Stylistic Differences

After finishing reading Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and Emma by Jane Austen, I noticed a few major differences between the novels.  First and foremost among these differences was the style of the two authors: Austen was more direct, while Woolf left more up to the reader.  A second difference was what I expected from the novel as reader; Emma read quite easily, whereas Mrs. Dalloway more difficult and less predictable.
    The style that Emma was written was incredibly straightforward.  Physical descriptions of the characters were given to the reader the first time a character was introduced, describing as much as was necessary to envision the character.  The novel opens with, “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with…” telling the reader exactly what they need to know.  Character’s personalities are described similarly, often shortly within describing their physical attributes.  Emma’s cleverness, her most distinguishing personality trait, is given in the opening sentence.  This direct style lays out every thing the reader needs to know about the characters  and leaves very little to the imagination.  Compare this to Mrs. Dalloway, where very little information regarding the character’s attributes is given up front, if at all.  When the information is given to the reader, it is given a small piece at a time, forcing the reader to gradually draw conclusions about the characters.  Rather than define the characters immediately, Woolf allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about the characters as more and more information is given.  This difference in styles is huge and also contributes to the way the novels are read and what can be expected from them.
    Much like the direct writing style Emma was written with, reading it is straightforward as well.  The novel goes through events chronologically and also describes the significance of the events.  When attending a trip to Box Hill, Emma accidentally offends one of her friends.  Mr. Knightley, a prominent figure, scolds Emma for doing so and tells her the extent of her offense.  Once again, this leaves very little up to the reader to discern for themselves.  Furthermore, this directness leads the novel into predictable paths.  After Mr. Knightley scolds Emma, he tells her to try to apologize for her comment.  Because the reader knows Emma respects Mr. Knightley, she will take his advice.  A few pages later, her apology is happening in the novel, just as expected.  Mrs. Dalloway, on the other hand, has a far more complex story line.  The novel often shifts perspectives, where neighboring paragraphs have a different point of view.  This results in forcing the reader to keep track of a multitude of characters and perspectives.  Also due to this shift in perspective, the reader has less of an idea of what to expect.  Nearly anything, within reason, could happen next in the novel.  Not knowing who was going to be the next focus, and sometimes having multiple views of the same situation, led to a much more complex and intellectually stimulating read.
    The directness of Emma makes it a simple, yet enjoyable read.  Mrs. Dalloway was far more difficult, but forced the reader to think more.  While both are enjoyable, it comes down to whether or not you enjoy the style.

Eric Carl

Conventions in Emma and Mrs. Dalloway

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a convention as “usage or custom especially
in social matters or a rule of conduct or behavior.” In Jane Austen’s Emma and Virginia
Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, conventions have numerous uses. Conventions suppressed
personal desires, allowed people to communicate without conflict, kept lives running
smoothly, and governed social affairs.

Conventions suppressed personal feelings. As Clarissa Dalloway greeted the people
who came to her party at her own personal space, she said “how delightful to see you!”
(Woolf 163) to each person. Clarissa didn’t articulate how she actually felt about each
person who came to her party; however, she was “effusive” and “insincere” (Woolf 163)
just to conform to the conventions of the era. Clarissa Dalloway utilized conventions and
suppressed her own feelings simply to keep her guests comfortable at her party.

Conventions kept life running smoothly. Although Clarissa Dalloway, in Mrs. Dalloway,
was in love with Peter Walsh as a young adult, she married Richard Dalloway just
to conform to the conventions and expectations of her peers. Clarissa Dalloway was
expected to marry a person similar to Richard Dalloway, and she couldn’t fulfill her
relationship with Peter Walsh because of conventions. Conventions caused Clarissa
Dalloway to chose social status over love, and those conventions virtually changed her
entire life.

Conventions governed social affairs in the 1800’s and in the 1900’s. In Emma, Emma
Woodhouse threw a party for Mr. Elton’s new wife. The party continued according to
the social conventions of the 1800’s; the party began with a dinner, and concluded with
the men and women parting to separate rooms. Since social conventions were followed
almost to a tee, the party ran smoothly. Additionally, in Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa’s party
began with the “ladies… going up one by one.” (Woolf 161) Since the party started off
following the social conventions of the time, conflicts were avoided at the beginning of
the gathering. The people who lived in both these generations relied on conventions to
have successful parties.

Conventions were so important in the 19th and 20th centuries because when a person
disregarded conventions and expressed their real feelings, conflicts were created. In
Emma, Emma Woodhouse breached conventions and expressed how she really felt
toward Miss. Bates, saying “Ah! ma’am, but there may be a difficulty. Pardon me, but
you will be limited as to number—only three at once.” (Austen 301) Emma insulted
Miss Bates, and disrupted the informal social gathering she was participating in. This
passage in Emma illustrated how important conventions were to the people in this
time period. Likewise, when conventions were disregarded, conflict between people
occurred. There were certain safe topics that people could talk about in conversations.
At Clarissa Dalloway’s party, the majority of her guests adhered to the conventions,
except for two men who quarreled. These two men didn’t use the conventions, and it
lead to a conflict at the party. The proper use of conventions generally kept conflicts
away.

The character’s actions in Emma and Mrs. Dalloway demonstrated how necessary
conventions were in the time periods the novels were set in. Without the conventions,
conflicts occurred; however, when characters used the conventions, life ran in a way
that the characters were accustomed to and expected.

Andrew Corbitt


Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Penguin. 1815. Woolf, Virginia.
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. 1925.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Web.

Conventions dealing with Space in Emma and Mrs. Dalloway

As a woman, there are only a few spaces that I cannot enter – the men’s bathroom, for example. As a twenty year old, the only spaces I am not ‘legally’ allowed to occupy are the ones where a person must be twenty-one or older – a liquor store, for example. Otherwise the world is an endless source of opportunity, waiting for me to explore all of its diverse spaces. However, it has not always been this way – especially for women. There was a time, not too long ago, where spaces were regulated. These regulations did not necessarily derive from a government act. A majority of them were conventions developed over time in a particular society/culture. In Jane Austen’s Emma and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, we catch a brief glimpse of how these conventions regulated society and influenced the people in that society.

It is perfectly normal in today’s modern world for a woman to come and go as she pleases. However for the women in Jane Austen’s novels, there were different societal rules a woman of class had to follow. At one incident in the novel after the party at Mr. and Mrs. Weston’s, Emma finds herself in a somewhat “awkward” situation. It has just begun to snow, and Mr. Woodhouse is quite impatient to get home before the snow worsens. In all the hustle and bustle, Emma and Mr. Elton are forced to share a carriage. Austen describes how the door is “lawfully” shut. The use of the world “lawfully” seems to indicate that Emma is totally aware of the precarious situation she is in. No one had noticed that she was alone in the carriage with a man she is not related to (also without a female chaperon). So if she were to make a fuss about it now, then that would draw unnecessary attention to the situation. Mr. Elton and Emma have just broken a cardinal rule! A woman and a man, who are not married, are never allowed to be together alone. It would ruin Emma’s reputation.

Another example we can draw from Emma is when she goes to drop off Harriet at the Martin’s farm. As well as having conventions that regulate interactions between the opposite sexes, there are also certain conventions that apply to the mixing/socializing of the social classes. We can see this particularly well as Emma attempts to convince Harriet that marrying Martin would not be beneficial, “It would have grieved me to lose your [Harriet’s] acquaintance, which must have been the consequence of your marrying Mr. Martin.”  Martin comes from the working class, and Emma would find it improper to have associations with anyone even acquainted with the Martin family.

On the other hand in novels such as Mrs. Dalloway the conventions that ruled Emma’s social life have been altered or totally forgotten all together. The first encounter we have with Mrs. Dalloway is of her walking by herself to a flower shop. At the very beginning of the novel one of the most important rules of Emma’s society has already been broken. Another example of the differences between Emma and Mrs. Dalloway is that when Peter Walsh comes to visit Clarissa, he rushes up to her bedroom and talks with her as she mends her dress! This event alone describes how flexible the social conventions of Mrs. Dalloway’s time period have become. There seems to be almost no space that is off limits. At the same time Clarissa lives in Westminster. This is an area near London that is generally reserved for the upper middle class, upper class, and royalty. Even though spaces no longer restrict communication between men and women, they certainly do restrict the interaction between social classes.

Even though the above comparisons between the modern world and two variations of older generations are really only applicable to western society, they are still relevant and accurate descriptions of how our society has changed over time. It is interesting to reflect on how much society and its conventions about space have altered. 

-Katherina Delgado

Austen, Jane. Emma. 2009. Public Domain Books. Ebook. 

Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. 1925. Mariner Books. Print.