Mrs. Dalloway

One of the things I liked most in Mrs. Dalloway is the theme of existentialism that radiates throughout. Mrs. Dalloway is essentially a novel without a plot; however, the insight into other people's lives told by their point of view more than makes up for the lack of action and drama. The essence of life is emphasized beyond merely the positive aspects but does so in a way that doesn't give a completely negative tone for the darker side of life such as the passing of time and the impermanence of life.

Despite the sense of isolation, there are also themes of community and interconnectedness. My favorite passage is where Clarissa is admiring the essence of life that surrounds her and how everyone is connected even if they do not know each other:

Did it matter then, she asked herself, walking towards Bonds Street, did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely; all this must go on without her; did she resent it; or did it not become consoling to believe that death ended absolutely? but that somehow in the streets of London, on the ebb and flow of things, here, there, she survived, Peter survived, live in each other, she being part, she was positive, of the trees at home; of the house there, ugly, rambling all to bits and pieces as it was; part of people she had never met; being laid out like a mist between the people she knew best, who lifted her on their branches as she had seen the trees lift the mist, but it spread ever so far, her life, herself.

I think we all have wondered why we're here and what our purpose is, and how we are all connected simply in the fact that we're all human.