The Importance of Social Interaction and Clarissa's Parties in Mrs. Dalloway
One thought-provoking class discussion that resonated with me was on the meaning of Clarissa’s parties. In Mrs. Dalloway, not only is the party a driving force of the plot, I think it reflects a larger theme about the value of social interaction in human life.
One of the messages I took away from the novel is that seemingly “superficial” interactions are actually incredibly important. In several places in the novel, the question of how well people really know each other is posed: is it possible we only scratch the surface of each other’s identities when we interact? I think the novel shows that human interaction, on every level, has a profound impact on our lives. Any of the relationships between the characters in the novel, such as Sally and Clarissa, Rezia and Septimus, or Elizabeth and Miss Kilman, could be examined and it would be possible to identify many ways that their interactions influenced each other. I think that this idea is also the point of Clarissa’s parties. While many view them as frivolous and shallow, Clarissa believes that they are incredibly important and meaningful, because they create a “spark” of human interaction and facilitate the exchange of ideas and personalities.
The idea of this exchange then initiated a discussion in class about the role that we play in shaping each other’s thoughts and opinions, and whether or not any of them are purely ours. This made me start to wonder how much of an influence we have on the people around us, and vice versa. How much do the interactions we have on a daily basis, even the ones that are seemingly superficial, shape who we are? If, for example, someone was to grow up completely removed from all social interaction, would they have a “personality?” I think it’s a fascinating question to consider, and the idea that we shape the lives of others every day through our interactions and have deeper impacts than we know is a beautiful thing.
Whoa...that's deep. I do believe someone who grows up completely isolated from society or any interaction from a person would still have a personality. But it may be one that most people would view as "bland" or "weird" or "anti-social", but it's still something. I believe that everyday people pick up on what their peers are doing and change themselves ever to slightly which then adds to their personality.
ReplyDeleteThe spark of human interaction at Clarissa's parties seems very awkward to me. Years and years after all these things have happened (like Clarissa and Sally's relationship), it's weird to see how they interact after having gone through that experience. In the book, it's made obvious that people and their personalities change.
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea on how actions that we think are superficial are actually important, if not to us then to someone else who is influenced by us. I think one thing to note that is important is how society's expectations can also change us. Sally, for example, was a wild party girl while she was in Bourton but then when she came back and got married, she was a new person that Clarissa was unable to identify.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea and question, and I think that yes, if people were isolated they would develop differently. I believe we as humans are such a social species, and we get so many ideas and quirks from each other. Even in the way we talk, we gain ideas from each other. Think about memes too, and how that's such a social thing, and how we say them outloud and know what they mean. We develop together, and would develop very differently around other people in different situations.
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