The Wants of Mrs. Dalloway

It seems that Clarissa Dalloway struggles to realize what she truly wants out of life. It seems as though she has never really been sure what it is that she wanted. This is clear in the case of her husband Richard and her old friend Peter Walsh. She realizes that she compromised by marrying Richard, but is not sure that she would have been any better off marrying Peter.

Her conflicting wants can also be seen in her views of sexuality. She is aware of the lack of sexuality in her relationship with her husband. In fact, the time where she felt the most sexual was during a relationship she shared with a friend Sally Seton as a young woman. A kiss that was shared between the two of them is even described by Clarissa as being a "religious feeling" (35). However, with her reference to herself as Othello and Sally as Desdemona, is seems that she blames herself for the break in the relationship; maybe because she was re-evaluating her own feelings of sexuality and what was viewed as acceptable by those around her and by society.

Mrs. Dalloway also teeters between the want for solitude and the want for a high energy, glittering lifefstyle. She has slept alone since the time when she was ill and has continued to sleep alone because she enjoys reading in solitude. However, she also feels a need to be recognized in society and to be liked and accepted by others. For this reason, she has decided to throw the party.

These and other instances show that throughout her entire life, Mrs. Dalloway has been searching for something, although we as readers might not yet understand what that thing is.