WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY NIGHT!

Paragraphs analysis

LINES 1-10: mr Dalloway shows dismay for the news of the death of a man. She wonders why the Bradshaws had to talk about it and she is bothered. But immediately she begins thinking about how the suicide could have been: she always identifies herself in other people’s situations and at the moment she is watching the scene in her mind.

The repetition of the word “thud” at line 8 marks the idea of a heavy sound, it seems that Clarissa hears the same sound in her mind. She displays her closeness to the event she has just been told.

LINES 11-24: the reference to the past and the imagine of the shilling thrown into the river are linked to how the man threw his life away.

The contrast between life and death predominates throughout the paragraph.

Clarissa tries to give a sort of definition of death: the writer makes a reference to the postmodern idea of impossibility to reach a centre , and according to the character the solution to this situation is death. It may be the reason why people commit suicide. Last, her thoughts slide from the man to her experience, and she reminds herself of a quotation by Shakespeare. She feels involved and for this reason she links Septimus’s situation to her. The quotation refers to Clarissa’s past, when she was young. She remembers a happy moment, despite the dramatic event she was thinking of.

LINES 25-32: mrs Dalloway reflects on sir Bradshaw: first she admires his personality, last she almost blames him because men like him make life intolerable.

LINES 33-40: Clarissa feels an “awful fear” about death. She recognizes the beauty of life and thinks of her husband reading The Times: she feels lucky. But at the same time she is aware of the fear of death, and again the image of the man crosses her mind.

LINES 41-46: the character feels responsible for Septimus’s death and she thinks of herself standing there in her evening dress. She hints at the gap between high and low society. LINES 47-55: Clarissa makes a deep reflection on the brevity of life. The small things, youth, the view of the sky give importance to life, but they do not last. Like when she was at Bourton, she walks to the window for looking at the sky.

The relation between present and past is always on the forefront.

LINES 56-67: the sequence is marked by the difference between Clarissa’s expectations of the sky and reality. Moreover, another contrast is made by the noisy sound of people talking aloud in the other room (inside) and the quietness and silence conveyed by the scene of the woman going to bed (outside).

LINES 68-78: an other time she thinks of Septimus. Fast she moves the attention from the man to he woman outside the window, and later she focuses on the sky again. She feels close to that man killing himself.

The repetition of the word “must” in the last lines conveys the sense of duty towards her social position. Indeed, she comes back in the room, representing her current life.