In Mrs. Dalloway, what does Clarissa Dalloway reflect on the most throughout the novel?

Correct option is B

Explanation:

Throughout Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa Dalloway is deeply reflective, but one of the most consistent thoughts that lingers in her mind is her past love for Sally Seton. Sally, who was a friend of Clarissa’s during her youth, represented a world of freedom, unconventionality, and intense emotional connection. At the time, Clarissa’s feelings for Sally went beyond friendship, and Sally’s kiss was something that Clarissa recalls with both longing and regret.

The intense admiration Clarissa had for Sally exemplifies Clarissa's desire to escape the constraints of her conventional life and to experience a kind of passionate freedom that she never fully embraced. The memory of Sally, and the emotional attachment to her, remains one of the most profound aspects of Clarissa’s internal world, standing in stark contrast to the life she leads as a wife to Richard Dalloway, a well-established member of society. This unfulfilled longing is one of the most crucial emotional undercurrents in the novel.

Information Booster:

Virginia Woolf, one of the leading figures of the modernist movement, is known for her innovative use of narrative techniques such as stream of consciousness.

Mrs. Dalloway may be best known for Woolf’s use of stream-of-consciousness narrative, which was particularly influenced by James Joyce’s Ulysses.

The narrative technique known as "stream of consciousness" aims "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of the narrator. Typically, it takes the shape of an internal monologue with erratic punctuation or fragments. Originally used in 1855, the phrase was first employed in 1918 to refer to a literary method. Although scholars have identified a number of literary forerunners, modernist authors including Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Dorothy Richardson, and Marcel Proust did not completely perfect this method until the 20th century.

Her works delve deeply into the internal lives of characters, exploring themes of identity, mental illness, and the role of women in society.

• Mrs. Dalloway, published in 1925, is set in post-World War I London.
  
• The novel takes place over a single day, yet Woolf explores a vast array of themes such as time, memory, societal expectations, and the effects of war.
  
• The novel centers on Clarissa Dalloway, who, while preparing for a high-society party, reflects on her past.
• Her thoughts take her back to her youth, the love she felt for Sally Seton, and the choices that shaped her life.
• At the same time, the novel intertwines the life of Septimus Warren Smith, a shell-shocked war veteran who suffers from PTSD, highlighting the disconnect between the trauma he endures and the ignorance of the society around him.
  
• Woolf contrasts the lives of Clarissa and Septimus to highlight themes of isolation, trauma, and the consequences of living in a society that imposes rigid expectations.
• Clarissa’s social life, despite outward appearances, is full of inner conflict and disillusionment, while Septimus’ struggle with his mental health presents an emotional and tragic narrative.
• Mrs. Dalloway is a modernist novel that employs the stream-of-consciousness technique, allowing readers access to the characters’ inner thoughts and emotions.
• The novel is experimental in its narrative style, creating a fragmented yet intimate portrait of the characters’ experiences. This allows Woolf to break down time and space, blending past and present seamlessly and exploring memory and introspection.
  
• It also has a deep feminist perspective, exploring the limitations placed on women in society and their internal struggles to reconcile their desires with societal expectations.
• Woolf's works often address issues of gender, mental health, and the consequences of a society structured by hierarchy and convention.