何雨霏
四川文化艺术学院 621000
Abstract: War is always a great event in Virginia Woolf’s works. Woolf experienced three great wars altogether in her short life: the First World War, the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, which influenced her life, her writing and her thought to a large extent. The story about Mrs. Dalloway also happened during the World War I. As under this background, it is obvious that the war has more or less influenced the characters in Mrs. Dalloway. This paper will analyze the war’s affection on three characters in Mrs. Dalloway.
Key Words: World WarⅠ; Mrs. Dalloway; characters
1. The Influence on Septimus
Septimus is a young employee in a company where Mr. Brewer works. Mr. Brewer thinks highly of him and prophets that he will have a bright future if he can keep healthy. But the War breaks out. Septimus is one of the volunteers to go to France in order to save motherland. He develops manliness in battles, draws the attention of his officer, Evans, and is promoted quickly. He believes the war has taught him in that he is young and he has been to the battlefield. Because of his bravery and contributions, he has won crosses. But the war is full of cruelty and ruthlessness, he loses the ability to feel of his close friend Evans. He witnesses Evans’ death, due to this bad experience, he becomes a metal patient suffers from shell-shock. After returning to the real life, this kind of sequela makes him live an unmoral life. Although Evans’ death is not his fault, he still feels guilty as a survivor of the war. His wife hopes that he can recover as soon as possible, so she accompanies him to see the doctor. However, Septimus thinks the doctor wants to persecute him , because the doctor wants to send him to the mental hospital. There are many plot to show his free psychological association. For example, once he had his meditative time in the park , suddenly a dog came. He was so frightened and afraid of that the dog was becoming a man. He thought that the reason that he could see the dog become a man is just about heat. And the heat would resolve his own bodies and finally left only one nerve. There are a lot of similar meditations like this, they all show that Septimus is full of fear and he feels despaired of life. Why he become a mental patient. It is obvious that the World War I is the main reason.
2. The Influence on Clarissa
Clarissa is an upper-class housewife, her husband Richard Dalloway is a member of parliament with bright future. In the eyes of others, she leads a good life in any aspect-herself, husband, and family. It is difficult to link Clarissa with the World War I, because she is not a direct participator. Clarissa and people around her has made an unique world, although the end of the war has brought happiness and joy to the world, from Clarissa’s eyes, we can also feel people’s pain which is left by the war. “For it was the middle of June. The War was over, except for some one like Mrs. Foxcroft at the Embassy last night eating her heart out because that nice boy was killed and now the old Manor House must go to a cousin; or Lady Bexborough who opened a bazaar, they said, with the telegram in her hand, John, her favorite, killed(Virginia Woolf. 2003)”. The sorrow from Mrs. Foxcroft and Lady Bexborough has a great influence on Clarissa. The war also makes her inexplicably fall into a sense of fear and confusion. She always ask herself that “did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely?( Virginia Woolf. 2003)” However, she doesn’t blindly indulge in her chaotic thoughts, but she is busy in preparing party. She wants to be more active to life and face the future bravely. Clarissa tries to contact with people who live around her in her party, she hopes that she can bring them some friendship and warmth by her efforts. It is obvious that the war has left some positive influences on Clarissa.
3. The Influence on Lucrezia
Septimus’ wife Lucrezia once was a cheerful, lively girl before she got married. She is a ingenious girl who looks quite like an artist. The author describes in the novel like that “the younger of the two, the gay, the frivolous, with those little artist’s fingers that she would hold up and say “It is all in them.” Silk, feathers, what not were alive to them.(Virginia Woolf. 2003)” Septimus would have been the victims of war, but he brings his pain to Lucrezia. He lost the ability of feeling, however, he gets some comfort from Lucrezia, so he asks she to marry him. How pity Lucrezia is! They get married not for love. She just becomes an indirect victim of the war. Since Lucrezia married Septimus, her life is enveloped a tragic feeling. Septimus stays in a state of madness all days, she takes care of him carefully, chats with him and seeks for treatment everywhere. She longs to find a doctor who can cure her husband. Unfortunately, Septimus finally suicides, leaving her live alone in the world. We can feel Lucrezia inexpressible pain in her heart from her consciousness in the novel. Her consciousness shows the great damage caused by the war both in women’s life and mentality.
4. Conclusion
From what we have discussed above, we can draw a conclusion that the World War I do leaves great influence on people who live in that time. Mrs. Dalloway shows exactly the mental attitudes and mental outlooks of English middle and upper classes, reveals the feeling of perplexity, anxiety, horror and yearning and indirectly reflects and changes in England after the war.
Bibliography
1. Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway. London: Wordsworth Classic. 2003
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作者简介：何雨霏，1992年10月生，女，籍贯：四川，民族：汉，最高学历：研究生，职称：讲师，研究方向：英语教学法，英美文学。