Virginia Woolf as an adult.
(The reading ends with the words, "To dance, to ride, she had adored all that.")
Although we've only read four or so pages, we already know a lot about Clarissa Dalloway. What three adjectives might you use to describe her so far? Explain in the case of at least one of your adjectives.
21 comments:
Three adjectives i would use to describe Clarissa are observant, bubbly, and womanly.
Bubbly: Mrs. Dalloway seems very on top of everything. Her mind switches from thought to thought easily, portraying a happy person who is confident and busy.
-Sharp or sharp-eyed/observant
-jovial
-positive
Positive: while this is somewhat similar to her very jovial attribute, she is a very strong, confident woman.
Even though we have not seen much of her yet, it is clear that she is an optimistic person.
Hey it's Mike, I created a live journal account like 5 seconds ago and the username 'Mike' was already taken...don't judge me... :)
- positive
- observant
- self-consious
I definitley agree with Katherine and Audrey with their choice of adjectives.
Mrs. Dalloway really is a positive woman (at least so far in the story). She is jovial/happy to get the flowers for the party herself and gladly greets Hugh Whitbread on their way into the center of London.
She is also very observant. Although the novel is not in the first person perspective (she is not narrating herself) the unknown narrator describes Mrs. Dalloway's thoughts which are very descriptive and open. From the earlier blog alone, you can see how her mind works. She is observant of everything happening around her.
On a less important note, she is also self concious (about her appearance) around Hugh. While this may not be one of her biggest character traits, for she may not be a completely self-concious person all the time, there are instances (such as here) where she is.
Three adjectives I would use to describe Clarissa Dalloway are informed, vivacious or lively, and rather optimistic.
"Messages were passing from Fleet to Admiralty. Arlington Street and Piccadilly seemed to chage the very air in the Park and lift its leaves hotly, brilliniantly, on waves of that divine vitality which Clarissa loved. To dance, to ride, she had adored all that." pg. 7
The quotation above shows how Mrs. Dalloway is vivacious. Only a person who is excited about life would have interests and focus on the things that make that person happy. The things that make Mrs. Dalloway happy and vivacious are dancing, riding, and walking in London.
by the way littlemisscutie is Annabel. and i am checking in, I think it is quite odd that everyone said that Mrs. Dalloway was positive or happy.
First of all, SORRY I FORGOT TO CHECK IN ON THE LAST BLOG.
Second of all, three adjectives:
-Simple
"But Peter- however beautiful the day might be, and the trees and the grass, and the little girl in pink- Peter never saw a thing of all that." I think the reason everyone thinks Mrs. Dalloway is happy and positive is because she really notices simple beauties and pleasures and takes them in.
-Observant (had to steal it)
-Thoughtful
We can see she is observant because of all the detail that is described, and thoughtful of it, because of all the interruptions in her thoughts (see quote above).
checking in! i think that our views of Miss Dalloway are very similar because she portrays herself in a way that is familiarly stereotyped.
(This is Laurel--hey all!)
Aware
Lively
Composed
Mrs. Dalloway is unusually aware (and observant, as others have said) of what is happening around her, especially the beauty thereof. Ex: "wrapped in the soft mesh of the grey-blue morning air," "the bouncing ponies whose forefeet just struck the ground and up they sprung." The fact that the book is written in stream of consciousness style complicates this, however. It's possible that we all are this observant,and that all characters in books are observant too, but we aren't eloquent enough to phrase our observations so beautifully, or other characters aren't able to show the reader exactly what is going on in their heads, what they're noticing, at every moment. Still, though, the thoughts that go through Mrs. Dalloway's mind show that she is in tune with the life she is living, and all that is happening and note-worthy on her morning walk.
She is lively. She takes energetic delight in her life, her London, and her walk. "Arlington Street and Piccadilly seemed to chafe the very air in the Park and lift its leaves hotly, brilliantly, on waves of that divine vitality which Clarissa loved."
Despite the happiness she feels, and the complexities of her thoughts, Mrs. Dalloway, for the time being, remains a composed lady of London, even when inwardly flustered (like when she's aware of her hat when around Hugh). Her manners and deportment are as they should be, according to her place in her society's standards, and the contrast of the calmness of her demeanor with the energy of her inner thoughts and musings interests me.
Three adjectives to describe Clarissa Dalloway are fast paced, put together, and attentive.
The explanation I have for saying that she is fast paced is that her thoughts seem to jump around frequently. They are connected and can usually be followed; however the first thought on a subject and the last are usually not related at all. I find this style of writing very interesting because that is how I usually think, but we see most books put together in a way that makes sense to an outsider, while with this style you have to understand what is going on inside her head. Mrs. Dalloway knows a lot about what is going on in the world around her, this is shown in the first paragraph of the reading, but she is able to process all the information she gets from being so observant and form her own opinions on everything. Her mind works at hyper speed and she makes sure that her life style keeps up with everything else going on around her. For example, the party that she is throwing that night shows that she keeps up with her social life and she will probably learn some more news at the party about people in town.
checking in.
Also noting on what Laurel said about being composed. It is interesting to see what a stereotypical, polite British lady is thinking.
hi it's Jane!
Three adjectives that I'd choose to describe Clarissa are:
*optimistic
*idealistic
*jovial
Idealistic: Clarissa seems to envision everything a brighter colour than they really are, even though we have no true idea of what the people she describes are like.
An example, "... and set down on their lawns and pitches the bouncing ponies whose forefeet just struck the ground and up they sprung..." the way it's described seems overtly cheery and rather over the top and idealistic, to the point that it seems not believable.
Three adjectives...
1. Exuberant
2. Observant
3. Comfortable
I say that Clarissa is exuberant because whenever Woolf has the opportunity to describe her likes/dislikes, she always uses rather forceful diction. For example: "To dance, to ride, she had adored all that." It would have been possible to say: "she liked riding and dancing." However, to use the adjective adore, and to use the syntax that Woolf has, gives the language an interesting cadence which suggests vitality and exuberance, analogous to a wave crashing onto the shore.
Three adjectives:
Aware: she is very perceptive and attuned to what is going on around her
Positive
Empathetic: (which kind of goes with aware) but i think empathetic is different in the sense that she can feel what's going on with others around her too: "Clarissa Dalloway would quite understand without requiring him to specify. Ah yes, she did of course; what a nuisance..."
checking in
The three adjectives that come to mind when I think about Mrs. Dalloway.
Observant
secure
mature
She is very observant because through the first couple of pages she describes everything in sight to us. She observes peoples reactions and clothes.
She is secure because she is sure of herself she doesn't let anyone tell her who she should be friends with or who she is. Although she does show some self doubt with feeling under dressed while with Hugh
She is mature in the way that she observes people shes not judging them she is just taking in the life around her and she seems to be confident about what she thinks.
Checking in...it is interesting to see how many different ways we describe the one woman we have read about for only a few pages.
Cooper here,
nice
non-green
intellegent
I say she is "non-green" in the sense that she's not really an evironment person. I don't know if she just doesn't like nature and prefers the city to it or if she is an anti-evironmentalist. I do know that she at leasts like the city more because she says on the bottom of page 5; "I love walking in London, Really it's better than walking in the country".
P.S.- I Second the words of Christine because I am also sorry for not checking in on the last blog.
Laurel checking in (and mike checks in too)
Total props to Gabby on the awesome syntax and diction point about exuberance. So right.
checking in
Checking In!!
mysterious
flamboyant
a lady.
mysterious, i'm quite convinced there's more to her that meets the eye. She's quite sharp too, a quick thinker.
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