Parts 3, 4, 5 and 6 Mrs Dalloway

1. What illness is Dalloway suffering from?
2. How do you think Dalloway's revelation that she was in love with Sally would have been received at the time of publication?
3. Why does Woolf suggest a comparison of the relationship between Dalloway and Sally to Shakespeare's Othello and Desdemona?
4. Why does Dalloway describe her kiss with Sally as a 'religious experience'?
5. Peter has a habit of interrupting Dalloway at inappropriate times. Why do you think Woolf has written his entrances in like this?
6. What is the significance of Dalloway's green dress?
7. Why do you think Dalloway feels nun-like and virginal now she is over the age of 50?
8. Were you shocked when Woolf revealed Dalloway's age? Why? Why not?
9. Consider the symbolism of doors and windows in the novel.
10. Why do you think Dalloway married Richard, as opposed to Peter or continuing her relationship with Sally?
11. What do you consider Peter's 'moment of being' to be?
12. What is significance of the bell on page 37?
13. Discuss the significance of 'nobody yet knew he was in London, except Clarissa'.
14. It becomes apparent that Dalloway and Peter are obsessed with age. Why do you think Woolf constantly mentions age in these parts?
15. Bearing in mind Dalloway's relationship with Sally, do you find it strange that Dalloway reacts so badly to the news of a woman giving birth before she is married? Why? Why not?
16. What is significant about the repeated quotation, 'The death of the soul'?
17. Discuss the symbolism of the broken fountain at the end of part 6.