Virginia Woolf once wrote, that the world is full of “hidden pattern”. That people are somehow connected with each other and their surroundings. Despite Clarissa’s and Septimus’ clear differences in social class, there are a lot of similarities on how these two think about life. This shows that Woolf is in fact correct in writing that their are hidden patterns in reality which keep everything together and make up what we call the world.

One commonality between Clarissa and Septimus is how they see themselves being part of the society. Both think that they are very much part of the nature that they live in. This can be seen when Clarissa walks to get the flowers and thinks about death. Woolf writes, “ did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived, Peter survived, lived in each other, she being part, she was positive, of the trees at home; of the house there, ugly, rambling all to bits and pieces as it was; part of people she had never met; being laid out like a mist between the people she knew best, who lifted her on their branches as she had seen the trees lift the mist, but it spread ever so far, her life, herself.” This shows that Clarissa believed that she would still be alive in people’s memories and other facets of the world such as the nature. Similar kind of understanding is also shown by Septimus when he was outside at a park thinking about the nature. Woolf states, “leaves were alive; trees were alive. And the leaves being connected by millions of fibres with his own body, there on the seat, fanned it up and down; when the branch stretched he, too, made that statement.” This personification of the nature shows that Septimus thinks about the nature in a very similar way that Clarissa does. He believes that nature is a an integral part of life which holds together and makes up what people are and ultimately how its shapes our world.

Another “hidden pattern” comes from the social standings of both these characters. Ironically, even though both the character are from completely different backgrounds they are subject to the pressure the society has on both of them. On one hand, Clarissa is doing what is expected from a housewife of well-known politician, such as throwing parties. However, it can be clearly seen that she is not sure of the situation that she lives in. For instance, she always seems to be very doubtful of her marriage. She repeatedly thinks about Peter and questions whether she made the right choice by rejecting his proposal marry him, and deciding to marry Richard instead. While Clarissa still seems to have and enjoy the amenities of the high society, Septimus, who fought in war to the protect those amenities also lives a similar life. As a war veteran, I think he has lost a lot of his mental capability from the shock that he went through during the war. However, in his thoughts he still has to meet the society’s expectation from a soldier and he always feels the need to perform a patriotic duty.

In conclusion, Woolf shows the hidden pattern that are very present between Clarissa and Septimus. Both characters have very similar understanding of how nature plays a role in connecting the world. Both also have very similar kind of expectations that they are pressured from. On on hand, Clarissa is under constant pressure to live up to the expectation of high-life society, and Septimus has to live of to the expectation of a patriotic soldier.