Thursday, September 25, 2014
Autobiographical Aspects of Mrs. Dalloway
Many aspects of Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway parallel Woolf's life. Woolf was born in London and lived through World War I, which serves as the setting. Woolf's family spent summers in St Ives, Cornwall, a seaside town similar to Clarissa's Bourton. Like Septimus Smith, who appears to have mental problems from the war and suicidal thoughts, Woolf was institutionalized a few times for nervous breakdowns and killed herself at age 59. Woolf did not believe in Christianity, just as Clarissa does not believe in God and is concerned that her daughter, Elizabeth, is reading prayer books and attending Communion. Woolf had an affair with a woman named Vita Sackville-West during the 1920s. The novel touches on many aspects of sexuality such as lesbian experimentation between Clarissa and Sally and maybe even between Elizabeth and Miss Kilman. Mrs. Dalloway appears to be largely biographical even though it is based on a character whose lifestyle is far different from Woolf's.
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I agree with Grace that in some respects Clarissa's life in Mrs. Dalloway is parallel to Virginia Woolf's life. However, Clarissa and Virginia Woolf differ in one fundamental way- knowledge. Clarissa states her lack of schooling, "she knew nothing; no language, no history; she scarcely read a book" (Woolf 8). That fact that Clarissa did not know any "language" or "history" suggest to the reader that she never went to a formal school. Virginia Woolf, on the other hand, spent all of her childhood learning a plethora of subjects including Latin, Greek, and history. Though these two characters have very similar lives, they came from different backgrounds as far as education. Perhaps this is Virginia Woolf's way of showing that education only effects a person so much, and his personality will shine through any different childhood a person could have.
ReplyDeleteGrace-this is a really interesting connection, it's something that I would have never picked up on. Now that I know this, it definitely makes me wonder about certain aspects of the novel. For example, did Virginia Woolf write this so re live parts of her life? Or, did she write this in order to change part of her life? Or (in response to Chloe) is she simply showing education doesn't affect one person that much? In response to Chloe, I would have to disagree with, I think that we will find that the purpose of making the main character and the author similar will have far greater. This is simply a prediction though. My guess is that Clarissa will either a) do something the author wishes she could have done or, b) do the same thing Virginia Woolf did and simply have a different outcome. To me, this definitely changes my perspective on the novel because now it makes it seem much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteAfter discussing this concept in class and reading your post it is clear that Virginia Woolf's life parallels the certain aspects of the novel Mrs. Dalloway. I've always heard the phrase "write what you know" clearly this is what Woolf is doing. Woolf includes so many aspects of her own personal life, she is truly writing what she knows, and of course there are embellishments. The autobiographical side of the novel is very apparent is Mrs. Dalloway's sexuality. Dalloway marries a man yet truly loves a woman, Sally. Woolf had an affair with a woman during her lifespan. I bring this up because I think this novel was a release for Woolf. A way to say everything she wanted to say without actually saying it. In the time period Woolf lived in any sexuality other than heterosexual was totally frowned upon. So although Woolf wasn't fully able to express her love for a woman in public she could through her book. Other aspects of her life that Woolf might have been ashamed of were also included in the novel. Things like her suicidal thoughts, and her lack of belief in Christianity. Woolf touched on things in her novel that she couldn't in her day to day life. She kept these thoughts bottled up, and clearly Mrs. Dalloway was a release for her. I believe such a simple story is so well told and interesting is because Woolf had such a personal connection to it. She wrote what she knew.
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