The Narrative Style: Fluid and Floaty Etc. Àstream of Consciousness

Set in the 1920s, Mrs Dalloway presents a society that is evolving on the coattails of time and change. In this passage Woolf cleverly, metaphorically paints two faces of the English society: where on one side patriotism and interest in the monarchy is evident. The use of the anonymous passenger in the car as a literary device that catalyses ‘the nerves in their [the people’s] thighs’ shows that even if the identity of the passenger is not known, people: ‘poor people,’ mothers and hardened ‘sealed’ men will be intrigued and in this case speculate, if it be the Queen, Prince or the Prime Minister. Here, Woolf writes of the values of traditional England where there is much loyalty and regard for the Crown and a clear hierarchy of the society. They are also personified through Mr Bowley, with the quick reference to the war —‘tut-tut’ Woolf writes and that is all, nothing more is said on the matter, no description; it is pushed aside. Contrariwise, Woolf also includes the changing face of the English society. The instant switch of attention from the car to the skywriter plane not only coincides with the ‘stream of consciousness’ style of writing during the modernist era of literary narrative but also represents the transition of the old (car) and the new (plane) evolving ideas and priorities of the society. Closer to home, Clarissa Dalloway also experiences the shift in values of post-war England in the instance of her own daughter Elizabeth, who wanted not to be the ‘perfect hostess’ and ‘cared not a straw’ for shoes and gloves but instead wanted to work. Here, Woolf shows that change is a constant, whether it is minor such as the flippant focus of attention or major such Elizabeth’s differing attitude and values as her mother— both passive and active.

Warfare or perhaps the effects of war is also an ever present theme in the novel, this is mainly seen in Septimus. For some, war was the ideal prospect to fight for one’s country, to grow from boys to men and come back home as heroes. Yet, at the end of the war, victory was not overwhelmingly felt, and many came back damaged. This is most evident in Septimus who has experienced the First World War years prior, whose damage is manifested through the shell shock and mental instability. He is beckoned into placing his attention on the plane by his wife, Rezia who by a physician has been advised to make Septimus ‘take an interest in things outside of himself’. There is an irony to this sentence for later in the passage, readers are able deduce that Septimus is in fact rather, hypersensitive to the outside world. He becomes emotional from the plane and his descriptions filled with such vivid imagery that it borderlines absurdity. There is also the parallel of his description of the elm tree leaves ‘rising and falling’ with Clarissa’s ‘collect and fall’ of the waves in both times, their thoughts become more internalised, so much so that in both times, both are jolted back into reality by a ‘dog barking’ and the sounding of a ‘faraway horn’ who are in fact, Peter Walsh and Rezia respectively. By doing this Woolf highlights the connection between the two characters where she contrasts and compares the views of the sane and the insane minds. What is more interesting perhaps is the referral to nature of both characters. An allegory to perhaps the society, Woolf through her characters may be suggesting that nature is somewhat akin to society, where the rise/ collect and fall refer to the society’s constant expectations and prejudice that befall an individual; the trees and sand, representing the people, seemingly steadfast against the erosion of the waves and the billowing of the winds. Yet it is also worth commenting on the fact that Clarissa and Septimus conclude these thoughts with both ‘fear no more’ and ‘see no more’ respectively. Clarissa would fear not what the society will serve her and Septimus not wanting to succumb to its expectations.

As with change, the turn of the modernist era also saw the use of the new and innovative technology. Conveniently also, Septimus is introduced to the passage right after the plane, showing that he is a product of the war, the ‘new’; the change. From the car that ‘nobody looked at’ as it entered the gates to the plane that ‘bored ominously in the ears of the crowd’ we see that technology has evolved to the point of the skies. The plane is also commercially used, as opposed to a machine of war. Returning once again to the instant switch of attention of the crowd as the plane enters the passage; it shows the people turning towards the new and the unknown a possible ode to the disempowerment of the influence of the monarchy on the people and its archaic ways. The plane also brings the element of ambiguity, with the fact that every character in the passage deciphers the words it writes differently: ‘But what letters?’ each character seems to ask repeatedly. One is led to think in reading this, with the plane’s constant appearing and disappearing into and out of the clouds that it represents the future. People see different letters for they will all change differently and in a broader sense, the foggy future and the desire to grasp it was a ‘mission of great importance’ for these changes may bring about the evolution of society as a whole. Yet with Septimus, Woolf also shows that changes of the future may not see desirable effects.

Conclusion: The narrative style: fluid and floaty etc. stream of consciousness