The main focus of Mrs. Dalloway, and the most impressive part of the book, was how Virginia Woolf fleshed out the characters. I remember during a discussion at the beginning of class someone brought up how they felt disoriented, being dropped in the middle of the action without much explanation. I do like exposition, but I also really like just being airlifted to a scene and left to piece together what's happening. During one of the panel presentations one of the questions was about who do you have a better sense of, Howie or Clarissa. With Howie it felt like someone was painting a portrait and really focused on the left eye or something, just putting a lot of detail into one part and kind of neglecting other parts, like his job or friends or L, etc. I got a broader idea of Clarissa, but I also got a good idea of a lot of her friends. I thought it was really interesting how Woolf used other people to flesh out Clarissa, because through seeing their thoughts about her, you get a good idea of who they are. For example, Peter spent most of the novel thinking about Clarissa, which itself is telling, but you also get an idea of Peter through what bothers him about Clarissa, what he likes about her, and what he dwells on.
It's interesting to look at this sort of ripple effect -- if you want to know Clarissa, see what everyone thinks of her, but what does everyone think of them, etc. Mrs. Dalloway has such a web of characters who provide insight on each other, even the minor characters, that it's interesting that Septimus and Rezia are so isolated where everyone else is connected. Rezia was making a hat for a someone she knew that neither she nor Septimus seemed to like very much, but other than that they didn't really seem to socialize, which made me feel even worse for the couple. You get flashes of perceptions from other people, such as Peter thinking they're just a couple having a fight, but mostly they're isolated, similar to the isolation Septimus feels.
I really like this idea of a ripple effect. That wording totally conveys how Woolf uses the connections people have to introduce you to a broader picture of whatever character. I also think the way you contrasted Woolf's way of fleshing out a character vs. Baker's way was a really interesting metaphor. Focusing on the persons eye vs. all their friends definitely just captures what each writer is trying to achieve.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent point about Septimus and Rezia: not only are they isolated from the general "web" of characters in the novel, but they're isolated in London culture more generally. Rezia especially, as a foreigner and a young woman, feels lost and alone (since her only friend, her husband, is so often remote and following his own tormented threads). Clarissa's world is defined by her complex range of relationships near and far--the "threads" Woolf refers to, which link all these people as they move about the city. But Septimus and Rezia have no such web, and this is a reflection of the larger existential isolation Septimus feels ("People--what did they want?").
ReplyDeleteRezia has apparently been hired to make the hat--this isn't a friend, as far as I can tell. And yes, they find her ridiculous. Sadly, their making fun of her is a rare moment of connection between Septimus and Rezia, and we know it'll be short-lived.