Page 354 - DENG404_FICTION

Fiction

Notes as a prude because she is utterly disgusted by the thought of a woman becoming pregnant
before marriage. This occurrence was not supported by her social circle, but her peers obviously
do not react in the same way as she. Ironically, however, Sally Seton, a figure who loved
rebelling as a youth, deeply attracted Clarissa. Perhaps Clarissa seeks that warmth that other
people offer because of her own lack of warmth.
This absence in Clarissa is also suggested in her manner toward Richard. She is eager to
bestow a maternal instinct toward Richard, as she would her sheepdog, to compensate for that
flaw. It is possible also that the warmth she lacks could inhabit the sense of awakened sexuality
that Sally evidently provokes but whom the men do not. Thus, Clarissa can mother a man or
a dog, but not feel impassioned by them. Clarissa quickly dismisses the passion of feeling that
Peter does awake in her for more tranquil, controllable emotions.
The recollection also illustrates Peter’s overabundance of emotion as he allows himself to be
ruled by his feelings. He is able to discern future events through his instincts, such as his
feeling that Clarissa and Richard will marry. The memory also presents the separation of
Clarissa and Peter as a couple, a moment that haunts both characters during the novel. The
theme of water is emphasized as the break up takes place at a fountain. The flow of life is
symbolized by the flow of the fountain’s stream, creating imagery for a change in life that
would cause heartbreak, freedom, and loneliness.

29.2 Detailed Study of Text Part II Sections

29.2.1 Part II, Sections 1–2

Part II, Section One Summary
Peter felt awful; the sun was so hot. Still, when the nurse’s little girl ran into a woman’s leg,
Peter laughed aloud. The leg belonged to Lucrezia Warren Smith, who had left Septimus to
talk to himself and was wondering why she should suffer. Why was she no longer in Milan,
she asked herself and began to cry. Rezia realized that it was time to take Septimus to see Sir
William Bradshaw, who might be able to help him. Septimus would probably be talking to
himself, or to his friend Evans, who had died in the War. A friend dying was not rare,
however, and Rezia did not understand why Septimus became stranger and stranger. There
were times when the couple was happy but then Septimus would mention killing himself,
because, he explained, people were wicked. Dr. Holmes said there was nothing the matter
with him. Holmes said that one was responsible for one’s own health.

Rezia reached out to Septimus but her husband backed away, pointing at her hand. She
explained that her finger had grown too thin for her wedding band, but he knew that the
ring’s absence meant that their marriage was over. Septimus felt relieved, until he thought he
saw a dog that was changing into a man. His nerves were stretched thin and he began talking
to himself again. Opening his eyes, however, he realized that beauty was everywhere. Rezia
told him that it was time to go. The word “time” set off a bundle of emotions, climaxing with
Evans’ voice telling Septimus that the dead were coming from Thessaly, where Evans had
been killed. He saw Evans approaching. Rezia told Septimus that she was unhappy.
Peter Walsh saw the unhappy couple and attributed the awful scene between them to being
young. London had never been so enchanting. Peter had always been able to change his mood
rapidly. In the five years from 1918 to 1923, London had changed. Respectable newspapers
could write about bathrooms. Single women could put on make-up in public. He thought of
Sally Seton, and how she had unexpectedly married a rich man and lived in a big house. Still,

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