Mrs Dalloway quotes from novel

Peter Walsh, the war

those five years- 1918 to 1923- had been, he suspected, somehow very important. People looked different. Newspapers seemed different

Richard Dalloway, the governing class

whenever he had a moment of leisure, to write a history of Lady Bruton’s family

what happened politically in the 1920s?

the conservative-liberal coalition in British politics came to an end. the elections of 1922 and 23 marked the eclipse of Liberals and rise of Labour. the Labour party became and official government opposition and a real threat to the Conservative party. Ramsey Macdonald (first Labour PM) succeeds the Conservative prime minsiter (presumably Stanley Baldwin) from Clarissa’s party in January 1924.

Clarissa, youth + internal vs external + memory

she felt very young; at the same time, unspeakably aged

Clarissa describing Doris Kilman, resentment

she made you feel her superiority, your inferiority, how poor she was

Peter Walsh, India

all India lay behind him; plains, mountains; epidemics of cholera; a district twice as big as Ireland…

Peter Walsh talking about ‘coolies’

he had ordered wheel-barrows from England but the coolies wouldn’t use them

Peter Walsh, empire

the public spirited, British Empire, tariff-reform, governing class spirit

Lady Bruton, empire

Ah, the news from India!

what was happening with empire in the early 1920s

last British troops left Dublin in 1922 when the Irish Free State Government was proclaimed. the beginnings of agitation in India. The Times in 1923 spoke of agitation for independence in India.

3 articles from the Times 1923 reflecting agitation in India

“overwhelmed and brutally tortured by the villagers” (2nd June), “Extremists fomenting trouble” (23rd June), “Punjabi discontent” (29th June)

Sir William Bradshaw, control

had to support him police and good of society to ensure these social impulses… were in control

Lady Bexborough, the governing class

opened a bazaar, they said, with a telegram in her hand, John, her favourite, killed

Clarissa Dalloway, memory, doors

with a little squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air

Peter Walsh, memory and women

for women live much more in the past than we do, he thought. They attach themselves to places…

Clarissa, Big Ben

There! Out it boomed. First a warning, musical: then the hour, irrevocable. The leaden circles dissolved in the air

Peter Walsh, Big Ben

the flow of the sound, the direct downright sound of Big Ben striking the half hour. (The leaden circles dissolved in the air).

Clarissa, independence in marriage

a little independence there must be between people living together day in, day out in the same house

what did modernist literature sway towards structurally

recognition of the inner psyche of the individual via stream of consciousness, non-linear structure, individualist narratives

Dorris Kilman talking about Clarissa, femininity

she did out of her meagre income set aside so much for causes she believed in, whereas this woman did nothing, believed nothing; brought up her daughter…

Clarrissa, identity and marriage

this being Mrs Dalloway; not even Clarissa any more: this being Mrs Richard Dalloway

what is coverture

the legal status of a married woman, considered to be under her husband’s authority

Clarissa, bodily alienation, internal vs external life

often now this body she wore

Clarissa, identity + external appearance

an unseen part… which spreads wide… might be recovered somehow attached to this person or that

Clarissa and Richard, identity + the masculine sphere

“some comittee?” she asked… “Armenians” he said; or perhaps it was “Albanians”.

Clarissa, youth + politics

they had meant to found a society to abolish private property…

Sally, motherhood

“I have five enormous boys,” said Sally. She had the simplest egotism, the most open desire to be thought first always.

Clarissa talking about Sally at the party

Lady Rosseter? But who on Earth was Lady Rosseter?

what does Sally’s presentation at the party represent?

the erasure of female complexity in roles of ‘wife’, ‘mother’ or ‘hostess’

Clarissa, youth + memory + sexuality

it was absolutely nothing- nothing she could put her finger on- something not to be spoken of

Clarissa, female sexuality + youth

a match burning in a crocus

Clarissa, marriage + loss of youth

with Richard, her husband, she had grown dull, grown older… but safe, secure

Clarissa, loss of sexuality in marriage (bed)

narrower and narrower would her bed be

Clarissa, loss of sexuality in marriage + marriage

a virginity preserved through childbirth

Clarissa as described by Peter Walsh, social expectation

she had the makings of a perfect hostess

significance of Clarissa described as ‘the perfect hostess’

her value lies not in mind or soul but in ability to facilitate social cohesion

gender post war

post war gender anxiety created a push for the re-domestication of women after shifted wartime gender roles. The media and government promoted the idea of the Victorian ‘Angel in the Homes’. Advice columns from magazines of the 1920a (the Lady, Woman’s World) emphasised feminine duties, not rights.

Sir William Bradshaw, medicine

order rest in bed; rest in solitude; silence and rest; rest without friends, without books, without messages

what was the rest cure created from

the belief that people with unstable mental health, especially women, were emotionally disturbed as a result of overexertion or overstimulation

which other famous author was influenced by and wrote about the rest cure?

Charlotte Gilman was subjected to the rest cure. In ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ (1892), the protagonist’s descent to madness shows the dangers of enforced passivity and isolation.

Clarissa, loss of individual identity in marriage

she had the oddest sense of her being invisible; unseen; unknown

Clarissa desc. Richard, medicine + the rest cure

he would go on saying “an hour’s complete rest after luncheon” to the end of time because a doctor had ordered it once.

Clarissa, female internal vs. external identity

women must put off their rich apparel. At midday they must disrobe.

Sir William Bradshaw, medicine

he swooped, he devoured. He shut people up.

significance of Peter Walsh describing epidemics of cholera

depiction of choler swept India reflects the long-standing colonial framework of India as a source of epidemic disease. From the 1860s to the early 20th century there was a belief that cholera was endemic at the mouth of the river Ganges.

significance of Peter Walsh describing how the ‘coolies’ wouldn’t use wheelbarrows

he associates himself with ingenuity and individuality whereas the ‘coolies’ are backwards and obstinate. he puts himself into a position of superiority.

Aunt Parry, memories of India

she had no tender memories, no proud illusions about Viceroys, Generals, Mutinies- it was orchids she saw, and mountain passes, and herself carried on the backs of coolies in the ‘sixties over solitary peaks… an indomitable Englishwoman

what are ‘coolies’

derogatory term for Asian labourers

significance of Aunt Parry’s description of the ‘coolies’

they are literally physically beneath her and not counted as people (they are outside the category of human beings)

what is the significance of Aunt Helena Parry’s description of the orchids and mountains

it conveys a European, Imperialist idea of an empty, uninhabited Eastern landscape. it is the colonial gaze which makes her into an indomitable englishwoman.

what is signficant about Aunt Helena’s description of Viceroys, Generals, and Mutinies?

she creates a hierarchical structure according to British rule. ‘Mutinies’ (last) are at the bottom of the colonial hierarchy.