Abstract：Virginia Woolf guided the pioneers of modernism trend. She put the stream of consciousness novels to the world. The modernistic writing techniques are greatly influenced by her as well as some other writers’ stream of consciousness in the world. She was regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the 20th century. Woolf thinks that the traditional realism creation can't capture the real life. Human being’s inner world is the real world in her mind. Her novel Mrs. Dalloway fully reflects that she lays emphasis on performance of thinking rather than that of action. Mrs. Dalloway is a masterpiece of stream consciousness. Woolf goes beyond the limits of time and space. She only writes one day in physical time and the whole life of character. This paper introduces the writing background of the novel and analyzes the stream of consciousness and time and psychological time. The paper explains the complex features of characters in the novel in terms of physical and psychological time and reveals Woolf’s opinion that only the stream of consciousness can really be close to the reality. The paper aims to show that patriarchy society and blind worship of the royal empire and loyal family hurt woman and the younger generation.

Key Words: Stream of Consciousness; Physical Time; Psychological Time; Patriarchy Society 

CONTENTS

摘要

Abstract

Introduction- 1 -

Virginia Woolf and Stream of Consciousness- 1 -

1.1 Virginia Woolf- 2 -

1.2 Stream of Consciousness- 3 -

1.3 Writing Background- 5 -

1.4 External self and Internal self- 6 -

2. Physical time in Mrs. Dalloway- 6 -

2.1 A day for Mrs. Dalloway- 6 -

2.2 The role of physical time in Mrs. Dalloway- 7 -

Central character’s psychological time in Mrs. Dalloway- 7 -

3.1 Mrs. Dalloway’s psychological time- 7 -

3.2 Peter Walsh’s psychological time- 11 -

3.3 Mrs. Dalloway in Miss Kilman and other character’s mind- 12 -

Septimus and his death- 13 -

4.1 Septimus- 13 -

4.2 Life and death- 14 -

Conclusion- 15 -

References- 17 -

Acknowledgment- 18 -