Category Archives: Clarissa Dalloway

Clarissa Dalloway is the protagonist of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. Clarissa is a 50 year old woman who invests such a large portion of her time and energy into being high society hostess, throwing parties, keeping in step with fashion, and the like, that she has come to be known as “Mrs. Dalloway; not even Clarissa anymore; but as Mrs. Richard Dalloway” (Woolf 10).  Throughout the novel she struggles to find the balance between the life that she leads and the façade that she presents to society and the life that she wishes that she had.  Much of her interaction with others takes place at her shindigs and consists of convivial chatter, and as such few people, if any, know much about the true thoughts and aspirations of Clarissa Dalloway. In her younger days, Clarissa was romantically involved with Peter Walsh, another prominent character in the novel. Although she cared very much for Peter, she felt that they were very different and was not confident in her ability to keep up with him; She was afraid to rebel against social standards and follow her heart, and instead left Peter and married Richard Dalloway, a man who was both financially and socially well to do. Clarissa spends much of her time pondering about what her life could have been like if she had chosen to follow a life of freedom and adventure rather and a life of security. Clarissa is disappointed when her old friend, Sally, now Lady Rosseter, unexpectedly attends her party. When the two were younger Clarissa admired Sally quite a bit, both physically and in character. Sally possessed “a sort of abandonment, as if she could say anything, do anything” (Woolf, 32).  Flashbacks to earlier times with Sally also suggest that Clarissa may have had interest in exploring a romantic relationship with her, as suggested by Clarissa’s statement that “the whole world might have turned upside down” when she was kissed by Sally (Woolf, 32). Her disappointment at the appearance of such a former free spirit who now led a life very much like her own exemplifies Clarissa’s hidden desires to be free of her actual life and pursue a life of rebellion.

Clarissa Dalloway provides a unique example of the difficulty there is in finding happiness in the world.  In the beginning of the novel, we see Clarissa as an upper class woman who seems to be a bit shallow. Her marriage to Richard is not presented as one that is full of passion but none the less it provides the superficial comforts that people desire.  She is well taken care of and spends most of her time out shopping, taking walks, and planning parties.  She has servants who take care of the house work for her and she is privileged with the company of the upper crust of society.

As the novel goes on however, we see a more troubled Clarissa.  The superficial comfort is broken by the visit of Peter Walsh, who she was previously in love with.  The reasons given for the end of their relationship were all based on Clarissa not wanting to be forced into the depth of relationship that Peter desired.  More basically, Clarissa decided she would rather have a life of continuous superficial comfort than to deal with the real and deep emotions that caused her highs and lows with Peter. The visit shows that Clarissa is still torn by that decision 30 years later.

Later in the novel the contrast between the superficial happiness offered by Richard and the deep feelings that would have come with a relationship with Peter are presented in a different situation.  Clarissa thinks to herself during her party that she preferred the feelings of hate toward Miss Kilman to the dull pleasantry of seeing even someone as important as the prime minister.

This study speaks to the purpose of the humanities in exploring the depth of the human experiences.  I find the fight between the easiness of superficial happiness and the extreme feelings of deep relationships to be a primary struggle of every person’s life.  To truly be happy, we must inevitably accept the risk of deep sadness that Clarissa was afraid of when she chose to end her relationship with Peter.  As Clarissa finds, there is no true joy in superficial happiness, and at the end of the day she finds it better to feel passionate hate than to comfort without passion.