Big Ben and Mrs. Dalloway

Virginia Woolf does an excellent job introducing Big Ben, the giant tower clock, in a scene of London from Mrs. Dalloway: “A suspense (but that might be her heart, affected, they said, by influenza), before Big Ben strikes(4).” Big Ben was constructed in 1834 so was fairly new at the time of this book. It was such a revolutionary idea at the time: to have a device produce and show universal time to the people of the area. Universal time is time that is the same no matter where you are. So in this case time is the same wherever you can see Big Ben. It is located in Westminster so only a certain area can use the information from the clock but it seems to be a symbol more than anything else.

Referring back to the original quote describing the ringing of Big Ben, there is an uneasiness sensed in Mrs. Dalloway. She cannot tell whether or not it is still from her sickness that she is feeling uneasy, or she is uneasy because Big Ben is reminding her time is still going. At 52 years old, Mrs. Dalloway is seen to have a good deal of thoughts about death, especially when she decides to go shopping for some flowers. The clock tower rings again. It seems almost like the reminder of death. Mrs. Dalloway seems to be feeling very emotional and shaky on the inside but is doing everything she can to hold it together. She has social obligations she has to attend to, parties to set up, people to talk to, so she puts death out of her mind for a little.

Mrs. Dalloway even seems to know exactly when the bells are going to ring: “a suspense”. Everyone has a sort of biological clock and if we experience a recognizable event everyday at the exact same time, we remember right before it happens. So she becomes uneasy. This is seen quite a bit with Mrs. Dalloway. She feels one way, but acts a different. She obviously loves her upper class life style but early in the story she runs into Peter Walsh. She was in love with Peter at some point but married a rich politician instead. She made the decision of social class over true love. This sounds a lot like Emma. It is interesting how the social tendencies of rich women stay the same from Emma to Mrs. Dalloway. The difference seems to be in the economy and technology.

Space is much more constricted in Mrs. Dalloway. It would do no good to put a giant clock on the street level in London. Instead builders are learning to build taller, using towers. Perhaps this is the beginning of buildings as we know them today. Now there is only one way to go, that way is up. Buildings have to be taller, stronger, and built quicker, all adjusting to our societies growing demand for space. So as Big Ben is a representation of universal time, it also seems like a representation of space during this time period.