Space and Time; Emma and Mrs. Dalloway

In the book Emma by Jane Austen and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, we are presented with two contrasting representations of time and space. A great deal of this difference is due in part to the time period. Also worth noting are the authors of each book. Virginia Woolf especially makes sure to contrast herself against writers of the older eras as we witnessed in reading her essay “Character in Fiction.” The authors as well as the one hundred years difference between the publications of Mrs. Dalloway and Emma account for the stark opposition in the way space and time are represented in each.

Beginning with space, we find many basic differences between the books from setting to perspective and technology. In Emma, we note that characters are located on the outskirts of London and use the carriage or horses are the primary form of transportation. This mode of transportation makes sense for a book published in 1815. With Mrs. Dalloway being published in 1925, we are presented motorized transport and a more connected world than that of Emma. When your only form of transportation is by horse and carriage, eight miles seems incredibly far. When you have a car that can travel at least 20 miles per hour, the distance is cut incredibly short. Also noteworthy is how Mrs. Dalloway takes place in or around the crowded city of London whereas the world of Emma is set in the sparse open spaces of the English countryside. Though most importantly of all, we have the concepts of interior and exterior spaces. Virginia Woolf gets inside the heads of her characters and subjects us to their train of thought as they wander through their daily lives. Austen on the other hand maintains a steady point of view outside of the characters’ minds. Due to this point of view, we only understand the characters from what they say, do, or how they are presented to us by the narration. Woolf believes that by being inside the minds of the characters, they become real. This logic, along with the general settings of the novels, impacts the opposing presentations of space.

In tying with many of the earlier concepts discussed surrounding space, we may also consider the differences in time representation between the books. From Emma we may clearly observe that the book is written in a very straight solid time line with no interruptions. Woolf instead breaks that boundary by intertwining space and time just as we may reminisce from time to time. By subjecting us to the mind of the character, Woolf forces us to follow their wavering conscious from memory to reality. Also worth noting is that the time in Mrs. Dalloway passes much more slowly from page to page when compared to Emma. In addition to this fact, we note that time in Emma is defined by the daily rituals and customs of the characters. As a more modern novel, Woolf’s characters run by public time. Public time can be defined as the general time as set by work and the daily schedule of a city. These differences as well as those differences in space between Emma and Mrs. Dalloway characterize these two books as contrasting works.