📖 Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf is undoubtedly her most influential book. It intertwines two different people with two different lives together. First is Clarissa Dalloway, a socialite planning a party that she will host that night in June of 1923.. Next is Septimus Smith, a World War I veteran struggling with his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Woolf contrasts the two characters in a way that they're similar yet different at the same time. Clarissa prepares for the party and ponders about her past, and whether she would be happier if she didn't marry her husband. Septimus's thoughts are about his time in the war and his psychological distress. Clarissa, throughout her day, meets Peter. He was the man that she could've married, but settled down with her current husband. Peter's visit to Clarissa made it clear that he was still in love, although already having a fiance. This reminds her of Sally, one of her friends from when she was single. They haven't spoken in over two decades, and she wonders if Sally is still the free-spirited soul she was all those years ago. Septimus's day involves him enjoying a park with his wife Lucrezia. Their marriage is healthy, despite neither of them being healthy themselves. Septimus receives hallucinations about the war and his friend Evans, who died in it. Lucrezia experiences deep loneliness due to her husband's PTSD, and his inability to feel emotions. Throughout the day, Clarissa and Septimus, despite having wildly different histories, both reminisce on their past and think about the future ahead for them, and if they're ready to face it. Where to even begin with this book? Clarissa and Septimus are both written with multitudes of depth, and you can feel what they are going through. Woolf does a fantastic job intertwining the magic fabric of their dreaming into one cohesive bittersweet tale. Both characters and people from their pasts receive much character development throughout the book, which takes place in just a single day. Woolf uses a stream of consciousness way of telling this story, and exposes us to Clarissa and Septimus's passions, fears, and hopes. This novel was chosen as one of Time's top 100 English novels of all time.

弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫的《达洛维夫人》无疑是她最具影响力的作品。它将两个不同的人、两种不同的生活交织在一起。第一个人物是克拉丽莎·达洛维,一位社交名媛,正为1923年6月她将举办的派对做准备。另一个人物是塞普蒂默斯·史密斯,一位在第一次世界大战中饱受创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)困扰的老兵。伍尔夫以一种既相似又对比的方式刻画了这两个人物。克拉丽莎在为派对做准备时,思考着她的过去,以及如果当初没有嫁给她的丈夫是否会更幸福。塞普蒂默斯的思绪则围绕着他在战争中的经历以及他的心理困境。 克拉丽莎在一天中遇到了彼得。他本是她可能嫁的人,但她最终选择了现在的丈夫。彼得的来访让克拉丽莎清楚地意识到他仍然爱着她,尽管他已经有了未婚妻。这让她想起了萨莉,她单身时的一个朋友。她们已经二十多年没有联系了,她想知道萨莉是否还是当年那个无拘无束的灵魂。塞普蒂默斯的一天则是在公园里和他的妻子卢克雷齐娅享受时光。尽管他们自己都不健康,但他们的婚姻是健康的。塞普蒂默斯产生了关于战争和他在战争中牺牲的朋友埃文斯的幻觉。卢克雷齐娅因为丈夫的PTSD和他无法感受情感而感到深深的孤独。在这一天中,克拉丽莎和塞普蒂默斯,尽管有着截然不同的经历,但都回忆着自己的过去,思考着他们未来的生活,以及他们是否准备好面对这一切。 这本书该从何说起呢?克拉丽莎和塞普蒂默斯都被赋予了多层次的深度,你可以真切地感受到他们正在经历的一切。伍尔夫出色地将他们梦想的魔幻织物编织成一个连贯的、苦乐参半的故事。书中的两个人物以及他们过去的人际关系在仅仅一天的时间里都得到了丰富的性格发展。伍尔夫采用意识流的方式讲述这个故事,向我们展示了克拉丽莎和塞普蒂默斯的激情、恐惧和希望。这部小说被《时代》杂志评选为有史以来最伟大的100部英文小说之一。