Light and Darkness in "Mrs Dalloway"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how, throughout the novel "Mrs Dalloway", Virginia Woolf uses the motifs of time and light and darkness to add structure and order to the random thoughts, memories, and encounters that make up the novel.

From the Paper:

"Time adds structure and order to the random thoughts, memories, and encounters that make up Mrs. Dalloway. Big Ben sounds out the hour relentlessly, ensuring that the passage of time, and the awareness of eventual death, is always there. Clarissa senses the passage of time and the appearance of Sally and Peter emphasises how much time has gone by since Clarissa was young. Once the hour chimes, however, the sound disappears--its "leaden circles dissolved in the air." This expression recurs many times throughout the novel, indicating how ephemeral time is, despite the pomp of Big Ben and despite people's wary obsession with it."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Woolf, Virginia Mrs. Dalloway Oxford, New York, 1992
• Byrne; Dowling; Scherzinger Testing the limits of the literary sign: Modern and Contemporary Literature Unisa, Pretoria, 2005

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• Analytical Essay # 25451 : "Light and Darkness in "Romeo and Juliet"
• Book Review # 103057 : "Death in "Mrs. Dalloway"

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