Mrs Dalloway

Mrs Dalloway

1. Characters

   • Septimus Smith
     • Represents the horrors of WWI
     • Obsession with dead Evans
     • Fails to sleep with Lucrezia - Homoerotic?
     • Rejects the modern world as a sham
     • Throws himself into the public sphere
   • Mrs Clarissa Dalloway
     • In love with Sally Seton
     • Treats the death of Septimus as a beautiful act
     • Hosts parties as a way of giving people pleasure
   • Sir William Bradshaw
     • Believes Septimus is failing to live in 'proportion'
     • Brashaw - The Victorian Railway Guide. Reliability. Authority.
     • Shouts "The Coward!" as Septimus jumps to his death.
   • Peter Walsh
     • Returns to London to obtain divorce for Indian lover
     • Old love interest of Clarissa
     • Amazed by the modern London, although fails to fit in

2. Themes

   • Technology & Modernity (Omnibus, Ambulance, Car)
   • Rejection of the modern public sphere
   • Women & Sexuality - Miss Dalloway as the new Modern woman (Omnibus escape)
   • The Imperial Flaneur - Peter Walsh. Attempts to recolonize London