Mrs. Dalloway. 1925

Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1925. It details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional upper-class woman in post-First World War England. It is one of Woolf's most famous and celebrated novels.

The novel takes place on a single day in London, June 18, 1923. Clarissa Dalloway is a society hostess who is preparing for a party that she is giving that evening. As she goes about her day, she thinks about her life, her past, and her future.

The novel is divided into three parts, each of which focuses on a different character:

Part One: Clarissa Dalloway


Part Two: Septimus Warren Smith


Part Three: Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith

Part One focuses on Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares for her party. Clarissa is a complex and contradictory character. She is both proud and insecure, confident and self-conscious. She is also haunted by the memory of a lost love.

Part Two focuses on Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked war veteran who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Septimus is a tragic character who is slowly losing his sanity. He is eventually driven to suicide.

Part Three brings Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith together. Clarissa learns of Septimus's death and is deeply affected by it. The novel ends with Clarissa reflecting on life and death as she prepares to give her party.

Mrs. Dalloway is a landmark novel in modernist literature. It is known for its stream-of-consciousness narrative technique, its complex characters, and its exploration of themes such as time, memory, and identity.

Here are some of the key themes of Mrs. Dalloway:

The nature of time and memory


The role of class and social conventions


The impact of war on individuals and society


The search for meaning and purpose in life

Mrs. Dalloway is a challenging and rewarding novel that continues to be read and studied by scholars and readers alike. It is a masterpiece of modernist literature that is sure to stay with you long after you have finished reading it.