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Mrs Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf
Mrs Dalloway

  • Comment on this title
  • Synopses & Reviews
  • Reading Group Guide
  • Read an Excerpt

ISBN13: 9780156628709
ISBN10: 0156628708
Condition: Standard


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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

This brilliant novel explores the hidden springs of thought and action in one day of a woman's life. Direct and vivid in her account of the details of Clarissa Dalloway's preparations for a party she is to give that evening, Woolf ultimately managed to reveal much more. For it is the feeling behind these daily events that gives Mrs. Dalloway its texture and richness and makes it so memorable. Foreword by Maureen Howard.

Review

"Mrs. Dalloway was the first novel to split the atom. If the novel before Mrs. Dalloway aspired to immensities of scope and scale, to heroic journeys across vast landscapes, with Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf insisted that it could also locate the enormous within the everyday; that a life of errands and party-giving was every bit as viable a subject as any life lived anywhere; and that should any human act in any novel seem unimportant, it has merely been inadequately observed. The novel as an art form has not been the same since. Mrs. Dalloway also contains some of the most beautiful, complex, incisive and idiosyncratic sentences ever written in English, and that alone would be reason enough to read it. It is one of the most moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century." Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours

Synopsis

Direct and vivid in her account of Clarissa Dalloway's preparations for a party, Virginia Woolf explores the hidden springs of thought and action in one day of a woman's life.

In Mrs. Dalloway, the novel on which the movie The Hours was based, Virginia Woolf details Clarissa Dalloway's preparations for a party of which she is to be hostess, exploring the hidden springs of thought and action in one day of a woman's life. The novel "contains some of the most beautiful, complex, incisive and idiosyncratic sentences ever written in English, and that alone would be reason enough to read it. It is one of the most moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century" (Michael Cunningham).

Synopsis

In this vivid portrait of a single day in a woman's life, Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of preparation for a party while in her mind she is something much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house for friends and neighbors, she is flooded with remembrances of the past--the passionate loves of her carefree youth, her practical choice of husband, and the approach and retreat of war. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices that brought her there, hesitantly looking ahead to the unfamiliar work of growing old.

From the introspective Clarissa, to the lover who never fully recovered from her rejection, to a war-ravaged stranger in the park, the characters and scope of Mrs. Dalloway reshape our sense of ordinary life making it one of the most "moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century" (Michael Cunningham).

Synopsis

"Moments like this are buds on the tree of life. Flowers of darkness they are."

In this vivid portrait of a single day in a woman's life, Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway is preoccupied with the last-minute details of preparation for a party while in her mind she is something much more than a perfect society hostess. As she readies her house for friends and neighbors, she is flooded with remembrances of the past--the passionate loves of her carefree youth, her practical choice of husband, and the approach and retreat of war. And, met with the realities of the present, Clarissa reexamines the choices that brought her there, hesitantly looking ahead to the unfamiliar work of growing old.

From the introspective Clarissa, to the lover who never fully recovered from her rejection, to a war-ravaged stranger in the park, the characters and scope of Mrs. Dalloway reshape our sense of ordinary life making it one of the most "moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century" (Michael Cunningham).


About the Author

Born in 1882, the daughter of Julia Jackson Duckworth and Victorian scholar Sir Leslie Stephen, Virginia Stephen settled in 46 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, in 1904. This house would become the first meeting place of the now-famous Bloomsbury Group — writers, artists, and intellectuals such as E. M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes, and Lytton Strachey who, along with Virginia and her sister Vanessa, shared an intense belief in the importance of the arts and a skepticism regarding their society's conventions and restraints. It was after Virginia's 1912 marriage to Leonard Woolf — a remarkable and supportive twenty-nine-year-union-that she began to publish her major work. Her first novel, The Voyage Out, appeared in 1915 and was followed by Night and Day (1919), Jacob's Room (1922), Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando (1928), The Waves (1931), and The Years (1937). Woolf is also admired for her contributions to literary criticism in general and to feminist criticism in particular, with A Room of One's Own (1929) and Three Guineas (1937) reflecting the full range of her intellectual vigor, insight, and compassion for the role cast for female artists in the modern world. Additionally, Woolf's diary and correspondence, published posthumously, provide an invaluable window into her world offer — flung relationships and interests, imaginative depth, and creative method. The victim of a lifetime of mental illness, Woolf committed suicide in 1941. She left behind her a literary legacy, including The Hogarth Press, established with Leonard in 1917, which published not only Woolf's own work but that of an increasingly influential group of innovative writers-including T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Katherine Mansfield.

Reading Group Guide

READING GROUP GUIDE Q> In Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf combines interior with omni-scient descriptions of character and scene. How does the author handle the transition between the interior and the exterior? Which characters' points of view are primary to the novel; which minor characters are given their own points of view? Why, and how does Woolf handle the transitions from one point of view to another? How do the shifting points of view, together with that of the author, combine to create a portrait of Clarissa and her milieu? Does this kind of novelistic portraiture resonate with other artistic movement's of Woolf s time? Q> Woolf saw Septimus Warren Smith as an essential counterpoint to Clarissa Dalloway. What specific comparisons and contrasts are drawn between the two? What primary images are associated, respectively, with Clarissa and with Septimus? What is the significance of Septimus making his first appearance as Clarissa, from her florist's window, watches the mysterious motor car in Bond Street? Q> What was Clarissa's relationship with Sally Seton? What is the significance of Sally's reentry into Clarissa's life after so much time? What role does Sally play in Clarissa's past and in her present? Q> What is Woolf s purpose in creating a range of female charac-ters of various ages and social classes-from Clarissa herself and Lady Millicent Burton to Sally Seton, Doris Kilman, Lucrezia Smith, and Maisie Johnson? Does she present a comparable range of male characters? Q> Clarissa's movements through London, along with the comings and goings of other characters, are given in some geographic detail. Do the patterns of movement and the characters' intersect-ing routes establish a pattern? If so, how do those physical patterns reflect important internal patterns of thought, memory, feelings, and attitudes? What is the view of London that we come away with? Q> As the day and the novel proceed, the hours and half hours are sounded by a variety of clocks (for instance, Big Ben strikes noon at the novel's exact midpoint). What is the effect of the time being constantly announced on the novel's structure and on our sense of the pace of the characters' lives? What hours in association with which events are explicitly sounded? Why? Is there significance in Big Ben being the chief announcer of time? Q> Woolf shifts scenes between past and present, primarily through Clarissa's, Septimus's, and others' memories. Does this device successfully establish the importance of the past as a shap-ing influence on and an informing component of the present? Which characters promote this idea? Does Woolf seem to believe this holds true for individuals as it does for society as a whole? Q> Threats of disorder and death recur throughout the novel, cul-minating in Septimus's suicide and repeating later in Sir William Bradshaw's report of that suicide at Clarissa's party. When do thoughts or images of disorder and death appear in the novel, and in connection with which characters? What are those characters' attitudes concerning death? Q> Clarissa and others have a heightened sense of the "splendid achievement" and continuity of English history, culture, and tradi-tion. How do Clarissa and others respond to that history and cul-ture? What specific elements of English history and culture are viewed as primary? How does Clarissa's attitude, specifically, compare with Septimus's attitude on these points? Q> As he leaves Regent's Park, Peter sees and hears "a tall quiver-ing shape,... a battered woman" singing of love and death: "the voice of an ancient spring spouting from the earth. . ." singing "the ancient song." What is Peter's reaction and what significance does the battered woman and her ancient song have for the novel as a whole? Q> Clarissa reads lines from Shakespeare's Cymbeline (IV, ii) from an open book in a shop window: "Fear no more the heat o' the sun / Nor the furious winter's rages. / Thou thy worldly task hast done, / Home art gone and ta'en thy wages: / Golden lads and girls all must, / As chimney-sweepers, come to dust." These lines are alluded to many times. What importance do they have for Clarissa, Septimus, and the novel's principal themes? What fears do Clarissa and other characters experience? Q> Why does Woolf end the novel with Clarissa as seen through Peter's eyes? Why does he experience feelings of "terror," "ecstasy," and "extraordinary excitement" in her presence? What is the sig-nificance of those feelings, and do we as readers share them?

Copyright 2002 Harcourt Trade Publishers


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Average customer rating 4.6 (5 comments)

`
Coni , June 06, 2017 (view all comments by Coni)
There were parts of it I liked, but overall it was so hard to follow with the stream of consciousness writing style. I had to reread parts when I realized it had switched to following another character's thoughts. It made for really slow reading. That being said, my favorite parts were the character of Septimus who was dealing with mental illness. His story was incredibly sad and moving, but kept me coming back to read more about him more than any other character. Now, I can say that I have read something by Virginia Woolf. Check that off the list!

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NicholasK , March 20, 2015 (view all comments by NicholasK)
This classic piece of modern literature is a bit of a challenge to get into for someone who is not familiar with Woolf's writing style. Stream of Consciousness is tricky, but once one becomes familiar with the sentence structure, the depth of Woolf's characters, and their interconnectedness, can be appreciated.

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hip--eponymous , January 01, 2013
I read Mrs. Dalloway during an existentialism themed book binge during the Fall of 2012 and it was by far my favorite. The parallel's between Dalloway and Septimus along with the beautiful, fluid, language that Virginia Woolf is so well known for is a must read for any fan of existentialism as well as any young woman attempting to figure out what it means to be a person.

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Stephen Mills , August 05, 2012
One of the greatest books of the 20th century. This is a masterpiece and one of the Woolf's finest novels. A must read.

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Family Trunk Project , January 02, 2010
Mrs. Dalloway is very special. I know that some people hate it, but I cannot comprehend that. To me it is the most beautiful, perfectly-realized novel in the English (or perhaps any) language, and reading it convinced me that art is worth making. The use of language; the subtle ways in which communication is difficult, effortless, impossible or transcendent for the different characters at different times; the ways that compromise is both heartbreaking and gorgeous; the anger and love; the gifts that people give one another without realizing it; the way that simple objects become fraught with real significance and everyday, domestic scenes become beautiful moments to treasure...the hat-making scene! The scene where Peter and Clarissa roam in and out of each others' thoughts! The way that everyone in London is interconnected! Elizabeth's ride on the bus! Clarissa's explanation of why she wants to give the party! Every sentence in this novel is gorgeous; the book as a whole is one of the most scathing-yet-kind, brutal-yet-beautiful true inventions I have ever come across.

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780156628709
Binding:
Trade Paperback
Publication date:
09/24/1990
Publisher:
CLARION & MARINER
Pages:
224
Height:
.60IN
Width:
5.20IN
Thickness:
.75
Age Range:
14 and up
Grade Range:
9 and up
Number of Units:
1
Copyright Year:
1981
Series Volume:
00-1
UPC Code:
2800156628701
Author:
Maureen Howard
Foreword:
Maureen Howard
Author:
Maureen Howard
Author:
Virginia Woolf
Subject:
Psychological fiction
Subject:
Novels and novellas
Subject:
England
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Subject:
British and irish
Subject:
Married women -- England -- Fiction.
Subject:
Married women
Subject:
British and irish fiction (fictional works by
Subject:
Parties
Subject:
London (england)

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