Dearest Clarissa
MassArt Illustration Thesis 2019 : A series of 5 pieces dramatizing key scenes from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. 2018-19.
Memories of Sally: Clarissa Dalloway returns home from her errands, reminiscing about her old friend Sally Seton, with whom she shared her first kiss and a lasting infatuation. This establishes the themes of memory and nostalgia early in the narrative, and maintains that Clarissa pines away for a past that has already passed her by.
Regent’s Park: Septimus Warren and Lucrezia Smith in the midst of mutual marital disconnection. Septimus, a veteran of the first World War, experiences a vivid hallucination of deceased comrades as the world around him threatens to tear itself apart. Rezia, meanwhile, unaware of her husband’s plight, bemoans her sadness and isolation in Britain.
Left - Peter’s Visit: Clarissa Dalloway is visited by old friend and former suitor Peter Walsh. Their reunion becomes tense and fraught, with Peter breaking down in tears while taking stock of Clarissa’s seemingly perfect life in London.
Right - Septimus Jumps: Septimus, a victim of “shellshock”, commits suicide by jumping from his window, his final attempt at avoiding being committed to a mental institution. Rezia dwells on the good memories they made together, innately understanding he has done this to preserve some purity of spirit.
Twere Now To Be Most Happy ; Clarissa hosts a grand party in her home, learns of Septimus’ death from guests, and retreats to a private room to ruminate on her own life’s failings, joys and regrets. She finally returns to the party when her faith in the beauty of life and the present moment is reaffirmed.
“But this young man who had killed himself - had he plunged holding his treasure? ‘If it were now to die, ‘twere now to be most happy,’ she had said to herself once, coming down in white.”