Comparisons Between Mrs. Dalloway and its Author

Virginia Woolf may well have thought of herself when she described different aspects of Mrs. Dalloway. Clarissa, although well put together and a seemingly good model for a first class 1920s woman, has many contemplative and deep thoughts that we get insight to in the novel. Woolf was a first-class woman, but was very mentally unstable, was an active feminist, and nonreligious. Similarities to these aspects of her life are prominently displayed in Mrs. Dalloway. We get an initial sense of mental illness with the character of Septimus, whom is first introduced in the novel as a bystander to the motorcade. Septimus is a WWI veteran and has an extreme case of PTSD. Throughout the novel, we find out that multiple doctors are trying to help Septimus, one of whom is one of the most famous in the area. However, at the end of the book, we find out that none of the treatment suggested will ever help because Septimus commits suicide. Similarly, Virginia Woolf had a history of mental illness, having frequent panic attacks and eventually, when she was only 59, drowning herself. The second aspect of Mrs. Dalloway that relates to Woolf's life was the sheltered, fairly "housewife" like life of Clarissa, and how she doesn't think like a housewife traditionally is supposed to think. In Mrs. Dalloway, this is exemplified especially when, at the end of the book, during her party, Clarissa goes into a back room to contemplate death. Virginia Woolf was also a first-class citizen, but also acted in erratic ways, much like how Clarissa thinks. Woolf was an avid feminist, as well as being nonreligious. Although the correlations between Mrs. Dalloway and Virginia Woolf's life aren't extremely evident, I don't think that they are coincidental and this book may in fact be a look into the thoughts and life of Woolf herself.