Mrs Dalloway

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First published in 1925, Virginia Woolf’s novel, Mrs Dalloway, is a combination of two short stories and one of her most famous works. The two short stories, which Woolf combines in this novel, are The Prime Minister and Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street. The novel revolves around the protagonist, Clarissa Dalloway, and her preparation for hosting a party one evening. Clarissa’s thoughts, recollections, and memories shift back and forth in time as she goes around London, getting everything ready for the evening’s party. She brings her life’s decisions under the scanner, making for an introspective outing. The party is attended by characters whom she encounters during the course of the book, and her mental pondering ultimately results in a successful party. The author raises questions and makes readers think over issues that crop up generally in life, like the choice of one’s life-partner, or the long-lasting impact that war leaves on people’s minds, even after it is over. Some of the main characters in this novel are Sally Seton, Peter Walsh, and Septimus Warren Smith. Virginia Woolf was born as Virginia Stephen on January 25, 1882, in London. She was home-schooled in London, but gathered her most vivid memories of childhood from St. Ives, Cornwall, the place where her family members spent their summers. As both her parents were previously married and widowed, with children from their previous marriages, Virginia was a part of a joint household. She was conversant in Greek, Latin, and German, through courses undertaken at King’s College London. In 1912, she married Leonard Woolf. From an early age, she suffered from nervous breakdowns, and she died in the year 1941, by drowning herself after a particular bad phase of depression. Some of her most popular works are Room Of One’s Own, To The Lighthouse, The Waves, Orlando, and Between The Acts.