Clarissa's Clashing Claims to Clout
In Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway’s two interests clash with each other which result in her unsureness at her party. One of her interests is her fondness for life and all of its little things it has to offer. Another is her desire for honest interactions, like the ones she had at Bourtan with her friends when she was young. This conflict is most apparent when considering the fact that she is hosting a party for upper class English society.
As Mrs. Dalloway grew older, the honest and open personality she shared with her friends at Bourtan was replaced by a superficial facade expected from her by society. Given the choice, others in Clarissa’s position might opt to stay genuine if it makes them happier. So why does Clarissa become the “perfect hostess” instead? Unfortunately, being genuine can sometimes result in isolation from society, since you no longer fit into its roles. Clarissa does not want this due to her love for life. She feels a need to host a party to uphold her role in upper class English society. This way, she can fit in and cultivate the life she wants to see in her own house, even if it means she has to greet everyone with an insincere “It’s so incredibly heavenly and delicious to see you!” (not an exact quote by the way, but it’s basically what she says.)
I think an interesting counterpart of Clarissa is Peter. Like Clarissa, he too also values his time at Bourtan and talking openly to Clarissa and Sally. Unlike Clarissa however, he hates the idea of becoming a disingenuous person for the sake of society and he does his own thing, albeit while being insecure. He also criticizes Clarissa for needing people, which makes sense in context. Clarissa needs people to fulfill her desire for life and therefore, she acts like the perfect hostess to keep that life around. Peter does not feel the need for people so he does use a superficial personality like Clarissa.
I love your analysis of Clarissa's need to adapt for society, and I think it represents the path that most women had to follow at that time period. Peter stays true to his genuine nature while Clarissa conforms to be accepted by those around her, but that is definitely in large part because it was easier for Peter to stay himself. As a man from that time period, he was slightly looked down upon because of his life choices (Mr. vs Sir/Lord), but he was still accepted by most of society and even high society. As a woman, Clarissa would have fared much worse if she decided to continue to be the revolutionary from her youth. Awesome job!
ReplyDeleteI find what you mentioned is something that continues to be relevant even in todays society. Being an "adult" definitely requires you to keep up an image where you appear "proper" and in many cases it is becoming harder to have honest interactions. Almost similar to how Howie in the Mezzanine interacts with his co workers compared to his girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love the alliteration in your title. Second, you bring up some great points about Clarissa's desire for human relationships and how it effects her appreciation of the world. I feel like at the end of the book, when Peter and Sally see her as Clarissa and not Mrs. Dalloway, it portrays her as having formed a more honest relationship with her own identity and how it fits into the world.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason Clarissa is so extra with her greetings and how she talks to people at the party is that she's very concerned with being "cold," and she wants to seem warm and bubbly like she was when she was younger. Her role in society is to be "Mrs. Dalloway," not Clarissa, and she's trying to live up to that. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I think another interesting idea is that although Clarissa desperately wants to feel connected to someone and keep people around she is never able to achieve that. At the party Clarissa feels the disconnect between her and Sally and Peter after years apart. Although she throws the party with intentions to stay close to others I think she has probably never felt lonelier. Clarissa wants to feel understood but also doesn't want to be genuine and communicate to achieve that.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very interesting point about Clarissa having two desires in life that clash with each other. This definitely can represent her past and future, which is pretty relevant to the story as she spends most of her time reminiscing about her past. I think you also make an interesting point of Clarissa being disingenuous. I didn't really think about her that way so it leaves a lot to ponder.
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