Mrs Dalloway – Modernism, War and the City:

Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway, ed. Stella McNichol (Penguin, 2000)

Cambridge Companion to Virginia Woolf – chapter on 'Virginia Woolf and Modernism' (ebook via library)
Hélène Cixous, ‘The Laugh of the Medusa’ in The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
Charles Baudelaire, ‘The Painter of Modern Life’ in The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism
 
From The Norton Anthology of Poetry:
Thomas Hardy, ‘Channel Firing’
Siegfried Sassoon, ‘Christ and the Soldier’
Dylan Thomas, ‘The Hand That Signed the Paper’
 

Dear All,

In our next seminar we are entering the realm of modernism; a most intriguing aspect
of literary and art history if I may add! In preparation of the seminar I would like you
to read the novel carefully keeping in mind that there is a very strong psychoanalytic
factor in this particular text, so you may want to use some of the things we did today
at the workshop.

After reading the novel I would like you in groups of five to prepare a full portrait of
one of the following characters: Clarissa Dalloway, Septimus Warren Smith, Lucrezia
"Rezia" Smith (see below for group info). By this I don't mean you have to draw a
portrait, though if anyone in your group is so inclined this would be more than
welcome. I want you to write down and prepare a presentation on all the details given
for the characters (where they are coming from, where they are going, why they found
themselves here), their special characteristics, their role in the plot and development
of the novel. Present a chart with their sentimental development and psychological
state at every stage of the story. Presentations will be a minimum of five minutes and
definitely not longer than eight. 

In addition I would like your thoughts on the following subjects/questions to be

discussed in the class (an online search on each subject will be very helpful if you
don't feel entirely comfortable answering the questions solely based on the critical
reading for this seminar):

Modernism
i. What is modernity and what is modernism. Are they identical? Are they different?
If yes in what ways?
ii. How would you say that the Great War has effected the artistic movement of
modernism? Has it (re)shape it completely? Has it change it? In what ways?

Feminism
iii. How is the woman presented in the novel. How does the position of woman
change in the early 20th century and why?
iv. Do you find differences between men and women writing? Which would they be?
v. Is there a need for distinction between men and women writing? How is this
explained in Cixous's essay?

Poetry
vi. Can you find similarities in imagery, content and presentation between the three
poems and "Mrs Dalloway"?
vii. Do we expect for these similarities to exist? Why, why not?

Please make sure that the members of your group are aware of the content of this e-
mail on time. If there are any questions please don't hesitate to  contact me. See you
all on Thursday.

All the best,

Evita