Clarissa Dalloway Essay Example For Students

Clarissa Dalloway Essay Virginia Woolf creates interesting contrast within the character of ClarissaDalloway using stream of consciousness narration in her novel Mrs. Dalloway. Clarissas inner thoughts reveal a contrast between her lack of attraction toher husband due to her lesbian feelings and her fear of loosing him as a socialstepping stone. These contrasts and many others can be seen throughout the novelusing the literary device of stream of consciousness narration. Clarissascharacter reveals to us early in the book her lack of attraction to her husband. This revelation can be seen in the passage that states: through somecontraction of this cold spirit, she had failed himshe could see what shelackedit was something central which permeated. The cold spiritthat she talks of is her sexuality, in being attracted to women, and her lack ofunderstanding why she is this way. This is the main reason for her lack ofattraction. She feels that she has let him down because she cannot complete herduties as his wife. Clarissa had lost both a sexual relationship and sexualattraction with her husband since the birth of her teenage daughter Elizabeth:she could not dispel a virginity preserved through childbirth which clungto her like a sheet. Clarissa tells us of her true sexuality as she remembersher girlhood friend Sally Seton. Sally is the only person that Clarissa has everhad any real passionate feelings for. But this question of love, this fallingin love with women. Take Sally Seton; her relation in the old days with SallySeton. Had not that, aft er all, been love? Although Sally held her heart, herhomosexual feelings were not socially acceptable. Clarissa is therefore obligedto enter into a marriage to Richard Dalloway for social purposes. A contrast toClarissas lack of attraction to her husband is seen in her fear of loosinghim. Richard provides for her a stepping stone for her to be the socialite thatshe strives to be. When Richard is invited to a lunch with Lady Bruton, a twingeof fear is evident in Clarissa that she is loosing her husband: Fear no morethe heat o the sun; for the shock of Lady Bruton asking Richard to lunchwithout her made the moment which she had stood shiver. Without him, shewould be nothing in society, so Clarissa is scared of loosing him even thoughshe has no attraction towards him. A contrast in the deeper self ofClarissa Dalloway can be seen in the stream of consciousness narration in Mrs. Dalloway. She reveals her lack of attraction for her husband and her fear ofloosing him through her inner thoughts. This provides for us the ability to seethe weaknesses of Clarissa and many of the other characters.