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.