Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

So many people have gone back to read (or re-read) Mrs. Dalloway since The Hours came out that it almost makes me want to have Hollywood create interesting movie versions of numerous other classics. Think of the possibilities! It's almost a shame that people are forced to "plow through" some of these books as course assignments, where all of their enjoyment is completely lost. With movies, it encourages people to read them voluntarily when they are older and can relate to the themes of the book.

While young teens might find the musings of a middle aged woman confusing or tedious, most of us who are over the age of 25 understand completely where Mrs. Dalloway is coming from. She's wandering through the streets of London, going about the chores before an important party. Her mind is flitting all over as she waits for the road to clear so she can pass, while she chooses flowers, while she runs into friends. She thinks about how the party's going to go, how her daughter's doing, what her husband is up to. She's barely aware of the "real" world around her.

As if this isn't enough, an old boyfriend from her teen years shows up. That sets off all sorts of other thoughts. Should she have stayed with him after all? Then there was that girlish crush she had on a female friend. Someone wants to come to her party who wasn't invited. Her husband's off lunching with another woman. Finally the party starts, and she worries that it's not going well, until she finally settles in and is comfortable.

In amongst all of Mrs. Dalloway's angsts and daydreaming, we also get glimpses into other peoples' minds - her old boyfriend, her daughter, her daughter's tutor, and so on. This lets us view the world from a variety of angles. Tying it together is Big Ben, chiming away the hours as the day goes by.

I realize, if you're used to action-oriented straightforward stories like The Da Vinci Code, that it might take a "slowing down" to read this story. Where I zip through other books at break-neck speed, when I re-read Mrs. Dalloway I have to sit back, take a deep breath, and go along at a slow pace. If you don't quite get the hang of the characters the first time through, read through it again. Once you understand who the people are and how they relate, it makes the inner musings much more clear. It's its own rhythm, the slow, steady rhythm of a day in London. It's not about racing to a goal. It's about the daydreams of life that happen *while* you're preparing for something.

Interestingly, another book - "The Party" - gathers together many of the short stories Woolf wrote at the same time as Mrs. Dalloway. One in particular is a different version of the beginning of this story. In Mrs. Dalloway, the title character is going off to buy flowers for herself. The imagery is very powerful, and very meaningful for women who are used to having flowers bought for them - but not getting them for themselves. Intriguingly, "The Party" version has her going out and getting grey gloves, and wondering if they should have buttons of not. The power of the scene is *really* changed. It makes you wonder what other famous stories had different versions of their beginnings, and how much the story might have been different if they hadn't redone it. I definitely recommend getting both books and reading them together.

Then rent and watch The Hours, and see all of the interweavings of the stories!

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