Mrs. Dalloway's Relationships
The relationships in Mrs. Dalloway are the focus of the novel with most of the novel we have read so far focussing on Mrs. Dalloway herself and her relationships. So far we have mostly seen the relationships between Mrs. Dalloway and Sally, Mrs. Dalloway and Peter, and a little between Mrs. Dalloway and Richard Dalloway through the eyes of Peter. Mrs. Dallowa and Sally's relationship seems to be one of mutual love or close friendship. Sally is a kind of free spirit that is feeding Mrs. Dalloway's own adventurous and rebellious spirit. This causes them to have probably one of the closest relationships we've seen in the book so far
Mrs. Dalloway and Peter's relationship has many things it could be from the views we've seen it from. It could either be one of mutual love, or Mrs. Dalloway just enjoyed Peter's company very much, and the love was one-sided. I think it could be either, but I am personally of the belief that they had a short mutual love, but Mrs. Dalloway quickly fell out of love but had a few feelings of appreciation afterward, into the timeframe the book is set. Peter, on the other hand, is still very much in love Mrs. Dalloway, despite being "in love" with a married woman. Peter is also extremely jealous of Mrs. Dalloway's relationship with Richard, shown through his view of their relationship. He even states that "She will marry that man" as soon as he sees the two talking, without even knowing who Richard was. And Mrs. Dalloway and Richard seem to have the best and most stable relationship, judging from Peter's flashback.
These relationships are so far the focus of the novel and really showcase how Mrs. Dalloway interacts with people she trusts and likes.
It is interesting how far Clarissa's suitors fall from one another in terms of personality. For instance, Sally is daring and wild and liberal, kind of like Peter although Peter doesn't have the same enthusiasm or romanticism, who is closer to Richard who is the complete opposite of Sally in his conservatism and safety. It's just funny to see how Clarissa doesn't so much have a "type" as she does have options in terms of what will make her the most successful.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the one-sidedness of Peter and Clarissa's relationship, because although she might enjoy his company, we are given no evidence to suggest that she is as much obsessed over Peter as Peter is over her. Even after he realized she was going to marry Richard, he still does not care and later tries to confess to her his feelings.
ReplyDeleteWhen you call her "Mrs. Dalloway" in the context of her former dalliance with Peter, it makes it sound vaguely scandalous, a married woman contemplating an affair. She was "Clarissa Parry" when Peter proposed to her. She only became "Mrs. Richard Dalloway" after marriage.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that Mrs. Dalloway's and Peter's relationship could be seen as one sided. Even though Mrs. Dalloway does seem to have some feelings towards Peter, she still has negative memories of him, which could be the reason that she decided not to be with him. On the other hand, Peter is still very much in love with Clarissa.
ReplyDeleteI feel like, as you mentioned, that Clarissa and Peter's relationship was at first a short mutual love which faded away, but I think that their relationship was always more one-sided rather than mutual. But again, it could be either and that is just what I think.
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