Mrs Dalloway Part 2

We follow Peter as he leaves the house, and begins to wander through the streets of London. He doesn’t care what the Dalloways think of him, but he realizes that he will eventually require Richard Dalloway’s health. Peter doesn’t quite see himself as a failure but feels that his wealth of experience from India is a mark of success, even though he had been kicked out of Oxford and rejected by Clarissa. He thinks about her, and how he had behaved too openly with her by crying, but he is happy that he could tell her about Daisy. His thoughts are diverted to the fashion of the women that roam the streets of London, fashion that has changed drastically over the past few years. Now, women from all walks of life have access to makeup, which wonderfully transforms the beauty of even the plainest girls. He switches from momentary consideration of Clarissa as he had seen her now, and the last time he had seen her when she had rejected his proposal to marry. Peter notices a beautiful woman walking through the street, and he begins to imagine her as his ideal woman. He thinks that she looks like Clarissa, as he attempts to imagine her background. He follows her around from a distance, thinking of all the things that make him an ideal match for her.

He goes for a smoke in Regent’s park and is moved by the majesty of London’s skyline. He is proud of what the people of his nation have created, and he happens to notice a baby. The child reminds him of Elizabeth, whom he believed must have been annoyed with her mother for the way she always called her “My Elizabeth.” He imagines Clarissa doing several such things that annoyed her, much like he had annoyed her father. He never could have gotten on with that old man, when he had been at Burton with Clarissa. He had wanted so badly to have her hand in marriage, and he remembered the very day he had lost her to Richard Dalloway. Sally and Peter had been making fun of Richard when he had visited Bourton, and Clarissa had intervened on his behalf. Her cold dismissal of their joke had meant that she would marry him, and not Peter. He had confronted her about this fact several days later when they had met an old and broken fountain. She rejected his proposal and informed him of her intent to marry Richard, and Peter Walsh left Burton.

Peter notices Rezia and Peter together, and as the perspective shifts, we learn that Septimus has been telling Rezia that they should kill themselves. He tells her that humanity is wicked, and several other terrible things. They are too much for her, and she often thinks that she has had enough of his disturbing behavior. She returns to him though and tells him that it's time for them to go see their psychiatrist. Septimus begins to believe his deceased comrade, Evans, has come back to him, but it is just Peter Walsh. To Peter, the Smiths are just another couple, and his eyes wash over the rest of the crowd as he looks at the changes in the recently empowered women. The thought of women’s rights reminds Septimus of the talking Sally Seton had given to Hugh Whitbread for his conservative views on the subject. Sally had condemned the proper Hugh and yelled that it was due to oppressive men like him that the state of women in the world was so reduced.

He thinks about Richard, who is a good but rather boring man, and Clarissa, and how she had been in her childhood. He is certain that some aspects of her personality remain the same, as she continues to have the ability to call together a set of interesting and inspiring people. He wonders if she had been affected by all the philosophers that she had read in her youth, like Huxley, and wonders how she had managed to retain such a positive outlook on the world despite having witnessed the death of her sister. Clarissa had witnessed her sister being crushed to death by a tree. His thoughts finally rest on Daisy, his soon-to-be wife. He understands that his desire to marry her stemmed from his desire to not have her marry anyone else. He believed that she understood this about him, and inflamed his desire by talking of meeting other men in her letters.

The perspective shifts to Rezia and Septimus who are making their way to see a doctor, and the readers get a brief overview of Septimus’s life. He had studied to be a poet before the war, and the people he had worked with had thought he showed great promise although his constitution was always a little delicate. He had gone to WWI and become extremely connected with his direct superior, Evans. However, Septimus had lost his friend, but oddly the death of his friend hadn’t quite made him feel any particular emotion of regret. Then when he had been on a recovery trip in Italy, he had met and married Rezia. She wanted to have children with him, but Septimus did not want to bring children into the horrific world. Septimus’s health had worsened over time and they had sought the help of physician doctor Holmes. The doctor often kept Septimus sedated when he became too excited, recommended lots of rest, and fumed that there was nothing wrong with Septimus. Eventually, he recommended that Rezia consult the specialist, Sir William Bradshaw. 

Analysis

Peter Walsh is a complicated character that is presented to possess several negative traits. Peter is extremely critical of the behavior of others, as well as himself though he often keeps his judgments to himself. Peter is insecure about the things that he has achieved in his life and is constantly worried about the passing of time as well as his ever-increasing age. He purposefully avoids sitting in a place where people would be likely to ask him the time since the question worries him so badly. Peter fixates on the women in his life and perhaps believes that they are somehow the means to his redemption. He harbors feelings for Clarissa, as evidenced by the fact that he reveals himself to her first before anyone else in London. Yet, the rejection she had bestowed on him thirty years ago continues to hound him. He seeks to fulfill these thwarted plans by attempting to charm other women and achieves calm even when he merely exercises the notion. He inhabits a world of imagination most of the time like in the instance he chases after a mysterious woman without truly taking any action to speak to her. The pride he feels in seeing the success of London against the poor conditions of India is also problematic. Since the conditions of India are poor at the time because of its exploitation by the English.