Grace Toner
Professor Tratner
Virginia Woolf
September 15th, 2020
Paragraph on WWI in Relation to Mrs. Dalloway
I was interested in the ending of WWI’s effects on the overall moral and patriotism of the London atmosphere, as well as the imagery we’ve seen in multiple instances that seem to switch the prospective of the narrative from singular individual thought processes to a crowd mentality and overwhelming feeling of comradery. We see it most significantly at first with the possible royal motor car traffic jam, leading us to Buckingham Palace and the airplane scene, plus several tears shed by Londoners full of post-war pride. Then again with Peter Walsh’s escapades leading to his interaction with a young soldier battalion march, where even the former socialist can “respect” the decision to become a soldier. Just to age more visual evidence and context to this time, especially in the streets of London because of its centrality to the UK. The following are images from July 1919 in London, victory parades in Ludgate Circus to Buckingham Palace. Photos are from Daily Mail.
- Paraded captured German vehicles in
front of London crowds, Ludgate Circus July 1919
- New Zealand troops in front of
Buckingham Palace, July 1919
There are more images on the article which I’ve link above, but it’s fascinating to have this view of the past and picture that Mrs. Dalloway takes place a few summers later, but the pride and parades of sort still remain, just as the trauma and pain inflicted on the characters during the war, such as Septimus, is permanent damage. In some ways, the infliction of trauma will always outweigh the pride for the people most directly effected.