Quote
“She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.” (11)
This quote seems to be describing the loneliness felt by Clarissa. She is in a crowded street shopping in Piccadilly, yet feels the need to stop and think about this idea of being all alone. It gives the audience the idea that while Clarissa is usually surrounded by people and things, she often finds herself lonely in her everyday life. This can also be applied to Septimus and his big dreams to be a poet before he went off to his romanticized ideas of war and was scarred for life. It fits with the overall theme of Mrs. Dalloway that life is lonely, overwhelming and becomes hard to face as you grow older and realize you didn’t get to achieve the dreams you had when you were young. Neither Clarissa nor Septimus were able to achieve what they wanted even though one had what most people would consider a much more fulfilling life than the other.
I completely agree with you in regards to this progression, in which Clarissa and Septimus exhibit. The story shows these two characters filled with what seems like unfulfilled aspirations and they both display a loneliness about themselves. I think this book is a slight commentary on why people don’t want to grow old, because with youth comes irresponsibility and a carefree outlook on life. However, when a person starts to become more seasoned and settled within their life, mundanity can set in. Mundanity can truly make exciting events in life seem like they never existed, or perhaps they occurred so long ago that they begin to fade in the distant memory. The loneliness of maturing has consumed both, Clarissa and Septimus, by making them feel inadequate and deserted, even though they continue to be surrounded by people.