Literary Devices in Mrs Dalloway
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
A Day in the LifeSetting is one of the most innovative aspects of Mrs Dalloway. The events of the story take place on a Wednesday in June 1923 (most importantly, in post-World War I London), all in...
Narrator Point of View
Strictly defined, the point of view in Mrs Dalloway is third person omniscient; that means there’s an overarching narrator who knows everything and who has access to everyone’s thoughts. (Shmoo...
Genre
Mrs Dalloway is the ultimate example of modern literature (meaning it is part of the genre of modernism). After World War I, people felt like their world was shattered, and art and culture went thr...
Tone
What makes Mrs Dalloway so tricky in terms of tone is that Virginia Woolf has to wear two hats. First, she has to capture a general tone of post-war life. A great example comes at the beginning of...
Writing Style
In Mrs Dalloway, style works closely with both tone and genre. The style of Mrs Dalloway is complex, psychological, intricate, and dense. (Yeah, you should be sitting down for this.) Even in one se...
What's Up With the Title?
Okay, we’ll admit it: it’s hard not to be cheeky here. "Why is it called Mrs Dalloway?" Because it’s about someone named Mrs Dalloway, duh.Not so fast. There’s definitely more to it than th...
What's Up With the Ending?
The end of the novel is complex: Woolf doesn’t just hand us the meaning on a silver platter (darn). We know that Septimus is dead, and that Clarissa’s party is coming to an end (it’s 3:00AM,...
Tough-o-Meter
Mrs Dalloway might be about everyday life, but the way the story is told isn't your everyday narration. The narration weaves through the psyches of various characters, with added commentary from an...
Plot Analysis
Party Like It's 1925The novel begins as Clarissa prepares for the party she’ll give that evening. First stop: a trip to the florist. It’s a big deal that Clarissa is doing some of the work of p...
Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis
The FallIn a sense, the entire country of England has fallen under a dark power after World War I, and Clarissa and Septimus are just two examples of this. Through Clarissa and Septimus, whom Woo...
Three-Act Plot Analysis
Going about the events of her day, Clarissa reflects on the quality of her life in London and her marriage to Richard Dalloway. Her old suitor shows up unannounced and stirs up more feelings of the...
Trivia
The first review of the novel in The New York Times (May 10, 1925) focuses solely on the high society aspects and Clarissa’s snobbery, making no mention of the novel’s themes of madness.http://...
Steaminess Rating
There isn't too much steam in this novel. In fact, there are only two kisses in the entire book. One given by Hugh Whitbread to an unwilling Sally Seton, and the other given by Sally to Clarissa (w...
Allusions
Marie Antoinette (1.12, 6.102-103) Charles George Gordon (2.6)Sir Henry Havelock (2.6)Admiral Horatio Nelson (2.6)Aeschylus (4.96)Plato (1.12)Joseph Addison (5.127)Dante Alighieri (4.96)Emily Bront...