How It All Goes Down

Mrs Dalloway is not your typical day-in-the-life story, but it is a day-in-the-life story – a revolutionary
one at that. It covers one day for Clarissa Dalloway (with some other central characters, too) as
she prepares for a big party that will take place that evening.
As the novel begins, Clarissa strolls through Westminster, her neighborhood in London, on her way
to a flower shop. Along the way, a few big things go down: she runs into an old friend named Hugh
Whitbread, an explosion comes from a diplomatic car on its way to Buckingham Palace, and an
"aeroplane" does a little skywriting. (Wow, that’s way more than what typically happens to us on
the way to get flowers.)
When she gets back from her errand, an old friend and former suitor, Peter Walsh, shows up
unexpectedly. They’re happy to see each other, but there’s still some tension. Peter is clearly still
in love with Clarissa, and she feels like he judges her for the decisions she’s made – among them
marrying the conservative but loyal Richard Dalloway (instead of him). Numerous flashbacks –
including one of Clarissa's kiss with a girl named Sally – fill in the story as it happened years ago
at her family’s country home, Bourton. Feeling desperate over his own unfulfilling life, Peter gets
weepy and asks Clarissa if she really loves Richard. Before she can answer, Elizabeth (her
daughter) interrupts, and Peter heads out to Regent's Park.
We then move to the perspective of Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked World War I veteran
who saw Evans, his friend and officer, killed in war. Septimus' wife, Lucrezia, is trying to distract
him as they wait for an appointment with Sir William Bradshaw, a mean old psychiatrist.
The third person omniscient narrator takes us back to Septimus’ life before the war: he was an
aspiring poet, read Shakespeare, and loved Miss Isabel Pole. After the war and Evans' death,
Septimus becomes emotionally numb – he can't feel anything. On a total whim, he becomes
engaged to Lucrezia, whose home he’s staying at in Milan, Italy. Back in the present day, Septimus
is driven deeper into madness, including some crazy hallucinations. Lucrezia is also miserable,
homesick for Italy, and tired of taking her husband to various soulless doctors. Whereas Dr Holmes
thinks Septimus is just "in a funk," Dr Bradshaw diagnoses that he "lacks Proportion." Neither
acknowledges the fact that the war has impacted Septimus (which seems pretty obvious to us).
While Clarissa rests and prepares for the party, Richard has lunch with the impressively rich and
British upper crust Lady Bruton. After lunch, Richard wants to go home and tell Clarissa he loves
her, but he cops out and just gives her flowers instead. Clarissa actually cherishes the
independence she has in her marriage, knowing that she could never have that with Peter. In the
meantime, Clarissa’s daughter goes off shopping with her friend Miss Kilman, whom Mrs Dalloway
hates. And by hates, we mean despises, loathes, and absolutely cannot stand.
Meanwhile, Septimus and Lucrezia wait at their apartment for Sir William Bradshaw, who is coming
to take Septimus to a psychiatric home. The couple shares a rare moment of joy, but before
Bradshaw enters the apartment, Septimus throws himself out the window and is impaled on the
fence outside. He would rather die than have the doctor steal his soul. Yikes.
When Clarissa’s party begins, she circulates, making sure to pay attention to every guest –
especially the prime minister (um, yeah, we’d do the same). Peter and Sally patiently await some
attention from Clarissa as they talk about their memories of Bourton. A late arrival, Sir William
Bradshaw, shows up with his wife, who announces that Septimus has killed himself. Clarissa is
annoyed that Lady Bradshaw mentioned death at her party, but she is envious of Septimus’ ability
to embrace the moment. Finally, she returns to the party and her appearance fills Peter’s heart with
joy.
SECTION 1

 Mrs Dalloway (a.k.a. Clarissa) sets off to buy flowers. She knows that Lucy has a lot of work
to do and it’s a beautiful morning, so why not?
 Leaving the house for the outside world stirs profound feelings in her, reminding her of the
feeling of opening a window at Bourton (her family’s country home) and stepping out to
breathe the fresh air.
 She immediately recalls being eighteen years old there, feeling the strange combination of
exhilaration and fear; she also remembers how Peter Walsh interrupted her with some silly
remark about vegetables.
 Back in present day, Mrs Dalloway thinks of how Peter Walsh will soon return from India.
She thinks of all his annoying quirks, like constantly playing with a pocket-knife. (That
sounds more dangerous than annoying to us.)
 People in Clarissa’s London neighborhood of Westminster recognize her as she walks
down the street. (You start to get get recognized after twenty years in the same town.)
Scrope Purvis observes her resemblance to a bird; she was recently sick and still looks a
bit pale. (Not the nicest thing to say about a woman, but hey.)
 Living in Westminster, Mrs Dalloway has come to anticipate the hourly sounds from Big
Ben. She proceeds down the street, making observations to herself about the various
people and things she sees: a vagrant on the steps, cars passing, an aeroplane. Yes, an
aeroplane (fun word, right?). It’s a beautiful June day.
 The war is over and everyone’s incredibly relieved. (This is World War I we're talking about;
since the novel was published in 1925, that's not too tough to figure out.)
 London is full of life and tradition: the king and queen, cricket, shoppers out and about. Mrs
Dalloway loves it all. After all, her family history is very connected to England, even with ties
to previous kings.
 Oh, and she’s giving a party tonight. Awesome.
 While on her walk, she runs into Hugh Whitbread. He’s in London to take his wife, Evelyn,
to see a few doctors. Mrs Dalloway doesn’t pry, but it’s clear that Evelyn is not well. Hugh
makes Mrs Dalloway feel "schoolgirlish;" neither her husband Richard nor Peter Walsh ever
liked that she liked him. You know how it goes.
 Actually, she remembers some conflict between Peter and Hugh at Bourton, which makes
her think of how she and Peter haven’t seen each other for a long time.
 Peter didn’t see things the way she did. He was dry, unenthusiastic. He didn’t see beauty
like Clarissa, but instead thought of Wagner and poetry. Bo-ring.
 They argued because he wanted to marry her. Richard, on the other hand, gave her more
space; Peter had to share everything. Still, she was sad when she heard that Peter had
married some woman in India.
 Clarissa keeps heading through London, watching taxis and feeling the anxiety of everyday
living. This walk is getting intense!
 Mrs Dalloway is a simple woman, reading only memoirs, but priding herself in understanding
people "by instinct" (1.16). She never really takes risks (though once she threw a coin into
a lake – crazy!). She wonders about death, and how life will go on without her after she
dies.
 Along her walk, Clarissa reads a book through a shop window and thinks about the solitary
condition of human beings. She thinks about buying a book for Evelyn Whitbread.
 Mrs Dalloway has some regrets, and wishes she looked like Lady Bexborough: dark-
skinned and stately. She feels invisible, now old, past the age of having children. She’s not
Clarissa but Mrs Richard Dalloway. (Check out "What's Up With the Title?" for more on this.)
 Clarissa absolutely loves Bond Street with its shops full of shoes and gloves, things her
daughter, Elizabeth, doesn't care for.
 Elizabeth spends a lot of time with Miss Kilman, a horrible (in her mind) woman who takes
Elizabeth to Catholic meetings. Elizabeth's relationship with Miss Kilman may be exciting,
but Mr Dalloway comforts Clarissa by telling her that their relationship is just a phase.
 Miss Kilman is a tortured soul, a sufferer and a martyr. She wears her poverty and inferiority
like a badge of honor. Clarissa becomes physically disturbed at the mere thought of this
woman.
 Mrs Dalloway finally enters the flower shop, where she’s greeted by Miss Pym. Clarissa
walks through the flowers, when suddenly a sound like a shot comes from the street outside.
A car backfired.
 The noise of the car draws the attention of everyone on the street. The car belongs to
someone important: a government figure, perhaps. Rumors circulate, pedestrians
speculate. Who can it be behind the car’s curtain?
 Septimus Warren Smith is walking down the street, too. His face shows the fear he has in
his heart.
 Clarissa looks at the car and Septimus does, too – but they don’t know each other.
 Septimus is deeply disturbed, and he fears that the world will "burst into flames" (1.33).
 Septimus’ wife, Lucrezia, grows concerned and tries to hurry him along. She, too, stares at
the motor car. Is it the queen?
 Lucrezia and Septimus have been married for four or five years. Septimus has threatened
to kill himself, so it hasn't been easy going. Lucrezia wants to scream, right there on the
street, for help. She also just wants to hide him from people. She's ashamed of him.
 The motor car continues on its way. No one knows who it was, but everyone feels a sense
of having been in the presence of greatness. Mrs Dalloway thinks it was the queen. The
queen!
 The traffic is terrible as the car tries to get through. Perhaps there’s a party at Buckingham
Palace tonight. Clarissa is having a party tonight, too, in case you forgot.
 The car leaves the crowd feeling all patriotic and emotional as it pulls away. People think of
"the dead; of the flag; of Empire" (1.46). Bystanders are full of pride. The end of war will
really do that to people.
 A crowd gathers in anticipation outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. The people are
poor but hopeful, feeling dignity just from being in the presence of someone important,
whoever it may be. Random people – Sarah Bletchley, Emily Coates, Mr Bowley – get a
thrill from the car and the Palace and all of the ideas associated with royalty. This is like the
Will and Kate wedding!
 Suddenly an airplane passes overhead, doing some skywriting as onlookers try to make
out the word up in the clouds. Glaxo? Kreemo? Toffee? (We hope it’s the last one.)
 The car passes through the gates unnoticed. The plane disappears behind the clouds and
then emerges again.
 Back to the Septimus story. At Regent’s Park, Lucrezia, acting on Dr Holmes’s advice, tries
to distract Septimus with the airplane. They’re signaling me, he thinks. He begins to cry:
he’s overwhelmed by beauty.
 The trees distract Septimus; they’re rising and falling, but he shuts his eyes so that he
doesn’t go mad. (We're really starting to feel for this guy.)
 Lucrezia wishes he were dead; it’s too much to see him behave like a madman. She thinks
he’s a coward for threatening suicide, but he was brave in the war. Dr Holmes insists nothing
is wrong with Septimus.
 But Lucrezia suffers. She misses Italy:the people are alive there; not like Londoners. She
feels very alone in Regent’s Park. She wonders: at night, does the park go back in time and
look just like it did when the Romans lived there?
 Septimus is lost in thoughts of God and crime. A bird sings to him in Greek (but of course).
 Still sitting on the park bench, he sees a man (Evans) emerge from behind some railings.
Lucrezia returns to her husband’s side, interrupting his hallucination. Together, they
proceed to the Regent’s Park tube station.
 A stranger, Maisie Johnson, asks them for directions, noticing how odd the couple seems.
She’s only nineteen and just visiting London for the first time. Lucrezia and Septimus give
her the creeps.
 An unknown character, Mrs Demster, can’t help but notice Maisie Johnson. Mrs Demster
looks at Maisie and thinks she’ll marry someday, but that she, too, is lonely. She looks at
 the plane and thinks of how she once longed to travel; the farthest she's been is on a boat
in sight of shore.
 A man passes St. Paul’s Cathedral and thinks of religion: it gives a sense of belonging. He
thinks, why not enter the church?
 There are a lot of people coming and going in this book – get used to it. They're not all main
players, but their presence is important.

Section 2

 Returning home, Clarissa is greeted by Lucy, the maid. She feels like a nun returning to the
cloister, but still Clarissa feels the power of the moment. She feels blessed (though she
doesn’t believe in God, by the way) and is very thankful for servants and for Richard.
 Lucy announces that Mr Dalloway is out to lunch at Lady Bruton’s house. Clarissa is hurt
that she wasn’t invited along because Millicent’s lunches are known for being amusing. The
moment suddenly feels empty.
 Clarissa goes upstairs to her room in the attic. She feels let down, old, shriveled.
 Her bed is narrow (like a nun’s). She feels sexless, like a virgin; in fact, since her illness,
she has slept alone.
 She feels like she’s disappointed Richard sexually. Women have always charmed her – she
has felt momentary attractions to them, which she compares to a "match burning in a
crocus" (2.11). (By the way, crocuses are much lovelier than they sound.)
 Clarissa thinks of the past and of Sally Seton. Had she been in love with Sally? She
remembers her as being beautiful and free-spirited.
 Sally once got in a fight with her family, and then pawned a brooch to get money to visit
Clarissa at Bourton. Sally showed Clarissa that there was life outside her social circle; she
made Clarissa feel free. And Aunt Helena sure didn’t approve. Sally shocked Clarissa’s
family with her manners and behavior.
 The feelings Clarissa had for Sally were unlike anything else. The two women had a special
bond and they swore they would never marry. To be with Sally was to be absolutely fulfilled.
 One night Sally and Clarissa were walking in the garden, and Sally kissed her right on the
lips. "The whole world might have turned upside down!" (1.16). It was the perfect moment
– until Peter interrupted them. Peter had a way of ruining things. He was determined to get
in the way and always criticized things as "sentimental."
 Back in the present moment, Clarissa finds the dress she’ll wear to her party that night. It
has a rip, which she decides to repair herself; the maids are too busy getting things ready.
 Clarissa flits about the house, giving instructions to Lucy. She has just begun to mend the
dress when the doorbell rings. It is Peter Walsh, who insists on coming in.
 He thinks she looks older and she thinks he’s about the same. Peter plays with his pen-
knife (some things never change).
 Peter compares his life to hers: he’s been in India while she has been here in London
married to Richard. Clarissa wields her scissors as she speaks and she teases him that she
won’t invite him to her party.
 The two of them remember being at Bourton. Clarissa’s father, Justin Parry, never liked
Peter. Clarissa adds that he never liked any of her friends (especially those who wanted to
marry her).
 Sadly, Clarissa never visits Bourton anymore.
 Peter wonders if he should tell Clarissa about Daisy. Compared to Clarissa with her parties
and conservative husband, Peter thinks Daisy would seem plain.
 He assumes Richard and Clarissa think he’s a failure. His life has involved travel, adventure,
love affairs, and work, while hers has been about social engagements and parties.
(Apparently parties are an indicator of success!)
 Peter is eager to give the impression that he has had an extraordinary career and that now
he’s completely in love with Daisy.
  It must be a younger woman, thinks Clarissa. And in fact, Peter confesses that Daisy is, in
fact, married to a major in the Indian army and has two children. Scandalous! He has come
to London to see about arranging her divorce.
 Clarissa thinks he’s a fool, always involved in some romantic nonsense.
 Peter suddenly bursts into tears. Richard would never show this much emotion. Speaking
of Richard, he’s still off lunching with Lady Bruton not realizing that his wife is fraternizing
with a guy who wanted to marry her. Oh well.
 Clarissa comforts Peter, and he asks her if she’s happy being married to Richard.
 Clarissa’s daughter enters the room, interrupting the moment. Peter gets out of there pretty
quickly, as Clarissa shouts after him to come to her party that night

Section 3

 Peter leaves, thinking about Clarissa and her frivolous party.

 Clarissa has changed, he thinks: now she’s sentimental, hard, insincere.
 Once upon a time, she refused to marry him. He fights off the feeling that he’s old now; and
as a bell tolls, he thinks that Clarissa will die soon. That's pretty depressing.
 Peter considers what others might think of him – that he was expelled from Oxford, that he
had been a Socialist.
 Some soldiers march past and Peter feels a sense of pride. He admires what they
represent: "duty, gratitude, fidelity, love of England" (3.5). Traffic stops out of respect for the
soldiers who are honoring those lost in the war.
 Peter arrives in Trafalgar Square, where there are a bunch of statues of famous men.
 His life seems like a farce and so does the divorce, but he still feels young.
 He begins to follow an attractive woman down the street, still playing with the pen-knife in
his pocket. This lady’s not sophisticated like Clarissa.
 Peter considers himself something of a wild man and a player, above the pretensions of
British upper-class society.
 The young woman goes into her house, and Peter continues walking, observing people in
their homes enjoying life in London. Peter reflects on his deep affection for civilization; he
feels pride in England.
 He remembers being at Bourton with Clarissa and even being with her at Regent’s Park.

Section 4

 Peter sits on a bench next to a nurse with a baby. He begins to drift off to sleep while
smoking a cigar and thinking about what an odd girl Elizabeth is.
 The nurse next to Peter knits as he sleeps.
 Mr Player has a dream involving various women. In the dream, he’s a "solitary traveler"
(4.2). One woman is made of branches; she’s compassionate and generous. Next he
imagines an elderly woman seeking a lost son. He walks down a street, imagining everyone
succumbing to complete annihilation. Next he dreams about his landlady cleaning up for
the evening. (Yeah, dreams are strange, even in literature.)
 He wakes up and says aloud, "The death of the soul" (4.10). These words take him back to
a summer at Bourton, when he was deeply in love with Clarissa.
 Flashback alert!
 In the flashback, Peter and Clarissa are talking about a neighborhood woman who had a
baby out of wedlock. Clarissa is totally shocked by this, and her prudishness disturbs Peter.
He knows she was brought up in a strict, proper family, but her reaction is still pretty scornful.
 Clarissa knows her reaction bothers him and she tries to convince him that she is, in fact,
a sympathetic person too – she swears! Still, she knows that inside he’s criticizing her. They
were always able to communicate without words. Her coldness depresses him.
 At dinner one night, Peter sits next to Clarissa’s Aunt Helena, a kind but impressive figure
of a woman.
 Clarissa sits across the table from a man Peter doesn’t know, but he thinks to himself, "She
will marry that man" (4.17).
 That man is Richard Dalloway, whom Clarissa accidentally calls Wickham (Jane Austen
shout-out, anyone?).
 Peter remembers feeling devastated, abandoned by Clarissa. He is left behind to talk to
Aunt Helena, while Clarissa is off conspiring against him with this new guy.
 Clarissa comes back and asks him to join her and her friends outside. Peter is immediately
giddy with delight, but he still somehow knows she will marry Richard. (Pretty impressive
psychic work, Pete!)
 All summer, it’s clear that Clarissa is in love, sending and receiving letters, acting all
emotional.
 Peter decides to talk to her. He can’t sleep; he knows he is losing her. He begs her to tell
him the truth and she does: whatever they had is over.
 He’s devastated and leaves Bourton, never to return.
 End of flashback. Peter returns to present day, sitting on a bench in Regent’s Park, watching
a little girl play.
 Nearby sits Lucrezia, suffering, resenting Septimus’ talk of suicide. The child runs into her
and begins to cry. Lucrezia watches the girl run over to her nurse, who’s sitting next to
Peter.
 Lucrezia wonders why she suffers so much. What did she do to deserve it?
 It’s almost time to leave the park. Septimus has an appointment with Sir William Bradshaw.
Meanwhile, Septimus sits under a tree talking to himself, or perhaps to Evans, his friend
who was killed in the war.
 Lucrezia met Evans once. He seemed like a nice man.
 But Septimus had changed since the war. He imagines people talking behind the walls and
has visions of a woman’s head in a fern. He talks about killing himself. He reads peoples’
thoughts as they go down the street. He fears falling into flames. (All of this can probably
be attributed to post-traumatic stress disorder, often suffered by war veterans.)
 Septimus speaks of death and of Miss Isabel Pole.
 Lucrezia wants to go home to Italy. She’s getting so thin that her wedding ring no longer
fits.
 Septimus feels like their marriage is over; it turns out this is a great relief to him.
 He’s burdened by the truths he knows about love and crime, civilization and great men. He
is eager to pass these truths on to everyone, including the British government.
 In a moment of terror, he sees a dog turn into a man. His body is melting; flowers are
growing through his flesh; he hears the sound of a penny whistle. He imagines himself a
drowned sailor on a rock. The birds and the sun oppress him. He feels deep fear, but beauty
surrounds him. The trees wave at him.
 This is all very scary to think about, even as readers. We can't even begin to imagine what
Septimus is going through.
 Lucrezia urges him to leave the park, but Septimus is frozen: he sees Evans singing behind
a tree. Evans comes toward him. Okay, never mind: it’s really just Peter Walsh.
 Peter is watching Septimus and Lucrezia. He sees them as a young couple just having a
lover’s quarrel.
 Peter has been off in India for five years and a lot has changed: these days, newspapers
discuss unseemly subjects and women apply make-up in public. (The horror!) It’s definitely
not the same place it used to be.
 Peter remembers Sally Seton (the same one Mrs Dalloway was thinking about before). He
can’t believe that liberated, free-spirited Sally has gotten married.
 She was always Peter’s favorite among Clarissa’s friends. She shared Peter’s dislike of
Hugh Whitbread, for one thing.
 Hugh always worshiped the aristocracy; he was a stiff, a do-gooder, and Sally saw through
that. This guys was also judgmental, condescending, and a conservative about women’s
rights. One time, he actually kissed Sally. She saw it as as punishment for her different
views on women.
 But now, Peter thinks, Hugh is successful and married to the "Honorable Evelyn" (4.64).
Now that Peter needs a job, he has to humble himself to the likes of Hugh and Richard –
ugh. Richard isn't such a bad guy, but Clarissa’s admiration for him is a little nauseating.
 In their days at Bourton, Sally begged Peter to rescue Clarissa from men like Hugh and
Richard. There was something special about Clarissa – not her looks or her mind, just
something.
 He insists to himself that he’s not still in love with her. He thinks about all the things he
dislikes about her: she’s worldly, cares too much for society matters, and dislikes failure.
Not to mention, Richard’s patriotism influences her.
 Together, Richard and Clarissa concern themselves with political parties, tradition, and
society gatherings; they’re very middle class.
 But Clarissa had read Huxley and Tyndall (two scientists who wanted to separate religion
from science back in the day), so Peter wonders if the ideas in their books affected her at
all. Did she have a profound philosophy?
 Clarissa had seen her sister Sylvia killed by a falling tree at Bourton. Somehow, Clarissa
handled it well and didn’t become bitter.
 It seemed that she always enjoyed life no matter what. And she liked what Peter believed
were silly, inconsequential things: flowers in the park, a lunch conversation, endless social
events. She enjoyed with no discrimination whatsoever. Still, she made Peter suffer.
 Daisy, on the other hand, doesn’t make Peter suffer at all. Is he really in love with her then?
Is she in love with him? He went long periods without even thinking about her. Maybe he
just didn’t want her to marry anyone else.
 Clarissa is so cold, he thinks.
 Peter walks down the street, observing a vagrant woman singing some meaningless sounds
outside the Regent’s Park tube station. (The tube is what they call the Subway in London.)
Her voice is like the sounds of the earth and the past. She seems to be singing about a lost
lover, memory and death, loss and the universe. She seems to be part of earth itself. Deep.
 Lucrezia and Septimus walk past the old woman and Lucrezia pities her. In any case, she
must get Septimus to Sir William Bradshaw.
 From the outside, Septimus looks like a normal man; perhaps a clerk, a self-educated man
with an apartment and a motor car.
 Before the war, he left home leaving only a note behind. He came to London, anxious to
better himself. He attended lectures on Shakespeare by Miss Isabel Pole. He
read Darwin, George Bernard Shaw, and Keats, and loved Miss Isabel Pole more than all
of them.
 Septimus had worked for Mr Brewer at Sibleys and Arrowsmiths, auctioneers, valuers, land
and estate agents in London. Mr Brewer thought Septimus needed some manning up, and
he encouraged him to try playing football.
 Septimus volunteered at the very start of the war. He got very close to his senior officer,
Evans.
 But when Evans was killed right before the Armistice, Septimus felt nothing. The war taught
him to be a man, to be brave and stoic, to be reasonable about violence and death.
 Then he met Rezia (Lucrezia) and got engaged to her one night, and it occurred to him that
he couldn’t feel anything (emotionally). Located in Milan, he had watched Rezia and her
sisters making hats. Rezia loved the fabrics and ribbons; she admired hats and loved ice
cream. Random, but we agree.
 But Septimus was numb.
 He read Dante’s Inferno and started to believe in the possibility that the world has no
meaning.
 After the war, he returned to work for Mr Brewer. He continued to read but now felt like
Shakespeare both loathed humanity (4.95) and thought that "[l]ove between a man and a
woman was repulsive" (4.78).
 He and Lucrezia could not bring children into this world, thought Septimus. To do so would
be to create more misery. He felt that humans were like animals. He drew pictures of the
horror he imagined, of the ugliness of people. He thought he might go mad.
 Back in the present day, Lucrezia bears the pain of her suffering, shell-shocked husband.
But he feels no sympathy for her. He feels nothing, just like the day they got engaged.
 Dr Holmes says there’s nothing wrong with Septimus; everything can be explained.
 But Septimus believes he’s been condemned to death for the sin of having no feeling. He
has been accused of crimes, such as marrying Rezia without being in love with her. People
on the street shuddered at his sins.
 Dr Holmes recommends that Septimus gain some weight and suggests that his health is all
in his control. He refers to Septimus' suffering as a "funk," and says that what Septimus
really needs is a hobby. He has to stop making his wife anxious – that’s selfish. Pretty harsh,
Doc.
 Dr Holmes has visited Septimus every day. To Septimus, Dr Holmes represents the brutality
of human nature punishing him for his inability to feel.
 The world wants Septimus to kill himself. But how should he do it? Evans speaks to him
from a screen.
 Septimus' distraught mumbling scares Rezia. She sends for Dr Holmes. He tells them that
if they have no confidence in him, they should see Sir William Bradshaw instead.
 A quick peek back into Mrs Dalloway's whereabouts. Clarissa lays out her green dress as
Big Ben strikes twelve o’clock.
 And...back to Septimus and Lucrezia. The Smiths arrive at Harley Street to visit Sir William
Bradshaw. His stately car is parked outside.
 He’s a dedicated physician and a good husband. He has actually been knighted and is
respected by patients and the public alike.
 Upon first glance at Septimus, Bradshaw can tell that he’s a mess, that he is having a
complete nervous breakdown. (Thank goodness for a second opinion, right?)
 Bradshaw asks questions and writes answers on little pink cards. Had Septimus served
with distinction in the war? Septimus thinks of the war as "that little shindy of schoolboys
with gunpowder" (4.113)
 Rezia insists that he served with distinction, but that Septimus believes he has been
"condemned to death by human nature." Septimus tells the doctor he has "committed a
crime" (4.116-17).
 He has threatened to kill himself, Rezia tells Bradshaw. Bradshaw tells her that Septimus
needs rest, in the country, away from her.
 Septimus thinks about his crime. Should he tell them? Should he communicate his
message?
 Bradshaw is above all a scientist. There is no such thing as madness, just a lack of
Proportion (whatever that means!). Septimus simply needs rest, no friends or books, and
he has to gain some weight.
 This doctor is respected, has a wife devoted to the right causes (and who allows him
complete power over her, by the way), and a son.
 He lives life around the philosophy of Proportion and Conversion. This man puts lunatics in
their proper place: where no one can see them. His patients must conform, or be put away.
 People he calls crazy definitely can’t have children. They must stop thinking about
themselves and instead think of "love, duty, self sacrifice" (4.151). They have to be
courageous, dedicated to career, and in control.
 To Bradshaw, questions of God’s existence don’t matter. He is the one in power. His
patients must succumb to his will. Those in his care are not so much patients as they are
victims. Rezia doesn’t like the guy. (Neither do we, to be frank.)
 We are now with Hugh Whitbread, who’s examining socks in the window of a shop on
Oxford Street. He is on his way to lunch at Lady Bruton’s house.
 No one knows exactly what he does as a profession, and some gossip suggests that he’s
pretty low on the totem pole, but he is associated with some work as a guard at Buckingham
Palace.
 He goes through the motions of doing all the right things that someone of his social standing
does: he concerns himself with morality and writes editorial letters in to the London Times.
  Hugh brings carnations to the lunch, as he always does. He greets Lady Bruton’s secretary,
Miss Brush, believing incorrectly that her brother lives in South Africa. He’s oblivious to
everyone’s strong dislike of him; he is simply too pompous to notice.
 Lady Bruton is a social force at sixty-two years old. She much prefers Richard to Hugh, but
Hugh is good for some things. A parade of servants brings in their meal.
 The hostess descends from great military generals and in fact, she herself almost looks like
one. She has an impressive pedigree and some important stuff lying around her house: a
vine under which some famous poets once sat and a framed telegram of an important
military order.
 Though she asks about Clarissa, Lady Bruton has never been interested in women. She
especially doesn’t like it when women get in their husband’s way professionally, or when
they become ill and demanding. Yikes.
 Hugh announces that he saw Clarissa that morning, then the conversation turns to Peter
Walsh.
 Lady Bruton, Hugh, and Richard all think of how in love Peter had been with Clarissa, how
he had gone to India and gotten into a mess, and how he’s essentially a flawed man. These
people really aren't very nice to each other, geez.
 Richard thinks about his own love of Clarissa and decides that after lunch he’ll go home
and tell her that he loves her. (Sound like that's not really a regular occurrence.)
 Lady Bruton, Hugh, and Richard all gather over coffee to write an editorial letter to
the Times about emigration to Canada. Emigration is her "cause," and her solution to
overpopulation in England.
 They compose several drafts of this letter. Richard feels that Hugh’s work on the letter is
mediocre, but Hugh makes some encouraging remarks about getting the letter to the editor
of the Times.
 Lady Bruton is so delighted that she absurdly puts the bouquet of carnations down her
blouse and calls Hugh "My Prime Minister!" (4.186). Yeah, we’re still trying to figure out that
one, too.
 Richard wants to write a history of Lady Bruton’s family, which is full of "military men,
administrators, admirals [and] men of action, who had done their duty" (4.185). She reminds
Richard that all of the family papers are ready whenever he needs to consult them for his
book.
 The lunch party breaks up. Lady Bruton takes a nap, drifting off and thinking about her youth
and about Richard and Hugh.
 The two men look in an antique shop window. Hugh considers buying a Spanish necklace
for his wife, Evelyn.
 Richard feels underwhelmed by life. He doesn’t care at all about emigration. He never
bought Clarissa jewelry, and she didn’t care. Peter loved her so much, he thinks. Hugh is a
blow-hard. Interesting thought process.
 Richard decides to buy Clarissa flowers. He thinks to himself that what’s left of life after the
war is a miracle; just think about all the death and the forgotten men. Richard has tried his
best to help people, to commit himself to social reform. He pities people who are on the
streets and believes that the police aren’t doing right by them.
 He has to get home and tell Clarissa that he loves her.
 Thoughts of Buckingham Palace and its dignity and tradition soothe him, and once again,
he feels happy.

Section 5

 Arriving home, Richard finds that Clarissa is upset that her frumpy, dull cousin Ellie
Henderson is coming to her party. It’s enough that Elizabeth is spending time with that awful
Miss Kilman; what more could go wrong?
 Richard enters holding flowers. He can’t bring himself to say "I love you," but she
understands what he’s thinking.
 They talk about Miss Kilman, Peter Walsh, the party, and writing the letter for Lady Bruton.
He wonders why she gives these parties when they stress her out so much.
 He leaves again to go to a meeting about Armenians or Albanians. It's always something.
 Clarissa cherishes the independence that she and Richard have in their marriage. But he
looks after her, making sure she rests after lunch. She feels a twinge of guilt for caring more
about roses than Armenians. (We all have those moments, don't we?)
 As she lies down, Clarissa tries to figure out why she feels so disturbed. She didn’t like how
Peter and Richard criticized her parties. They’re an offering: her form of creation, a gift.
 While Clarissa is resting, Elizabeth comes into the room very quietly, while Miss Kilman
waits outside the door in her unsightly mackintosh (that's a raincoat). As you might
remember, Mrs Dalloway doesn't think very highly of her: she’s poor and over forty, she
resents the rich, and she looks down on Clarissa’s background and limited education. She
is entitled and bitter, pious and judgmental.
 Clarissa feels that Miss Kilman is stealing Elizabeth away from her.
 Elizabeth leaves with Miss Kilman to have tea. Clarissa considers love and religion
detestable. (This thought makes some sense in the context: remember that Miss Kilman
brings Elizabeth to Catholic meetings.) She becomes repulsed by the idea of Miss Kilman’s
body and her efforts to convert people to Christianity.
 Climbing the stairs, Clarissa looks out the window at the house across the way. She often
watches a woman who leaves there; she finds the woman peaceful compared to the thought
of Peter Walsh’s oppressive love. Interesting comparison.
 Now we're in Miss Kilman's thoughts. (You still with us?) Miss Kilman is concerned with
controlling the flesh. She thinks that Clarissa mocks her ugliness. She despises Clarissa’s
shallowness and vanity. Her own desires are simple: tea, a hot water bottle, some clothing,
and comfort.
 Miss Kilman knows she has an unlovable body, but does she have to suffer for that? Why
should she suffer while Clarissa has all of the comforts she needs?
 Elizabeth and Miss Kilman enter the Army and Navy Stores. They shop a bit and then have
some tea and cakes. Miss Kilman eats greedily while eying a pink cake being eaten by a
child.
 She lectures Elizabeth about the war: not everyone thought the English were right, not
everyone was full of patriotic emotion. Elizabeth should come to one of her meetings and
hear the different opinions.
 Miss Kilman makes people feel bad for having things, for not suffering like she does.
 Elizabeth is eager to leave (she's not interested in this woman), but Miss Kilman asks if
she’ll go to her mother’s party that evening.
 As she shoves an éclair into her mouth, Miss Kilman announces that she doesn’t get invited
to parties, but she actually doesn’t pity herself for that (though she clearly does).
 She almost blurts out that she pities Elizabeth’s mother, but knows that such a remark is
going too far. Elizabeth hastily gets out of there, and immediately, Miss Kilman feels her
absence deeply and profoundly. She decides to go pray at Westminster Abbey.
 Elizabeth boards an omnibus, which moves through neighborhoods that are unfamiliar to
her.
 She’s relieved to be free of Miss Kilman: too much talk of suffering. Elizabeth pays another
penny to go up the Strand (a street in London). Seeing all of the working people makes
Elizabeth want to have a profession, to be a doctor or a member of Parliament or something.
 She feels very daring being at the Strand: it’s not the kind of thing a Dalloway does. She
realizes that it’s gotten kind of late, and her mother will be worried. It’s time to go home.
 Now we’re back with Septimus again. He’s lying on a couch in his home, watching the light
dance on the walls and the trees move outside the window. He recalls a line from
Shakespeare, "Fear no more," which he repeats to himself.
 Rezia sits nearby making a hat. Her husband’s behavior is really disturbing to her. The desk
drawer is full of his crazy ideas about war and death and Shakespeare, and he claims to
know everything.
 Now he sees Evans in the room, singing.
  Once, the cleaning lady read his notes and laughed mockingly.
 To Septimus, Dr Holmes represents everything that’s wrong with human nature.
 Septimus lies on the couch, fearing (aloud) that he will fall into flames. His fears seem so
real that Rezia looks around for actual flames.
 Rezia continues to make a hat for the landlord’s daughter, Mrs Peters.
 Septimus squeezes his eyes shut. "He would not go mad" (5.105). He looks around, hoping
that he doesn’t have any hallucinations now that his eyes are open. All is okay, for now.
 He’s afraid that Rezia’s face will look deformed, so he peers at her face from behind his
hand.
 Rezia and Septimus share a laugh about Mrs Peters – about how ridiculous she would look
in the hat, like a pig at a fair. For the moment, everything feels normal. To Rezia’s great
relief, Septimus seems like his old self right then.
 A knock at the door startles Rezia. (Is it Sir William Bradshaw coming to take Septimus
away?) But it’s just a young girl bringing the newspaper, as she does every evening.
Septimus starts to fall asleep.
 Once again, Septimus begins to hear the "voices of the dead" (5.129). He cries out for
Evans.
 It’s getting late and Bradshaw will be there soon. This doctor believes that it’s not healthy
for the unwell to be around people who are fond of them.
 Septimus feels a deep loathing for Holmes and Bradshaw, believing they’re after him. He
asks Rezia to bring him his papers, with pictures of people with wings, diagrams, faces in
waves, notes on beauty, death, Time, Universal love, and Shakespeare.
 He looks at Rezia. She’s a flowering tree. She is a miracle. But he fears the judges
(Bradshaw and Holmes).
 They hear noises downstairs. Rezia runs to prevent Holmes from coming up right away.
She needs time to prepare herself and Septimus.
 Holmes pushes his way past Rezia. Desperately, Septimus looks around for some way to
kill himself right there and then. A bread knife? Razors? The gas fire? He doesn’t actually
want to die, but he can’t be given over to the doctors. He just can’t.
 And just like that, Septimus throws himself out the window, shouting, "I’ll give it to you!"
(5.152) In the blink of an eye, he is impaled on the railings outside.
 Just then, Dr Holmes walks in and calls Septimus a coward. The landlady, Mrs Filmer,
arrives and tells Rezia that her husband's body is horribly mangled.
 Rezia is worried that they’ll bring the body in the room and she takes a sedative given to
her by Dr Holmes; she falls asleep

Section 6

 Peter Walsh thinks about civilization as an ambulance swiftly passes him on the street. After
India, England seems so organized. He wonders who’s in the ambulance but then
dismisses the thought as too morbid and sentimental.
 He thinks back to when he used to ride the omnibus with Clarissa. They lamented how
difficult it was to really and truly know someone. Clarissa believed in seeking out places in
order to understand people; she was always really friendly and cordial with strangers. Peter
thinks about the deep impression Clarissa has made on his life.
 Arriving at his hotel, Peter thinks back to the days of Bourton, when he took long walks with
Clarissa. Today, he receives a letter from her telling him how nice it was to see him. He
feels annoyed thinking of how she must have sent the letter immediately after he left.
(That's so Clarissa.)
 Peter begins to think of Daisy and how different she is from Clarissa. A friend warned him
that Daisy shouldn't get a divorce and marry Peter, who is so old. She would have to leave
her children and bear the judgment of others. Peter isn't too concerned: he thought he’d
write books if he retired.
 He shaves and goes to have dinner in the hotel dining room. He’s self-conscious of what
the other diners must think of him. They admire him and think he’s important; especially the
 way he orders Bartlett pears (hmmm). He thinks about Clarissa’s party and how he’ll ask
Richard what the government’s plans are with India. Way to think of conversation topics
ahead of time, Pete.
 He enjoys the long evening, how it's still light out (it's June). As he walks to Clarissa’s, Peter
thinks about the beauty in London. He cherishes the sight of people preparing for a nice
evening, couples walking, parties, and diners enjoying meals outside.
 At Mrs Dalloway's house, servants are busy making last-minute preparations for the party.
Everything looks beautiful.
 There’s excitement that the prime minister himself will be coming. (That’s weird: he couldn’t
make Shmoop's party…)
 Some other stuff is going down, too:
 The cook, Mrs Walker, is unfazed by his arrival; she’s only worried about undercooking the
salmon.
 The men request the Imperial Tokay, a sweet-tasting wine.
 Elizabeth is worried that her dog is acting up.
 You know, the usual.
 As guests arrive, their names are announced. Clarissa greets everyone in her charming
way, which Peter finds irritatingly fake. Clarissa can feel Peter's disapproval and she frets
that Peter is criticizing her.
 She’s just grateful that she’s not an old frump like Ellie Henderson. She wonders why Peter
bothered to come if he felt so darn scornful of her.
 Clarissa begins to calm down, seeing that her party might be a success after all.
 Ellie Henderson takes mental notes of every detail and every guest. Richard is the only one
who's friendly to her.
 At all of her parties, Clarissa begins to feel out of sorts: not herself, almost unreal.
 The hired butler, Mr Wilkins, announces the arrival of Lady Rosseter, who turns out to be
Sally Seton. Sally has changed a lot, now a mother of "five enormous boys" (6.25), she tells
Clarissa.
 Just then, the prime minister arrives. Clarissa is distracted. A feeling of greatness fills the
room, even though he looks strikingly ordinary.
 Peter is disgusted by all of the snobbery. He sees Hugh and notes how fat that doofus and
villain has become. Ouch.
 Watching Clarissa stirs profound feelings for Peter: her green dress and earrings, her
elegant ways; she embodies the exquisiteness of the moment. He still insists to himself that
he’s not in love with her anymore. We're not buying it.
 As Clarissa says good-bye to the prime minister, she thinks of how tepid (lukewarm) he
makes her feel. The hatred she feels for Miss Kilman is a far more powerful and meaningful
emotion to her.
 Clarissa mingles with her guests, but they all seem mediocre in spite of their surface
accomplishments.
 Old Aunt Helena eventually shows up. She’s very old, but not dead, as some thought.
Clarissa once again abandons Peter for a conversation with her. Aunt Helena wants to talk
about Burma and orchids (naturally). Clarissa moves on to talk to Lady Bruton and has an
awkward exchange with her. Then Lady Bruton sees Peter Walsh and thinks about his
failures.
 Sally and Peter are eager to talk to Clarissa, but she’s too busy with her other guests. Sally
has changed a lot: she’s no longer a wild rebel and she no longer champions causes and
dislikes men. But she still is charming, that's for sure.
 Clarissa greets Sir and Lady William Bradshaw. The very sight of Bradshaw affects Clarissa
physically. He deals with people who have profound mental problems. He makes the tough
decisions.
 Clarissa once asked for his advice, but the appointment was oppressive and she couldn’t
wait to leave. She knows he’s competent, admired, and at the top of his profession, but
something about him disturbs her.
  Suddenly Lady Bradshaw blurts out that one of her husband’s patients just killed himself.
Way to have some tact, Lady Bradshaw.
 Clarissa is repulsed that death has been mentioned at her fine party. She walks into a room
by herself, outraged that someone has "brought" death into her party.
 She thinks about the young man who killed himself, threw it all away. She wonders why.
 She’s never flung anything away – except a coin into a lake. (Not quite the same.)
 Everyone had memories of Bourton all day, but they would grow old. By killing himself, the
young man preserved something, found meaning, reached a "centre."
 Clarissa thinks about Sir William Bradshaw and the sinister power he wields, how he must
have ruined everything for this man. She understands the awful fear; she had felt it just that
morning. She feels disgraced by Septimus' power to give it all up; it's something she could
never do.
 Clarissa walks to the window and sees her neighbor again. For once, the woman is looking
straight back at her. Clarissa feels a deep connection to Septimus. "He made her feel the
beauty; made her feel the fun" (6.92).
 Meanwhile, Sally and Peter are talking on the couch, laughing and waiting for Clarissa.
Peter thinks about how Sally used to be dressed in rags and is now a Lady.
 They scoff together at Hugh Whitbread, but Peter thinks himself a failure compared to all of
the dignified people at the party.
 They talk about how Clarissa is a snob, though they both love her. Clarissa can be hard on
people.
 Peter confesses that his life has been difficult, but Sally reassures him that Clarissa never
loved Richard the way she loved Peter. Peter watches Elizabeth talking to her father, noting
the warmth between them. He concedes that Richard isn’t a bad man.
 Sally goes to talk to Richard and Peter decides to join her, but a sudden feeling of terror
and ecstasy comes over him.
 Clarissa has returned.

Plot Overview
The narrator begins her journal by marveling at the grandeur of the house and grounds
her husband has taken for their summer vacation. She describes it in romantic terms as an
aristocratic estate or even a haunted house and wonders how they were able to afford it, and why
the house had been empty for so long. Her feeling that there is “something queer” about the
situation leads her into a discussion of her illness—she is suffering from “nervous depression”—
and of her marriage. She complains that her husband John, who is also her doctor, belittles both
her illness and her thoughts and concerns in general. She contrasts his practical, rationalistic
manner with her own imaginative, sensitive ways. Her treatment requires that she do almost
nothing active, and she is especially forbidden from working and writing. She feels that activity,
freedom, and interesting work would help her condition and reveals that she has begun her
secret journal in order to “relieve her mind.” In an attempt to do so, the narrator begins describing
the house. Her description is mostly positive, but disturbing elements such as the “rings and
things” in the bedroom walls, and the bars on the windows, keep showing up. She is particularly
disturbed by the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom, with its strange, formless pattern, and
describes it as “revolting.” Soon, however, her thoughts are interrupted by John’s approach, and
she is forced to stop writing.
As the first few weeks of the summer pass, the narrator becomes good at hiding her
journal, and thus hiding her true thoughts from John. She continues to long for more stimulating
company and activity, and she complains again about John’s patronizing, controlling ways—
although she immediately returns to the wallpaper, which begins to seem not only ugly, but oddly
menacing. She mentions that John is worried about her becoming fixated on it, and that he has
even refused to repaper the room so as not to give in to her neurotic worries. The narrator’s
imagination, however, has been aroused. She mentions that she enjoys picturing people on the
walkways around the house and that John always discourages such fantasies. She also thinks
back to her childhood, when she was able to work herself into a terror by imagining things in the
dark. As she describes the bedroom, which she says must have been a nursery for young
children, she points out that the paper is torn off the wall in spots, there are scratches and gouges
in the floor, and the furniture is heavy and fixed in place. Just as she begins to see a strange sub-
pattern behind the main design of the wallpaper, her writing is interrupted again, this time by
John’s sister, Jennie, who is acting as housekeeper and nurse for the narrator. As the Fourth of
July passes, the narrator reports that her family has just visited, leaving her more tired than ever.
John threatens to send her to Weir Mitchell, the real-life physician under whose care Gilman had
a nervous breakdown. The narrator is alone most of the time and says that she has become
almost fond of the wallpaper and that attempting to figure out its pattern has become her primary
entertainment. As her obsession grows, the sub-pattern of the wallpaper becomes clearer. It
begins to resemble a woman “stooping down and creeping” behind the main pattern, which looks
like the bars of a cage. Whenever the narrator tries to discuss leaving the house, John makes
light of her concerns, effectively silencing her. Each time he does so, her disgusted fascination
with the paper grows.

Soon the wallpaper dominates the narrator’s imagination. She becomes

possessive and secretive, hiding her interest in the paper and making sure no one else
examines it so that she can “find it out” on her own. At one point, she startles Jennie, who
had been touching the wallpaper and who mentions that she had found yellow stains on
their clothes. Mistaking the narrator’s fixation for tranquility, John thinks she is improving.
But she sleeps less and less and is convinced that she can smell the paper all over the
house, even outside. She discovers a strange smudge mark on the paper, running all
around the room, as if it had been rubbed by someone crawling against the wall.

The sub-pattern now clearly resembles a woman who is trying to get out from
behind the main pattern. The narrator sees her shaking the bars at night and creeping
around during the day, when the woman is able to escape briefly. The narrator mentions
that she, too, creeps around at times. She suspects that John and Jennie are aware of
her obsession, and she resolves to destroy the paper once and for all, peeling much of it
off during the night. The next day she manages to be alone and goes into something of a
frenzy, biting and tearing at the paper in order to free the trapped woman, whom she
sees struggling from inside the pattern.

By the end, the narrator is hopelessly insane, convinced that there are many
creeping women around and that she herself has come out of the wallpaper—that she
herself is the trapped woman. She creeps endlessly around the room, smudging the
wallpaper as she goes. When John breaks into the locked room and sees the full horror
of the situation, he faints in the doorway, so that the narrator has “to creep over him
every time!”