Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway Marks 100-Year Literary Milestone

Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, published 100 years ago in 1925, is a groundbreaking modernist novel set in post-World War I London, following the intertwined lives of Clarissa Dalloway and Septimus Smith, a shell-shocked veteran suffering from PTSD. The novel critiques the military-industrial complex of interwar Britain and explores themes of memory, trauma, and social systems, resonating strongly with contemporary issues of militarization and political crisis. Mrs. Dalloway's influence extends across various media, inspiring adaptations such as Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours and Wayne McGregor's ballet Woolf Works, while the Virginia Woolf Society commemorates the novel annually on "Dalloway Day." The book's original cover was designed by Woolf's sister Vanessa Bell, featuring symbolic floral imagery that has endured across numerous editions. Woolf's innovative narrative approach, focusing on characters' inner lives rather than external details, marked a significant shift in literary style and continues to captivate readers and writers today. Celebrations and scholarly reflections on the novel highlight its enduring relevance and the multiverse of creative works it has inspired.