Public sphere vs Private Sphere
List the ways that the public sphere and the private sphere are presented. What is the relationship between these two spheres? Is there some tension between them?
Mrs. Dalloway Questions
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Public sphere vs Private Sphere
I think that in her private sphere, she has mental and emotional issues. Her public sphere is much more balanced or "sane". When her private life comes back to haunt her at her public party things go awry. Check out this quote from GradeSaver to see if it helps,
"Many critics describe Septimus as Clarissa's doppelganger, the alternate persona, the darker, more internal personality compared to Clarissa's very social and singular outlook. Woolf's use of the doppelganger, Septimus, portrays a side to Clarissa's personality that becomes absorbed by fear and broken down by society and a side of society that has failed to survive the War. The doubling portrays the polarity of the self and exposes the positive-negative relationship inherent in humanity. It also illustrates the opposite phases of the idea of life."
"Many critics describe Septimus as Clarissa's doppelganger, the alternate persona, the darker, more internal personality compared to Clarissa's very social and singular outlook. Woolf's use of the doppelganger, Septimus, portrays a side to Clarissa's personality that becomes absorbed by fear and broken down by society and a side of society that has failed to survive the War. The doubling portrays the polarity of the self and exposes the positive-negative relationship inherent in humanity. It also illustrates the opposite phases of the idea of life."
Source(s): http://www.gradesaver.com/mrs-dalloway/study-guide/major-themes/
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