Clarissa Dalloway
Clarissa Dalloway is a very insecure woman of middle age and belongs to the upper middle class. She is a woman that likes to be liked. She goes out of her way to please people and feels very hurt when she feels slighted. A perfect example of this is when she returns home from shopping to find that her husband Richard has gone to lunch at Lady Bruton’s and she was not invited. Another example is perhaps her relationship and feelings towards her daughter’s tutor Miss Kilman. Clarissa’s dislike for Miss Kilman stems from the affection Clarissa perceives her daughter feels for the woman. Clarissa feels as if Miss Kilman is taking her daughter from her and also knows that Miss Kilman is always judging Clarissa in everything she does.
Peter Walsh also judged her in her youth. He was once her beau but not long after she met Richard she decided Peter pushed Clarissa into choosing and she chose Richard. She could not stand to be judged by Peter for the rest of her life. He visits her in the novel and even though he does not openly judge her she can still feel his disapproval. She knows that he thinks she tries too hard to please others. He calls her the perfect hostess to get his point across.
Another aspect of her personality is that she does not believe in God or an afterlife. Her party itself is supposed to be a celebration of life. During her party the doctor that had been treating Septimus shows up and speaks of his death. Clarissa takes great and silent offence that someone should speak of death at her party because of this very reason. Clarissa’s very self is defined mostly by her relationships to other people and her fear of death that drives her to celebrate life. She is perhaps the weakest character in the novel.
For a character list and information on other characters not mentioned visit: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dalloway/characters.html
Page done by Chelsea Winneberger
Peter Walsh also judged her in her youth. He was once her beau but not long after she met Richard she decided Peter pushed Clarissa into choosing and she chose Richard. She could not stand to be judged by Peter for the rest of her life. He visits her in the novel and even though he does not openly judge her she can still feel his disapproval. She knows that he thinks she tries too hard to please others. He calls her the perfect hostess to get his point across.
Another aspect of her personality is that she does not believe in God or an afterlife. Her party itself is supposed to be a celebration of life. During her party the doctor that had been treating Septimus shows up and speaks of his death. Clarissa takes great and silent offence that someone should speak of death at her party because of this very reason. Clarissa’s very self is defined mostly by her relationships to other people and her fear of death that drives her to celebrate life. She is perhaps the weakest character in the novel.
For a character list and information on other characters not mentioned visit: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dalloway/characters.html
Page done by Chelsea Winneberger