A Study Of Madness In Mrs.Dalloway

The research of madness in Mrs.Dalloway both at home and abroad is not systematic.Most scholars analyze the madness of Septimus in the novel from a negative perspective.This thesis intends to analyze the causes,the essence and the results of madness from a positive perspective,which provides readers with a new point of view to understand the novel.The causes of madness of Septimus mainly include four aspects.Firstly,Septimus is too sensitive to recover from the trauma caused by the War.Secondly,as a member of lower-class people,Septimus is disciplined by the British imperialist power.Thirdly,Septimus who has been traumatized by the War is disciplined by the British medical authority.At last,Septimus who is a man with female characteristics is disciplined by the British patriarchal society.Consequently,the madness of Septimus is the result of trauma and the disciplining power.The essence of Septimus' madness is a positive way against all kinds of disciplinary power.Firstly,Septimus releases his passion and reveals the truth through madness.Secondly,madness is a way for Septimus against the British imperialist power.Thirdly,madness is a way for Septimus against the oppression of medical authority.At last,madness is a way for Septimus against the disciplinary power of British patriarchal society.The results of the madness of Septimus includes two aspects.Firstly,because the relationship between madness and all kinds of disciplinary power is not accepted by the society,power agents try to put him into asylum to discipline him.Secondly,Septimus chooses the most violent way,committing suicide,against all kinds of disciplinary power.He dies not only for himself but for Clarissa.In conclusion,through the creation of the image of Septimus,Woolf discloses the disciplinary power in British Empire and criticizes the British imperialism,medical authority and patriarchal society.At the same time,Woolf expresses her understanding of life to readers through exploring the relationship between madness and death.