Mrs. Dalloway
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Communication enables individuals to relate to others on a deeper level, but it can also result in a loss of privacy. The reader is taken on a journey into the lives and thoughts of many people. The novel gives you the ability to hear and see what may seem like ordinary conversations and interactions between characters, but if looked at with a deeper scope of vision, the opportunity to take a glimpse into their lives is obtained. Communication comes in many forms. Things such as windows, curtains, and doors can act as tools, in which can enable people to control the amount of privacy and communication in their everyday lives. In the novel Mrs.Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Smith, two very different characters, are both struggling to achieve the balance between communication and privacy in their lives through their interactions with others.
In the novel, Septimus and Clarissa are seen to be very similar characters despite their many differences, but Septimus is a confused man who is unable to communicate. Before Septimus jumps out of his window and commits suicide he sees an old man descending the steps and leaving the privacy of his home. This sight sparked something inside of Septimus, the Old Man was leaving the privacy of his home as Septimus is going to be forced to by the Doctors. Septimus is a man who, because of the war and the death of his friend Evans, lost his ability to feel. With the inability to feel it is not possible for Septimus to be able to communicate normally. Due to his inability to communicate, Septimus bottles up all of his emotions inside of him until he finds himself at a precipice. Jumping out of the window enables us to see how the window acts as his form of communication. Since the doctors would not let him keep his privacy and dignity, he must do the one thing he can to preserve those two crucial aspects of life. This is evident when he shouts out “Ill give it you” (149). This is Septimus