Date of Award
Spring 5-2-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Richard Kaye
Second Advisor
Jeremy Glick
Academic Program Adviser
Janet Neary
Abstract
Mrs. Dalloway is one of Virginia Woolf’s best-known novels. It was published in London in 1925-seven years after the end of World War I. The novel centers on Clarissa Dalloway’s life on a specific day in June 1923, in preparation for a party she will host in the evening. The day is also the death of Septimus Smith, a subplot character who is an ex-soldier of World War I and serves as Clarissa Dalloway's doppelganger. Clarissa is a middle-class woman who has just recovered from heart disease. Septimus is a working-class young man, a victim of war, and a sufferer of shell shock. He is portrayed as a hallucinating and alienated man going through a mental breakdown. The ruling class, which holds a dominant position in England, chooses to ignore the aftermath of the war in society and continues to adhere to the old traditions. They are oblivious to the sufferings of the returned soldiers and the people who live in isolation and desperation. Septimus, who is powerless to change his altered reality, descends into madness in an effort to protect his soul from those in power attempting to impose their will on him. Septimus’ mental disorder is a result and a reflection of extreme alienation. Ultimately, Septimus commits suicide. Woolf reveals that Septimus's madness and inevitable death stem from society's alienation. The alienation from society is due to the conflicts and irreconcilability between individuals and the society and its patriarchal culture. The collision and incompatibility are the result of Septimus's failure to meet patriarchal standards that value masculinity and conformity, but also from society's indifference to and neglect of those in need. These factors collectively alienate Septimus and ultimately lead to his death. Additionally, other characters, such as Doris Kilman and Lucrezia Smith, also go through alienation caused by the social system that Woolf has criticized.
Recommended Citation
Xu, Chunying, "Alienation in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1381
