashback plot belongs in an Edwardian novel. A woman forced to choose between two men (who she doesn't really like). This is like seeing the thoughts a character has during Edwardian drama. So its less like an Edwardian plot but it kind of was in the past. It's Clarissa seeing how those old choices make up who she is now.
DeleteI agree I really like that there is something actually happening in the story. Woolf is not just writing about a train of thoughts, she is writing a story that has drama. Although most of Clarissa's drama is happening in the past that is still drama. Something we did not get with Howey. There is also exiting things happening in the story with Septimus. He is having a crazy day within his own mind. I think it would be interesting if we had a book like the Mezzanine with Septimus and where he would take us. Woolf is still writing about things that would normally get over looked but she is adding flare to it.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with that there is a lot going on in the story, while it seems that there is only a very simple plot base, but I would not say that Woolf isn't fulfilling her goal of writing about the character. We don't just see Clarissa's viewpoint on things. Rather, we see her (and other things) from many different points of view, which flesh out the character from being one-dimensional. From looking at the character from so many angles, we get a more accurate depiction of the character and so in that way Woolf is accomplishing what she set out to do.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your point that there is more happening than in the Mezzanine, it seems like more is happening because we are bouncing around different minds. All of the action takes place in a very brief amount of time. It is also something that just happened and then it was gone, just like Howie's trip to the store, or his eating of the cookie. Just because Woolf has something that seems exciting in the minds we are looking at doesn't mean anything has actually happened. Everything Howie thought about he thought was interesting and exciting.
ReplyDelete