Purpose of Writing Mrs. Dalloway Revisited

Now that I have finished Woolfe's novel Mrs. Dalloway, I'd like to revisit the reason she wrote it, as well as the meaning of the book. While portraying characters as real people with relatable, complex emotions is a major part of the novel, it is the entirety of it. Woolfe uses her impressive ability to characterize to deliver a few of her own views on life. Loneliness is a common emotion among every character in the book at at least one point. At the end of the book, however, both Peter and Clarissa are able to overcome it. With the page of the novel comes Peter's acceptance of his lasting love for Mrs. Dalloway, and, with this comes a sense of great relief for him and the reader. Perhaps Woolfe's message here is to open to recognizing how one truly feels. For Clarissa, her relief comes with a stranger realization. Upon hearing about Septimus' death, she is at first offended by the topic, but, as she thinks about it, begins to feel comforted by it. The news allows her to realize the importance of life. This, in turn, stops her from worrying about death, a recurring theme, and instead focus on living her own life.