Fickle Emotions

One thing that really interests me about Woolf’s writing is the constantly changing emotions of her characters. Sometimes she uses this technique well, but at other times her characters seem bipolar, switching instantly from great moods to seeming depressed. On one hand, I really like how Woolf attempts to show how people really work. Everyone has complex emotions that change; no one is ever just happy. She tries to show how people can seem happy or genuinely think they are happy for a while, but ultimately they realize that they definitely are not. Obviously the biggest example of this is Clarissa; she seems dissatisfied with her life and constantly wonders what it could be like if she had made different choices, such as marrying Peter instead of Richard. Despite this, she has moments of happiness and optimism, such as a point where she is excited for her party and arguably when Richard gives her flowers. Despite these happy times, it does not change the fact that at her core she is dissatisfied. This is definitely a situation in which I really enjoy and respect Woolf’s writing. However, she also seems to take it a little far. At one point Clarissa is happy and seems to be at the time content with her marriage, and then mere pages later she goes back to being upset and depressed. While I understand what Woolf is trying to do, I think it does compromise the believability of Clarissa to a degree.

Another great example of Woolf’s technique is Septimus. While Woolf deals more with changing levels of sanity instead of emotions, her writing shines through in the differences. Septimus can seem completely normal at times and then later appear helplessly insane. I believe the realness of Woolf’s writing really brings credence to shell shock.