Mrs. Dalloway 11

“And she smiled, pocketing her shilling, and the all peering inquisitive eyes seemed blotted out, and the passing generations – the pavement was crowded with bistling middle-class people – vanished, like leaves, to be trodden under, to be soaked and steeped and made mould of by that eternal spring…. ‘Poor old woman’, said Rezia Warren Smith, waiting to cross (82)”.

Everyone who is passing by this woman (Rezia and Peter Walsh) feel sorry for her. They see her tattered clothing and her frail body and their automatic reaction is sympathy. But the ironic idea that Woolf is getting across is that the old woman is actually the only truly happy person. She is enlightened, and knows the true meaning of life, unlike the rest of the park dwellers. The woman herself has sympathy for the people passing by, because she knows that she is the the enlightened one, for the woman is singing a song of happy realization. Woolf shows that one should not judge on someone’s appearances. She also shows characterization of the society by showing the judgmental and ignorant ideas of the people.

Mrs. Dalloway 10

“A young man had killed himself. He had been in the army. Oh! thought Clarissa, in the middle of my party, here’s death, she thought (183).”

Woolf demonstrates irony in this quote. Mrs. Dalloway is shocked at the news of death, but not because someone has lost their life, because someone brought the news to her party. The two characters have been completely indirectly related the entire story as well, and then they are brought together in this ironic meeting in the end of the story. Septimus is insignificant to Clarissa until he is dead, and even then, he is only a nuisance.  

Mrs.Dalloway 9

“And London was so dreary compared with being alone in the country with her father and the dogs (135)”.

According to Woolf's memoirs, her most vivid childhood memories were not of London but of St. Ives in Cornwall, where the family spent every summer until 1895. The character of Elizabeth could be Woolf’s depiction of herself, and how she felt growing up in the upper class society of London, England. The summer house, which was situated in the country, was most likely a get away.

Mrs. Dalloway 8

“As we are a doomed race chained to a sinking ship…. As the whole thing is a bad joke, let us, at any rate, do our part; mitigate the sufferings of our fellow prisoners… decorate the dungeon with flowers and air-cushions; be as decent as we possibly can (77)”.

This quote shows Mrs. Dalloway’s stream of consciousness in a dark satirical sort of way. It is also, most likely, Virginia’s thoughts as well. She was severely depressed almost her entire life, and would often have mental break downs due to the death of her family and being sexually abused by her half brothers. She saw the world as quite a depressing place, and this ironically comical tone shows Woolf’s view on society and what a joke it is. She knew that life in general was pointless, and she had a hard time seeing past this. 

Mrs. Dalloway 7

"Something so trifling in single instances that no mathematical interment, though capable of transmitting chocks in China, could register the vibration; yet in its fullness rather formidable and in its common appeal emotional; for in all the hat shops and tailors' shops strangers looked at each other and thought of the dead; of the flag; of Empire (18)".

This moment in the story is a huge and powerful moment. Woolf is suggesting that everything in the world is, in some way, connected, and nothing can stop this, no matter how big or small the power is. This could be reference to the government and Woolf’s view on it. She could be saying that no matter what the government does, they cannot stop society, because in the end, the people in the society are the most powerful thing.

Mrs. Dalloway 6

“As if inside his brain by another hand strings were pulled, shutters moved, and he, having nothing to do with it, yet stood at the opening of endless avenues, down which if he chose he might wander. He had not felt so young for years (52)”.

This quote uses many literary devices including metaphor, imagery and simile to capture the moment Peter has such an inspiring revelation. The imagery is shown as you see Peter’s brain working. Everything seems to be opening up, “shutters” are opening and a whole new world, metaphorically and literally, is shown to him. The reader is shown this world as well in Woolf’s descriptive and vivid language. Everything that is said can be taken as literally and figuratively which broadens the view of the characters’ and the reader.