The Impact of World War I on Characters in the Novel Mrs. Dalloway

【Abstract】It is well known that most of Virginia Woolf’s writing is affected by the psychological trauma caused by the Great War and she mourns for the victims of the War both the dead and survivors in Mrs. Dalloway （Arthur，2010）. This paper is directed toward the analysis of the impact of WWI on the three characters with the purpose to probe how the war could influence characters in Mrs.Dalloway.

【Key words】Mrs Dalloway； Impact； WWI

1. Introduction

Mrs.Dalloway is a novel which begins with 51 years old Clarissa Dalloway’s setting off to buy flowers for her party on one day， during which the sounds and sights in London reminds her of her youth and past experiences. And the sub-plot about Septimus and his wife Lucrezia constitutes a separate story within the main frame of one day in Mrs.Dalloway’s life （Wang Songnian， 2002）.

The aftermath of WWI witness drastic political， cultural and social change in Britain. The powerful empire collapsed， and numerous soldiers died as well as their future. The War had a large impact upon the role of women in that women began working for a living with all the men at war as soldiers. And moreover， this War gave rise to psychological and emotional damage in British citizens.

2. The Influence of WWI on main characters

The WWI affected all the characters in Mrs.Dalloway to some extent， but this paper chooses Septimus， Lucrezia and Clarissa as the major basis to analyze in that Septimus is the direct victim of the War； Lucrezia is the indirect victim but yet bears more sufferings than Septimus， and Clarissa， echoed with Septimus， is also heavily burdened with the loneliness caused by the War.

2.1 Character Spetimus Warren Smith

Septimus， one of the main characters in the novel， having witness cruel death of his officer and intimate comrade Evans on the front line during WWI， suffers from war trauma after he returns home. The War had a huge and evident impact on Spetimus both implicitly and explicitly.

Implicitly the War teaches him to be indifferent about death and life. Before the War， he is a young employee with bright future. However， the battlefield unveiled the cruelty and ruthlessness in human nature right in front of him.

Explicitly the War renders him mentally diseased. He is haunted by “sudden thunder-claps of fear” （Woolf， 1996） and he could not feel. He always has strange delusions in which he sometimes saw his once friend Evans. He is surrounded by terror and insecurity. But his wife could not understand him and the treatment he received from doctors is all repression without care and love. This cold society and inharmonious relationships with others bring about in him a sense of “eternal loneliness and eternal suffering”（Woolf， 1996）， and this sense of loneliness， horror and to some extent feeling of alienation are originated from social changes caused by the WWI. In the end， he relives himself by jumping out of the window.

2.2 Character Lucrezia

Lucrezia is the daughter of an innkeeper in Milan， where she met her husband Septimus when the peace came after the War. Septimus was caught by panic and terror at that time that he asked Lucrezia to marry him in order to gain security although he did not love her. Lucrezia married him and move to England with him. The War made his husband a mentally patient， at the same time， ruined her life.

She moved far away from her beloved family and homeland. In stead of love， she got endless of mental torture from Septimus’ illness. And moreover， she could not tell anybody else about Septimus’s conditions. She was alone and couldn’t stand it any longer. But she still kept taking care of Septimus. While what gives her the greatest pain is the suicide of her husband， which collapses all her longing for future and her mental world.

Septimus is dead and great relieved， but Lucrezia is left alone in the world and suffered. Lucrezia is regarded as suffering more than Septimus from the War.

2.3 Character Clarissa

Clarissa Dalloway， wife of Richard Dalloway， leads a happy and enviable life in everyone’s eyes. She is free of worries about material necessities and her husband is a member of parliament with bright future. As the housewife of a MP， absolute upper-class， she conforms to the rules and customs of the upper class. She does not have the freedom to be herself. She is inwardly unrest and lonely which can explains her sympathy for the death of Septimus（Fan Lina， 2008）. Clarissa shows a moment of communication and sympathy with Septimus suffering and death at the end of the novel， and this sympathetic engagement is out of the same emotional conditions with Septimus， who feels lonely and unrest inwardly too.

Clarissa has to hold parties to fill the emptiness in her heart. What the War brings about to people is more than physical pains. It disappoints people and makes people lose hope in life and then fills in them with agony， anxiety and despair（Hu Xinmei， 2006）.

3 .Conclusion

The War changed the whole society and thus makes a tremendous influences in people’s life. Apart from the above characters， the War affected other characters as well. As depicted in the novel， “ the War had bred in all men and women a well of tears”（Woolf， 1996）， the War is over， nevertheless the psychological trauma it left in people is far from over.

【References】

[1] Arthur F. Bethea （2010）. Septimus Smith， the War-Shattered Christ Substitute in MRS. DALLOWAY， The Explicator， 68：4， 249-252

[2] Fan Lina（2008）. The Identity Crisis of the Main Characters in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs.Dalloway. Unpublished master’s thesis， Nanchang University， Nanchang， China

[3] Virginia Woolf（1996）. Mrs. Dalloway. From eBooks@Adelaide （Updated Wednesday， July 15，2015）， The University of Adelaide Library， University of Adelaide， South Australia 5005

[4]胡新梅.戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)：創(chuàng)傷與女人-從女性視角析伍爾夫的《達(dá)洛維夫人》[J].北京第二外國(guó)語(yǔ)學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)，2006（6）：132-135.