Death in Mrs. Dalloway

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     Throughout Mrs. Dalloway, we see three characters—Clarissa, Peter, and Septimus—battle with the idea of death and I think they respond in different ways, whether it’s coping or giving into death. I think Woolf does a really good job of capturing how different people battle with death throughout the novel, and I think she executes a really realistic portrayal of how people respond to this thought. 

    To start this exploration of death in Mrs. Dalloway, I’ll offer a way of battling death that none of the three main characters choose: religion. Research has indicated a “u-shaped” correlation between the fear of death and religiosity and indicates that (a) people who more fear death are more likely to pursue religious and (b) religion tends to assuage members’ fear of death with time. Clarissa strongly rejects religion as a way to address death and instead attempts to cope with her impending (in the long term) death through utter acceptance. Early in the book, Clarissa thinks, “did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely?” This question is rhetorical, and there is something about the binary and unadulterated contrast between life and death that allows her to be content. Clarrisa finds that utter knowledge of her relationship with spirituality, religion, and death brings her peace, and feels she understands death. 

    Peter is another character that struggles with death throughout the novel. And unlike Clarissa, he is definitely not at peace with death. And this unsureness with death mirrors the indecisiveness Peter exhibits throughout the novel. He does not understand his thoughts clearly, but through the novel is always trying to convince himself about what he truly thinks. Peter is certainly having a bit of a midlife crisis after he visits Clarissa, and he obviously is especially starting to worry about death after he realizes how old he is and how little he has enjoyed life and found an identity he is comfortable with. Peter definitely does not handle this insecurity about death well. He is extremely erratic and tries to distract himself from his mortality and fear by living this weird life of fantasy in his head—the weird scene where he is following the woman around London jumps out at me. 

    Finally, we have Septimus, who in some ways has the most complicated relationship with death and eventually succumbs to the pressure. He shares so many values with both Clarrisa and Peter. Like Clarissa, he is extremely comfortable with his own death, but like Peter, he is not content with his life. He always feels something is missing, and while Peter compensates for this with his turbulent actions and thoughts, Septimus succumbs to these thoughts and doesn’t try to compensate at all. Before Septimus kills himself, he is acting pretty erratically. Woolf then repeats a trope I’ve seen about suicide many times, that Septimus becomes wholly content with his death in his final moments before his suicide. Mirroring Clarissa’s acceptance of impending death—albeit one arriving much sooner—Septimus finally thinks for a second that everything is fine as he comes at peace with his decision. But as he achieves peace, it’s through an impulsive decision, not a calm and careful path to peace like Clarissa.

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