Masculinity vs Femininity

More recently (especially with Septimus) there has been the discussion of masculinity and femininity during this time period. We first encounter “femininity” with Clarissa.

As a woman, she feels she has a certain responsibility to her husband (like hosting parties and socializing) and that was the expectation of a woman during that time. We see that Peter makes fun of her for almost being “too feminine” when he sees her fixing her dress and fretting about the upcoming party. He believes that she needs to get out and see the world instead of being wrapped up in the societal expectations. Yet, she is also bothered with the idea of not having her own identity. She is known as Mrs. Richard Dalloway rather than Clarissa. During that time period, this was not something a woman should be thinking about. If anything, the woman was supposed to be proud to be her husband’s wife. Throughout the book, we encounter Clarissa experiencing fluctuating levels of what was considered “femininity” and the mindset of the ideal woman. However, she never finds what that society would deem as the ideal or the middle ground.  

For Septimus, he was first told that he didn’t meet society’s expectation of a man. The reason for this was that he was too wrapped up in his feelings and emotions. He felt this pressure to be “more of a man” and therefore joined the war. After the war, he hardly felt anything. He was almost “too masculine” for society. After realizing this, the lack of emotion started to frighten Septimus. His is now changed in a new way in that he doesn’t see the point in living. The concept of shell-shock was under-developed to the society during that time period. Therefore, Septimus was viewed as not being “masculine” enough. According to society, he had a duty to his loved ones that he couldn’t just abandon. The fact that he didn’t recognize this responsibility was viewed as not “masculine” enough, especially to Sir William Bradshaw. An example of an “ideal masculine character” is Richard. He shows no signs of weakness, is a caring father/husband, realizes his responsibilities to his family, and has established himself, a family, and a lucrative career. Whereas Septimus is the opposite. He rarely notices his wife and doesn’t see his responsibilities. In the book, Richard is idealized a lot more than Septimus because Richard has found that middle ground and Septimus has not.

Like Clarissa, Septimus struggles with society’s views on femininity and masculinity They both ponder the definition of “a man”/ “a woman” and can’t ever reach that ideal middle ground. It is very interesting to see Woolf focusing on these two completely different characters yet they have so many similarities. Especially with their identity struggles and societal pressures it will be intriguing to see which extreme these characters choose or will they find society’s middle ground.