Before we get started talking about Mrs. Dalloway, I’d like to ask if anyone else found it difficult to tell when focus was shifting from one character’s perspective to another. I found myself reading along, knowing the focus was a particular character, then realizing that the focus had shifted, and having to re-read previous passages to figure out where the transition was. Are there clues that Woolf included to indicate that she was transitioning to another’s character’s perspective that I overlooked? I did find it got easier to tell as I became more familiar with the characters, but initially it was pretty confusing.
I’d also like to say that I loved that there was so much packed into just one day. I like the way Woolf included information (about the characters, the culture, the history) through the perspectives of different characters concerning both the present and the past. I think she really captured the thought processes many of us have throughout our days. Sometimes that thought process is repetitive and annoying, but also very interesting and revealing.