TRAPPED

In Mrs. Dalloway, we find Clarissa trapped by societal expectations. Specifically, the fact that Clarissa has fulfilled the narrow goals that Edwardian era England had limited women to fulfilling. Namely, getting married and having babies. By the time the events of Mrs. Dalloway happen, Clarissa is already middle aged, with a husband and an already independent daughter. As a result, Clarissa feels empty and without passion for her life.
However, we see Clarissa achieve satisfaction  when she does things outside of these roles society has set out for her-- most notably during her parties. However, but Peter and Richard deride her parties as frivolous affairs-- so we end up in a situation where Clarissa has nothing to live for, and the one thing that brings her any sort of purpose is derided by two of the most important men in her life as a waste of time. I think Wolfe is trying to highlight the futility of the Edwardian era ladys' existance.

Comments

  1. Annemily HogansonSeptember 16, 2017 at 9:17 PM

    I definitely agree that Woolf is trying to show how Clarissa is trapped by societal expectations. I think that at the same time though, Clarissa's life isn't just empty. For one thing, she enjoys doing a lot of the things society expects from her. She chose Richard over Peter partly because she wanted the traditional life she would have with Richard. I also interpreted her parties as part of playing a wife's traditional role in society and even though Peter and Richard think they're silly, she still enjoys hosting them.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 18, 2017 at 1:53 AM

    I definitely think that Woolf is trying to show how society restrains its characters, but I think that the parties that Clarissa hosts is a part of that societal pressure and not just something that she likes doing. This is why I think Peter (a rebel in a sort of way) hates them so much, it is because he hates the British upper class that indulges in these parties.

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