mod a dalloway Flashcards

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1
Q

PARA 1 TOPIC SENTENCE

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In Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf explores how the imposition of imperialistic groupthink in the 1920s assures the perpetuation of empire, in which individuals’ acquiescence to social norms feed into similar restrictive cycles

Through the duality of Clarissa and Ms Kilman, Woolf exposes how individual values are forced to be hidden in the fear of social alienation, further challenging how the narrative of English moral rectitude and ensuing social conformity reinforce and perpetuate imperial values.

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2
Q

PARA 1 CONTEXT

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In response to her post-world war one context, Woolf highlights the presence of an indoctrinating empire, where despite the ending of war – citizens’ expected subordination to empire is primary over individual satisfaction, ensuing the impingement of subsequent repression.

  • Woolf’s 1920s context further explores how the oppressive social expectations led to the suppression of radical ideas and sexuality – in which Woolf’s paralleling of Miss Kilman and Clarissa Dalloway exposes imperial institutions’ punishment of intransigence, where threats of alienation and social exile forces social conformity.
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3
Q
  • Clarissa’s rejection of dissident thoughts however is shown in her later acquiescence to marriage and the status quo
  • Woolf reinforces how the two’s homosexual desires are dissonant to empire as heterosexual relationships were seen as a basis of imperial thought as males showed control over females prior to the control of colonised peoples, thus robbing individuals of fulfilment
A

‘Twere now to die, twere now to be most happy’
- Shakespearean reference reinforces how her time was Sally was the ‘most exquisite moment of her life’

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4
Q

reiterates Kilman’s complementary same-sex desires

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‘if she could make her hers absolutely and forever and then die; that was all she wanted’ – Kilman
- Hyperbole
- Form shift in focalisation

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5
Q
  • Kilman being fired from her job due to seemingly ‘extremist’ ideas
  • However, while Clarissa surrenders to the adherence of social norms, Kilman’s contrasting unwillingness in following similar imperial groupthink pushes her to the social margins
  • echoes the earlier Clarissa and Sally who (WHO WHAT)
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‘… Miss Dolby thought she would be happier with people who shared her views about the Germans. She had had to go’ - headmistress

echoes the earlier Clarissa and Sally who ‘… meant to found a society to abolish private property, and actually had a letter written’

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6
Q
  • Clarissa’s later docility to social expectations shows her understanding of what happens to free thinkers, where Clarissa celebrates her conformity in its social triumph over Kilman’s marginalisation
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‘the Prime Minister go down the stairs… [which] brought back Kilman with a rush; Kilman her enemy. That was satisfying’

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7
Q

PARA 2 TOPIC SENTENCE

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Stephen Daldry’s 2002 film The Hours affirms Woolf’s exploration of groupthink, where despite changing societal structures through time, the continuous perpetuation of rigid social norms assure cyclical overt and subtle oppression through external and internalised forces.

Daldry explores this through the character of Clarissa Vaughn, who although seemingly stepped out of traditional domestic roles, underlying patriarchal values and cultural groupthink witnesses the manifestation and lingering of social expectations.

Daldry affirms Woolf’s insight of oppressive groupthink, in which his 2000s examination of the topic highlights the veneer of progress despite shifting contextual thought.

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8
Q

PARA 2 CONTEXT

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Daldry’s examination of Clarissa Vaughn’s 2000s context explores the effects of second wave feminism, in which although women may superficially have access to the same career opportunities as male counterparts, societal pressures invariably lead women to take on unpaid domestic work.

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9
Q
  • while Clarissa’s openly same-sex relationship and career-oriented lifestyle differs from the domestic and heteronormative oppressions of Daldry’s preceding characters, her internalisation of patriarchal values compels her to take on expected nurturing behaviour despite her freedom from overt patriarchal expectations.
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Scene in Clarissa’s kitchen, , where Clarissa’s constant movement and Louis’ contrasting passivity reflects their symbolic roles in Richard’s life, in which Louis left for ‘San Francisco’ while Clarissa had been ‘…nursing Richard for years’ in her double burden

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10
Q
  • highlights how Clarissa is mentally trapped in the same position as Woof’s character, where she is ‘stuck’ in traditional feminine roles by virtue and conditioning.
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Scene with the slow zoom into Clarissa as she recalls the past when Richard calls her ‘Mrs Dalloway’

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11
Q
  • In this, Clarissa’s wild gestures during ‘schedules and parties’ communicates her frustration at having to manage additional heavy responsibilities, in which affective labour sees her confinement in traditional notions of femininity despite shifting contextual thoughts and values
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Slow zooming midshot during Clarissa and Julia’s conversation, , in which Clarissa says Richard gave her ‘… that look… to say, your life is trivial, you are so trivial.. daily stuff, you know, schedule and parties, that is what he means’

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12
Q

PARA 3 TOPIC SENTENCE

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  • In Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf critiques the marginalising treatment of individuals who are mentally atypical, where institutional branches of patriarchal values – such as the medical profession – punishes returning veterans as they no longer display societal ideals of masculinity and strength.
  • Through her characterisation of Septimus Smith, Woolf critiques the structure of acceptable male gender performance composed of patriarchal values designed to instil within the British man a sense of duty and superiority; in this, Woolf illustrates the ubiquity of manliness in British culture, where returning veterans’ shattered mental health disturbs societal structures through their display of weakness
  • Woolf critiques the imperial institutions which continually oppresses mentally inept individuals, where their incapability to serve imperial expectations catalyses their marginalisation.
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13
Q

PARA 3 CONTEXT

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  • In response to her post-world war one context, Woolf is concerned with the orthodox representation of returning shell-shocked soldiers as erratic and weak.
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14
Q
  • Woolf highlights how British values had prompted Septimus to enlist in the war, being the ‘first to volunteer’ as his previous abnormality was noticed by people he encountered – such as Mr Brewer – and his employer had argued that his engagement in more ‘masculine’ pursuits such as (SUCH AS WHAT)’ and erase his effeminate and sensitive nature.
A

‘first to volunteer’

MASCULINE PURSUITS SUCH AS ‘football’ would ‘develop… manliness

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15
Q
  • As the novel progresses, despite the promise for war to fix Septimus through displays of masculinity and physical prowess, his long-term adherence of masculinity and stoicism results in emotional scarcest and mental atypicality.
  • in which Woolf encapsulates the deep sense of isolation felt by veterans shown in the imageries pertaining to religious purgation, in which her appropriation of Dante’s Inferno recalling the layers of hell captures Septimus’ emotional turmoil
A

‘miracles, revelations, agonies… falling through the sea…. Into the flames..’

-Reference to Dante’s
Inferno encaptulates Septimus’ emotional turmoil
- Imageries pertaining to religious purgation

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16
Q

highlights Septimus’ sense of isolation and unease

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‘watched Rezia trimming the straw hat for Mrs Peters’
- Mundanity of the setting contrasts his overwhelming and intense thoughts

17
Q
  • Woolf highlights Septimus’ loneliness and inept mental state, capturing the alienation of individuals who are shunned by an uncompassionate society which views their mental illness as a burden, where Rezia could stand him no longer in her embarrassment
  • In this, Woolf exposes how returning veterans are divorced from the glory that was initially promised to them, in which society’s lack of understanding and compassion leads to their ironic marginalisation.
A

‘could stand [him] no longer’ - Rezia

18
Q
  • Woolf exposes how the medical institution acts as another arm in imperialistic and patriarchal Britain
  • where Doctor Bradshaw’s motivations rest not on healing his patients or (ON WHAT), but on (ON WHAT)
A

‘…offers help, but desires power; smites out of her way roughly the dissentient, or dissastified’

  • where Doctor Bradshaw’s motivations rest not on healing his patients or ‘some venerable name; love, duty, self-sacrifice’, but on ‘dominion, for power.’
19
Q

Bradshaw’s superficial care for his patients leads to a stifling treatment of Septimus, deeming Septimus’ mental struggles as a mere lack of (OF WHAT) easily solved by rest

A
  • ‘rest, rest, rest, a long rest in bed’
  • a mere lack of ‘proportions’
20
Q

PARA 4 TOPIC SENTENCE

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Daldry similarly accentuates the marginalisation of mentally atypical individuals, in which despite societal progress and changes to the acknowledgement of mental illness, the veneer of changes hides minimal functional developments, leading to continuous marginalisation.

21
Q

PARA 4 CONTEXT

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  • From Daldry’s 2000s context, his reiteration and appropriation of different characters’ struggle through time with institutional mistreatment due to their mental atypicality highlights the same recurring concerns despite contextual shifts.
  • Daldry’s postmodern work echoes Woolf’s modernist ideas; whilst Woolf’s modernism sees society as a utopian project, where improved principles can fix existing problems, Daldry’s 2000s context shows how despite responsive changes, continuous concerns still stand regarding mental health
22
Q
  • sees Virginia’s rejection of the conventional response to people with mental health challenges
A

The train station scene, Daldry’s dramatized retelling of Woolf’s mental struggles twenty years later.
- Woolf’s perception of them as ‘contemptible Victorians’ as previously established in her conversation with Vanessa is furtered in her argument with Leonard

  • Virginia said ‘I have endured this imprisonment… I am attended by doctors who inform me of my own interests… they do not speak for my interests’
23
Q

highlights Virginia’s emotional desperation in an uncompassionate environment which views her mental atypicality as a burden, where mental health professions neglect patients’ needs for connection and empathy, furthering their oppression as social pariahs.

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  • close up shot showing a tear on Virgina’s cheek as she states ‘if there is a choice between Richmond and death, I choose death’
24
Q

Richard’s isolation is heightened by the setting which establishes his physical and symbolic social marginalisation

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Daldry’s examination of Richard’s 2000s contextual struggle with mental health reflects contemporary concerns
- in the scene of Clarissa’s visit to Richard’s home –> Richard’s home within urban decay

25
Q
  • shows a dismissal of his voice within society, where he is celebrated but not listened to
A
  • while Richard was explaining to Clarissa about his struggles and his hearing of ‘singing in Greek’, Clarissa was in constant movement and changing topic to the party
26
Q

Daldry highlights how while society is willing to give tokenistic valorisation of his struggles and supposedly granted him ‘freedom’ through medicinal developments, the presence of practical and theoretical freedom contradicts with the absence of social acceptance

A
  • Richard’s contempt for his work to be credited with a pity ‘prize… for going nuts’