Mrs Dalloway

1. Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Warren Smith are the main characters in the novel. How are they described? In what way are they similar or different?

2. “Fear no more the heat `o the sun/Nor the furious winter's rages” are the words from Shakespeare's Cymbeline which are going to reverberate through the novel. In what context do they appear in this fragment? What relevance do they have to this story?

3. Mrs Dalloway is constructed from many different points of view. Describe the three instances where the point of view changes and explain how Woolf accomplishes the transitions. In what respect are the transitions similar to the transitions Molly Bloom makes in her monologue between one subject and another?

4. World War I affected all the characters in the book to some degree. Choose two characters (including one other than Clarissa or Septimus) and explain how the war affected them.

5. The multitude of minor characters in the novel can be compared to a chorus in a classical Greek drama. Choose three minor characters and describe their role.

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