Birds of Paradise

"Gently the yellow cutain with all the birdsof Paradise blew out and it seemed as f there were a flight of wings into the room, right out, them sucked back. (For the windows were open.)" (168)

The curtain is being compared to birds of Paradise because they represent feelings and emotions being shared. The window is open which symbolizes communication that the party brings to the guests. Birds of Paradise are a species of bird and of a flower. The bird and flower both have vibrant colors and excessive form.

~Ramel, Gordon. "The Birds of Paradise-Paradisaeidae" Earth Life. May 29, 2008. September 29, 2008.
~Off, Audrey "Birds of Paradise" AMO GAllery. September 29, 2008

Religion? Love?

"here was one room; there another. Did religion solve that or love?" (127)

Clarissa sees the old woman through her window, and feels that she knows a little bit about the women even though she does not actually know her. Windows allow Clarissa to break the barrier of communication. They are both living in their separate rooms, which symbolize humanity's solitude and absence of communication. Miss. Kilman turns to religion in her solitude and anger. She believes God can look into her soul and accompany her. Clarissa, being an atheist, disagrees with Miss. Kilman. Peter always looks for love to rid him of his solitude. He thinks that by loving a woman, his walls will crumble and there will be complete communication between him and his love. Clarissa believes that there will always be walls hindering complete communication between two people especially as they age.

Crocus Flower

"Then for that moment she had seen an illumination; a match burning in a crocus; an inner meanig almost expressed." (32)

The growth of the crocus petals are sensitive to heat. On warm days the flower opens up, due to the cells of the inside of the flower growing faster than the cells on the outside petals. When the air is cold the outer surface of the petal's grow faster than the cells on the innersurface, so the flower closes up. The match in the crocus flower keeps the flower warm so it stays open. The fire symbolizes the passion Clarissa had for Sally. When Clarissa was around Sally she was an open flower and felt as if she were at the peak of her life. The match for Richard is not ignited and does not keep her open and alive. She is closed off from Richard because they do not have a strong sense of communication.

~Hangarter, Roger."Crocus Flower" Plants in Motion. 2000. September 29, 2008.

Baron Marbot's Memoirs

"Narrower and narrower would her bed be. The candle was half burnt down and she had read deep in Baron Marbot's Memoirs. She had read late at night of the retreat from Moscow." (31)

Clarissa reads Memoires du general baron de Marbot before she goes to bed alone. In the book Napoleon is retreating from Moscow with his Grand Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was once invincible and France had been at the height of it's power, but that all changed when Napoleon could not capture Russia's capital. Napoleon retreats along desolate roads in shame. This story is relevant to Mrs. Dalloway because the First World War ended and England is not the almighty power it once was. Napoleon parallels with Clarissa because in a way she is retreating from Richard because she does not feel passionate for him. She thinks about how she failed Richard, just like Napoleon failed France.

~"Baron Marbot" Mrs. Dalloway Tips. March 28 2000. September 29, 2008.
~Macgregor,Mary. "The Retreat From Moscow" Heritage History. 2007. September 29,2008.

Aunt Helena

"like those flowers Clarissa's Aunt Helena used to press between sheets of grey blotting-paper with Litttre's dictionary on top"

Aunt Helena symbolised the dying age. She lost sight in one of her eyes and has a glass eye. She does not see the beauty and depth that life has. She pressed flowers, ridding them of their bright color and water.

Soul

"Coming down the staircase opposite an old man stopped and stared at him. Holmes was at the door. 'I'll give it to you!' he cried, and flung himself vigorously, violently down" (149)

Septimus committed suicide so he would not have to give away his soul to Holmes and Bradshaw. He felt he was in touch with reality and did not want the doctors to brainwash him. An enduring theme in Mrs. Dalloway is of communication. People want to communicate but are kept in their rooms of solitude. Septimus jumping out the window is a metaphor for releasing himself from the restraints of the room and communicating through the window.

Roses

"not for years had they spoken of it; which, he thought, grasping his red and white roses together (a vast bunch in tissue paper), is the greatest mistake in the world." (115)

Richard decides to buys Clarissa roses out of all the varieties of flowers. Throughout the book many rare flowers are mentioned that symbolise life's vibrant and beauty. Richard's intentions were good, but he lacks depth. he is unnatural around the flowers, unlike Clarrisa who is constantly surrounded by them and can make connections to nature. He does not perceive the world as Clarissa does and does not read Shakespeare either. He wants to tell her he loves her, but cannot bring himself to tell her when he gets home.

Prime Ministers

"He had been afloat on the cream of English society for fifty-five years. He had knows Prime Ministers." (103)

Hugh Whitbread is not a very observant or deep man. He is conservative and represents England's hollow traditions. He had known Prime Ministers, which symbolize the England's old traditions and social system before the First Worlds War.

Inferno

" 'Septimus, do put down your book,' said Rezia, gently shutting the Inferno. " (88)

The Inferno is part of the Divine Comedy an epic poem by Dante. Septimus can be related to Dante in this part of the story because they are both middle aged and contemplating suicide. Dante sees sin for what it really is.

~Fillipo Michael. "Inferno- Divine Comedy" About.com. September 28, 2008

Huxley and Tyndall

"her favourite reading as a girl was Huxley and Tyndall " (77)

Thomas Huxley's nickname was "Darwin's Bulldog" and was an advocate of his theories. John Tyndall was a scientist who argued science's dominance over religious explanations of the world. They both believed in evolution and natural law over religion. Clarissa used to read the workds of these men and in turn did not believe in a God. She does not do good for the sake of pleasing a God, but does good for the sake of helping the prisoners of the world such as he self.

~Waggoner, Ben "Huxley's Scientific Thought" Febuary 8, 1999. September 28, 2008
~John,Wyhe."John Tyndal" The Victorian Web. September 28, 2002. September 28, 2008

General Charles Gordon

"Gordon whom as a boy he had worshipped; Gordon standing lonely with one leg raised and his arms crossed,- poor Gordon, he thought." (52)

General Charles Gordon was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852. Gordon's corps of engineers was assigned to strengthen the European trading center of Shanghai. He also became governor of the province of Equatoria in the Sudan. Peter Walsh looked up to this man when he was young because he symbolized the power Britain had. He sees boys march past him, oblivious to death and ready to serve their country like General Gordon did. Peter now sees the flaws and troubles the country has and does not have the same attitude towards the government as he did when he was young. He respects the boys and their dominance of the future and realizes that he is aging. He reflects that he has been a failure in some ways and wonders if he has waisted his life.

~"General Charles Gordon" Historic BBC. September 28, 2008

Big Ben

"the sound of Big Ben striking the half-hour struck out between them with extraordinary vigour, as if a young man, strong , indifferent, inconsiderate, were swinging dumb-bells this way and that." (48)

Big Ben is a large four faced clock tour on the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London. Big Ben is a constant reminder that life moves on quickly and death is inevitable. Peter and Clarissa's meeting bring up memories, but Elizabeth and Big Ben interrupted them, reminding them that they are in the present and cannot return to the past.

~"Big Ben" Study Abroad Foundation. September 28, 2008.

Othello

" 'if it were now to die 'twere now to be most happy.' that was her feeling-Othello's feeling." (35)

These lines are from William Shakespeare's Othello. Clarissa is at the peak of her life when she is young and in love with Sally. Clarissa relates herself to Othello and Sally to Othello's wife, Desdemona. In the play Othello kills his wife out of false jealousy and later kills himself due to regret. Sally does not let her love for Sally develop and does not marry Pater either. Clarissa married Richard because he is safe and conservative. She wonders if she ended her life like Othello, by not choosing the liberal path.

Reading Before Breakfast

"When Sally gave her William Morris, it had to be wrapped in brown paper. " (33)

William Morris was a writer and an artist. In teh 1870's he was a political activist and joined H. M. Hyndman's Socialist League. He wrote News From Nowhere, which describes a society where there is common ownership, democratic relationships, no class and no authority. Sally brought thoughts of socialism to Clarissa and hid Morris' books from her Aunt Helena. Thoughts of socialism were very contraversial at that time. Sally was untraditional and went against the grain, just like the Morris' writing at the time.

~ Sullivan, Dick. "Wiliam Morris: More News From Nowhere" The Victorian Web. June 27, 2007. September 28, 2008.

~ Oram, Richard. "William Morris" Harry Ransom Center. September 28, 2008

Heart of Darkness

"Maisie Johnson positively felt she must cry Oh! (For that young man on the seat had given her quite a turn. Something was up, she knew.) Horror! horror! She wanted to cry. (She had left her people; they had warned her what would happen.)" (27)

"Horror! horror! is a reference to Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. In The Heart of Darkness Kurtz exclaims these words before he dies. He means that humanity is horrable. The Regent's Park is not what it used to be and the people there unusual. Maisie Johnson refrences Heart of Darkness, because she is startled by an odd man and realizes that humanity is cruel.

Cymbeline

"Fear no more the heat o' the sun
Nor the furious winter's rages." (9)

Clarissa looks into Hatchards' shop window and reads these lines from an open book. These lines are from Cymbeline, a play by Shakespeare. The lines are from a funeral song. These lines mean that life contains hardships, so death may be a comfort after the heat of the sun and rage of the winter.

~Miller, W.C.. "GradeSaver: Cymbeline - Study Guide - About Cymbeline." www.gradesaver.com. 28 September 2008. GradeSaver. 28 September 2008 .