symbolism in mrs dalloway

SYMBOLISM IN MRS. DALLOWAY

In her writings, Virginia Woolf wanted to capture the realness of life, as one would live it. In turn, Woolf’s shared the significant elements of her life in her poetic prose novels, Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse, as a relative self-portrayal. In these books Woolf captured the life as she had lived it, performing this task in three different layers of depth. For a general sense, by allowing the characters to live in a similar society as her own, Woolf depicted her society in her writing. In a deeper sense, many of Woolf’s family members, relationships, and characteristics were symbolically illustrated through the minor literary characters on a more personal level.
Woolf begins the novel in her typical fashion i.e. symbolically and methodically. However, Clarissa's character is not meant solely to represent the vainness of a certain social group. Much deeper and more intense symbolism exists in the novel and in this central character. The two ex...