Page 372 - DENG404_FICTION

Fiction Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University

Notes
Unit 30: Virginia Woolf — Mrs. Dalloway:
Themes and Characterization

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
30.1 Major Themes
30.2 Character List
30.2.1 Analysis of Major Characters
30.3 Virginia Woolf—Mrs. Dalloway: Style

30.3.1 Virginia Woolf’s Narrative Style in Mrs. Dalloway
30.4 Summary
30.5 Keywords
30.6 Review Questions
30.7 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Know about the characters and analysis of major characters
• Know about the major themes and style of Mrs. Dalloway.

Introduction

A theme of the novel is the conflict between conventionality and unconventionality. Clarissa
chooses conventionality, rather than following her true feelings, and is left empty and unsure
of herself. Peter Walsh chooses unconventionality, and is left feeling aimless and unsuccessful.
Septimus Warren Smith commits suicide to escape being crushed by the forces of conventionality.
The novel is in part a critique of the shallowness and superficial conventionality of upper-
class English society.

Another theme of the novel is that the thoughts of individuals are connected in a way that
transcends their separation or alienation. Woolf uses a stream-of-consciousness technique to
connect the thoughts of her characters.

Notes The novel is a continuous narrative, not divided into chapters or sections, although
Woolf noted some of the shifts in time or scene by a short blank space in her
manuscript.

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