Eric Auerbach writes in Mimesis that one of the characteristics of the realistic novel of the era between the two world wars are multipersonal representations of consciousness. In Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, first published in 1925, the novel delves into the consciousness of many characters. However, one character stands out more than any other: Septimus Smith, a World War I veteran who constantly suffers the terrible repercussions of trench warfare. The long period of time that Woolf dwells in her mind is both interesting and disconcerting. Why does Woolf choose a secondary character who is crazy? What do you hope to achieve with this decision? Septimus has often been described as Mrs Dalloway's double, and on the surface, the comparison couldn't be stranger. First, Septimus comes from a poor working background, while Mrs. Dalloway is the wife of a wealthy upper-middle class politician. There is not only a clear social divide, but also a psychological one. Septimus is crazy, while Mrs. Dalloway is not. Septimus' madness seems to act as a driving element that crystallizes the distinction between the two characters. However, if we look closer, it becomes clear that the two characters are more similar than different and Septimus' madness, rather than differentiating the two, only helps to further illuminate the similarities. Thus, Septimus must be mad because his madness helps prove that he and Mrs. Dalloway are actually parallel characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One way we can use our knowledge of Septimus to understand Mrs. Dalloway is by examining their social roles. While the two characters may seem very different at first glance, they share many similar traits and experiences. In the novel, Septimus's experience at war and his struggle with the terrifying consequences of trench warfare are juxtaposed with Mrs. Dalloway and her struggle with gender roles and being a stereotypical housewife or stewardess. Although the two struggles are apparently very different, they are ultimately the same: both fight against society's conventions and expectations. In the case of Septimus Smith, his experiences in the trenches of World War I and the death of his good friend Evans, cause him to lose his mind. But Britain's social order in the 1920s was ill-equipped to deal with madness: it was frowned upon and largely ignored by society. No one wants to acknowledge the terrifying effects of trench warfare and shock, even though war was the most formative experience of the men of Septimus' generation. Septimus, as an able-bodied young man, is still expected to be an active member of society, despite suffering the terrible repercussions of war. This reluctance to recognize and address the problem of madness and shock is reflected in the opinions of people like Dr. Holmes, who insist that "there was nothing serious" (90). Indeed, Holmes suggests to Septimus's wife, Reiza, that the solution to her husband's “bad mood” was to go to the Music Hall or take a day off and play golf together (90). Even Sir William Bradshaw, a highly respected doctor, suggests sending Septimus to an asylum because he has violated social norms and standards. Septimus' struggle with madness and the consequences of trench warfare is juxtaposed with Mrs. Dalloway's struggle against gender stereotypes. In Virginia Woolf's time, a woman's identity was made up largely of her relationships with others: as daughter, wife, or mother. In fact, the novel begins and is titled Mrs.Dalloway, a recognition of Clarissa's instrumental role as the wife of Mr. Dalloway, a prominent politician. Clarissa feels a sort of entrapment in the roles that society has assigned to her, “she had the strange sensation of being herself invisible, unseen... this being Mrs Dalloway; not even Clarissa anymore; this is Mrs. Richard Dalloway” (11). She feels deeply the need for private development and refuses to be chosen simply as someone's wife or party hostess. In a sense, his house can be seen as the equivalent of Septimus's asylum: both institutions are methods of society's confinement. Clarissa's struggle for individuality can be seen as a reflection of Septimus' struggle for sanity: both violate the traditional structures of society. The social order of the time created standards and forced individuals into rigid roles with certain expectations: that of wife and soldier. While Septimus' struggle for sanity is evident in the story, Clarissa's is not. Therefore Septimus and his madness are necessary to demonstrate that both characters have a private self that diverges from public expectations of them. Perhaps the final victory is achieved by Mrs Dalloway who, when she descends the stairs at the end of the novel, is finally recognized by Peter Walsh and the others as an individual in her own right: “What is this terror? What is this ecstasy? … What fills me with extraordinary excitement? It's Clarissa” (194). Septimus' madness also has an aesthetic purpose. Woolf uses her madness to highlight the modernist notion that reality is messy rather than structured. It achieves this through the use of style, syntax, and form. The novel uses stream-of-consciousness style, which is inherently orderless. Not only is it orderless, but it also blurs the distinction between sanity and insanity. When examining the passages of consciousness in the novel, if we were to remove all the clues that reveal the person in whose consciousness we find ourselves, it would be very difficult to identify the character described. This is not to say, of course, that everyone's consciousness is the same as Septimus's, but that the intrinsic qualities of the stream-of-consciousness style blur the distinction: almost all thoughts lack a logical structure, some (Septimus's ) more illogical than others. . Virginia Woolf purposely chooses this style because it helps reinforce the similarities between Septimus and Clarissa. For example, Mrs. Dalloway describes one of her revelations as: “if it were pity, or their beauty, or that she was older, or some accident – ​​like a faint perfume, or a violin next door… no doubt then felt what men felt” (32) How does pity, beauty, aging, or a violin connect and contribute to his understanding of what men feel? action or dialogue, but rather moments of time. By focusing on the “moment,” Woolf rejects traditional narrative structures with their organized form. Mrs Dalloway is neither a comedy nor a tragedy, neither a drama nor a love story. Woolf also uses syntax, particularly the semicolon, to insert independent, independent entities into a sentence without logical connection. This also supports the idea of ​​a messy reality with no inherent logic or connection. The semicolon is used skillfully in the following observation by Mrs. Dalloway: In the eyes of people, in the swing, in the wandering, and in the shuffling; in the bellowing and the tumult; the carriages, the automobiles... the brass bands; barrel organs; what he loved was the triumph, the jingle and the strange singingsharp of a plane overhead; life; London; this moment of June (4). This juxtaposition of random, loosely connected objects (swings, carriages, barrel organs, airplanes, etc.) exemplifies the chaotic reality Woolf believed we lived in. However, this is not to say that there is no order or style of stream of consciousness is exclusively a random meandering of thoughts and impressions. Although Woolf rejected traditional forms of order, such as chapter breaks and plot, she employs a much more subtle form of organization that draws inspiration from still life paintings, namely composition. Reiza's hat and Clarissa's party can both be seen as compositions that create coherence out of disorder and chaos. Big Ben is another form of order in the novel, dividing the story into hours. Woolf also uses symmetry as a method of organization: the novel is halfway there when it is midday. Although there are some attempts to organize the novel, the underlying argument is still that reality lacks inherent order: the character of Septimus helps us reach this understanding. His madness is the physical manifestation of chaos in the natural world. Virginia Woolf intentionally blurs the distinction between reality and imagination, order and disorder, to show the inherent similarities between Septimus and Clarissa. Septimus' madness can also help us in a psychological analysis of the novel, especially in the study of the theme of the intimacy of the soul. Mrs. Dalloway, even at 18, wants privacy. In fact, she married Richard because “in marriage there must be some license, some independence between people who live together day after day in the same house, which Richard gave her, and she gave him” (7). She desires private development and is offended when Peter Walsh simply chooses her as a hostess. Others identify her primarily in her social role as Richard's wife, such as Mrs. Richard Dalloway, and do not see her as an individual. In a way, Clarissa envies the old lady in front of her for her privacy and believes that "love and religion would destroy that, whatever it was, the privacy of the soul" (127) because love and religion would require sharing and communication. Septimus is perhaps the best example of someone who has privacy – indeed, has complete privacy of the soul. Even Reiza, his wife, doesn't know what he thinks most of the time. Virginia Woolf uses the scene in Regent's park where the couple sits side by side on a park bench to show how distant Septimus is from Reiza, despite their physical closeness. In fact, the only time Septimus appears sane in the novel is when he helps Reiza make a hat. He begins “putting together strange colors – because although he had no fingers, he couldn't even put a package together, he had a wonderful eye” (143). Working together with his wife to create a hat – taking ribbons, beads and wool and creating a cohesive whole with the pieces – “was wonderful. He had never done anything that made him so proud. It was so real, so substantial, Mrs. Peter's hat” (144). In making the hat, he must inevitably share a part of himself – his thoughts and opinions – with Reiza and, in doing so, escapes isolation and madness. Ultimately, Septimus succumbs to madness and in his final act throws himself out of the window to preserve the privacy of his soul against the intrusive figure of Doctor Holmes. Septimus' death is necessary in the story because it helps Clarissa realize that extreme privacy of the soul in a relationship is not desirable because it is also isolating. At the end of the party, when he goes upstairs, he sees the old lady again. This time, however, instead of envying his privacy, Clarissa surrenders. 1990.