Mrs. Dalloway

Use this activity to engage all types of learners while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

DEBATE: “Is Mrs. Dalloway an anti-war novel?”

In this activity, students will argue for or against the assertion that Mrs. Dalloway is at its core an anti-war novel.

Using the text as well as your own research, you will argue either for or against the following assertion: Mrs. Dalloway is at its core an anti-war novel. Working with your classmates, you will develop an argument, including opening and closing statements as well as rebuttals, that supports your point of view. Be sure to rehearse your argument with your group prior to the in-class debate. Finally, participate in a post-debate class discussion in which you analyze and reflect on each team’s argumentative approaches.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity invites students to apply their analytical and debate skills to the text’s themes of Isolation Within the Social Classes and The Power of Memory.

Students may use assertions from the text, as well as their own research on the subject. This teacher-facing resource from Harvard University provides guidance on facilitating in-class debates.

Paired Text Extension:

Woolf is well-remembered for her anti-war feeling as demonstrated in Three Guineas, her book-length essay written in response to the question “How should war be prevented?” What evidence of pacifism do you observe in Mrs. Dalloway? Compare and contrast the two works’ responses to the theme of war.

Teaching Suggestion: This Paired Extension may be completed as either an in-class discussion (after students finish reading the essay) or a take-home essay assignment.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Woolf explores the concept of isolation and community through various character’s narratives.

• Which of the characters in Mrs. Dalloway seems most connected to the world of nature and which seems most connected to the world of the populated city? (topic sentence)
• Select one character for each concept, and provide examples to substantiate your answer.
• What do these characters bring to your understanding of the novel as it relates to the theme of Isolation Within the Social Classes?

2. Throughout the novel, Peter Walsh reflects on his relationship with Clarissa Dalloway.

• How does Peter really feel about Clarissa? (topic sentence)
• Trace the shifts in his own perception of his attachment to Clarissa and draw a conclusion, using examples from the novel.
• How does Peter’s oscillation in feelings throughout the novel speak to the larger theme of The Power of Memory?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Woolf’s choice to play with the linear nature of time impacts nearly every event that unfolds. Select one memory by one character and discuss how the actual act of remembering affects the character. Does Woolf’s characterization imply that memory can have a positive or negative effect on the individual? If so, how?

2. In Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf rejects the old style of storytelling as a gesture to communicate her impatience with the old ways of life, pre-WWI. Locate three examples of this kind of veiled criticism of established traditions and explain your position with evidence from the novel. How do these observations connect with the literary genre of Modernism?

3. Consider the lingering effects of WWI on the characters in the novel. How does PTSD function for those who are war veterans? How are those who did not serve affected by WWI? Select one of these characters and explain.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following phrases best characterizes Clarissa’s attributes?

A) Her profound knowledge of the scientific world

B) Her deep love of the British countryside

C) Her intuitive understanding of surrounding individuals

D) Her vast interest in the political landscape

2. Clarissa reflects, “This late age of the world’s experience had bred in them all, all men and women, a well of tears.” Based on the date of publication as well as Woolf’s involvement in literary circles, which of the following historical events does this quote most likely refer to?

A) The Boer War

B) World War I

C) World War II

D) The Crimean War

3. Which of the following phrases best describes how Clarissa views herself?

A) An insignificant, aging woman

B) A young, spry girl in her twenties

C) An austere and stately woman with dignified wealth

D) A dutiful and loving mother

4. Which of the following phrases best describes the effect that the backfiring of the motorcar and the sight of the airplane would have on Londoners in Woolf’s novel?

A) A unique fascination with modern technology

B) A considerable fear of 20th-century transportation progress

C) A triggering reminder of wartime

D) A startling observation of the problems of the future

5. The dialogue between Lucrezia and Septimus in the park is an example of which of the following?

A) The tender passion between new lovers

B) The harrowing effects of war on veterans

C) The eventual disintegration of loveless marriages

D) The intense hatred of different social milieus

6. Based on Woolf’s particular opinion of the matter, which of the following phrases best describes the reason for the reflections on India?

A) A fascination with South Asian culture

B) A recollection of Woolf’s youth

C) A commentary on the importance of travel

D) A critique on British imperialism

7. Which of the following literary terms appears in most of the characters’ inner monologues?

A) Metaphors about supernatural elements

B) Repetition of specific phrases

C) Similes related to sailing

D) Synecdoches about the British Empire

8. Which of the following observations does Peter make about British society?

A) It had become more open since he moved to India.

B) It was regressing into a pre-Victorian era.

C) It had allowed too many women to enter into the public sphere.

D) It was not as preferable as India.

9. Peter recalls that “[o]ne of the things he remembered best was an argument one Sunday morning at Bourton about women’s rights (that antediluvian topic), when Sally suddenly lost her temper, flared up, and told Hugh that he represented all that was most detestable in British middle-class life.” Which of the following terms is a synonym for Peter’s use of the word “antediluvian”?

A) Archaic

B) Aggregate

C) Ardent

D) Austere

10. On his reflection of war, Septimus notes that he “was one of the first to volunteer. He went to France to save an England which consisted almost entirely of Shakespeare’s plays and Miss Isabel Pole in a green dress walking in a square.” Which of the following best describes his viewpoint of war?

A) Idealistic

B) Realistic

C) Apathetic

D) Narcissistic

11. Which of the following phrases best describes the quality of medical care in the novel?

A) Considerate and targeted attention to the needs of war veterans

B) Scientific and precise approaches for patients

C) Dismissive and infantilized understandings of serious issues

D) Unique and poignant curiosity about unstudied diseases

12. Reflecting on his medical practice, Dr. Bradshaw notes, “Worshipping proportion, Sir William not only prospered himself but made England prosper, secluded her lunatics, forbade childbirth, penalised despair, made it impossible for the unfit to propagate their views until they, too, shared his sense of proportion.” Which of the following literary terms does Dr. Bradshaw use in his analysis?

A) Metaphor

B) Simile

C) Paradox

D) Personification

13. Which of the following lines can be associated with Miss Kilman’s character?

A) A guilty internalization of homosexual desires

B) A positive representation of a same-sex encounter

C) A lengthy commentary on the openness of the wealthy social class

D) A discreet discussion of disabilities in female writers

14. Which popular English poet is frequently referenced throughout the work?

A) Lord Byron

B) John Keats

C) Walt Whitman

D) William Shakespeare

15. Which of the following phrases best describes the role of the “party” for the characters in the novel?

A) An important social function

B) An unusual event in London

C) A characteristically impoverished event

D) A solely religious enterprise

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is the setting of the story? How does the setting match the plot development?

2. How does time function in the novel? What is the chronology of events?

3. Identify 3 examples of similes and metaphors used within the text. Provide a brief explanation of the context, along with an in-text citation.