Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.

¶ … Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf. Specifically it will discuss the place of Septimus Warren Smith in the novel, not only in terms of plot but also in terms of his importance to the book's theme. Septimus Smith represents the insane world in this novel, while Clarissa Dalloway represents the "sane" world and all that represents, from settling for someone without passion, to the details of a highly social lifestyle. Septimus is insane, but he sees the world with a clarity that Mrs. Dalloway does not, and he serves as a commentary on society and morals at the time the novel was written.

Septimus Smith is clearly insane. He thinks to himself in stream-of-consciousness short bits of information, such as, "Men must not cut down trees. There is a God. (He noted such revelations on the backs of envelopes.) Change the world. No one kills from hatred. Make it known (he wrote it down). He waited. He listened" (Woolf 24). He lacks interest in his surroundings and his wife, and threatens to kill himself. Septimus is a pivotal part of this novel because he appears to be the antithesis of Mrs. Dalloway, who is always in control of her life, but in fact, they share many commonalities from "beak noses" (Woolf 14) to the way Woolf follows both of them throughout one momentous day in their lives. In addition, Septimus mirrors many of Mrs. Dalloway's feeling, but always with a touch of insanity, which may indicate how close we all are to insanity, according to Woolf. They are the most different in that Septimus is not afraid to show his feelings and be afraid, and he is also unconcerned with how others perceive him, in fact, for the most part, he is unaware of anyone but himself and his imagination. The scene in the park when Peter walks by is a very clear indicator that Septimus cares nothing for what other people think (Woolf 70). Mrs. Dalloway, on the other hand, is desperately concerned with how others see her, and her place in society, and that is the main difference between these two characters. Woolf writes of Clarissa, "The obvious thing to say of her was that she was worldly; cared too much for rank and society and getting on in the world -- which was true in a sense; she had admitted it to him" (Woolf 76). Thus, position in society is the thing that differentiates these two characters, but many other things bind them together.

Both Septimus and Clarissa see humanity with skepticism, although they can see the beauty around them. Clarissa sees humanity as a "doomed race" (Woolf 76), while Septimus equates all his experiences with the horrors he saw in war and the people around him, people he thinks have neither "kindness nor faith" (Woolf 89). Thus, while the two represent two very different sides of English society, they take very dim views of the people around them. Clarissa, however, can rise above these feelings and still be happy, while Septimus is unable to see true happiness in anything.

Septimus goes to war to save an England that still believes in classes and royalty (Woolf 86), and that is one way he affects Clarissa in the novel. He is fighting for people like her, and she does not even realize it or appreciate it, it seems. In fact, the war is far from her mind, while it is the only thing Septimus can focus on or seem to understand. He talks to his dead war buddy Evans, and fears he cannot feel anything at all (Woolf 86). In comparison, Clarissa is extremely interested in what people feel, and she is not afraid to show her own feelings toward her friends and guests, even if they are "effusive" and overly enthusiastic (Woolf 167).

Septimus enters Clarissa's life in many ways, even though she never meets him. He is in the mind of Peter when Peter first visits Clarissa, and he even thinks that Clarissa would have talked to him, while he just walked by ignoring the young, obviously distressed couple (Woolf. "A young man (that is what Sir William is telling Mr. Dalloway) had killed himself. He had been in the army.' Oh! thought Clarissa, in the middle of my party, here's death, she thought" (Woolf 183). This talk of death really makes Clarissa stop and think about her own life, and of course, about death and growing old. He brings a sense of unease to her, and it indicates that she fears death, and yet embraces it at the same time (Woolf 185). It causes her to question her whole being and reason for being, and her life. Woolf writes, "She felt somehow very like him -- the young man who had killed himself. She felt glad that he had done it; thrown it away" (Woolf 186). Ultimately, Woolf shows that while Clarissa and Septimus seem far removed from each other in their lives and outlook, they really could be one in the same. Septimus brings Clarissa some of his own fear of not feeling, and shows that Clarissa has those same feelings inside herself. She is able to surmount them and enjoy life, while Septimus is not. However, inside, they could be twins, and he brings her this knowledge by his "appearance" at her party, which causes her to question and pull apart her own life. She seems to be superficial and only interested in society and her place in it, but in reality, she has many of the same dark, troubling ideas that Septimus has, and that indicates that she is much less superficial than she really appears. Septimus allows the dark side of her soul to come out, and to linger in her thoughts.