Blog #3
So what’s it all about???
Woolf does a wonderful job of demonstrating a connection between all the characters in the novel as well as their connection with London itself. Woolf’s repetitive use of London as a symbol shows the many times that the characters cross paths throughout the day. As we all know… there is never enough time in a day to get everything done. Woolf’s repeated references to the striking if Big Ben and other clocks, the passing of time perceived by the different characters, and the memories of days long ago all demonstrate that time is always on our minds. The party itself is a repetition of a similar gathering many decades ago at Bourton. With her constant movement between her past and present, Clarissa senses the passage of time when she sees Peter and Sally in person for the first time since their younger days. As I was reading the novel I also felt that time and death was also intertwined. Clarissa was beginning to realize that she was getting older and with that only time will tell when it would be her time to move on. On the other hand, Septimus was a very young man who had plenty of time left to live his life, unfortunately he had become very ill from the war and decided to take is life into his own hands.
The connection between the characters allows the reader to easily relate to at least one character in the novel if not more which gives the novel more of a personal feel.
On a side note: Time is so important to the themes and characters of this novel that Woolf almost named it
The Hours.