The present extract is taken from Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf; it consist of a few lines from the beginning of the first chapter. The following analysis is supposed to be carried out under a narrative point of view.

Right from the start the reader can’t forget to notice how the narrativestructure is not one adopted in traditional fiction. Indeed the interior monologue, frequently used by V. Woolf, allows the writer to render hidden aspects of the character’s interiority: for example in the first paragraph the narrator gives voice to Clarissa’s thoughts, while during the second paragraph there are many interrogative and exclamation parenthetical clauses.

Moreover stylistic choices work according to the writer’s narrative technique. The style is psychological, intricate and dense, reflecting mental activity’s complexity. It goes without saying that various styles of speaking and thinking change according to the different characters’ points of view, all condensed in the same narration in a sort of mash-up.

Another point to discuss is free indirect speech’s use. This kind of “reported dialogue” is not defined by punctuation, plunging the reader in a difficult position where he is not able to deeply comprehend characters’ interactions.