Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway is a novel by Virginia Woolf that details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, a fictional high-society woman in post–First World War England. It is one of Woolf’s best-known novels.

The working title of Mrs. Dalloway was The Hours. The novel began as two short stories, *Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street* and the unfinished *The Prime Minister*. It describes Clarissa`s preparations for a party she will host in the evening, and the ensuing party. With an interior perspective, the story travels forward and back in time and in and out of the characters` minds to construct an image of Clarissa`s life and of the inter-war social structure. In October 2005, Mrs. Dalloway was included on Time’s list of the 100 best English-language novels written since Time debuted in 1923.

Clarissa Dalloway goes around London in the morning, getting ready to host a party that evening. The nice day reminds her of her youth spent in the countryside in Bourton and makes her wonder about her choice of husband; she had married the reliable Richard Dalloway instead of the enigmatic and demanding Peter Walsh, and she *had not the option* to be with a female romantic interest, Sally Seton. Peter reintroduces these conflicts by paying a visit that morning.