What Peter Experiences A Study of Mrs. Dalloway

Abstract

This paper aims to appreciate Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (1925) by focusing on Peter Walsh, the second important character, next to Clarissa, in the novel. From the analysis of Peter Walsh, we can not only get to know Peter better but also find Clarissa a richer character. What Peter experiences is also what each reader will experience-the enlightenment is shared by both the character(s) and the reader(s). Lifeis to be enjoyed moment by moment with every detail of life; passion is not a bad thing--not something one, especially the adult, should be ashamed of. In short, life can be enjoyed moment by moment intensively. And people are not necessarily the best companies; nor is solitude asocial. What really counts is the successively created moments--heart over brain--which can be derived from absolutely absorbing the people as well as every detail of life. Life should be lived intensely and this is exactly what Peter comes to see eventually.