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Dramatic Irony
Key Examples in Mrs Dalloway
Section 3
Explanation and Analysis—Othello:
When Clarissa Dalloway was younger, she fell in love with Sally Seton. Looking back as an adult, she remembers the intense feelings she experienced during this time, making an allusion to Shakespeare's play Othello:
But she could remember [...] feeling as she crossed the hall 'if it were now to die 'twere now to be most happy'. That was her feeling — Othello's feeling, and she felt it, she was convinced, as strongly as Shakespeare meant Othello to feel it, all because she was coming down to dinner in a white frock to meet Sally Seton!
Related Themes:
Section 7
Explanation and Analysis—Dumb Creature:
As Miss Kilman complains about people like Clarissa Dalloway to Elizabeth, the narrative uses a simile to describe Elizabeth's reaction. The simile sheds light on what it's like for Elizabeth to sit there and listen to her tutor say such bitter things about people like her own mother (even if Miss Kilman never actually mentions Clarissa's name):
Unlock with LitCharts A+Like some dumb creature who has been brought up to a gate for an unknown purpose, and stands there longing to gallop away, Elizabeth Dalloway sat silent. Was Miss Kilman going to say anything more?
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Section 9
Explanation and Analysis—Othello:
When Clarissa Dalloway was younger, she fell in love with Sally Seton. Looking back as an adult, she remembers the intense feelings she experienced during this time, making an allusion to Shakespeare's play Othello:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But she could remember [...] feeling as she crossed the hall 'if it were now to die 'twere now to be most happy'. That was her feeling — Othello's feeling, and she felt it, she was convinced, as strongly as Shakespeare meant Othello to feel it, all because she was coming down to dinner in a white frock to meet Sally Seton!
Related Themes:
