Feminism in Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf is one of the greatest writers whose works reflect her philosophy of life and identification of women. She grew up with an intense interest in the feminist question, and her novels hold the key to the meaning of life and the position of women in the existing patriarchal society. She portrays the impact of the patriarchal English society on women’s lives, the loneliness and frustration of women’s lives that had been shaped by the moral, ideological and conventional factors.

Mrs. Dalloway, regarded as a masterpiece of Virginia Woolf, is a novel riddled with themes. Woolf has much to say about society and the post-war changes but a steady underlying theme in the book is feminism, the roles of women of …show more content…

Clarissa felt such comments were pretty hurtful and often wept. Her husband Richard with all his politics viewed Clarissa as a typical wife, a perfect hostess as had been thought by Peter.

Virginia Woolf called for excluding all masculine values of hierarchy, competition and dominance. She called for the society of women as alternative to the authoritarian structures, and insisted on the importance of women’s friendship against these structures. Clarissa’s love for Salley Saton is that alternative to the patriarchal society. Sally is portrayed as an anti-patriarchal woman. She asserted herself as a woman and demanded equal rights for women. Sally became Clarissa’s inspiration to think beyond the walls of Bourton and even beyond the conventional society. Her relation with Sally contrasted to those of Peter and Richard. Thus, Clarissa broke the authorial patriarchal voice as uniting with women result in equal relationship. This kind of relationships was a reaction against patriarchy and for the creation of a society for women. Yet both Clarissa and Sally were defeated. They were compelled to ignore their needs because the only accepted female identity was the one that was