Question

Mrs.

Dalloway
by Virginia Woolf (excerpt)
She's looking at me, he thought, a sudden embarrassment coming over him, though he had kissed her hands. Putting his hand into his pocket, he took out a large pocket-
knife and half opened the blade.
Exactly the same, thought Clarissa: the same queer look; the same check suit; a little out of the straight his face is, a little thinner, dryer, perhaps, but he looks awfully well,
and just the same.
"How heavenly it is to see you again!" she exclaimed. He had his knife out. That's so like him, she thought.
He had only reached town last night, he said; would have to go down into the country at once; and how was everything, how was everybody - Richard? Elizabeth?
"And what's all this? he said, tilting his pen-knife towards her green dress.
He's very well dressed, thought Clarissa; yet he always criticises ME.
Here she is mending her dress; mending her dress as usual, he thought; here she's been sitting all the time I've been in India; mending her dress; playing about going to
parties; running to the House and back and all that, he thought, growing more and more irritated, more and more agitated, for there's nothing in the world so bad for some
women as marriage, he thought, and politics, and having a Conservative husband, like the admirable Richard. So it is, so it is, he thought, shutting his knite with a snap.
"Richard's very well. Richard's at a Committee," said Clarissa.
And she opened her scissors, and said, did he mind her just finishing what she was doing to her dress, for they had a party that night?
This excerpt from Mrs. Dalloway describes Clarissa Dalloway's meeting with Peter Walsh, whose proposal for marriage she turned down years ago. Peter's fidgeting with his
pen-knife and Clarissa's use of her scissors during the conversation symbolize
The description of Peter's thoughts suggests that he
Clarissa's lifestyle.

Answer 1

The symbolism of Peter's pen-knife and Clarissa's scissors in the excerpt from 'Mrs. Dalloway' reflects Peter's critical view towards Clarissa's domestic life and their contrasting perspectives on gender roles and societal expectations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpt from Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf portrays the characters of Clarissa Dalloway and Peter Walsh, illustrating intricate details of their personalities and their past relationship through the symbolic use of Peter's pen-knife and Clarissa's scissors.

Throughout the passage, the pen-knife and scissors reflect Peter's restlessness and Clarissa's busy, yet somewhat mundane, domestic life. The narrative reveals Peter's critical view of Clarissa's lifestyle, connoting his agitation and disappointment, while Clarissa's consistent attention to her domestic tasks suggests her acceptance of and comfort within her societal role.

Peter's fidgeting with his pen-knife alludes to his discomfort and his critical, perhaps judgmental, nature towards Clarissa's life choices. This action symbolizes his cutting critique of marriage and politics as well as his own unresolved emotions towards Clarissa. Conversely, Clarissa's use of scissors while attending to her dress symbolizes her continuous, perhaps repetitive, domestic role as she prepares for the obligations of her social life. These actions and internal monologues convey a profound commentary on gender roles, societal expectations, and the nuances of their individual internal conflicts.