Mrs. Dalloway on Suffering
Mrs. Dalloway on Suffering Clarissa Dalloway has been extensively criticized by Mrs. Killman and Peter Walsh for her relatively superficial way of life. According to Mrs. Killman, Clarissa has never experienced true hardship. While I agree that Clarissa has had an easy and simple life without much pain and hardship, I also argue that directly through her status and way of life, she is experiencing a large inner hardship that none of the characters seem to recognize. In class, we've talked extensively about Clarissa’s feeling of emptiness, of erasure. As a rich woman, her job is to be pretty and charming enough to get a husband, and then fill the expected role of wife. Clarissa has already been married and raised a child, so society no longer has much use for her. The only thing she has to hold onto now are her social relationships, her past, and her parties. Yes, someone whose purpose in life is mainly throwing parties is superficial and has an easy life. But from a different p...