Culture Thursday: Mrs. Dalloway

Today, to kick off our Pride Month celebrations, I want to discuss one of the seminal works of 20th century English literature: Virginia Woolf's first published novel, Mrs. Dalloway.

Set over the course of one day in 1923, Mrs. Dalloway is one of the three great modernist novels, the other two being James Joyce's Ulysses—more on that next week!—and Marcel Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu.

All three novels share a concern with the ordinary and elevating it to high art. All three also share a deep concern with the interiority of existence, replacing traditional plot with thought and perception. But most of all, all three novels are concerned with time: its passing, its dominance in our lives, its inescapability.

Mrs. Dalloway is considered a queer novel, with its depiction of Clarissa Dalloway's longing for her friend Sally Seton, with whom she once shared a kiss. This kiss has colored Clarissa's entire life, shaping it, filling it with longing and lost possibilities. 

I recommend the book to anyone who has an abiding love of adventurous literature.