Peter Walsh
The insecurities of a man with no value in his own self are quite the conundrum when it comes to the novel, Mrs. Dalloway. Peter Walsh is presented to us as the forsaken and “mistreated” former lover of Clarissa Dalloway; with his self proclaiming issues of self loathing and insecurity of where his future leads, he is seemingly wondering around in an endless circle of dread about dying without putting meaning into his life.
Peter Walsh wallows in his self-pity of what could have been with Mrs. Dalloway which leaves him fantasizing about the life he could or would be living with a woman, not particularly Mrs. Dalloway but with a loving woman who would put all his worries at ease. I find that his train of thought in most of the novel is rather pitiful. Without the conflict of Walsh and Dalloway we as the reader wouldn’t really be able to understand Clarissa’s inner dialogue as it pertains to her other relationships in her household. Because of their history together Peter and Clarissa have a certain bond that puts a weight on Clarissa’s shoulders when it comes to her relationship with her own husband Richard.
Just as many high society men and women, Peter is no different in his view of where he is and where everyone else around him is. Peter views himself as someone who can stand outside the society and survive all the same, but in reality he needs the English society that he has come acquainted with to be able to make sense of his confusion of his relationship, or lack thereof, with Clarissa.
I believe Peter Walsh to be self-loathing and unable to move on from his relationship with Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway. That’s what gives him the ability to play such a major part in Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.
For a complete Character Analysis:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dalloway/
Page done by Katherine Endres
Peter Walsh wallows in his self-pity of what could have been with Mrs. Dalloway which leaves him fantasizing about the life he could or would be living with a woman, not particularly Mrs. Dalloway but with a loving woman who would put all his worries at ease. I find that his train of thought in most of the novel is rather pitiful. Without the conflict of Walsh and Dalloway we as the reader wouldn’t really be able to understand Clarissa’s inner dialogue as it pertains to her other relationships in her household. Because of their history together Peter and Clarissa have a certain bond that puts a weight on Clarissa’s shoulders when it comes to her relationship with her own husband Richard.
Just as many high society men and women, Peter is no different in his view of where he is and where everyone else around him is. Peter views himself as someone who can stand outside the society and survive all the same, but in reality he needs the English society that he has come acquainted with to be able to make sense of his confusion of his relationship, or lack thereof, with Clarissa.
I believe Peter Walsh to be self-loathing and unable to move on from his relationship with Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway. That’s what gives him the ability to play such a major part in Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.
For a complete Character Analysis:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dalloway/
Page done by Katherine Endres