Evils Reflected In One Man’s Trauma:Mrs.Dalloway As A Social Critique

Mrs. Dalloway is one of Woolf s best-known novels. She takes Septimus as a model to convey her social criticism. This thesis is an attempt at a systematic exploration of Septimus’trauma and the social evils reflected in it.Displaying traumatic expressions, such as numbness, fantasies and dissociation, Septimus undoubtedly suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which brought immense torment to him. The present author intends to analyze his sufferings and the attitude of the society on the basis of trauma theory. The thesis also explores people’s mentality which is harmful to Septimus’recovery and mirrored in his trauma.Through the interpretation of one man’s trauma, the thesis comes to the conclusion that by writing the novel, Woolf intends to expose social injustice and oppression, and speak for the marginalized and the forgotten. Against the backdrop of the post-war environment and the industrialized society, people inevitably suffer from collective trauma and experience spiritual desolation. Moreover, the estrangement and apathy permeate almost every corner of social life, which is the root cause for the society’s neglect of veterans like Septimus.