Post 2
Symmetry in Mrs. Dalloway is significant in it's portrayal of characters and its careful juxtaposition of storylines. Since the introduction of Septimus Smith and his "universe", the existence of a viewpoint so different to the one first introduced to us, the reader, is puzzling. However, I believe that there is a reason for this... Perhaps Virginia Woolf sought to portray Septimus as a version of Clarissa intensified to a point that he would be unrecognizable; a "reductio ad absurdum" of sorts. There are numerous examples of Septimus being similar to Clarissa.. similar in the same sense and similar in contradicting ways. Here are some of my observations of this idea of symmetry:
1) Lucrezia is unable to really understand and help Septimus; the same is with Richard and Clarissa
2) Clarissa loved Sally or had at least a very close friendship with her; Septimus and Evans shared a very close relationship as well
3) The two characters have a sort of "lost potential": Septimus was an aspiring poets before the War and Clarissa had dreams of political activism and support for socialist causes
4) Septimus has a sort of mental illness (relating to the brain) leaving him unable to express himself while Clarissa has a physically illness (relating to her heart) that leaves her unable to fully express herself either... Considering the brain as a powerhouse for ideas and the heart as the powerhouse for emotions, an interesting parallel can be observed here
5) Both Septimus and Clarissa have been affted negatively by social norms.. whether it was from gender expectations or romantic ones, they've almost been "snubbed" in a sense.
I think Woolf uses this symmetry to illustrate an almost latent potential in Clarissa that might lead her to a fate similar to that of Septimus. Or at least, the author uses this placement as a way to tell the reader of a connection between the two characters, a connection closer to each other than the one they have with any other character despite their oblivion to each other.
One of the examples that sticks out the most to me is the scene before Septimus commits suicide where he says that "[l]ife was good. The sun hot." With an almost mystical connection between the two it is later mentioned that "the words came to [Clarissa], Fear no more the heat of the sun. She must go back to them." I find this divergence between the actions of Septimus and Clarissa to be very interesting, where almost two parallel lines intersect for a moment and then diverge. Whereas Septimus jumped to flee Dr. Holmes, Clarissa could not bear the darkness and ran back to those dear to her.
Furthermore, I think it could be argued that the characters have so many parallels as a demonstration of how each has more in common than we may think and how we are all connected through our similarities, as this ties into Woolf's goal of writing characters as accurately and relatably as possible. Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on the symmetry between Septimus and Clarissa is a good example of many things we talked about in class. I think their mirrored images of each other definitely might suggest that Clarissa could have had a similar fate to Septimus. I think this is something Virginia Woolf definitely intended to show.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting how "opposite" the symmetries are between Clarissa and Septimus. Rezia understands something is wrong while Richard is clueless of Clarissa's internal struggle. Septimus suffers from mental illness and not physical wounds commonly attributed war. While Clarissa suffers from a physical ailment. You make a good point about Virginia Woolf's use of symmetry to allude to how easily Clarissa could have the same fate of Septimus.
ReplyDeleteYour first point about the similarities between the relationships between Clarissa and Richard and Rezia and Septimus is really interesting. I think that you could take that even farther and look at how both Clarissa and Septimus got married for reasons that weren't entirely love. Clarissa got married because it was expected of her and Septimus got married because he was afraid that he could not feel anymore. They both are both in marriages that aren't loveless, but have they have a lot of distance between themselves and their partners.
ReplyDeleteI think the opposite parallels that you are drawing between Clarissa and Septimus and how these opposites actually make them similar to one another is really interesting. The similarities in certain pieces of internal thought between the two characters, shows that although they struggle in different ways, their mutual struggle gives them an invisible connection. Like you said, it makes you wonder that if only Clarissa's life had gone slightly differently, she might've been like Septimus; who had no problem speaking his mind but struggled to be understood.
ReplyDeleteThese parallel that you pointed out in this blog post really go to show the great writing of Virginia wolf in this book. It's almost as if the climax of this book is when we see the two characters of Clarissa and Septimus' storylines connect, and we realize the symmetry between the two that you pointed out.
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