by Virginia Woolf

Volume 1, Issue 2 (May 2025)

Mrs Dalloway is often said to be Woolf’s masterpiece, and having read some of her other novels, I would have to agree that this is no overstatement. From start to finish the novel is presented as something very different to what we are used to finding in other novels, not only in her own.

I would say it hints a little of Tolstoy¹ (Anna Karenina) and Joyce² (Ulysses). Inspiration for the period of time (for the story) may have come from Joyce in that the entire novel takes place on one day, specifically Wednesday, June 13, 1923³.

The novel follows the day of Clarissa Dalloway, living in London, from morning to night with the conclusion being her hosting a large formal party. Clarissa herself, is obsessed about her memories of an adolescent romance with Peter Walsh partly because of her decision not to marry him and also his coming back from India. The lives of a number of characters converge throughout and the reader may be left wondering at the very end.

I will not give much else away regarding the story-line for the benefit of those of whom have not had the opportunity to read this novel. Despite this, I will give some of my observations about the novel which are appropriate for Snippets rather than a full review.

Flipping through the book, one notices a lack of chapter headers or obvious breaks. This fits in with Woolf’s style of maintaining a continuous stream of thoughts through the characters themselves. There are minor breaks (as in spacing), but this is due to a change of character’s stream of consciousness. This makes a for a pleasant change to abrupt and somewhat disconnected changes that find their way into present-day novels.

By far Woolf’s most impressive skill is that of the interior monologue which she uses to great effect and I believe she finally perfected in Mrs Dalloway. With this she is capable of pulling together past, present and at times, future in a manner that does not comes as out of place in any way. She will often move from one character’s thoughts to another within the same paragraph, but the transition is very natural and compelling. The result is that we see each character’s point of view, their differences and similarities. If we are honest, we would agree that this is how real people act and react with others, and their own thoughts.

In various parts, the story continues with an anonymous narrator. This in itself is interesting because the narrator knows everything about the characters and at times becomes part of their thoughts. The story is brought further to life with references to actual places in London in the mid-1920s helping to make the entire reading experience more believable and enjoyable.

The novel has been expertly crafted in both planning and detail. However, as would be expected, there are minor discrepancies, but most were corrected in later printings although some are still disputed. For the interested reader, they will find references to actual events which influenced Woolf in her own life, and the subtle inclusion of characters from some of her other novels.

If you have not read anything by Virginia Woolf, do not be discouraged by comments concerning her feministic approach to some matters. One would be tempted to say that with Mrs Dalloway, Woolf has captured the essence of personal survival. It is certainly worth the time to read this magnificent work.

1. Leo Tolstoy (September 9, 1828 — November 20, 1910) Russian writer. ↩︎
2. James Joyce (February 2, 1882 — January 13, 1941) Irish novelist, poet and literary critic. ↩︎
3. Ulysses is written about the activities of three Dubliners on Thursday, June 16, 1904. Woolf denied any deliberate method to her book. ↩︎