Mrs Dalloway - Softcover

Woolf, Virginia

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1907523650 ISBN 13: 9781907523656

Publisher: Cathedral Classics, 2010

Synopsis

Virginia Woolf's novel follows a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, an upper class married Englishwoman, whose inner life exists in a state of continuous tension. She is torn between the boring conventional existence she has chosen to lead, and thoughts of what might have been, had she accepted the marriage proposal of the Bohemian Peter Walsh. But Walsh too, has his doubts, and Woolf shows that all her characters, despite making radically different life-choices, are ultimately left uneasy and questioning of their role in existence. Outwardly self-assured, inwardly despairing, Mrs Dalloway symbolizes upper class English Society, of which the novel is, in part, a critique.

About this title

Review

Clarissa Dalloway is civilised--without the ostentation of a socialite, but with enough distinction to attract them to her parties. She finds excess offensive, but surrounds herself with the highest quality and has an abhorrence for anything ugly or awkward. Mrs. Dalloway is as much a character study as it is a commentary on the ills and benefits society gleans from class. Through Virginia Woolf, we spend a day with Clarissa as she interacts with servants, her children, her husband, and even an ex-lover. As she plans and executes one of her celebrated parties, she reveals inner machinations incongruous with her class-defined behaviors, that ultimately enable her to transcend them.

Review

Virginia Woolf's writing takes considered reading but the reader is richly rewarded, the prose is wonderfully lyrical and she explores her characters brilliantly. (Heavenali Blog)

Edition details

• Publisher: Cathedral Classics
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1907523650
• ISBN 13: 9781907523656
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 122