Hayley Gillespie
For the first half of the Virginia Woolf novel Mrs. Dalloway, I noticed a major theme of class in the text. Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa, is married to her wealthy, politician husband in a large home. They are socialites with extravagant parties and a staff to help them with their house. Clarissa even comes from a wealthy home from what I could tell in the reading. A former lover of Clarissa, Peter Walsh, comes in and out of the story so far either in person or in the thoughts of Mrs. Dalloway. He seems to believe that even though he travels and lives an interesting life, that because of social Clarissa’s life is she is more wealthy. Septimus and Lucrezia are also portrayed as a lower class to the Dalloways by their actions specifically. When the fancy car pulls into vision, instead of curiosity or relating as Clarissa seemed to feel, Septimus was beginning a mental break and Lucrezia was frightened. This could be her embarrassment for the attention of being different, not only because of her husband’s mental state, but also her class distinction.