The Intersection of External Time and Internal Time in Mrs Dalloway by

In Mrs Dalloway, the modernist writer Virginia Woolf undermines the usual conventions of prior prose fiction by adopting an innovative approach to time. She contrasts the objective external time and subjective internal time that structure the plot of the one-day novel. In fact, the story takes place on a single day in June and, by the use of two important techniques, namely the stream of consciousness mode of narration and the interior monologue, the reader is constantly flowing from the present to the past or the future. Moreover, Woolf blurs the distinctions between dream and reality but emphasizes the importance of the present moment. Finally, both representations of time have a great influence on characters' life and relations between each other. Firstly, time itself, which, in fact, measures and divides, becomes fluid, elastic and mobile the interaction of memories and thoughts. As Showalter points out in the introduction of Mrs Dalloway, "In Time and Free Will (1888) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Bergson" speaks about "'psychological time, which is internal, subjective, and measured by the relative intensity of the moment'" (qtd. in Woolf xx). Internal time is one of the new characteristics that Woolf introduces in her novel. In other words, she describes a subjective reality through the stream of consciousness. By this new mode of narration, Woolf gives to the reader the impression of entering the consciousness of the characters. It describes the unorganised flow of thoughts, sensations, and memories that is the time in the mind (or internal time). Characters' memories introduce the element of time. Furthermore, one of the techniques for represen... ...clusion, I would say that Woolf also found her own voice in Mrs Dalloway. Indeed, in this novel, she has radically broken with the traditional way of representing time. The intersection between external and internal time structures very well the novel despite his disordered and discontinued nature. In fact, Woolf has succeeded in keeping unity throughout the story despite the constant moves between the consciousnesses of every character. Moreover, by the use of the new modern techniques, i.e. the stream of consciousness and the interior monologues, she makes the novel seem more truthful. Therefore, through this subjective approach to reality, the reader is closer to the characters and s/he is easier absorbed in the new world of fiction. Bibliography Woolf, Virginia. Mrs Dalloway. London: Penguin Classics, 2000.