Commentaire de texte Ms Dalloway

SARAH KHIAT LMC3 ENGLISH COMMENTARY : MRS DALLOWAY

Mrs Dalloway is a novel written by Virginia Woolf and published in 1925. Virgnia is known for her very specific writing. In this novel, also called “the hour”, Virginia Woolf transposes her own mental problems to the main character Clarissa Dalloway. Several characters cross each other during a described journey in London. The novel belongs to the stream of consciousness. In the extract we are going to study, Septimus, the mirror character of Clarissa is centered. After having participated in WW1, he became sick of a psychosomatic syndrome. Helped by his wife and doctors to recover, Septimus couldn’t accept being placed far from his house. While a very specific scene, we will see how the extract shows the Septimus’s process of liberation by his tragic suicide. To answer to our question, we will first study the liberty of Septimus through Rezia and the remembrance as an “ode to time”. We will see then, The notion of escape by the suicide. And finally, the erased sins by the liberating death of Septimus.

First, we will see how the beginning of the extract evokes the illness, and a rupture with the past by the remembrance. Septimus, stuck and controlled, can only find a form of liberty in Rezia, his wife. The extract starts on “but he remembered”. We are introduced to Septimus memories by the principle of psychonarration. It represents a need for liberty by the dream, the memories. Septimus needs his liberty because he is stuck. The repetition of the name of “Bradshaw”announces the related fear of Septimus who is afraid to be led far away from his house. A second anaphora is announced by the repetition of “must”. Septimus is questioning himself about the influence of Bradshaw on him : “What power had Bradshaw”. Septimus seems to be stuck and controlled by the symbol of “power” which is accorded in the story by the following doctor. The notion of liberty appears from the beginning of the extract with Rezia thinking “ Mercifully, she could now say anything to Septimus”. It describes how she was censured by the doctors and how she is free to talk now. Holmes and Bradshaws are compared to “brute with the red nostril”, and the word “snuffing” shows the intensity with which Septimus feels chased. Septimus comes as a centered problem to resolve. The focus on the Septimus’s drawings and writings are showing a good part of Septimus, a dreamy and free spirit side of him. These draws are a call to an old Septimus, an “ode to Time”. It’s also a demonstration of his illness by the hallucinating “conversation with Shakespeare”. The illness seems to be a way to run away from reality. We can observe a religious reference with the terms “burn them”. Is it an old part of him that septimus wants to be burned , or is it himself as the concentrate of society’s sins ? He seems to need to be liberated from it. Rezia appears then as a pure , loyal woman who sincerely loves septimus. The “piece of silk” used to wrap the papers is the meaning of her softness for Septimus. “She would go with him” shows the naivety and illusion of Rezia but is an example of the pure love she has for her husband. She is the symbol of the keeper, the protector, as the piece of silk which protect the papers. Compared to a “flowering tree” she also represents the peace and the foundation of Septimus. Rezia doesn't fear the doctors “she feared no one” because of their incoherencies. “Holmes said one thing , Bradshaw another”, she has analyzed that nothing was “clear” as if she had a revelation about the system over all. Septimus is guided by fear of the enclosement. We can observe that Rezia is the only liberty that Septimus can hope “over them she triumphed”, he believes in her as a saver.

We will see how Rezia’s hope is destroyed by Holmes' arrival and how by the death, Septimus escapes from society. Rezia is naive, she didn't think to be separate from septimus. Or maybe she can’t face the reality of the illness. She is a dreamer. They are both, but in two different ways : Septimus by his illness. Septimus and Rezia think they are free of the medical institution. Rezia hopes to save her husband “she said, nothing should separate them”. However, when they realize that Holmes has called, a certain climax appears. After having compared Holmes to a “destroyer of crops”, we understand the difficulty of Rezia to handle the situation. Holmes' arrival represents a very stressful moment. The several states : from Holmes downstairs to Rezia catching him, are big moments of Septimus' weakness and Rezia’s heroism. Holmes comes “as a friend”, but doesn't hesitate to push Rezia away. Septimus can’t do anything because he is stuck. The psycho-narration explains “Holmes was a powerfully built man”. The notion of power explains that It’s impossible for Septimus to be free anymore, and we can describe Rezia as hopeless. The second paragraph starts with “Holmes was coming upstairs”. The expression “foot to foot” shows Septimus’ anxiety. The climax is then higher than ever. The word “burst”while Holmes opens the door, shows the act of violence that Holmes is committing. This paragraph is very evocating, because we can face the distress of Septimus. The Holmes' arrival provocs to him a fear so hard that the only way to escape is death. As to complain to Holmes, and give him what he was looking for, Septimus thinks about death. “Knife”, “gas fire”, “Razors' are enumerated until the ultimate possibility : the window. Septimus doesn’t want to die , for him “life was good”. These quotes show the big tragedy of the story and the no choice of Septimus. Holmes and Bradshaw have pushed him to do it. After Septimus suicide we understand the fault is on the doctors, they indirectly provoked it. “It was their idea of tragedy”. However, the Septimus’s death appears as an affront to Holmes which loses the control he had on it. Septimus dies, but he escapes from obligation and from society.

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