Works Cited for Mrs. Dalloway AND The Hours

Works Cited

"Antony and Cleopatra." Sparknotes. 2008. 29 Sept. 2008 .

Bradford, Wade. "Aeschylus: The Found of Greek Tragedy." About.com. 2008. New York Times Company. 29 Sept. 2008 .

"The Byrds--Eight Miles High Lyrics." Metrolyrics. 29 Sept. 2008 .

"The Byrds--Eight Miles High Lyrics." Metrolyrics. 29 Sept. 2008 .

"Fear no more the heat o' the sun." 29 Sept. 2008 .

"O. Henry." 29 Sept. 2008 .

"Othello: Act 2, Scene 1." Clicknotes.com. 29 Sept. 2008 .

"Ranier Maria Rilke." 29 Sept. 2008 .

"St. Margaret's Church." Westminster Abbey. Dean and Chapter of Westminster. 29 Sept. 2008 .

"Summary of Cymbeline and Characters." Globe Theatre. 29 Sept. 2008 .

29 Sept. 2008 .

29 Sept. 2008 .

"Vanity Fair: About the Novel: A Brief Synopsis." CliffsNotes. Wiley Publishing, Inc. 29 Sept. 2008 .

Proportion.

"Shredding and slicing, dividing and subdividing, the clocks of Harley Street nibbled at the June day, counselled submission, upheld authority, and pointed out in chorus the supreme advantages of a sense of proportion, until the mound of time was so far diminished..." (Woolf 155).

Here is the direct line drawn between "proportion" and "time."  Septimus Smith, who is going insane, is told by his doctors that he lacks a sense of "proportion."  It is shown here that proportion also means time--the clocks are sounding the "advantages of proportion."  This proportion, this respect to time, keeps people on tracks, makes them aware of their lives and how they are passing, aware of every moment.  Clarissa is aware, but Septimus is not.

Innumerable decayed teeth.

"When London is a grass-grown path and all those hurrying along the pavement this Wednesday morning are but bones with a few wedding rings mixed up in their dust and the gold stoppings of innumerable decayed teeth.  The face in the motor car will then be known."  (Woolf 23).

This quote, from Clarissa Dalloway's point of view, is yet another example of her belief and reliance in time and conclusions.  Clarissa knows that time passes, that everything changes, and dies.  She sees it as inevitable that London will fall into ruins, a "grass-grown path" and that all of its inhabitants will die and be "but bones."  There is a mention here, too, however, that love lasts beyond this--the only things left will be a "few wedding rings mixed up in their dust."  She also sees time as a wise force, that only time can tell the truth--"The face in the motor car will then be know."

This too shall pass.

Chained to a sinking ship.

“She said to herself, As we are a doomed race, chained to a sinking ship (her favourite reading as a girl was Huxley and Tyndall, and they were fond of these nautical metaphors), as the whole thing is a bad joke, let us, at any rate, do our part; mitigate the suffering of our fellow-prisoners (Huxley again); decorate the dungeon with flowers and air-cushions; be as decent as we possibly can.”  (Woolf 117).

This perfectly exemplifies Clarissa’s view on life.  She knows that death is coming, is inevitable, as is the passing of time.  Nobody is exempt from these things.  However, for as long as we are alive, we should make the most of what we have here on earth, and appreciate the beauty of it.

What does the brain matter?

“‘What does the brain matter,’ said Lady Rosseter, getting up, ‘compared with the heart?’” (Woolf 296).

This simple quote, appearing on the last page of the novel, is very important and shows many different themes of the book.  This sentence is spoken by Sally Seton, who has married and taken on a different name (Rosseter).  Up until this point in the book, she was referred to as Sally, or Sally Seton, and shown as carefree, extravagant, and daring.  Here, however, at the end of the novel, Woolf calls her “Lady Rosseter,” which shows that she has grown up, grown old.  Another theme or contemplation posed throughout the novel is the question of whether love fades with age, whether one’s prime for love and relationships is in their youth.  Here, however, Lady Rosseter, who has grown up and out of girlhood, mentions how the heart is still more important than the brain.  This seems like a definitive answer, with it being at the end of the book and Sally being a character looked up to by almost everone throughout the book—she seems to say, here, with supreme knowledge, that yes, love is possible in old age.  Lastly, there has been a debate throughout the book of whether it is better to love the world simply because it is there, without any knowledge of its shortcomings, or to gain knowledge and thought, which might, in the end, make one less happy.  This quote says that matters of the heart and far more important than those of the brain and of logic—the heart is what you should listen to.

Oh, here's death!

“Oh!  thought Clarissa, in the middle of my party, here’s death, she thought.”  (Woolf 279).

This quote, from Clarissa’s point of view, shows how frivolous she is; but also her happiness.  Clarissa is upset because, at her party, people are discussing a young man’s death—his suicide even.  Clarissa, although her life is centered around time and its importance, as is shown by the incessant striking of the hours throughout Clarissa’s day, does not like to think about the future.  She lives only, exactly, in the present, not thinking about death or what comes later.  But, at the same time, because she does not think about it, she does not fear it—her mind is never troubled, never bothered.  Time controls her, yes, but only in a instantaneous way—the hour strikes, then dissolves.  Another hour strikes, and that one, too, leaves.  She need not worry about death, because it is inevitable.

Fool! Simpleton!

“Miss Kilman felt, Fool!  Simpleton!  You who have known neither sorrow nor pleasure; who have trifled your life away!”  (Woolf 189).

The thoughts of Miss Kilman presented here serve as juxtaposition with Mrs. Dalloway and her feelings, which better develops them.  Miss Kilman has a lot of knowledge, but very little in the way of riches and decadence, as opposed to Clarissa, who is rich and beautiful but not very intelligent.  However, Clarissa leads a happy, carefree life—she ardently loves “life, London, this moment of June” and everything about the world.  In contrast, Miss Kilman, despite all her knowledge, is unhappy and lonely.  This contrast serves to bring out the theme of innocence, and how sometimes knowing less can make you happier.

Intoxication of language.

“Here he opened Shakespeare once more.  That boy’s business of the intoxication of language—Antony and Cleopatra—had shriveled utterly.  How Shakespeare loathed humanity—the putting on of clothes, the getting of children, the sordidity of the mouth and the belly!  This was now revelead to Septimus; the message hidden in the beauty of words.  The secret signal which one generation passes, under disguise, to the next is loathing, hatred, despair.  Dante the same.  Aeschylus (translated) the same.”  (Woolf 134).

Antony and Cleopatra, a play by William Shakespeare, is the story of Mark Antony, a ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, and his illicit relationship with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.  They are happy, and in love, until Antony’s wife dies and Pompeii begin to rebel.  Antony remarries, and Cleopatra becomes jealous, thus leading to the characters’ downfalls.  This play carries a theme of ignorance as bliss, and innocence and love and youth as happiness. Septimus Smith here bemoans the loss of this innocence, and the discovery of the evilness of human nature.  Dante Alighieri, who wrote the Inferno and awful descriptions of hell, according to Septimus, had the same view of humanity and showed it in his writing, as did Aeschylus, an ancient Greek playwright known as the “Father of Tragedy.”

http://plays.about.com/od/playwrights/a/aeschylus.htm

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/antony/summary.html

St. Margaret's

“Ah, said St. Margaret’s, like a hostess who comes to her drawing-room on the very stroke of the hour and finds her guests there already.  I am not late.  No, it is precisely half-past eleven, she says.”  (Woolf 74).

St. Margaret’s is a church in London, located also in Westminster, between Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament.  It also strikes the hour with a boom.  This passage is another reference to the theme of time and its passing.  As “St. Margaret” “comes to her drawing-room on the very stroke of the hour and finds her guests there already,” the clock strikes exactly on the hour, and finds the citizens of London waiting to hear it, anticipating it, needing it to control their daily lives and to show them that they are growing, and that time is passing.

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/st-margarets/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/2487219165_b9789d14a6.jpg?v=0

Big Ben

“…the direct downright sound of Big Ben striking the half-hour. (The leaden circles dissolved in the

air.)” (Woolf 72).

Here is yet another mention of the importance in irrevocability of time. Woolf again uses the “leaden circle dissolved in the air” line to show the hour falling upon all of London. Big Ben is large clock in London which strikes the hour and half hour (very loudly) for all of London to hear. It is located in the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster.

http://greggayden.com/europe05/Big%20Ben.jpg

The most exquisite moment of her whole life.

“She and Sally fell a little behind.  Then came the most exquisite moment of her whole life passing a stone urn with flowers in it.  Sally stopped; picked a flower; kissed her on the lips.  The whole word might have turned upside down!  The others disappeared; there she was alone with Sally.”  (Woolf 52).

This quote shows a very particular theme that is repeated many times in the novel, although this passage is its climax.  This is the climax of, the epitome of, young love and frivolity.  Flowers, throughout the book, come to represent this theme of youth and its mortality, because in their prime they are beautiful, but eventually wilt.  Sally Seton picks a flower before she kisses Clarissa.  The statement that this was the “most exquisite moment of her whole life” serves to say that Mrs. Dalloway could never have another moment like this one, never another kiss like this; this was true love.  However, seeing as it is tied to the theme of time passing, of flowers wilting, this is probably not entirely true—Clarissa simply lives in the moment, so it seemed to her, at this point, to be entirely true.  

'Twere now to be most happy.

“…feeling as she crossed the hall “if it were now to die ‘twere now to be most happy.”  That was her feeling—Othello’s feeling, and she felt it, she was convinced, as strongly as Shakespeare meant Othello to feel it, all because she was coming down to dinner in a white frock to meet Sally Seton!”  (Woolf 51).

The quote in this passage, “if it were now to die, ‘twere now to be most happy,” is from Act 2, Scene 1 of Shakespeare’s Othello.  It is were he is reunited with his wife, Desdemona, and is fully in love with her and is happy to see her.  This reference, placed in a memory of Clarissa’s, when she is about to meet Sally Seton for dinner, implies a great love between the two of them.  The play Othello is a tragedy, in which Othello is tricked by his attendant, Iago, into believing that his wife is untrue, and murders her.  The play ends in almost every character’s downfall and death.  This quote appears in the play before all of this destruction has happened, however.  It implies, therefore, the happiness that can come from youth and innocence and love.  Virginia Woolf uses this quote in discussing Clarissa’s youth and love to show these themes of limited innocence and happiness.

http://www.clicknotes.com/othello/T21.html

Cymbeline.

“Fear no more the heat o’ the sun

Nor the furious winter’s rages.” (Woolf 13.)

This is a quote from Act IV, Scene Two of the play Cymbeline by William Shakespeare.  Virginia Woolf uses this quote not only for its particular relevance to the themes of Mrs. Dalloway, but also because the play carries many of the same characteristics as her novel.  This quote, out of context, begs one not to fear the elements and the earth and all that they imply, being the cycles of nature, and therefore death.  This is an important theme in Mrs. Dalloway, as is time and growing old and dying. 

http://www.geocities.com/plt_2000plt_us/englam/shk-997.html

The play of Cymbeline has many parallels to Mrs. Dalloway.  Cymbeline is a King who banishes Posthumus, a man of low social standing, for secretly marrying his daughter, Imogen.  The bulk of the play deals with themes of innocence (as does Mrs. Dalloway) and deception.  The end of the play is very similar to the ending of Mrs. Dalloway; all of the characters come together to tell part of a story, to add information and points of view to it, as they do at Clarissa’s climactic party, and there is a great feast in London, also like Clarissa’s party.  Virginia Woolf may have referenced Cymbeline to transfer some of its themes of innocence and the loss thereof to her novel.

http://www.globe-theatre.org.uk/summary-of-cymbeline-and-characters.htm

The ebb and flow of things.

“Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bond Street, 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? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived…” (Woolf 12). 

Clarissa here, in a rare moment, contemplates death, but not in a morbid sense.  She sees life as something that inevitably passes and should be enjoyed while it can.  When death comes, she thinks, things continue, though she does not.  Hours continue to strike, and London lives on.

The Serpentine.

“She remembered once throwing a shilling into the Serpentine. But every one remembered; what she loved was this, here, now, in front of her; the fat lady in the cab.” (Woolf 12).

The Serpentine is a lake in Hyde Park in London. It is called the Serpentine because of its curving, snake-like shape. The lake runs through Hyde Park and into Kensington Gardens, and the Serpentine Bridge represents the border between the two. Garden and parks in this novel, such as Regent’s Park (another large park in London), often represent youth and the passing of age as one walks through them. Gardens contain flowers, which become a symbol for youth and its mortality, because flowers, although beautiful, most some day wilt. Kensington Gardens contains many beautiful flowers that show this theme. It was also were Peter Pan, an everlasting symbol of youth created by James M. Barrie, was supposed to have lived with the fairies after he ran away from home—a beautiful statue of him is erected in the Gardens, right next to the Serpentine. This passage displays the theme of time passing. Clarissa lives in the moment, and loves the moment, although she also has fond memories of the past.

First a warning, then the hour.

 “There!  Out it boomed.  First a warning, musical; then the hour, irrevocable.  The leaden circles dissolved in the air.” (Woolf 5).

This passage comes from the very beginning of the book, just as Clarissa Dalloway is heading out to purchase flowers for her party.  It sets a very specific and well-exemplified theme of the book, which becomes very important in tying together all of the events and points of view in the book.  The theme is that of time and it’s decisiveness, its persistence.  The phrase “the leaden circles dissolved in the air” is used many times throughout the book.  The “leaden circles” refer to the hour that is being struck from the circular, leaden bell in the Big Ben clock in London.  The sound of the hour dissolves and falls upon the city, and no one is outside its reach.  It’s persistence is exemplified as this phrase is repeated many times, showing that time continues no matter what, and people grow old no matter what.