Annemily's Blog

In class discussion we touched on the question of how much Brett really needs Jake when she telegraphs him at the end of the book. To some extent it seems like Brett wants Jake’s help but doesn’t need it. She describes herself as “RATHER IN TROUBLE” which the qualifier rather makes less urgent than it could be (242). If the situation isn’t really urgent, it’s possible Brett could solve her problems herself, without Jake’s help. Brett could just be taking advantage of how willing Jake is to immediately come to her aid. Brett has done this in the past; she probably could have gotten together with Romero without getting Jake to introduce her. But I think Brett really did need Jake. For one thing Brett needs Jake’s money. We know she’s broke at the moment because she tells Jake about Romero’s efforts to give her money: “I told him I had scads of it. He knew that was a lie.” (246).We know she thought she needed Jake to pay for her hotel at least when she sent the telegram becau...

Flowers abound in Mrs. Dalloway . Parts of the plot are flower centric. The book begins with Clarissa going to buy flowers. Later on she reflects on the unique way Sally arranges flowers and how Sally kissed her after picking a flower. Richard brings Clarissa flowers when he comes home. Flowers are also just briefly mentioned throughout the book. When Peter follows a woman to her house his thoughts about Clarissa are interrupted by “The house was one of those flat red houses with hanging flowers of vague impropriety. (…) Well, I’ve had my fun; I’ve had it, he thought, looking up at the swinging basket of pale geraniums.” (53). It’s odd that Peter focuses on the flowers at all, given that his thoughts are mostly consumed by Clarissa and the other woman but it’s also interesting that Peter notes the specific type of flower. Later Peter thinks about Sally and flowers: “Who was it who had done that? (…) Somebody who had written him a long, gushing letter quite lately about...

As we discussed Clarissa’s difficulty with finding loving relationships in class, I wondered how well the important people in her life actually know Clarissa. Peter, although he is a very important part of Clarissa’s life, doesn’t seem to really know her well. Shortly after he first sees her, Peter thinks “Here she is mending her dress; mending her dress as usual (…) here she’s been sitting all the time I’ve been in India” (40). But he is wrong, because normally a maid would mend the dress for Clarissa. More importantly, Peter thinks that Clarissa is completely occupied by domestic tasks. Clarissa has perhaps been physically occupied by domestic tasks but mentally, her life is more complicated than Peter gives her credit for. Richard doesn’t seem to know Clarissa very deeply either. As he returns from lunch with Lady Bruton he thinks: “It was a great age in which to have lived. Indeed, his own life was a miracle, let him make no mistake about it; here he was, in the prime of l...