Mrs Dalloway

Clarissa Dalloway is the main character in Mrs Dalloway. Clarissa is 51 years old and a member of the upper class. She is married to Richard Dalloway and together they have one child, Elizabeth. Clarissa has planned a party for the night and has invited prominent members of high society. Through flashbacks and the commentary of other characters we come to understand how radically different Clarissa is to her past self. Clarissa’s present identity is consumed by insecurity and a desire to craft a respectable status. Clarissa has experienced significant grief and loss in her life. Her sister and mother died when Clarissa was a child, but these events are not detailed or explored in the novel. This omission positions the reader to focus on Clarissa’s identity and the impacts of her suffering.

Clarissa cares immensely about the way she is perceived by others. As a result, her life is defined by the unrelenting quest for admiration, status and nobility. This comes at a personal cost to Clarissa’s happiness, confidence, and satisfaction with life. At times, Clarissa is miserable, lacks purpose, and is confused about her identity. Clarissa rigidly observes the conventions of upper class life, choosing to remain within the boundaries that stifle her aspirations and hope.

It appears as if Clarissa’s only value is as “the perfect hostess,” a label Peter gave her. This label had made Clarissa cry as it exposed her superficiality and hollowness. Clarissa’s desire for admiration and status is ever-present in the novel. Our introduction to Clarissa is as she decides to get the flowers for the party herself. This is a convenient way for Clarissa to be seen by others – including her neighbour and an old friend – as a way of seeking gratification.
Despite the confident and tough exterior Clarissa presents, she is sensitive to suffering and the pressures placed on her. She is deeply insecure and unsure of herself. Clarissa has suffered from mental health issues, although the extent of this is not made clear in the novel. Clarissa quite successfully portrays a façade of strength and assuredness, with only people from her past able to pierce this façade. Clarissa’s identity has become inextricably linked to her status as a hostess, as someone who pleases others and is revered. This is evident in the novel’s title which places focus on her status as someone’s husband rather than on her individuality.

Clarissa’s insecurity has developed into a fear of sharing intimacy. She finds Peter’s emotional and sensitive nature as a risk. Clarissa is frightened of exposing herself and sees a relationship with Peter as unthinkable and a dangerous surrender. This fear pushed Clarissa to choose Richard over Peter as a safer option. Yet, despite this, Clarissa is never truly relaxed, and she keeps her most serious thoughts and dreams to herself. The choice of Richard reflects the context where marriage was more traditional and not as motivated by passionate love and fulfilment.
Clarissa chose the safety and security of Richard yet the spirit that finds Peter enchanting remains within her and is impossible to suppress. Clarissa’s marriage to Richard is mundane. He is a conservative politician with connections that allow Clarissa to be part of the upper class world that sustains her. Peter, Richard, and Sally were all close to Clarissa at Bourton. Clarissa’s decision to reject Peter and marry Richard signals the beginning of her plunge into conventional living.

Clarissa has great admiration for the free-spirited nature of Sally and Peter, however, Clarissa feels that she is incapable of acting in the same way. She fears that she lacks the strength to defy expectations and seek the autonomy that she has always craved. In a world of uncertainty and confusion, Clarissa’s marriage to Richard is a safe choice where Clarissa can live an ordinary, simple and secure life. Richard enables Clarissa to pursue her insatiable obsession with her reputation.

Clarissa’s only purpose comes from her parties.  When we see her as a hostess, she is consumed by anxiety as she feels obligated to ensure everything is perfect. Clarissa’s relationship with Sally reveals a more carefree time where Clarissa actively pursued her emotions. Her constant reflection on Sally and their time together shows Clarissa’s uncertainty as she is haunted by the thoughts of what could have been if she chose to favour her emotional interests over society’s inflexible expectations.

Clarissa’s love for Sally is seen to be authentic and pure; Sally invigorates Clarissa in a way that no man ever could. This passionate attachment to Sally stems from the deaths of Clarissa’s mother and sister as a child. At the time the novel was written, lesbian relationships were highly taboo, yet Woolf wrote fondly of lesbian and intimate female relationships as a source of liberation and an act of rebellion against marriage. Marriage can be seen as a core structure of a patriarchal society and a catastrophe that Clarissa and Sally could escape from.
 
Clarissa values her privacy and cherishes it. She is fascinated with the old neighbourly woman that she watches. Clarissa has glimpses into her most intimate moments of solitude which reminds Clarissa of the privacy of the soul. When her party is invaded with the talk of death, Clarissa is outraged and stunned. Despite the overwhelming urge to maintain order and control of her party, Clarissa is confronted with the most extreme suffering. It is here where she seeks to change direction.

Clarissa seems to understand Septimus’ suicide despite never knowing him. She acknowledges the power of taking control of one’s fate and of resisting the pressures of society to conform. Clarissa genuinely loves the world of London that she is absorbed in. But Clarissa is sometimes struck with the sombreness that comes with the tantalising thoughts of how her life could be different if she had been more daring and courageous. The ending of the novel suggests that Clarissa has found the courage to rekindle her passions.