Mrs. Dalloway - Woolf

jill315 · Mon Aug 16, 2010 1:10 pm

I'm halfway through. I'm up to the part where Septimus and Rezia are visiting with Sir William and Woolf is going on and on about "proportion" and "conversion."

Septimus is currently having his battles between himself and the rest of human nature because now the doctors are out to "cure his disease."

I am absolutely in love with this book. Love love love. This is one of the most gorgeous books I've read in a while, and so much of Woolf's struggles are present in these pages. I'm not saying it's been an easy read - sometimes she loses me a little - but it's well worth the effort. It's brought tears to my eyes - I think Woolf's writing is so extraordinary.

Any thoughts?

lindad_amato · Mon Aug 16, 2010 4:20 pm

I haven't read this in years, but do agree her writing is wonderful. Have you read anything else Woolf?

jill315 · Mon Aug 16, 2010 8:34 pm

No, this is my first time. I randomly rented "The Hours" once and loved the movie, so I thought the book would be just as great. It has been thus far!

Anything else by Virginia Woolf you would recommend?

seespotrun2008 · Mon Aug 16, 2010 11:26 pm

I love that book also. It is kind of the reason that I joined book talk. It is the sort of book you want to talk about and analyze. I thought, I have to find a group where people talk about books like it. I am glad you are enjoying it.

Suzanne · Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:08 am


	jill315 wrote: Anything else by Virginia Woolf you would recommend?

I enjoyed To the Lighthouse very much.


	jill315 wrote: No, this is my first time. I randomly rented "The Hours" once and loved the movie, so I thought the book would be just as great. It has been thus far!

I'm glad to hear this. I have not seen the movie, but I do own the book. You have inspired me to move it up on my TBR list.

Happy reading!

jill315 · Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:26 pm

^^
The Hours is quite a movie, so be prepared. It's very emotionally heavy, but it's incredible, and the acting is terrific, too.

I never read "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham (whose book the movie is based on) but it's amazing how well he blended the lives of his characters with those of Mrs. Dalloway. You could sit there all day and compare/contrast.

It's actually helped me to better understand Mrs. Dalloway thus far.

lindad_amato · Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:03 pm


	jill315 wrote: No, this is my first time. I randomly rented "The Hours" once and loved the movie, so I thought the book would be just as great. It has been thus far! Anything else by Virginia Woolf you would recommend?

Everything....Orlando, In the Lighthouse, A room of Ones' Own

Enjoy!

reader2121 · Thu Sep 23, 2010 4:18 pm

That book was a "false start" for me. I'll try it again someday.

DWill · Thu Sep 23, 2010 5:42 pm


	reader2121 wrote: That book was a "false start" for me. I'll try it again someday.

That's a really good way to look at a book that for some reason doesn't click. It could be just a momentary thing, as you imply. Too often we shut the door on a book if it doesn't win us over easily.

GaryG48 · Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:43 pm

Gary raises his hand, "me too." This is my favorite Woolf too. Although I agree that "A Room of One's Own" and her most famous "To the Lighthouse" are also excellent. I also second the comment that Woolf can be challenging to read but is worth the effort.

jill315 · Sat Sep 25, 2010 8:25 am

Well, at least I don't feel like it's just me anymore who's having a hard time getting through the book. It's not that bad, but it takes time to let everything sink in. She tends to jump from character to character without any warning, so it's hard to follow along.

reader2121 · Sat Sep 25, 2010 11:18 am

Yep, there are books you take to the beach, or on the subway, or to the bathroom...and then there are books where you seal your bedroom door shut with insulation foam, send the kids to the movies, sedate the dog, place noise-reduction ear phones on your head, and then read.

jill315 · Sun Sep 26, 2010 8:06 am


	reader2121 wrote: Yep, there are books you take to the beach, or on the subway, or to the bathroom...and then there are books where you seal your bedroom door shut with insulation foam, send the kids to the movies, sedate the dog, place noise-reduction ear phones on your head, and then read.

Yes! You know, I'm almost finished, but I feel like "Mrs. Dalloway" is not the type of book where you just can't wait to get to the end. Every page is jam packed with quotes I just want to frame and place all over my house, they're so beautiful. I highlighted the crap out of my book, trying to savor every line I thought she mastered, and it's been a long haul. I still look back through some of the pages I read and feel like there are things I missed - there is just so much to the book. And since the entire book takes place in a day, I thought it would lose its intent if I spaced out my reading too much, but there is just no way you can just sit down and read "Mrs. Dalloway" like you can "Harry Potter," just banging it out in 2 days. The effort was worth it, though.

reader2121 · Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:33 pm

You might be able to read it in 2 days...maybe some people can. I know I can't.
You can read Camus' The Stranger in an afternoon, but you'd end up missing a great deal of the themes and subtext.

jill315 · Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:53 pm

Would anyone like to share some of your favorite quotes or lines from the book? I'll start:

One of the most powerful statements made, in my opinion, is when Septimus is being examined by Dr. Holmes, who claims Septimus should "spend as little time thinking about himself."

"Once you stumble, human nature is on you."

I just thought it summed up the way Virginia herself probably felt about her place in society. The minute you act in a way that doesn't perfectly correlate with the actions of others, you may be outcasted, and life can become difficult. Especially if you're such a visionary, like Septimus, who, though never did anything wrong, made claims of wanting to kill himself and hearing the voices of the dead. Immediately, "human nature" was on him, and wanted to either "fix him" or put him away.

And, I think Woolf, who we all know eventually killed herself, felt very strongly about a person's own choice to die, and how society wants us to live for each other, instead of ourselves. So, the minute we declare that this life may be of no meaning for ourselves, the minute society is on us to stay alive and be happy because they believe there should be no reason to want to die. But, as many characters portray in this book, sometimes there seems no reason to live. Sometimes the life we have built for ourselves as human beings is trivial, yet we allow the nonsense to rule our lives instead of encouraging the freedom within one another. Septimus, just like Virginia Woolf, simply had the right to choose not to live a life that seemed purposeless and misunderstood. And, I think their dramatic visions were often mistaken for psychological instabilities, when, really, maybe they were just trying to make meaning of a meaningless world.

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