Mrs Dalloway Isolation Essay

Isolation, a strong and recurring theme, in Mrs. Dalloway is manifested throughout the character’s lives, specifically in their troubling pasts and their subordinate lives. Clarissa Dalloway, the wife of Richard Dalloway and the mother of Elizabeth, lives her life as a stereotypical housewife putting up a facade for her family and friends. Similarly Septimus Warren Smith, a troubled World War I soldier, lives his life being controlled by his memories of the war. Both characters might live surrounded by people, but on the inside they feel isolated from the norms of society.
Clarissa Dalloway, a put together housewife, hides behind her wifely duties to cover the her brewing feelings . She keeps everything locked away inside herself So she cannot
show how she truly feels. This is because of society's standards in the post World War I era. Even as a teenager Clarissa felt alone in a crowd of happy people.“Chill and sharp and yet (for a girl of eighteen as she then was) solemn, feeling as she did, standing there at the open window, that something awful was about to happen;”(3). As a teenager Clarissa suffered from severe anxiety always in fear. She felt alone and anxious fearing that something horrible was going to happen. This fear spreads and festers inside her even more after the war. Clarissa throws herself into her parties to hide behind her anxiety. She is attracted to the superficial pleasures in life and puts up a shallow facade to hide the strong emotion and emptiness inside of her. The traumatic experiences she has witnessed in life one being her sisters death, has caused her deep rooted depression and anxiety, and has caused her to close herself off from people, throwing herself in her parties.
Clarissa’s isolation can also be seen in her relationship, especially with her husband Richard. This is seen when she thinks, “And there is a dignity in people; a solitude; even between husband and wife a gulf; and that one must respect, thought Clarissa, watching him open the door; for one would not part with it oneself, or take it, against his will, from one’s husband, without losing one’s independence, one’s self-respect — something, after all, priceless”(120).
Even though Clarissa keeps to herself, relationships are very important to her. Her relationships with Sally Seaton, Richard Dalloway, and Peter Walsh have shaped her ito the woman that she is. Peter Walsh, her longtime friend, has always loved her since they were kids and breaks down begging her to know if she really loves her husband Richard. Which greatly contrasts her husband Richard who is very reserved, allows her to have her space, and even allows her to sleep in the attic alone. While Peter shows his heart on his sleeve, Richard can not even muster the courage to tell Clarissa that he loves her. Both men do not stand a chance against Sally Seaton, Clarissa’s childhood friend, and the only person who really sparked a passion within Clarissa. Their shared kiss in the garden was something that Clarissa could never forget. Sadly, in the post world war I era, that type of a relationship would have been frowned upon and scrutinized. This only shows that Clarissa lives alone in the world putting on an act. She married Richard Dalloway, took his last name and wealth to try and cover up her loneliness. One person she finally feels a spark with she cannot have, and for thirty years plays that moment back in her head only dreaming of her fantasy. The flamboyant parties and the stuck up persona are only an act to mask her true feelings and deep sadness she holds in side herself. Even though she has two men, one that she is married to and one that loves her profusely, she is not satisfied with them.
Similarly, Septimus Warren Smith, feels trapped inside himself, dealing with his post World War I thoughts. His once simplistic life of loving shakespeare and poetry was ripped away from him by the chilling and gruesome ways of war. He is plagued my feelings of numbness and hallucinations of his friends death. No one can understand the turmoil and monsters festering inside him. The novel shows how he feels isolated from the world and a shell of the man he once was when is says, “Septimus, lately taken from life to death, the Lord who had come to renew society[....] suffering for ever, the scapegoat, the eternal sufferer, but he did not want it, he moaned, putting from him with a wave of his hand that eternal suffering, that eternal loneliness”(25). Septimus sees himself as a lonely savior figure. He feels so isolated from the world and struggles immensely that he has a message to share with others. Through his pain and struggles he wants to at least make it a learning experience, because what he is feeling, no one should ever have to go through. Even with his wife Lucrezia desperately trying to help him, he still feels isolated from everyone knowing that no one can understand his thoughts.
Dr. Holmes, a doctor treating Septimus, does not take Septimus’s problems seriously furthermore separating Septimus from society. This only increases more when Septimus sees Sir William Bradshaw. He sees that Septimus is not well and believes he should be put in a mental home, away from everything he cares about. Septimus sees the doctors as throwing him away and getting rid of the damages of the war to obtain the greatness of post World War I England.
Additionally Lucrezia, Septimus’s wife, even feels isolated from the world.
By taking care of Septimus she misses her family back in Italy and just wants normalcy in her life. She feels as though she is all alone. Septimus knows his wife is pushing away from him and even notices her not wearing her wedding ring anymore. From this action Septimus’s isolation only increases as his wife even starts to lose hope in him. Septimus starts to have horrific visions telling him to kill himself. “Kill yourself, kill yourself, for our sakes [....] Besides, now that he was quite alone, condemned, deserted, as those who are about to die are alone, there was a luxury in it, an isolation full of sublimity; a freedom which the attached can never know”(92). Even with the horrific visions Septimus does not want to kill himself. He feels as though the world wants him to die to get rid of the remainder of the war that is deeply rooted inside of him. As the day moves forward and Septimus’s isolation stirs inside of him, even the most simplistic thing of talking to his wife while she makes a hat and watching the sunlight on the walls does not appease his fear and loneliness. “Miracles, revelations, agonies, loneliness, falling through the sea, down, down into the flames, all were burnt out, for he had a sense, as he watched Rezia trimming the straw hat for Mrs Peters, of a coverlet of flowers”(142). While watching his wife he has a vision of himself bursting into flames. Just sitting in that quiet room watching his wife, he still feels alone and disturbed by visions of death. The visions will not leave him making him even more anxious and
alone.
Sadly, his fear of isolation caused his death. Thinking that Sir William Bradshaw walked into his home to retrieve him for a mental home, instead of Dr. Holmes, he takes matters into his own hands and jumps out of the window feeling as though death was a better option then being trapped and isolated in a mental home. Septimus felt as though he was alone in the world with no one to turn to. His death affected Clarissa and showed her the beauty in living.
Additionally, Clarissa and Septimus are similar to one another. Their lives are ruled by isolation and are disturbed by the social structures of Britain. They both have little to no feeling about death. Clarissa manages to feel little too nothing after witnessing her sisters death as well as Septimus who detaches himself from Evans death. In the midst of their struggles with isolation they still see the beauty in the post war world. Even though Clarissa does not kill herself, Septimus’s death is a lesson for Clarissa and shows her his defiance that she can benefit from. His death shows the failure of the world around them. How Septimus was not treated correctly, how society wants people to conform to its standards. Both characters struggled internally with the lives they were living and the facade they had to maintain in order to conform to society's wishes. Clarissa just wanted to express herself and be with someone she truly loved. Instead she had to marry Richard, have a family, and be the perfect hostess to her many parties. Similarly, Septimus could not get the help he rightfully deserved after fighting in the war and was pushed around like he wasn't even a human. Both characters felt alone in the lives they were living. Septimus killed himself so that he could be set free from his isolation and horrific struggles and through that Clarissa learned from Septimus and saw the beauty in living.
Isolation affected not only Clarissa and Septimus, but many of the characters in the novel. The feeling of isolation tore at their hearts as they went through life emotionlessly, not really living the lives they wanted to live. Both Septimus and Clarissa felt alone with no one to turn to. Putting up a facade going through life' not living. To truly live you have to be yourself and not let society's cruel judgements get in the way. If not you only isolate yourself from others and feel as if you do not belong.