Shakespearean Sorrows in "Mrs. Dalloway"
Shakespearean Sorrows in "Mrs. Dalloway"
This specific line is used several times in "Mrs. Dalloway", and can thus also be assumed in the context of other instances within the novel. The first time that comes to me, off the top of my head, that I would like to point to is when Clarissa is describing the joyous moments of her youth shared with Sally Seaton. How 'strange', how 'queer', for a declaration of romantic contentment aligned with death to be used in the case of two young women - at least in the eyes of their society at the time. One may have assumed that she would have first introduced her own connection to the words when in regards to her husband, Richard - as she has had a certain closeness with death due to her previous illness; so perhaps she may have been happy to have been married and loved (even if subtly) by the man. But no - as Shakespeare is once again mentioned when in regards to the loves of her life when she describes getting married to Richard - with the omission of the supposedly romantic line about having no regrets of marriage in "Othello". Obviously, Clarissa held a sort of love for Sally that had been strong enough to compare to the joys shared between Othello and Desdemona before the apparent tragedy that would occur in the play; one that omitted the idea of marriage (as she would not have viewed marriage between two women as an option) - and cannot find it within herself to compare her dynamic with Richard to be similar to that former joy, as she does hold some regrets in that marriage (as did Othello, before smothering his wife with the pillow).
Another character who draws upon Shakespeare often is Septimus Smith. Poor man, perhaps a tortured artist who could never become an artist due to the time period's depictions of proper masculinity. Septimus by all means seemed to idolize artists enough to the extent that their realities and his own seemed to meld within his shattered ego and mind. While (according to my own memory) he does not explicitly draw upon this singular line from "Othello", he is a character that can be compared to the text just as thoroughly as Clarissa. As opposed to Clarissa, who could not marry the object of her affection who forced that comparison of the play to be made; Septimus...supposedly did. Much like Othello, he returned from war and became a married man - back to a woman who loved him despite his ailments of trauma (it can be argued that Othello also suffered from PTSD, which made his temper worse and allowed Iago to fiddle with his perceptions of loyalty and reality - but that is another conversation entirely.). However, despite the fact that he represents one end of the "Othello equation", as does Clarissa, the other does not fit (similar to Clarissa). He is a soldier who returns from war and gets married shortly afterwards, but it is not out of happiness that he would be willing to die for. He is willing to die - suicidally, yes - but not for the love that he supposedly holds for Lucrezia.
The 'lacking' quality in both characters in itself is Shakespearean, in a sense. They are given a structure of idealistic happiness in marriage (that also becomes innately flawed as the story progresses), and in one form or another, cannot conform to it. In Clarissa's case, it is because she had found that joy in love too early in life and then cannot accurately share it with the man she married - and in Septimus's case, it is because he was a soldier who got married to a woman he could not love in the 'correct' way, and died, but not because of that love.
Hello! I like the post, especially on how it pertains to other (Shakespearean) novels. I've always enjoyed trying to view one book through another, finding similarities between the two, and where one might have taken from the other. I think expanding on the 'lacking' portion would make for a really good essay, especially in the case of Clarissa. Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteHUZZAH! SHAKESPEARE! I was hoping someone would write a post like this, so thank you haha. I especially found it interesting how certain phrases from Shakespeare's canon were kind of co-opted by Woolf's characters and in a way kind of contradict the world of Mrs. Dalloway---for example, the contrast of the repetition of the phrase "fear no more the heat of the sun..." with Septimus's repeated "life is good, the sun hot". It's definitely worth exploring how the meaning of these phrases changes over time and differs between each character. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to reading most of the plays referenced in Mrs. Dalloway (so perhaps I'm not entirely qualified to talk about this), but I love how you've compared what the "if it were now to die..." line meant in the context of Othello and how that meaning changed when the phrase was transferred to Woolf's novel, and I'd be interested to see how the other literary references in this novel hold different meaning in their original works versus in Mrs. Dalloway. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned Shakespeare! Though I haven't read Othello myself (one of the many of his plays on my infamous TBR, I will get to it eventually), I am familiar with the plot and think it's such a lovely parallel between the quote (particularly the context of the quote) that is repeated throughout the story. Because of this, I really liked how you talked about both Septimus Smith's and Clarrisa's relationship with marriage. Focusing on the surrounding context helps drive home the importance of the repeated quote! Great post!
ReplyDeleteAh Oz... my favorite writer. You know, I've never read this play by Shakespeare, but even through your blog post, I can see many connections. I really like how you draw on Septimus's masculinity and how that effects his romantic relationships. I even wonder if he could have been in love with his best friend, Evan.
ReplyDeleteOZZY. I think this blog post is wonderful! I haven't really connected Mrs. Dalloway to any other books, let alone shakespeare. I think this is a great reflection on the similarties of the two texts. I like your comparisons of Othellos PTSD to Septimus'. Septimus is a very interesting character that you can really delve deep into.
ReplyDeleteHi Ozzy! Even though I haven't read Othello, I can see how it relates to the plot. This post helped me to connect the two books together, something which I hadn't thought about before. The line you mentioned having different meanings based on the character is also something interesting.
ReplyDeleteSeptimus's primary Shakespearean moment has more to do with the line from _Cymbeline_, "Fear no more the heat o' the sun," than _Othello_, maybe. And this represents a major connection point between him and Clarissa, who sees the passage as she walks to get the flowers and soon after contemplates life and death. In his final moment, Septimus briefly reflects that "the sun was hot" as a good example of why he "did not want to die." At times in the novel, Septimus seems to fear the heat of the sun--life outdoors and in public is terrifying and baffling, and indeed it seems deeply hazardous to be outside. But in this last fleeting thought, a hot sun seems to represent life itself.
ReplyDeleteHi Ozzy, I think it is also interesting to interpret Septimus's last line like a Shakespearean tragedy. After reflecting many times on Shakespeare's tragedies, he writes "It was their idea of tragedy, not his or Rezia's (for she was with him). Holmes and Bradshaw liked that sort of thing." So he might be saying "I'll give it to you!" to say that he can't avoid the evils of man that he described, and that this is what they wanted.
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