6. Mrs. Dalloway

"That was her feeling--Othello's feeling...as strongly as Shakespeare meant Othello to feel it...to meet Sally Seton!" (35).

Othello is a famous play written by William Shakespeare, which consists of a tangled web of lies throughout the whole story line. Othello is the main character within the play and is married to a wife whom he adores. He is forever faithful, but chooses to kill her when he finds out, under false circumstances, that his wife was supposedly committing adultery. When he discovers the truth, he is completely heart broken and regrets his feelings. Othello reacts through emotion and not with a clear mind. Virginia Woolf included Othello in her novel, Mrs. Dalloway to emphasize how strong Clarissa's feelings are towards Sally. Othello's feelings had been so strong that he ended up killing the one woman he loved with all his heart. Clarissa and Sally, in their younger days, portray the same kind of love towards each other and appear to possess the same depth that Othello had. Within the quote there is also a mention of Clarissa's white frock and the color white often implies innocence, youth, or purity. Given the circumstance, Virginia Woolf may have included all of these descriptions to depict to the reader the innocent emotions held between Sally and Clarissa during their youth. A theme of remembrance is also apparent in the fact that Clarissa has this flashback of Sally numerous times in addition to this one. The past never leaves humankind, but people either choose to forget about it, or linger over it continuously wishing it back.

"Othello." Sparknotes. 26 September 2009. 2009.
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/summary.html