Clarissa Dalloway - D1 Hater
Clarissa Dalloway prioritized parties, facades, and appearance. She placed large importance in the presentations of herself and the network of people she surrounded herself with. While in Regent’s park buying flowers, Virginia Woolf illustrated a cluster of people idling around a fancy motor car passing through, speculating it to hold the Queen. Clarissa, to ensure that the Queen thought of her with respect, made sure to present “a look of extreme dignity” as it drove past (Woolf, 16). Unlike the other civilians obsessing over the presence of royalty, she maintained a cool demeanor to make sure the Queen acknowledged her with such a superior appearance. Her facades were often presented, and made other appearances in the ending scenes of her party. She spoke the same cordial 6 words to everyone, creating the cheerful but disingenuous persona as a perfect hostess, as Peter Walsh anticipated.
At this party, turning out very successful to Clarissa’s relief, she rekindled with her old friend and lover Sally Seton, and explained that Sally was egotistical often, yet Clarissa loved her for it. She later ran into Ms. Kilman, her daughter’s Christian tutor. She defined her as “Kilman her enemy”, yet felt none other than satisfaction at her presence (170);
“That was satisfying; that was real. [-] She hated her: she loved her. It was enemies one wanted, not friends -” (170)
The feeling of hatred and dislike of one’s character or characteristics, an outcome of which she fears and combats happening to herself, was realistic and a break from her exhaustive efforts. She is enamored by the hatred, a pocket of authenticity from her constant performance. She was stuck continuously calculating a formula for the perfect appearance, party, age, and husband, and when she stumbled across a feeling that should be separate from those ideals, it felt rejuvenating. Unlike her usual fantastical and idealistic performance, she got brought back to earth and recognised herself as who she loved to be: a hater.
The breath of fresh air for her was the de-prioritization of one’s persona, and although she did not allow it for herself, she craved the authenticity of hating people. Clarissa Dalloway prioritized her parties and appearance, but could only live with experiences of disliking others.
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Harcourt, 2005.
While I agree that Clarissa must often put up a facade of her true self in the everyday world, I am not sure that "hating" Mrs. Kilmann made her feel alive. In fact in the novel, it says that hate is not the right word for their relationship. I also think there are many points in the book where Clarissa feels alive without the need for such extreme emotions. For example in the first section when she walks outside on the beautiful June day, she seems perfectly contented. However, I do think its interesting to look at hate as one of the few authentic emotions Clarissa expresses towards other characters in the book, instead of keeping it to herself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sasha's sentiment about hate being a bit strong. I felt like Clarissa seemed to have a mostly neutral outlook on things, and she came off a bit wishy-washy to me at times. However, she did have her moments! I remember specifically being taken aback by her reaction to Septimus's suicide. The way she initially reacted by thinking about how it would affect her party was in poor taste, but it was definitely in character. I think that could be interpreted as hater behavior. Also, your point about her being "enamored by the hatred" was especially interesting to me. I agree in the overall statement of her liking to "hate," and how that's connected to her expectation of herself to be perfect and kind all the time. Great topic!!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a super interesting characterization of Clarissa! And I do love the title :) I honestly think that Clarissa's obsession with hating people comes less from her simply loving the feeling of hating someone, and more from her attraction to strong emotions of any kind. The quote you pointed out on 170, "She hated her: she loved her. It was enemies one wanted, not friends" perfectly encapsulates this need for drama. Even with Clarissa's friends, she seems to have a love/hate relationship with them. Clarissa seems to be the type of person to love being the center of attention, and its undeniable that being hated brings more eyes on you than being loved, and hatred tends to be a stronger emotion than like (or even love!), so its not surprising to me how much joy and satisfaction Clarissa finds in hating people. This is a super interesting blog post, good job!
ReplyDeleteYour portrait of Clarissa in "perfect hostess" mode definitely seem influenced by Peter's hater-perspective, as he watches her saying the same "insincere" greeting to everyone. (But, if the parties really are these valuable "offerings" to society where Clarissa "kindles and illuminates," isn't it appropriate and consistent for her to say the same [true?] thing to everyone? Why is that necessarily phony or fake?) And even Peter and Sally admit that she is really GOOD at this role--she is "in her element," and they are as charmed by her as anyone.
ReplyDeleteBut I do appreciate your admission that it makes Clarissa seem very human, familiar, relatable to know she has an "enemy" in Miss Kilman--and to gauge something of the depths of this competitive disdain for this socialist German Christian who is "stealing her daughter." You're right that there is a good deal of red-hot HATE at the core of this sweet bird-faced dignified woman's persona--although as far as I recall she has never once been anything but perfectly civil to "that Kilman woman." She keeps her "game face" on at all times--and yet Kilman knows perfectly well that Clarissa hates her, and the feeling is mutual. We might compare this to how Richard doesn't have to actually SAY "I love you" to Clarissa "in so many words" (he uses NONE!)--she "gets it." Likewise, Clarissa never says "I hate you" to Kilman--that would give her a victory--but Kilman knows all to well that Elizabeth's mother hates her, and she is doing everything she can to influence Elizabeth away from her mother.
Fascinatingly, though, Elizabeth seems pretty indifferent to both of them. And that irony is pretty funny--the two older women each pulling on one of her arms, when she just wants to go on a bus ride alone, or to go to the country with her dad to play with the dog. She hardly thinks about her mother OR Kilman at all. And they both seem to know it.
You make a good point about how Clarissa Dalloway's obsession with appearances and societal expectations lead her to craft a perfect facade, especially during her parties. Clarissa's brief moments of authenticity, like the hatred she felt toward Ms. Kilman, reveal a deeper need for genuine emotions beyond her constant performance. Ultimately, Clarissa's pursuit of perfection leaves her longing for the honesty of her youth, where she could say what she truly felt without being censored by societal norms. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI think it's super interesting how you highlight that hatred and anger seem to be of the most authentic emotions for Clarissa. There's such a fascinating connection between this aspect and the societal expectations placed on her. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think this is an interesting take on Clarissa's character. While I don't think she hate Ms. Kilman and she just feels threatened by her. I can see how the expectations placed on her can make her seem like a 'hater'. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI never considered this element of Clarissa Dalloway: her affinity for strong emotions. Throughout the book, she is outwardly a distinctly mild-mannered person, being courteous and conversational with everyone regardless of her inward feelings for them. But I hadn't at all thought about how Clarissa seems to be at her most natural and genuine when she is feeling hate or negative emotions: it makes her a character with much more depth than the mere "perfect hostess" description that is thrown at her and makes her a more analyzable character. Great and unique blog post!
ReplyDeleteAmazing analysis Diza!! I agree that her obsession with appearances and the facade she maintains, especially during her party, reflect the societal pressures of her time. I think you provided so much more depth to Clarissa, showcasing the duality of her character-- being a "perfect hostess" but her most genuine self seeps through when she feels negative emotions like hatred. She rarely allows herself to embrace this "realness" instead of the perfectly crafted image she has, her pursuit of perfection leaves very little room for true feelings.
ReplyDeleteHi Diza! I completely agree that Mrs. Dalloway is a D1 hater, although I don't dislike her character for it. I think she often feels insecure and less than others around her, so she resorts to internally belittling them to offer some sort of comfort. One could definitely argue that this stems from Peter's initial "perfect hostess" comment and the fact that people have been overlooking and misjudging her all her life. However, she's not any better; she makes assumptions and snide comments just like everyone else. Overall, this was a great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Diza, your analysis of Clarissa Dalloway’s obsession with appearances and the complexity of her inner life is both sharp and thought-provoking. You’ve captured how Clarissa meticulously curates the image she presents to the world, especially through her interactions with others and the way she handles herself in public. Her need to maintain a "look of extreme dignity" when the motor car passes by perfectly illustrates her relentless attention to how she is perceived, even by the distant figure of the Queen. It’s a striking moment that highlights her struggle to remain in control of her image, even as she recognizes the superficiality of it all.
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