The plot in six lines
Clarissa Dalloway goes out to buy flowers for her evening party, and the London morning brings back memories of her girlhood at Bourton.
As a car and an aeroplane draw the city's attention, Septimus Warren Smith struggles with visions and memories of war while Rezia tries to reach him.
Peter Walsh visits Clarissa after returning from India, stirring memories of Sally Seton and of Clarissa's decision to marry Richard rather than Peter.
Sir William Bradshaw recommends sending Septimus away for rest, leaving him fearful of losing his private reality and Rezia uncertain how to help.
Richard brings Clarissa roses but cannot tell her he loves her, while Elizabeth seeks independence from Miss Kilman and Clarissa prepares to receive her guests.
Septimus jumps from a window and dies rather than be taken away by doctors, and Clarissa hears at her party, withdraws to reflect, then returns to her guests as Peter watches with wonder.
Themes
Time and memory: The bells measure a shared public day, while memories make the past an active presence within each character's thoughts.
Private identity: Clarissa's role as hostess contrasts with her hidden feelings, showing how a public identity can conceal a complex inner life.
Power and conformity: The doctors' insistence on order reveals how respected institutions can silence suffering rather than understand the person who suffers.
Life and death: Clarissa's love of life exists alongside illness and loss, while Septimus's death brings her own existence into sharper focus.
Connection and isolation: Shared streets, sounds and gatherings connect people whose private experiences remain separate, especially Clarissa and Septimus, who never meet.
Characters
- Clarissa DallowayA fifty-one-year-old London hostess, wife of a politician, who loves life and the city and gives a party that evening.
- Richard Dalloway
- Peter WalshClarissa's old suitor, back from India after five years, restless and still tied to the love she once refused.
- Septimus Warren SmithA young veteran of the war, haunted by the loss of his friend Evans and by visions no one around him understands.
- Lucrezia Warren SmithCalled Rezia, Septimus's Italian wife, who is lonely in London and desperate to help her husband back to health.
- Sally SetonClarissa's bold friend from girlhood at Bourton, who once meant the world to her and is now a settled married woman.
For the A level English Literature exams, summer 2027
- The summer 2027 A level exams run from 10 May to 22 June 2027.
- Pearson Edexcel: Paper 2 (9ET0/02), Prose (Women and Society), Thursday 20 May 2027, morning, 1 hour 15 minutes.
- OCR: Paper 2 (H472/02), Comparative and contextual study (Women in Literature), Thursday 20 May 2027, morning, 2 hours 30 minutes.
A two-week plan
- Day oneRead the 15-minute summary of Mrs Dalloway from start to finish, then tell the story back to yourself in five sentences.
- Day twoClarissa steps out into a June morning: Notice how the flower errand opens into memory and reveals feelings hidden beneath Clarissa's social role. One city, one hour, many minds: Follow the movement between bystanders, noticing how shared sights produce different private responses.
- Day threeSeptimus and Rezia sit in the park: Watch how Septimus's perceptions and Rezia's loneliness reveal two distinct experiences of the same marriage. Peter Walsh comes home from India: Weigh Peter's judgments of Clarissa against his emotional attachment and his own uncertainty.
- Day fourBourton, Sally Seton and a choice: Notice how memories of Sally and Peter complicate Clarissa's belief that marriage gives her room to herself.
- Day fiveDoctors who prescribe order and rest: Watch how the doctors' confidence contrasts with their failure to understand Septimus's private experience.
- Day sixLunch, Miss Kilman and Elizabeth: Compare Richard's unspoken affection with Miss Kilman's possessiveness and Elizabeth's wish for independence.
- Day sevenTime, death and the shape of a self: Trace how public time, private memory and thoughts of death shape the characters' changing sense of self.
- Day eightHow the novel is told: Follow shifts between minds and recurring images, noticing how the party brings separate lives together.
- Day nineThe cast: Clarissa Dalloway, Richard Dalloway, Peter Walsh, Septimus Warren Smith and Lucrezia Warren Smith. Write one line on what each of them wants.
- Day tenThemes: Time and memory; Private identity; Power and conformity; Life and death; Connection and isolation. Pick one moment in the story for each.
- Day elevenForm: study how the story is told: the narrator, the order of events and the settings.
- Day twelvePractice: plan and write an essay on one theme, then read your argument back and test it against the story.
- Day thirteenPractice: try a second question with a different focus, such as a character or the form.
- Day fourteenRecap: reread your notes and the summary, say the plot out loud once, then rest.
From the boards' published specifications and final summer 2027 timetables, read on 23 October 2026. Ask your school which board and papers you sit.
Questions
What is Mrs Dalloway about?
Mrs Dalloway follows a London day in which party preparations, returning friends and memories expose the distance between public appearances and private feelings. Alongside Clarissa's experience, Septimus's suffering reveals the continuing effects of war and society's failure to listen.
Who are the main characters in Mrs Dalloway?
The central figures are Clarissa Dalloway, a London hostess, and Septimus Warren Smith, a veteran haunted by war. Peter Walsh, Richard Dalloway and Sally Seton shape Clarissa's emotional world, while Rezia struggles to help Septimus. Elizabeth Dalloway and Miss Kilman bring another perspective on attachment, resentment and the wish for independence.
What are the main themes of Mrs Dalloway?
The main themes are time, memory, private identity, connection, death and the pressure society places on individuals. Woolf explores them through contrasting minds, recurring bells and the parallel experiences of Clarissa and Septimus.
Is Mrs Dalloway a set text for A level English Literature?
Yes. Pearson Edexcel lists it in Paper 2 (9ET0/02), Prose (Women and Society). OCR lists it in Paper 2 (H472/02), Comparative and contextual study (Women in Literature).
When are the A level English Literature exams in 2027?
The summer 2027 A level exams run from 10 May to 22 June 2027. Pearson Edexcel: Paper 2 (9ET0/02), Thursday 20 May 2027, morning. OCR: Paper 2 (H472/02), Thursday 20 May 2027, morning.
