Introduction:
After studying the story of the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway‘ written by Virginia Woolf we find that Peter Walsh is a very important character after Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway. He is found dominating the story from the beginning upto the end. Though Clarissa had rejected him as a husband by marrying him but she felt much regret for her blunder throughout her whole life. On the other hand, Clarissa felt an equal and painful regret in her heart-of-hearts. The life of Peter Walsh became miserable when he had failed to marry Clarissa, the young and beautiful lady of his choice. Though she was married to Richard, yet she did not find perfect satisfaction in her married life because her fault of rejecting the young man haunted her mind out-and-out.
Some other points of his character are briefly described in the following lines:
His Personality:
Peter Walsh not only had an important place in the story of the novel but he remained its part-and-parcel. He was a middle-aged man of fifty years of age. It was his impressive personality that Clarissa had started loving him with a true heart. She also thought to marry him but regretted for her blunder in her whole life. Peter Walsh also felt the same painful feelings for not getting Clarissa as his wife. When he came back from India after a gap of five years, she found him exactly the same without any change. Even then she found him impressive and attractive by his fine features. He used to impress Clarissa and others by his fine art of conversation.
His Odd Nature:
This story clearly shows that Peter Walsh had odd nature alongwith his queer look. It was his usual habit of fidgeting with a big pocket-knife. Virginia Woolf tried to show the odd nature and behaviour of Peter Walsh through her ‘Stream of consciousness’. For example, he thought again and again about those happy days which he had passed in the company of beautiful Clarissa at Bourton when she was not only beautiful but perfectly attractive to him. In the same way, Clarissa also recollected that pleasant period of her life and often regretted for not marrying him. Peter Walsh was often found talking to different persons in an odd manner. His nature is clear from the fact that he loved not only Clarissa but other persons also without much interest in the beauties of Nature. Once he himself had said that “he preferred men to cauliflowers”. In the same way, he was more interested in Science, Philosophy and in Poetry rather than in the happenings around him.
His Love for Clarissa Dalloway:
The study of ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ clearly shows that Peter Walsh used to love Clarissa truly, passionately and deeply. He continued his love for her even upto the end of this story. He ever recollected his passionate love for her in that period which he had passed at Bourton where Clarissa had rejected the proposal to marry him. Her rejection to marry him proved a turning point in his life which became more and more miserable for him. He went to India where he married a woman who also died after some time. After that he returned to England with the purpose of divorce and remarriage with another married lady. Peter Walsh continued to love Clarissa passionately in spite of some quarrels with her. His love for her had much significance in his life. For example, once when he was sitting in the Regent Park near the fountain, he thought of Clarissa who had finally rejected him for the purpose of marriage. That rejection haunted his mind out-and-out and he could never get out of it. He hoped to marry Daisy, a married woman with two children after getting her divorce from her husband. Clarissa had rejected him thinking him to be very possessive that he would not allow her any freedom in her life if she had married him. The concluding part of this story shows that he still loved Clarissa in his heart-of-hearts. It certainly shows the nobility of his heart and the broadness of his mind. It seems that Clarissa would have been happier as his wife than as the wife of Richard Dalloway.
His Critical Attitude:
The story of the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ clearly shows that Peter Walsh had critical attitude which Virginia Woolf had tried to analyse under her technique of the ‘stream of consciousness’. His such attitude is clear from the fact that he continued to love Clarissa even after criticising her married life with Richard. He often asked her with his critical attitude if Richard loved her truly and adequately. His question to her showed his sense of doubt as well as his critical attitude in her marriage to Richard. It is through his critical attitude that the readers find a clear idea about the personality and character of Clarissa as well as about the love-affair of Peter Walsh with her. It was his ironic remark at the party when he told her that even the Prime Minister of England would like to marry her because of her wonderful beauty and her powerful organisation of the party. In this way, we find the character of Peter Walsh as the mixture of opposites. He called her the perfect hostess when she was welcoming her guests, friends and relatives very warmly. He also reminded her about the hypocrisy and artificial of society in England. If we recollect about their life at Bourton Peter Walsh was always very critical of her and those many things which he did not like. He also called her cold and hard-hearted.
Conclusion:
In short, Peter Walsh was opposite of the Dalloways. Its reason was that he was opposed to their ideal of material success and prosperity. They thought that his life was a failure but he was still in search of a petty job because he did not have enough means to support himself and his wife. It is true to say that he had miserably failed in his life as a practical man. He felt the same under the ‘Stream of Consciousness’ when he was sitting in the Regent Park and he was thinking over his failure both in his love with Clarissa as well as in his real life. Certainly, he was an adventurous man who had worked hard in his life.