Introduction:
After making a close and serious study of the story of the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ written by Virginia Woolf, we find that Clarissa Dalloway is not only the central character as the heroine of the story but she shows her attachment more with Peter Walsh than to her husband, Richard Dalloway. It seems that she was drifting with her aimless life to and fro. Her character also shows the spoilt shape of contemporary civilization. In this way, she may be regarded as the representative figure in the story. She belonged to the upper-middle class society of London. She proved an ideal and perfect hostess in her party. Her character shows her the mixture of opposites.
As a Fascinating Lady:
As we study the story of ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ we find Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway as a highly fascinating lady. She enjoyed to give parties to her friends and distinguished persons because she believed in such social intercourse. She was the best organiser of such parties in which she took much interest and looked fascinating to her friends and guests. They used to admire the ideal arrangement of such parties as well as Clarissa’s good organisation. She should be regarded not only a fascinating female character but also the part-and-parcel of the ‘Stream of Consciousness’.
Virginia Woolf was more concerned with the inner reality of her life and soul rather than with outward conditions. Though she was more than fifty years old, yet she looked fascinating and charming. This is the reason that Peter Walsh loved her much because he regarded her very loving and lovely. Richard also loved her and married her because he was much impressed by her fascinating personality and beautiful figure.
Her Social Nature:
After studying the story of the novel, we find that Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway as a woman with her social nature. This is the reason that she had loved Peter Walsh in her youth and continued to love him even after her marriage with Richard. Though she had accepted Richard as her husband but she did not find him as loving and affectionate as Peter Walsh. It is only because of her social nature which was the natural trait of her character. At the same time she was fond of arranging party one after the other. In such parties, she talked to her friends and relatives and became more and more loving and popular as the woman of fine social nature. For example, in the same party which she had arranged at night mentioned in the story of the novel, even the Prime Minister of England, some great men, and many distinguished ladies of the upper-middle class were present at her house because it was a fine chance for social gathering and mutual give-and-take. We also see through this party that Mrs. Clarissa possessed a lot of vitality.
Her Love for Peter Walsh:
This story from the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ clearly shows that Clarissa used to love Peter Walsh from the bottom of her heart. She had passed a lot of time with him in Bourton prior to her marriage with Richard. Though she refused to marry him but she always felt regret for this throughout her future life. Though she had married Richard with her own willingness and with her free personal choice, yet she could not find him a loving partner like Peter Walsh. She continued loving Peter Walsh out-and-out from the beginning upto the end of the story. Peter Walsh, too, returned her love with equal intensity and with a true heart. He also felt always lonely and much tortured without getting her as his own loving and lovely wife. Actually, Peter Walsh had become a part-and-parcel of her life, as well as an experience which had made a lasting impression on her mind and soul. After a long absence in India, when Peter Walsh came back to her unexpectedly, she was feeling excited and highly over-joyed. She advanced to kiss him and the memory of her company with him in the past made her very happy. She remembered a number of details with joy how she had passed happy days with him at Bourton. She could not marry him but that blunder gave both of them intense spiritual grief.
As a Loving Wife and Mother:
As we go on making the study of ‘Mrs. Dalloway’ more and more we find two great virtues in the character of Clarissa Dalloway. These two virtues were that she was a loving wife of her husband, Richard as well as she was the loving mother of her daughter, Elizabeth whom she used to love deeply and affectionately. The story shows that she loved Richard much in spite of his faults of character. He was a Parliamentarian but she hoped that he would rise to the position of a Cabinet Minister. She also hoped that one day he would become the Prime Minister of England but he could not get that coveted post and position because he was a man of static nature. She remained faithful to her husband by her actions and ideas. She felt much pleased when he had brought some flowers for her on the occasion of the party in the house. She also liked his gentle nature and simple life. She loved him and admired him for being a practical man. She also loved her daughter so much that she was proud of her. She introduced her to Peter Walsh in a proud manner saying, “My Elizabeth”. She hated her tutor, Kilman because she felt that she was taking her away from her as well as from her love and affection as her daughter. She also did not like her that she should be in close Contact with a vulgar woman like Miss Kilman.
Her Passionate Love for Sally Seton:
The story of the novel makes it very clear that Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway had real and passionate love for her loving and lovely friend, Sally Seton. In return to her love, Sally also loved Clarissa with the same intensity and the depth of her heart. Some men love women passionately but, in this case, Clarissa loved Sally most passionately as a man may love a loving and lovely woman. Their friendship indicated their homo-sexual relationship with each other. For example, Sally was much fascinated when she was first introduced to Clarissa. Seeing her, Clarissa also had said these words, “The strange thing, on looking back was the purity, the integrity, of her feeling for Sally.” They used to get immense pleasure in their mutual company and conversation. When Sally Seton, appeared unexpectedly in her party, Clarissa was truly overjoyed at her presence there.
Her Hearty and Inner Emptiness:
The serious study of the story of the present novel shows that Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway was totally empty from her inner heart. Its reason was that she was vacant both in her heart and soul. For example, Clarissa was feeling very happy in the course of her party after meeting and talking to a number of her friends and relatives but she was perfectly empty in her heart-of-hearts. Its another reason was that her life was without any definite purpose and direction. Though she had married Richard, yet she did not find any real consolation in that marriage because she always hankered for Peter Walsh and his love. This is the reason that she gave expression to her extra energy by arranging one party after another for her outward satisfaction. Her life was purposeless because she could not achieve that which she had been wanting in her heart-of-hearts in her real life. In this way, she was living a life which was not only purposeless but it was also very tormenting for her. She saw other persons living with purpose in their life but felt sorry when she found her own life purposeless. Her own character not only shows the death of her soul but it also shows total waste in the name of modern civilization. Actually, she was living her life only on a superficial plane. She was well-conscious of her own spiritual decay and sterility as well as of the lack of purpose and direction in her own real life. Only with this reason she used to arrange one party after another to forget her inner emptiness.
Her Character under ‘Stream of Consciousness’:
This story clearly shows that Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway was a typical as well as individual woman of her own character. Her character may be regarded important and of rounded nature. She was a woman with her many-sided personality but her circumstances had made her sick in her mind and soul. Virginia Woolf had created the rounded character in the form of Clarissa Dalloway under her technique of the ‘stream of consciousness’. Her such character becomes very clear when we look at her with her relationship with Peter Walsh and Sally Seton. All of us find her in different colours as a young beautiful girl loving Peter Walsh, as an attached wife of Richard, as a loving mother of Elizabeth as well as a popular and significant hostess in her party where she was loved and praised by all her friends and relatives. On the other hand, she was finding herself lonely and unhappy because she had been deprived of Peter Walsh, love as her husband which she had bitterly failed to get in her real life. Thus, she felt that she was living an aimless life. The stream of consciousness continued from the past to the present as well as from one character to another. Even then we find Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway as a highly significant female character in the story of the novel ‘Mrs. Dalloway’.