Remember when we read Woolf's nonfiction essay "Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown"? One of Woolf's main points in her essay is that Edwardian writers didn't fully develop their character's emotional profiles, instead settling for an incomplete and unsatisfying sketch through describing surface characteristics. She writes:
"[the Edwardians] have looked very powerfully, searchingly, and sympathetically out of the window; at factories, at Utopias, even at the decoration and upholstery of the carriage; but never at her [Mrs. Brown], never at life, never at human nature."
Woolf calls for a dramatic shift in British writing practices -- she insists that writers must be brave enough to fully explore their characters' entire psyches. This radical idea is echoed in Woolf's critique of Dr. Bradshaw, who is supposed to treat Septimus' schizophrenia and PTSD. Dr. Bradshaw takes one glance at Septimus, assumes him to be simply "a case of extreme gravity", and prescribes six months of the dreaded "rest cure". Bradshaw completely neglects a thorough examination of his patient, refusing to even take the time to listen to Septimus in any meaningful way.
Bradshaw's negligent treatment of Septimus directly parallels the way in which Woolf claims the Edwardian writers treat their characters. I found it especially telling that Bradshaw inquires only about surface details (Septimus' career and accomplishments in the War), rather than ask about his experiences and inner emotional life. To extend Woolf's metaphor of Ms. Brown on the train, Bradshaw only cares about the upholstery-like details of Septimus' complicated existence.
By juxtaposing Woolf's nonfiction and fiction works, we can see a clear theme: Woolf writes about the importance of empathy and understanding, in both writing and in our own daily lives. Rather than making harmful conclusions from surface details, we must learn to dig deeper, to truly listen to those around us and truly care about the many things they have to tell us.
"[the Edwardians] have looked very powerfully, searchingly, and sympathetically out of the window; at factories, at Utopias, even at the decoration and upholstery of the carriage; but never at her [Mrs. Brown], never at life, never at human nature."
Woolf calls for a dramatic shift in British writing practices -- she insists that writers must be brave enough to fully explore their characters' entire psyches. This radical idea is echoed in Woolf's critique of Dr. Bradshaw, who is supposed to treat Septimus' schizophrenia and PTSD. Dr. Bradshaw takes one glance at Septimus, assumes him to be simply "a case of extreme gravity", and prescribes six months of the dreaded "rest cure". Bradshaw completely neglects a thorough examination of his patient, refusing to even take the time to listen to Septimus in any meaningful way.
Bradshaw's negligent treatment of Septimus directly parallels the way in which Woolf claims the Edwardian writers treat their characters. I found it especially telling that Bradshaw inquires only about surface details (Septimus' career and accomplishments in the War), rather than ask about his experiences and inner emotional life. To extend Woolf's metaphor of Ms. Brown on the train, Bradshaw only cares about the upholstery-like details of Septimus' complicated existence.
By juxtaposing Woolf's nonfiction and fiction works, we can see a clear theme: Woolf writes about the importance of empathy and understanding, in both writing and in our own daily lives. Rather than making harmful conclusions from surface details, we must learn to dig deeper, to truly listen to those around us and truly care about the many things they have to tell us.
To me it seems like an overall theme in Mrs. Dalloway is communication. Mrs. Dalloway wants to communicate people through her parties. Septimus is someone who is trying to communicate but can't. I think it's a very interesting point. To Woolf Edwardian authors and doctors don't accurately communicate. Doctors can't communicate with their patients and Edwardian authors can't convey character information to their reader. I think that Woolf has more respect for Edwardian authors because they are trying to communicate but their not communicating about the right thing. They focus on unimportant details instead of the rich mind of their characters. So I think this shows the importance of communication to Mrs. Dalloway.
ReplyDeleteAs readers, even we are surprised by the callousness of Dr. Bradshaw and Dr. Holmes. Throughout the book, we are surrounded by characters who are incredibly observant, in particular Clarissa, who we are told has a talent for this kind of thing. By juxtaposing the doctors with the patients, Woolf forces us to think about doctors in a more villainous (?) manner.
ReplyDeleteI think this a great metaphor. I think it could have been an intentional dig at these writers, as if to suggest that their nonchalant treatment of characters is really a problem for readers, perhaps making them stop reading entirely. This superficial treatment could be seen as so off putting that it makes Septimus and readers turn away entirely. It also may be that Woolf is so concerned with overlooking people/things that she is upset about bad doctors and writers and doesn't mean to draw any analogy. Anyways, great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! I didn't notice these parallels but you're absolutely right. The importance of empathy and understanding is everywhere in Woolf's work; Septimus' entire story was based on him losing his ability to feel for others and then being misunderstood when he tries to spread his message. This is especially tragic when you remember that Woolf herself struggled with mental illness and that Dr. Bradshaw is likely a criticism of doctors she's had. Woolf probably understands the importance of empathy more than most others.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing somebody (you, right?) mention this idea in class and it immediately resonated with me. I wonder if her criticisms of past writers in part stemmed from her own less than spectacular experiences with doctors. Maybe her experience of doctors only superficially understanding her and not being in touch with her inner self contributed to the antipathy towards authors who similarly were not in touch with the inner selves of their characters.
ReplyDeleteI think you're totally right about her critique of doctors but im also not sure that even if he did a deep examination of septimus he would be able to do anything, the understanding of mental wasn't really there then, and i'm also not sure Septimus was lucid enough during the meeting to really explain his position. That being said Woolf is certainly very critical of the doctors of that time
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