Angela Ramasar

In Mrs. Dalloway, Septimus Smith and Clarissa Dalloway are seen as each other’s doubles. Even though Clarissa and Septimus never actually meet, their characters reflect each other, in terms of their similar visions of life and society, built up from a mixture of reality and imagination. Clarissa is portrayed as the sane woman and Septimus as the insane man. Septimus refuses to face reality. He’s completely removed himself from the physical world, and lives in an internal world where he sees and hears things that others do not. Clarissa is very much involved with the physical world. Her life is a constant engagement with society, doing things such as throwing parties. Judging from the differences between these two characters, it would seem that Woolf intended for Clarissa to be the voice of reason and Septimus to be the voice of insanity.

Although they can be seen as each other’s opposites, Septimus and Clarissa are actually quite similar, both in action and in thought. Both characters have beak-noses, a fondness for Shakespeare, and a fear of oppression. Septimus fears oppression by the world while Clarissa fears oppression by her lifestyle and her past. They both share common thoughts, such as their response to the trees in the park, and both have the same Shakespeare verse floating through their minds throughout the day. Both characters are also detached from their spouses.