The Beginning and Ending of Time
The use of time in Mrs. Dalloway marks the beginning or end of an exposure a character’s true feelings and thoughts. When Peter questions Clarissa about happiness in her life, Elizabeth unintentionally interrupts before Clarissa can answer. Instead of answering the question with a direct answer, Clarissa “emotionally, histrionically”(48) introduces her daughter as a façade for her happiness. Big Ben is stated to be “striking between” Elizabeth and Clarissa and is compared to a young man who is “strong, indifferent, inconsiderate… swinging dumbbells this way and that”(48) mirroring Clarissa’s actions. The use of Big Ben marks the end of Clarissa’s vulnerability and the shift into her mask of being content with her life. Shortly after the strike of Big Ben, Clarissa reminds Peter “remember my party tonight”(48) marking her change from exposed self back to her perfect hostess façade.
During the party Clarissa isolates herself from the rest of her guests and begins analyzing Septimus’ suicide. With the “clock striking the hour, one, two, three” (186) Clarissa comes to the conclusion that “she did not pity him,… she felt somehow very like him,… [and] she felt glad that he had done it.”(186) The striking of the clock symbolizes the beginning of Clarissa’s realization of her content with her life. She states that “he made her feel beauty; made her feel the fun,” but realizes she has too many connections in her life and must “attend to them”(186)
posted by Ms. Clapp @ 8:52 AM
13 comments
13 Comments:
I'm going to have to disagree again with this post. You said that "The striking of the clock symbolizes the beginning of Clarissa’s realization of her content with her life."
I thought that the striking of Big Ben reminds me of the passage of time, how it reminds the character of their ends. Because the book takes place in one day but is supposed to explain a lifetime, the hours passing by remind Mrs. Dalloway of how little time she has to finish preparing for her party. Also, each hour seems to open another chapter in her “day long” life. At the end of one’s life, time seems to move by faster, and towards the end of the book, time was no longer mentioned in 15 minute intervals, (11:15, 11:30...) but the clock was “striking-one, two, three” (150). People were doing things, falling asleep, “but the clock went on striking, four, five, six,” reminding the characters of how it waits for no one (150). It reminds them, each time Big Ben strikes, of how much closer each of them are to their death.
I'd have to disagree with the interpretation of time in this post. I don't really think the use of Big Ben really "marks the end of Clarissa's vulnerability, and the shirt into her mask of being content with her life" but rather a constant reminder of the inevitability of time passing. Let's face it, time doesn't stop for anything, or anyone. Time passes by constantly, and quickly, in the blink of an eye. In those moments before Big Ben strikes, like when Peter questions Clarissa about happiness, it seemed as though time had slowed down just a little in the way that Woolf describes it, "And it was awfully strange, he thought how she stil lhad the power, as she came tinkling, rustling, still had teh power as she came across the room, to make the moon, which he detested, rise at Bourton ont he terrace int he summer sky."(47) The way this is written seems almost dreamlike, as if Peter was watching this all in slow-motion and admiring her every move. Then after Big Ben strikes, and he's babbling with emotion, its like the striking of reality, and time quickly speeds up again as Peter races out the door with Clarissa reminding him of her party.
So rather than symbolizing the "beginning of Clarissa's realization of her content with her life," I believe that Big Ben signifies the constant reminder that time never stops, and that it passes by before you know it.
Like the others before me, I'm going to have to disagree with the idea presented in the post. While I think your statement about how the clock represents the end of Clarissa's vulnerability and becoming content in her life isn't exactly correct, it seems to be part of the potential bigger picture here.
Seeing as the day is essentially representing a lifetime, I saw the passing of time and Big Ben chiming a major moment in a person's life. For instance, where you mark the passage where Clarissa becomes content with her life, I saw it more similar to the stage in your life when you think you know everything, considering it's still early on in the book. Later on in the story however, when Clarissa realizes that she doesn't pity Richard, she's finally at that stage of "adulthood" where she knows what she's doing, and accepts the decisions she's made and where they've taken her to where she is now.
Unfortunately I'm going to break the disagreeing streak and say that the essay puts out an interesting point. I'd like to take it further and connect it with the aging theme. Each time the the striking of the hour is brought up, it would seem that Mrs. Dalloway chooses to continue with her life. According to the aging theme's essay, aging brings on a degree of conformity; as one grows older one needs to be responsible. One has to be a wife or mother. One has to provide for families. In any case there aren't as many choices to do as there were in youth. Having Clarissa choose to return to her "perfect hostess" facade at every closing of the hour creates a message that describes the inevitability of aging, the inevitability of losing a sort of freedom as one grows older, kind of like Catcher in the Rye.
I have to agree with my peers that Big Ben is a symbol of one’s day (their life and experiences), each hour filled with another experience which one takes advantage of. This paper does bring up an interesting point of the façade created as the clock strikes, as Kevin pointed out but the connotation with aging and time “never stopping for no one” is severe.
Woolf exposes one’s day and understanding one reached in an informal way. But why is it that only characters such as Clarissa and Peter realize that they’ve grown old, on this day? Woolf reveals that at the climax of their ages, they still struggle to understand themselves. As Kevin establishes, “there aren't as many choices to do as there were in youth.” Big Ben’s toll is a countdown to individual realizations because by the end of the day, characters face themselves and epiphanies are established on topics such as life, death, communication, etc.
I don't think the Big Ben symbolizes the beginning of Clarissa's realization of her contecnt with her life. I think it has to do more of her reminiscing over things that happened in her life. Like Katie said the story takes place in one day. It is more like flash backs in the past to show how she was before she became Mrs.Dalloway. It also her count downt to her party and what happens along the way of her preparing her party because most of the time that the Big Ben is mentioned something has happened. It is not there as coincidence.
I suppose there is no original way to say this at this point, but here goes: I have to disagree with your statement that "time marks the beginning or end of an exposure a character’s true feelings and thoughts."
I think the interpretation of the quotes you provided is accurate but that it is too narrow in scope. The quotes need to be taken into context of all the times Big Ben's ringing is used so that it can be expanded into a true thematic statement. In context of the whole novel, time really is this constant beat that wakes everyone up from their little day dreams and reminds them that they have things to do before the day ends. When applied to life as a whole, it serves to remind us all that eventually everything we see around us is going to end (or at least we won't be seeing it anymore). Mrs. Dalloway rushes around town to "buy the flowers herself" before the time of her party. The party I think is death since it comes towards the end of the day and it is where the novel ends. In the "morning" Mrs. Dalloway stares at store windows and lazily walks through the town having the experience of "buying flowers" but as time passes she is in more of a rush and misses out on many experiences. I think that is what the ticking of Big Ben is used for by Woolf.
I agree with Dario, which also means I would also have to disagree with this post (sorry). Imagining the noise that Big Ben makes when he strikes, gives me the idea of breaking a day dream, as Dario said, not really marking a change. Time flies by when you're lost in your thoughts reminiscing or analyzing, and the strike of Big Ben just brings Clarissa back to reality, whether it be tending to her party or preparing her party.
I agree with jmama and Katie….
The whole striking of the clock represents time going by, and one’s inability to stop it. Time passes by, and thus results in aging…this sometimes means that we begin to realize that we need to make changes in our life, we need to become responsible, or we become depressed and saddened by the fact that we cannot stop time or go back in time. Clarissa can not go back in time and change any decisions that she has made, but she chooses to move on, rather than bring an end to her life, like Septimus. Whenever the clock strikes, Clarissa decides to look at the positive aspects in life, rather than the negatives—she decides to live rather than be depressed.
Ok.
While I understand what you were trying to say, I have a completely different point to bring up. I've noticed when depressing memories are being retold or even sad moments are being experienced, the clock is nowhere to be found. However when the sun is shining and life is good, Big Ben is always there. I think this is very much like the "time flies when you're having fun" phrase, which someone mentioned in class earlier. When you enjoy life- time seems not to be an issue. When dark times loom, time seems omnious and short. This ties in with the "Meaning of Life" essay where one must live by "carpe diem".
Like some of the others I'm going to have to disagree with this post. I don't believe that the clock striking, "symbolizes the beginning of Clarissa's realization of her content with her life". I agree with Katie, that the striking of Big Ben is reminiscent of the passage of time, the passage of life. The line, "the leaden circles dissolved in the air", is repeated numerous times throughout the book. It is significant to the concept of time because shows how time, like a circle, never stops...there is no end.
After Septimus’ death and the clock strikes and continues to tick it is the perfect example of how time stops for no one. One someone dies the world doesn’t stop, time doesn’t stop ticking, everything keeps moving. Time especially continues to move. Mrs. Dalloway learns of t he suicide and feel horrible that a young man would want to end his life. However she quickly realizes that this is her party and that she is going to move on and celebrate. Know that Clarissa is older she realizes that time is something that may not be on her side. She has to be sure that she is happy and living life the way that she should be.
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