Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” is an account of one day in the life of an upper class British woman, her husband, her daughter and her circle of friends. Woolf’s narration of Clarissa Dalloway’s day begins with her protagonist’s preparations for a party she is holding at her house that evening, and it ends as the party is finished. Clarissa is visited by an old friend, Peter Walsh, and her mind is returned to a time thirty years earlier when she thought of marrying him. Instead, she opted for the staid Richard Dalloway, and, as she goes about her daily business, Clarissa reflects on the choices she has made and the significant moments that have shaped the course of her life. Beyond the individual stories, “Mrs. Dalloway” presents the British Empire as an entity that had sacrificed so many lives in the XIX in order to preserve itself, and yet was already in decline. There are hints of the agitation for independence in India, of the Labour Party’s activity and women’s drive for social and political equality. The stream-of-consciousness technique, that is widely used in the novel and the narration, changed from calmly flowing to nervously jerking, makes its style remarkable.
In the novel Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf juxtaposes many sub-stories with the main story. She does this to provide emphasis on Clarissa’s life. Since neither Clarissa nor any of her family or friends ever meet Septimus or Lucrezia, the plot wouldn’t be affected if he were left out, however Woolf chooses to put his story in. Also, the party at Lady Bruton’s mansion doesn’t involve Clarissa, but it is a part of the novel. The characters in these and other tangents parallel the main characters and provide more background in their life. They give us other people with whom we can compare and contrast the main characters.
The largest comparison in the novel is between Septimus and Clarissa. These are the two most important separate stories, and they are the main characters of those stories. Septimus is the opposite of Clarissa, but at the same time the same as her. All of Clarissa’s fears and desires are acted out by Septimus. Clarissa worries so much about what other people think of her, while Septimus doesn’t care at all. He does things his own way, whereas Clarissa does what people expect of her. Septimus knows what he wants out of life and does it, but Clarissa can’t decide on much of anything.
In the novel plot is reduced to the minimum (1 day), characters are middle aged and reflect on life, and setting coincide with one place (London)
Chronological time is juxtapposed to inner time (time of the clock-Big Ben- VERSUS the time of consciousness), so there is a simultaneous concept of time (past memories and future expectation are mixed in the present).
Clarissa goes out to buy some flowers for the party. The interior monologue is triggered by Clarissa's sensation, produced by the fresh air of the morning; and Mrs Dalloway's thoughts moves from the present  scene in London in youth age in Barton, this create a dynamic aspect.