Virginia Woolf's novel, Mrs. Dalloway, is known for its fluid, stream-of-consciousness narrative form that connects external events and thoughts of all the characters. Ironically, one of the most important themes of the novel is that of individuals struggling with the privacy of the soul. In particular, the main characters Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith serve as opposing but connected characters who characterize and develop the constant conflict between privacy and communication. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay On the outside, Clarissa and Septimus have many distinctive traits, including gender, social class, and level of sanity. Clarissa is an older, upper-class woman who struggles to keep her emotions private while interacting sensibly with those around her. As she contemplates how she interacts with others, Clarissa reflects that "she had always tried to be the same, never showing any sign of all the other sides of her flaws, jealousies, vanities, suspicions" (37). However, she previously notes that she “had a strange sensation of being invisible herself; invisible; unknown... not even Clarissa anymore; this is Mrs. Richard Dalloway” (10-11). The contrast between these two statements manifests Clarissa's struggle between protecting the intimacy of her emotional state and promoting her sense of self in her social circles. On the other hand, Septimus is a World War I veteran who lost his sanity due to severe post-traumatic consequences. war depression. Septimus appears to have a similar struggle as Clarissa, but focuses more on achieving a stable state in his own mind rather than maintaining communication with others. Septimus's wife, Rezia, attempts to stimulate his interest in the outside world, "for Doctor Holmes had told her to make her husband... take an interest in things outside himself" (21). However, Septimus makes a different observation about himself, stating that “by now that all was over, the truce signed, and the dead buried, he had, especially in the evening, these sudden thunders of fear. He couldn't hear” (87). Therefore, while Clarissa primarily struggles with trying to communicate with others, Septimus avoids interactions with society and focuses on the supposed loss of his inner emotional state. The diversity between the two characters serves to reinforce the universality of the conflict they experience. A first event in the text demonstrates the aforementioned differences between the two figures. When an official-looking vehicle passes through the streets, there is much excitement as people wonder whether the car contains the Queen or the Prime Minister of England. Clarissa, who seems to have faith in her society and her government, imagines that she "saw something white, magical, circular, in the waiter's hand, a disk on which a name was engraved: that of the Queen, the Prince of Wales, of the Prime Minister? " (17). However, Septimus has a different vision of the situation: “And there stood the car, with the shutters down, and on them a curious design like a tree… and this gradual coming together of everything in one center in front of the His eyes, as if some horror had come almost to the surface and was about to catch fire, terrified him” (15). Rather than arousing interest or excitement in Septimus, the car reminds him of the associated destruction and loss of faith in government during the war, and he attempts to internalize his fears Despite their outward differences, many traits characterize both Clarissa and Septimus during their life development in the novelFor example, they have an inclination for literature, especially that of Shakespeare. Clarissa sees two lines from a Shakespeare play through a shop window in the exposition of the plot: "Fear no more the heat of the sun / Nor the fury of the raging winter" (9). These lines are repeated and reflected upon often by both Clarissa and Septimus later on, and Clarissa particularly adapts the lines to her fear of growing old. Similarly, Septimus often analyzes his life by reference to Shakespeare, such as his statement after recalling his experiences in war: “Here opened Shakespeare once again. The activity of that boy of the intoxication of language - Antony and Cleopatra - had completely withered” (88). Like Clarissa, Septimus is able to apply literature to his own development. The characters' inclination towards such writing means that they are inclined to analyze people and events on a deeper level than those who ignore literature, such as Clarissa's husband. Eventually, both Clarissa and Septimus reach a moment where each character faces their respective side of the conflict they were contemplating. Interestingly, this moment happens simultaneously for both characters. Under Rezia's constant entreaties, Septimus finally gives in to her desire to have him see a psychiatrist: “At last, with a melodramatic gesture which he assumed mechanically and with full awareness of his insincerity, he dropped his head on his hands. Now he had given up; now the others must help him" (90). Soon after this statement, the reader realizes that Clarissa goes through a similar transition: “midnight struck as Clarissa Dalloway laid her green dress on the bed, and the Warren Smiths walked down Harley Street. Twelve was the time of their appointment” (94). Just as Septimus must communicate with other members of society, Clarissa casts aside her social clothes, actions that symbolize an exchange between the privacy of the soul and social interactions. Furthermore, at a certain point in the narrative both Clarissa and Septimus undergo a brief moment of clarity. . Clarissa's moment occurs early in the text, after contemplating her husband's lunch date with a friend. The story describes this moment: It was a sudden revelation, a tinge like a blush that you tried to hold back and then, as it spread, you gave in to its expansion, and you rushed to the farthest edge and there you trembled and felt the world get closer. , swelling with an astonishing meaning, with a pressure of ecstasy, splitting his thin skin and welling up and pouring with extraordinary relief over the cracks and sores! Then, for that moment, he had seen an epiphany; a match lit in a crocus; an almost expressed internal meaning (32). Clarissa seems to experience a profound reflection on how the soul can, at times, connect to that of another person, like when you are in love. Images of revelation such as an “illumination” or a “match,” similar to the fire Septimus saw as the car passed, connote a moment of intense emotional experience. During this moment, Clarissa realizes that it is possible to share the complexities of the soul with another person. Similarly, Septimus experiences a moment of clarity when he spends time with Rezia, right before committing suicide. While helping Rezia make a hat for a friend, Mrs. Peters, Septimus experiences a brief period of sanity: “None of these things have moved. They were all still; everything was real… Miracles, revelations, agonies, loneliness, falling into the sea, down, down into the flames, everything was burned” (142-143). He helps Rezia fix the hat, and then talks about how “he had never done anything that made him look like this.