Mrs. Dallaway Essay, Research Paper

Septimus Smith could be considered as Clarissa s double and or her opposite. He plays a psychotic form of Clarissa the perfect hostess. Septimus problem resembles Clarissa s problems. She is basically an inimical person and he cannot connect to people emotionally either. Septimus war experience has consumed him emotionally. He faces his own listlessness to values, and being withdrawn from life, he has crossed a line from sane to insane. While Clarissa has been able to accept and live in her coldness, Septimus cannot accept life without feeling. His answer to his problem is to draw back and hide from the corruption that he sees around him.

When the relationship between Clarissa and Septimus form a coalition, Clarissa becomes more comfortable about the idea of death than she ever had before. She feels closeness with Septimus and understands that Septimus s suicide was his way of both opposing the world and at the same time trying to communicate with it.After reading the book I feel for both characters, but I also think that they could have done something about their own situations. They could have received help or advice from someone or something. They just let their lives consume them. They did not do much to change their situation.