Entry Three: "For there she was"
What's it all about? Even with the symbolism and binaries it is fairly obvious, existence. I don't want to go to deep into existentialism but this story is consistent with the theory that the most significant problems are concerning relationships, emotions and human nature.Each Character suffers from a existential dilemma, Clarissa creates one for herself with the party because of her fear of not meeting the expectations she has put onto herself, Septimus's dilemma is caused by his past but manifests into his present by effecting his expression of emotions, Peter Walsh is struggling with saying goodbye to someone he loved for "piece of mind" something that matters to one's self for no material reason. The novel, its style and characters does not rely on material objects for its storyline and most of the objects are subjective to interpretation. There are no physical dilemmas, only problems with the human condition that create the crux of the plot. The substantial message is what does it mean to be free, Septimus could not free himself from himself without suicide, Clarissa's character will not be free, even with her fancy parties, because she has trapped herself in self pity.
The message in Mrs. Dalloway can be compared to a similar message in a play by Jean-Paul Sartre called No Exit, which is that "Hell is other people". In both cases, the message is that our actions are affected by a fear of how others will judge the actor, you, and that at the root of human nature is insecurity. This is prevalent in Mrs. Dalloway and I don't have any more time to put into this entry so I will come back to it later today because I have so much more good stuff to say!! Like I came here to do the monkey business, the business of monkies, slip on a banana peel and fall right off stage.....I'm going to kill this entry... This is the third time i have done the next paragraph but it won't let me post!!
One more try, in No Exit the protagonist, Garcin, is led to a room with no furnishings besides a table, a few chairs, and a few more symbolic objects. Two women, Estelle and Ines, join Garcin and wait with him, they engage in small talk to figure out why they have been put together in the room. They discuss how they came to be in the room and who they are, the reader soon realizes that each of the characters represent an undesirable human trait. Ines, a lesbian who turned a wife against her husband, Estelle, a gold digger who manipulated her husband to become high society, Garcin, who deserted from war and does not feel remorse or love, all become symbols of sin. Ines realizes that she has sinned and therefore judges the other's sins, Garcin's cowardice and callousness, and Estelle's deceit. They can observe what is happening in the world from the room but cannot effect it. They reveal through their explanations that they are dead and go on manipulating each other as if they were alive. The last lines of the story, when it seems as though they will be confined together for eternity, Garcin says ironically, "All right, let's get it over with then".
The last lines of both stories share a sense of futility, in Mrs. Dalloway, "for there she was" suggests that because Clarissa exists she will never be able to escape the confines of emotion, and in No Exit, "All right, let's get it over with then" conjures the same sense of futility but with an element of humor. Some have commented on my half-post that Sartre sounds depressing but I disagree. I believe the idea of human interaction being compared to hell is liberating because it excuses my remorse for disliking humans because of certain character traits.
Reading Question Three: Daedalus nightmare history
After searching these three words, and having a week to think about it, I believe I have figured out the meaning of what Joyce was trying to say with the quote, "History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake". The present constantly fleets into history, Joyce is no exception to this and like many authors he may have been frustrated that everything he puts down on paper instantly turns into history. The late Mitch Hedberg described this scenario, but he was talking about photographs, he said that you will never see a photograph of yourself when you are older. This example can be applied to history, in that one will never read something that has been written in the future no matter how fast computers get. So, history is a nightmare, big deal, I kind of like nightmares, they make sleeping fun.
The message in Mrs. Dalloway can be compared to a similar message in a play by Jean-Paul Sartre called No Exit, which is that "Hell is other people". In both cases, the message is that our actions are affected by a fear of how others will judge the actor, you, and that at the root of human nature is insecurity. This is prevalent in Mrs. Dalloway and I don't have any more time to put into this entry so I will come back to it later today because I have so much more good stuff to say!! Like I came here to do the monkey business, the business of monkies, slip on a banana peel and fall right off stage.....I'm going to kill this entry... This is the third time i have done the next paragraph but it won't let me post!!
One more try, in No Exit the protagonist, Garcin, is led to a room with no furnishings besides a table, a few chairs, and a few more symbolic objects. Two women, Estelle and Ines, join Garcin and wait with him, they engage in small talk to figure out why they have been put together in the room. They discuss how they came to be in the room and who they are, the reader soon realizes that each of the characters represent an undesirable human trait. Ines, a lesbian who turned a wife against her husband, Estelle, a gold digger who manipulated her husband to become high society, Garcin, who deserted from war and does not feel remorse or love, all become symbols of sin. Ines realizes that she has sinned and therefore judges the other's sins, Garcin's cowardice and callousness, and Estelle's deceit. They can observe what is happening in the world from the room but cannot effect it. They reveal through their explanations that they are dead and go on manipulating each other as if they were alive. The last lines of the story, when it seems as though they will be confined together for eternity, Garcin says ironically, "All right, let's get it over with then".
The last lines of both stories share a sense of futility, in Mrs. Dalloway, "for there she was" suggests that because Clarissa exists she will never be able to escape the confines of emotion, and in No Exit, "All right, let's get it over with then" conjures the same sense of futility but with an element of humor. Some have commented on my half-post that Sartre sounds depressing but I disagree. I believe the idea of human interaction being compared to hell is liberating because it excuses my remorse for disliking humans because of certain character traits.
Reading Question Three: Daedalus nightmare history
After searching these three words, and having a week to think about it, I believe I have figured out the meaning of what Joyce was trying to say with the quote, "History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake". The present constantly fleets into history, Joyce is no exception to this and like many authors he may have been frustrated that everything he puts down on paper instantly turns into history. The late Mitch Hedberg described this scenario, but he was talking about photographs, he said that you will never see a photograph of yourself when you are older. This example can be applied to history, in that one will never read something that has been written in the future no matter how fast computers get. So, history is a nightmare, big deal, I kind of like nightmares, they make sleeping fun.