In Mrs. Dalloway there are many types of relationships. There
are the romantic relationships, such as the one the Clarissa and Peter had, and
there are relationships of business and friendship. There are also
relationships between people and objects. Big Ben runs through the web of the
intertwined plots of the people in the novel. The chiming of the clock brings
everyone together no matter what they are doing and it sets all the events of
the novel into a timeline. The relationships in the novel connect everyone yet the
effect everyone differently. For example the car brings everyone together yet,
as some feel patriotism for their country, Septimus feels shocked and is brought
back to the war. In the reading where are other instances of connection yet each
character has their own thought? How do these moments show the interactions
between characters and give insight into the mind and memories of each?
I found two instances in the reading for a few days ago that I think are indicative of the strained relationships throughout the book. After the "power lunch" where Lady Bruton gets the two men to give her some authority with her letter to The Times, and she(narrating at the time) gives some insight into a relation connecting the three of them.
ReplyDelete"And they went further and further from her, being attached to her by a thin thread...which would stretch and stretch...as if one's friends were attached to one's body...and Richard Dalloway and Hugh Whitbread hesitated at the corner of Conduit Street at the very moment that Millicent Bruton, lying on the sofa, let the thread snap; snored."(112)
A similar relation, this time in more graphic imagery, is given by Miss Kilman after Elizabeth leaves after their tea "date".
"[Elizabeth] went off, drawing out, so Miss Kilman felt, the very entrails in her body, stretching them as she crossed the room, and then, with a final twist, bowing her head very politely, she went."(132-133)
I think that these passages are quite interesting, but I don't know completely what to make of them. I think Clarissa, while a description similar or paralleled to these is not yet noted, may feel that her connection to her husband Richard is hanging by a thread, exhibited by their degrees of physical separation and emotional separation. I am interested to hear any other insight on the matter.
I think, as Colleen notes, a certain interaction or action can result in a very different reaction for the characters involved; again, as she notes, this can provide valuable insight into the mind of the characters involved. One example of this is the mention of Peter Walsh, on p. 107. "Mr. Dalloway was genuinely glad, Milly brush thought; and Mr. Whitbread thought only of his chicken". This shows to me Richard Dalloway's comfort with his position in life, and, conversely, Hugh's insecurity about is position in British society. When people have a genuinely positive reaction, as Dalloway does, to the mention of someone, it shows that they do not perceive them as a threat; or, in other words, that they are comfortable with their position. Richard can feel genuine pleasure at the name of Peter Walsh, because he does not associate the man with any jealousy which he feels. However, Hugh, who is on the lower end of upper British society, is legitimately threatened by Peter Walsh in an economical and social sense. Therefore, he is unable to express genuine gladness. The mention of Peter Walsh shows Richard's comfort with his position and Hugh's insecurity about his.
ReplyDeleteI think an aspect of the novel that accentuates the relationships between characters is Woolf's use of indirect discourse. We do not simply see the surface of each character, but rather Woolf allows us into their true inner thoughts. In this way, throughout the novel, Woolf provides a window into the individual relationships the characters have with one another and how the point of view of each character shapes the readers opinion. For example, many characters in Mrs. Dalloway have a relationship with Hugh Whitbread and although on the surface they all seem cordial- it is when Woolf allows the reader inside the minds of the characters that the truth of the relationships are revealed. Although Lady Bruton graciously accepts Hugh's flowers at the beginning of the lunch, she later ruminates negatively on his character, "Hugh was very slow, Lady Bruton thought. He was getting fat, she noticed." (108). As Richard and Hugh leave Lady Bruton after lunch, Richard has a similar reaction, "He (Hugh) was unspeakably pompous...Hugh was becoming an intolerable ass." (114). I find that the true substance of the relationships between these characters is revealed in their personal thoughts.
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