Fiction of Capital Cities

As we finished reading Mrs. Dalloway I can positively say I enjoyed it much more than Waverly. The plot in general is more appealing to me with the imagery of the city along with the relationships of characters. I enjoyed the fact that the point of view was written within one particular day. I have never read a book like this before so it was interesting to see how the story would develop. The relationships between characters were interesting as we learn there was a bit of a love triangle (like in Waverly) between Clarissa, her husband Richard, and Peter. Deep down she truly loves Peter, but she justifies her decision for marrying Richard as she needed a man to depend and rely on in her life and Richard was able to do that for her. I think it’s scary how relatable that feeling is to a lot of women. People make choices on what they think is better for them even if they feel something stronger for someone else. I think this a poor way to live your life as you might never truly be happy i

After learning about Virginia Woolfs life history and her upbringing I was very intrigued at it was easy to make comparisons between her and the characters she writes about in Mrs. Dalloway. We were told about her depression and moods that resulted in multiple suicide attempts along with the tragic events that ultimately lead to her feeling that way. We also learned that she was married even though it was supposed that she had multiple affairs with women. These two facts about her life relate to two characters in her book. Septimus is a World War 1 veteran who essentially suffers from PTSD, experiences hallucinations and has sucicidal thoughts and tendencies. Since Virginia herself attempted suicide multiple times and ultimatly ended her life on her 4th attempt a conclusion can be drawn that she’s using this character in a way to express her inner thoughts or struggles. Then the main character, Clarissa Dalloway can also be considered a portrayal of Virginia as she has a female love i

While we finish reading Waverly one thing that consistently sticks out is the narrative of the author. I find myself undecided on whether I enjoy the inputs of “...gently reader..” and ”But I must request the reader…”. In some cases, I like the fact that the author is talking to the readers in a way that it might be meant to help us understand the context of the plot. In other moments, I find it quite distracting. If I am reading a story I want to be fully captivated and almost in the story myself, but when the author says things like that it pulls me out and makes me stop to think why he needed to say certain things. In part, it reminds me of the show Bridgerton when there is the voice of Whistledown talking about the “plot” or the characters around her. When I think about this type of narration throughout the show I don’t mind it at all since that is sort of what makes it interesting. This is also why I think some moments I don't mind the interruption in the book. Maybe a reason