“They went in and out of each others minds without effort” (Woolf 63)

This quote appears within Peter Walsh’s nostalgic reflection on the happiest moment he experienced with Clarissa Dalloway. I had paused after I read it because of its sweet intimacy and profound significance to Woolf’s writing style. As we’ve discussed in class, Woolf pulls the reader in and out of her characters minds, almost seamlessly. In the early part of the novel a scene occurs in Regent Park where Woolf glides the reader, all within a few of pages, among the psyches of Maisie Johnson, Mrs. Dempster and then to Mr. Bentley (not even major characters!). I agree that there is this sense that a camera zooms to and from the characters with curious sleuthlike attention. Septimus serves as a rather difficult mind to transition into, as if the camera lens has been scratched. His thoughts are disorienting because I am not sure how I should be understanding them. With the recognition that Septimus is a victim of “shell shock” and a major character in Woolf’s novel how much merit should I attribute to his words and actions and what should I count as nonsense? Septimus asserts that human nature has condemned him to death. Mr. Holmes, at one point, stands in as a spokesperson for human nature. So human nature is both abstract and physical, which makes sense. I can even fathom Septimus’ thought process and him questioning why he is alive. He witnesses the death of his friend Evan, he survives the horrendous war, yet, he emerges without the ability to feel (a detail of utmost significance because the narrator repeats the fact six times). If I were to consider human nature as a sort of character and force in the novel, I don’t think it can rightfully judge Septimus because war and killing is within human nature. Septimus has condemned himself.

*3/11: I think I should have tried to understand Septimus more as a symbolic figure within the English society of the novel’s time. It’s a bit harsh to conclude that only Septimus has condemned himself without looking at roles of the two Doctors in the novel and Mrs. Dalloway.