Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf review: ‘one brief day in a woman's mind' – archive, 1925

5 June 1925
Mrs Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf. London: Hogarth Press. Pp 293. 7s 6d
The earlier and very impressive novels of Mrs Woolf did not lead us to expect that as her development approached complete maturity her style would take on such a talkative character as it reveals in Mrs Dalloway. Not talkative in the garrulous tiresome sense, though; but with the dignity which always distinguished the work of her friend the late Katherine Mansfield. Indeed, the opening pages (one cannot say the opening chapter, for the book runs straight on, without any divisions) are delightfully reminiscent of Mrs Mansfield's best work, and Mrs Woolf's setting of a West End morning in June is as full of vivacious life and fresh colour as the actuality – granted, of course, fine weather and sunlight. She has aimed, moreover, at presenting the kaleidoscopic moments of a busily reminiscent mind rather than any continuous story.
There is no substance to the book in the ordinary sense of plot and narrative. Clarissa Dalloway, a well-preserved woman of 50, wife of a successful politician, wakes up on the morning of an important party she has arranged for the evening, and gradually her thoughts drift to her own childhood and girlhood, to her daughter Elizabeth and the daughter's crabbed history tutor, to her husband in his younger days, and to the man who went to India instead of marrying her.
That is all – one brief day in a woman's mind. The book is written with brilliant finesse, originality, and charm, and Mrs Woolf's psychological insight, if not this development in her method, enables her to retain a unique position among the women novelists of our time.
By H I'AF
14 May 1925
The Common Reader, by Virginia Woolf. London: The Hogarth Press. Pp305. 12s 6d
'Journalism,' writes Virginia Woolf, 'embalmed in a book is unreadable.' No one has more right to proclaim the fact than she, who has discovered how to write for the newspapers without ceasing to be an artist and how to exalt criticism into a creative adventure which, though intensely personal and provocative, is yet preserved by the finest sense of values from the quixotry of impressionism. Certainly we have seldom read a volume of essays which, by their sufficiency and freshness, insight and accomplishment, so captivate and satisfy the mind. It is the combination of brilliance and integrity which is so rare, and we will confess that until we read this volume we credited Virginia Woolf with more charm and vivacity than vision, delighted in her style for its supple simplification of complexity, but with a suspicion that her victory was more often over words than ideas.
Such a misjudgment was made easier because her ideas are seldom explicit: she is so fine an artist because her thought, concentrated and effective as it is, is not starkly separated from the fluid elements of experience, from her immediate human response to the life that literature and writings too humble to rank as literature embody. It is thus that she succeeds in combining keen analysis with a synthesising humanity and can disentangle the ideas which animated an individual or a people in the very process of picturing, with a selective fidelity to detail, the objective circumstances of their lives. And being thus both exact and imaginative, her intercourse with her subjects is really that of a contemporary, and not that kind of ironic intimacy which, however stealthily, betrays a detached egotism by its tendency to exploit.
This illusion of complete critical identity with her subject Virginia Woolf achieves in almost all her studies, particularly in her vivid picture of the lives of the Pastons, of Montaigne, Evelyn, Addison, and of those 'stranded ghosts' whom she delivers from the obscurity of an 'obsolete library.' It is nowhere more shiningly displayed than in her reconception of the Greek drama and the hard, sharply outlined Greek world that was its stage and dictated its emphasis, brevity, and elemental force. For here, as in her studies of Charlotte and Emily Broute and of the Russian novelists, a writer whom we had supposed to be somewhat of the self-centred and self-limited order, rather mistress of the incisive phrase than a diver in deep waters, reveals, too, an expansiveness and profundity of understanding which is so seldom served by transparency, a sense of the primitive and elemental as remarkable as her knowledge of the mannered and the eccentric.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Sun

10 minutes ago

• The Sun

Bombshell Gio reveals what his Arsenal footballer sibling thinks of Love Island stint as four new islanders revealed

A NEW Love Island bombshell has addressed what his famous Arsenal footballer sibling thinks about him joining the show. Half Italian hunk Giorgio Russo - known as Gio - is one of four newcomers set to shake up the villa. 6 6 6 He is the brother of England Women 's and Arsenal champion Alessia Russo. Chatting with ITV before entering the villa, Gio revealed what his sister thinks about him signing up for Love Island. Gio shared: "She's really excited, she watches every year and reckons I can do well so she's excited to see how I get on." Continuing, the hunk disclosed what kind of person he's hoping to find the villa. He said: "My sister plays pro football, so being interested in sport, they don't have to know football or understand it, but if they can show some sort of interest because it is such a prominent thing in our family. "It would be hard if they hated it. "Other green flags are having a nice family, I'm sick of being the 7th wheel in my own family!" Big into fitness like Alessia, Gio's villa stay could see him miss her stint in the Women's Euro's 2025, which kicks off on July 2. Joining Gio as a new villa boy is Will Means - ho will be more than a rival in the gym. He competes in Hyrox world championship races and has even done an Ironman. Love Island's 'secret romance' exposed as two islanders seen in deep chat The Sun previously revealed gorgeous blonde Poppy Harrison had flown out to Mallorca ready for romance, and now she's in the villa. She has set foot in the ITV2 matchmaking show compound after only calling time on her latest relationship last week. A source at the time said: 'Poppy is super flirtatious on a night out and I could see her fitting in well with this year's cast. 'She is a fan of the show." Love Island 2025 full lineup Harry Cooksley: A 30-year-old footballer with charm to spare. Shakira Khan: A 22-year-old Manchester-based model, ready to turn heads. Megan Moore: A payroll specialist from Southampton, looking for someone tall and stylish. Alima Gagigo: International business graduate with brains and ambition. Tommy Bradley: A gym enthusiast with a big heart. Helena Ford: A Londoner with celebrity connections, aiming to find someone funny or Northern. Ben Holbrough: A model ready to make waves. Megan Clarke: An Irish actress already drawing comparisons to Maura Higgins. Dejon Noel-Williams: A personal trainer and semi-pro footballer, following in his footballer father's footsteps. Aaron Buckett: A towering 6'5' personal trainer. Conor Phillips: A 25-year-old Irish rugby pro. Antonia Laites: Love Island's first bombshell revealed as sexy Las Vegas pool party waitress. Yasmin Pettet: The 24-year-old bombshell hails from London and works as a commercial banking executive. Malisha Jordan: A teaching assistant from Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, who entered Love Island 2025 as a bombshell. Emily Moran: Bombshell Welsh brunette from the same town as Love Island 2024 alumni Nicole Samuel. Shea Mannings: Works as a scaffolder day-to-day and plays semi-pro football on the side. Remell Mullins: Boasts over 18million likes and 500k followers on TikTok thanks to his sizzling body transformation videos. Harrison Solomon: Pro footballer and model entering Love Island 2025 as a bombshell. Departures: Kyle Ashman: Axed after an arrest over a machete attack emerged. He was released with no further action taken and denies any wrongdoing. Sophie Lee: A model and motivational speaker who has overcome adversity after suffering life-changing burns in an accident. Blu Chegini: A boxer with striking model looks, seeking love in the villa. They continued: "Her split came with her ex came out of the blue - her boyfriend wasn't expecting it at all. "She's a smart girl and is likely heading into the villa with a gameplan." Rounding out the newcomers is Caprice Alexandra, whose Instagram is filled with curvy bikini snaps from the likes of Mauritius and Morocco. Love Island airs on ITV2 and ITVX. 6 6 6

The Guardian

12 minutes ago

• The Guardian

Little Simz & Chineke! Orchestra review – rap-classical crossover is spectacularly realised

Not many can say that they've reloaded a symphony orchestra. But as the Southbank Centre erupts after the opening horns of Gorilla, Little Simz has to run it back, starting the track again in the manner of a rowdy club set. Backed by the majority Black and ethnically diverse Chineke! Orchestra and her own live band, Simz – closing out the 11-day Meltdown festival which she curated this year – performs a set that is equal parts genuine and genius. The energy in the room is overwhelming, overcoming any misgivings about performing to a seated crowd. Songs of contrasting styles are played one after the other, to highlight the malleability not only of Simz as a performer but of the combination of the live band and orchestra. Young, with post-punk production and Mike Skinner-esque rapping, topples into Free, which is soulfully stripped back. The string players create a frantic, horror-film atmosphere for Thief and Flood, but immediately after, serve to make the 'I love you' on Two Worlds Apart far more tender. This extends to word painting: on Introvert, the flutes invoke a choir ('I see sinners in a church'); vibrato strings mimic a voice trembling and breaking on Lonely, the raw, vulnerable track about her internal struggle with producing new album Lotus. Joining her are Miraa May for Peace, longtime collaborator Obongjayar for Lion and Point and Kill, and Wretch 32 and Cashh for Blood. For the latter, Wretch emerges from the crowd and walks down through the stalls, clever staging since the song is structured as a phone conversation, forcing the audience to look between the two rappers like watching a tennis match. At points, Simz feels larger than life, spectacular, replacing conductor Chris Cameron at the helm of the Chineke! Orchestra during Venom, rapping while facing the ensemble until the chorus, to frantic lights. Yet she's chatty between songs, strolls the aisles during Heart's on Fire, and stands beaming like a schoolgirl soaking in minutes-long applause. The whole experience is perfectly orchestrated – in every sense of the word.

Daily Mail​

18 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Zara Tindall's chic linen suit is the perfect outfit for work, weddings and summer events - shop her exact outfit plus the best high street alternatives

When it comes to effortless summer polish, Zara Tindall 's pastel blue linen suit is the definition of cool composure. Spotted at Royal Ascot, the Veronica Beard two-piece balanced crisp tailoring with a soft, seasonal hue - proof that suiting can feel both fresh and feminine. Made from breathable linen and cut with a relaxed yet refined silhouette, it's the ultimate desk-to-drinks outfit. Zara accessorised with LK Bennett suede court shoes, an Aspinal of London woven clutch, Laurence Coste aquamarine drop earrings and Monc London sunglasses. Inspired by the look, we've hunted down Zara's exact items, as well as the best alternatives from the high street, in the edit below. Get ready to make tailoring your summer signature. High street alternatives Trouser suits Karen Millen Lace Applique Contrast Tailored Tuxedo Jacket £125 Shop Karen Millen Lace Applique Contrast Wide Leg Trousers £45 Shop £268 Shop Next Tailored Blazer with Linen £55 Shop Next Trousers with Linen £35 Shop Cefinn Jamie Linen Blend Blazer £390 Shop Cefinn Tyler Linen Blend Trousers £290 Shop Mango Fitted Suit Jacket £59.99 Shop Mango Suit Trousers £45.99 Shop Whistles Wool Blend Tailored Blazer £219 Shop Whistles Wool Blend Tailored Trousers £139 Shop French Connection Tailored Single Breasted Blazer £64 Shop French Connection Tailored Wide Leg Trousers £47 Shop Shoes Bags