Mrs. Dalloway #2

 Mrs. Dalloway written by Virginia Woolf is a story that follows a woman named Clarissa and a man named Septimus for a single day. Throughout the story of Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf repetitively refers to flowers. I believe that the repetition of flowers in this novel is used as a way to symbolize aspects of Clarissa's personality, feelings, and more. Similarly to colors, the mentioning of flowers in writing are often a way to symbolize aspects of the story or character without having the author directly state said aspect. 

    In Mrs. Dalloway, the opening line of the book is, "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself". The immediate mention of flowers in the novel sets the stage for the fact that flowers will hold a certain type of significance throughout the story. The reader is then informed that Mrs. Dalloway is going to buy flowers for the dinner party she is hosting. At the flower shop, several flowers such as delphiniums, carnations, lilacs, and sweet peas are mentioned. Flowers are also mentioned in Clarissa’s memories with Sally, Richard brings Clarissa roses, and Clarissa and Richard’s daughter (Elizabeth) is compared to flowers. The repetition of flowers throughout the story unveils that they symbolize something deeper. 

     While several different flowers are mentioned, the general idea of flowers can represent love, beauty, and joy. For example, specifically with Richard giving Clarissa roses, this symbolizes love. Roses are often a symbol of love in literature. Additionally, Richard even says that he wants to tell Clarissa he loves her, however he just gives her the roses instead. Although Richard does not actually tell Clarissa he loves her, the roses symbolize the love he has for her without needing to say it. Furthermore, the mentioning of flowers in regard to Clarissa’s memory of Sally may represent the love that Clarissa has for her. Overall, the repetition of flowers throughout Woolf’s story of Mrs. Dalloway represents love and beauty between the characters and their relationships. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Waverley Blog #1

Image
The Battle of Culloden (1746)      The story of Edward Waverley takes place during a time of division. The Jacobite Rising of 1745 was an attempt by the Jacobites to overthrow the Hanovers and regain the English throne for the Stuart line. Many people in England and Scotland disagreed on who had the right to the throne which eventually led to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The main character, Edward Waverley, is an Englishman who travels to Scotland after joining the army in support of the Hanovers. As an Englishman in Scotland during this time, Waverley has to determine what side he is truly on as he discovers more of Scotland and the Scots.      Throughout this text, Sir Walter Scott utilizes various characters, actions, and pieces of dialogue to emphasize the rift between England and Scotland. However, Scott also uses these techniques to show the internal conflict Waverley faces regarding what side he is on (Hanoverian or Jacobite). Before readers are even introduced to Waverley, it i
Read more

Dublin Day 1

Image
Our last destination of the trip was Dublin. We only had two nights in Dublin and neither were a full free day. The first day of Dublin included a short flight from London. Then we walked around the town and explored on our own for a while. We saw the General Post Office (The GPO) which was super interesting. There are large columns in the front of the GPO which have divots in them from bullets. The Easter Rising in Dublin was when Dubliners fought to become an independent republic from the UK. During this rebellion they fired at the GPO, and the bullet holes can still be seen on the columns today.        Then we met at the hotel to go to our group dinner. Dinner was a Guinness Beef Stew. I wasn’t super hungry because we hadn’t eaten lunch but 3 hours before dinner. However, the stew was delicious. So I finished the whole thing hehehe. We also had a key lime cheesecake for dessert which was very good. I also ate the entire cheesecake. Later that night we went to a pub called The Old St
Read more

The Rest of London

Image
  The second day of London was much better.     We had a bus tour with an amazing guide named Stuart. He was entertaining and kept our attention the whole time. We went to the Albert Memorial, Buckingham palace, drove by Big Ben, saw St. Paul’s Cathedral, and toured the Tower of London. All of the English Landmarks were incredible to see in person. My favorite place we saw on the second day was St. Paul’s Cathedral. We could also see the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London which was another one of my favorites from that day. I really liked seeing St. Paul’s Cathedral because of the history behind it. Firstly, it’s a huge and beautiful building that was built so long ago without any machinery. Also, during World War II, the Germans continuously targeted London with air raids. A lot of the area surrounding St. Paul’s Cathedral was destroyed from this, however, St. Paul’s Cathedral stayed standing. The Cathedral stood as a beacon of hope for the British during this time of war.   After
Read more