Clarissa's Reaction to the Death of Septimus

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            I was somewhat startled and confused by the visceral reaction that Clarissa had to the news of Septimus’ death. Obviously it is upsetting to hear about a death, and even more so a suicide, but Clarissa did not know Septimus, and yet her reaction seemed so personal. The fact that she was so caught up in this that she needed to step away from her hostess duties to collect herself really spoke to me, because Clarissa has always struck me as the type of person who stubbornly holds herself together and maintains the image that all is well until for as long as she can.
            The first thought I had was shock that Dr. Bradshaw would be talking about this at a party. My shock was not like Clarissa’s which seemed to be offense of such a topic being discussed at her party, but I was more surprised that he was talking about the death of one of his patients at a party as though it were gossip. While psychology was very different in the 1920s it still seems disrespectful for a doctor to discuss the fate of his patients in a social setting. As Clarissa left the room to pull herself together, I thought back to what Mr. Mitchell mentioned in class, that Woolf had originally intended for Clarissa to kill herself by the end of the novel. It seemed that Clarissa had a connection and a deeper understanding about where Septimus was coming from than any other characters we see in the novel.
            Clarissa’s pain for Septimus made it clear to me that it was much more personal than being upset over a young stranger killing himself. I wondered whether Clarissa had ever been in such a dark place in her life and realized that while we gain a deeper understanding of Clarissa through present narration and her memories from Bourton, we know very little about her life between Bourton and the present. It seems very possible to me that Clarissa once struggled with her life choices than we see now, as she seems very content with where her life is in the present. While Clarissa would not have the traumatizing images of the war that Septimus has experienced, it is clear that she does have some experience with mental illness. This is further evidenced on page 180 by her thought that, “death was defiance,” and “there was an embrace in death.” These thoughts show her understanding of the hopelessness that Septimus must have felt in the moments before his death.

Comments

  1. AnnaSeptember 14, 2018 at 10:21 AM

    The book seems to be in a part a reflection on Clarissa's life choices. I don't think Clarissa has ever been in a "dark place" but I think she understands what it is. She knows that if thinks were different in her life then she could have been the one in the ambulance. So its not like she was depressed/suicidal but rather she saw that she could have been. I feel like Clarissa connects with Septimus more than almost anyone else in her life. Peter, Richard, and Sally know the surface of Clarissa but Septimus have a deeper and darker connection.

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  2. Eli GarrettSeptember 14, 2018 at 10:27 AM

    I also found it weird that Clarissa invited Dr. Bradshaw, from her thoughts about the death of Septimus it seemed like she had no respect for him as a doctor. Also I think it is very interesting that Clarissa thought so much about death, when she has spent the whole book thinking "what if?", which as you said is a nod to Woolf's original plan for the book.

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  3. Dominick LongSeptember 14, 2018 at 3:15 PM

    I think that the very visceral reaction that Clarissa has could stem from, and almost set up, Clarissa's suicide, which Woolf had originally intended. When I was reading the long passage about death and how it gave you power, I was thinking that Clarissa was going to kill herself, as Clarissa could feel like she had little power in her life, like Septimus did.

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