Clarissa, Peter, Richard, (and Sally too?)

In Virginia Woolfe's Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa finds herself in a bit of an identity crisis regarding her marriage. We know that Clarissa has been married to Richard for a long time and her relationship with him seems fine initially. As the book progresses, Clarissa has more and more recollections of the things she did with Peter Walsh when they were both teenagers. Constantly, Clarissa thinks about what Peter Would think about her now, even though she is married to Richard and is in her early fifties. This seemed strange to me at first; why would Clarissa continue to think about what Peter Walsh thinks about her? Peter does not even live in London; he was living in India then. Clarissa contemplates her relationship with Richard and wonders if she is truly happy in it. From Richard's point of view, he truly loves Clarissa; he thinks about her and cherishes his marriage but struggles to show it. This is one of the main reasons Clarissa sometimes questions if she would have been better off marrying Peter Walsh. Her life with Richard is simple and secure, with few worries; she has money and people to do things for her. This is also something Peter calls her out for all the time. Clarissa sometimes wonders what her life would be like if she had married Peter all those years ago. Peter is very indecisive sometimes. He is kind of all over the place. A big part of the book is about him and his love life, depicting how he struggles to find love. Peter cannot wait to tell Clarissa about the married woman he loves and is pushing for her divorce so he can be with her. It is almost like he is bragging to her to make himself feel better about marrying her, as he, much like Clarissa wonders what life would be like if they had married. 

  Peter and Richard's relationship is relatively uneventful. Richard does not think much of Peter; he sees him as just being there and not having much of an effect on Clarissa. "Good old Peter Walsh" is what we sometimes found ourselves saying in class when referring to Richard thinking about Peter. On the other hand, Peter sometimes blames Richard for making Clarissa the way she is now. He sees Richard as a bad influence that may have caused Clarissa to lose the liveliness she had in her younger days. Richard was maybe the safe option for Clarissa when she was younger, and she was incredibly experimental with her sexuality. At the time, Richard was her best and safest bet to avoid scrutiny for potentially loving another woman. Sally also plays a part in Clarissa's love life, as Clarissa was potentially in love with Sally before she ever loved anyone else. 

  I think it is safe to say that Clarissa had multiple love interests in her life, and all of them hold special places in her heart. As she continues to reminisce about her past, it is hard to tell whether or not she is happy in the current moment. That deserves a more thorough investigation.