Justin Hyatt

At the top of page 5 in Mrs Dalloway, there is a passage about the status of the war. It reads, “For it was the middle of June. The War was over, except for some one like Mrs. Foxcroft at the Embassy last night eating her heart out because that nice boy was killed and now the old Manor House must go to a cousin; or Lady Bexborough who opened a bazaar, they said, with telegram in hand, John, her favourite, killed; but it was over; thank Heaven-over.” This stuck out to me in that it notes that at the time everyone was rejoicing the end of World War I, and yet at the same time there are those that still suffer even after the War has ended. For people that have lost loved ones, Woolf states that the War isn’t over for them. This is an interesting way to look at the War’s conclusion knowing Woolf’s strong anti-war stance. This passage seems to be a shot at World War one, in that even though it’s over, many people are still suffering long standing effects. I think Woolf wanted a reader in a 1920’s society to think about the War’s lasting effect on those around them. She didn’t want readers to forget the damaging nature it had on even those who didn’t experience it firsthand.