An alternate ending to Mrs. Dalloway, a novel about Clarissa Parry
This is my take on an alternate ending to Mrs. Dalloway and how I think the book should have ended. I believe Mrs. Dalloway is the tale of a woman who learns to appreciate life for all that it is. I am essentially arguing that beyond being Mrs. Dalloway or even possibly Mrs. Walsh, our main character is Clarissa Parry. I think the time she spent in the little room upon learning about Septimus' death allowed her to realize that she should appreciate her life for all its joys and its grievances, and while she may hold regrets from the past, she's not disappointed with how her life has turned out, and she certainly doesn't think it would've been better if she married Peter. She has learned to live and be happy with the decision that Clarissa Parry made, because she, in the end, is Clarissa Parry.
A polite smile on her face and hands clasped in front of her dress, he could only watch in awe and slight fear as she began to approach the two of them. "Peter, Sally," she said. "Please sit, make yourselves comfortable. I will get Richard."
"No!" Peter cried, springing out of the armchair, all previous intentions of amendment gone. "I see no need."
"Oh, Peter, don't be that way," Sally chided him. "Let us all catch up as old friends."
"Clarissa," Peter said, his heart pounding in his chest, blood rushing to his head. "I must speak to you first. Do sit with us, if only for a few minutes."
He could see her deliberating. She always was that way. Not as much cool and calculated as hesitant and unsure, but cool and calculated nonetheless.
Peter silently hoped that she would acquiesce. He needed to hear her speak. To hear it from her mouth, for her to say those words, the very ones that had been haunting him since the day she renounced his proposal for the very much inferior Dalloway -- "I would have been happier with you, my dear Peter, than I am with Richard" -- or something to that effect, anything that would ease the regret plundering his heart.
Sally must have noticed something amiss, bless her heart. "Dearest Clarissa," said Sally gently. "It has been a horribly long time. Let us not dwell on these idiosyncrasies and trifling things. Sit with us, please."
Clarissa's expression softened as she gradually sat on the couch across from them. "It has been a while. You are right, Sally," she admitted. "How have you both been?"
"Absolutely grand, I must say, Clarissa," Sally enthused. "I was just telling Peter that I heard you were having a party and I knew there was no way I could miss it, regardless of whether I had an invitation or not. Your parties are legendary, after all!"
"She is truly the perfect hostess," Peter said bitterly. He watched as Clarissa's expression began to shift -- from neutrality, to hurt, to disbelief, and then finally an emotion he never thought she would display. She didn't look sad or bothered; for once, Clarissa looked happy.
"I do enjoy throwing these parties, yes, Sally," Clarissa laughed, disregarding Peter. "I find that it brings my people together and I think it does everyone some good to abandon the strenuous work of Parliament, to kindle and illuminate."
"I must say it does, Clarissa!" Sally exclaimed. "You do it extremely well. You must teach me sometime!"
Peter was aghast. And abandon her lively sense of self and her character? No, he would not allow this to happen. Clarissa was a wonder -- so smart, so much potential -- all wasted on that man, Dalloway. No, he would certainly not allow Sally to do the same.
"Enough of this nonsense!" he cried. "Clarissa, you and I both know it, as does Lady Rosseter. Dalloway does nothing for you! He never did at Bourton and he does nothing now! Look me in the eyes, Clarissa. Look me in the eyes and tell me he makes you happy, that this life makes you happy."
"Oh, Peter," Clarissa said gently. "I am very happy."
"No!" he hissed, but he was defenseless against the cold wave of realization that began to wash over him. Mrs. Dalloway felt nothing for him.
"Is that so, Clarissa?" Sally was doubtful. "Are you happy?"
He never once saw anything flicker in her expression. No self-doubt; nothing. She smiled. "Yes, my friends."
It was then that Dalloway walked in, flicking ash from a cigarette he held between his two fingers. "Clarissa," he said. "Where did you go off to? We missed you all night."
"Oh, Richard," she laughed. She didn't have to say it, she thought. But she did. "I was in the little room, just thinking. I ran into Peter and Sally, too. It has been such a long time."
"It truly has," said Dalloway, smiling at his wife, who, Peter realized, was Mrs. Richard Dalloway, and had been for quite a while. "We must catch up. Peter, my boy, how is India?"
Peter began to open and shut his pocket knife once more. "Fine," he said dully. He felt nothing for either of them. He wished the both of them all the happiness and trifling parties in the world. Peter was clearly much better off without the looming shadow of Mrs. Richard Dalloway, he told himself.
He then felt the familiar spark of an idea. "I'm in love," he said, an eager tone creeping into his voice. "In love, with a girl from India."
"She's married, though. The wife of a Major in the Indian Army. I have come over to see my lawyers about the divorce."
Clarissa did not feel jealous. She did not feel the regretful breathlessness that she had in the morning when Peter first revealed this news to her. Instead, she felt happiness, security; because she was surrounded by people who cherished her, and what was life without parties to throw and thoughts to have and things to admire? She could now appreciate her life for what it had been, what it was, and what it would be, and for once, Clarissa Parry did not wish otherwise.
In the five-day-a-week incarnation of this course, when I could assign more reading AND writing (!), there used to be an option to pastiche either Woolf or Hemingway in addition to Baker (both are eminently pastichable). This is a good pastiche of Woolf's style--you're getting the hang of the free-indirect discourse, where we have access to characters' thoughts and feelings through third-person narration. You have Peter in this scene doing a pretty close replay of the scene he and Clarissa remember so painfully at Bourton--it seems he really did confront her, as soon as he realized that she intended to marry Dalloway (when she scolds Sally for persisting with her joke about her getting his name wrong initially), and he really did ask her to choose between him or Richard, tears streaming down his cheeks. He recalls the scene now with mortification, though he did break down in tears earlier in the day, during his lunchtime visit. So would he go all the way with confronting her here, at her party, in front of Sally and Richard? I don't know--he is quite fond of Richard (as we all are, because he's awesome), and he also wants to ask him about a job. He might nurse some regrets about Clarissa, but I wonder if he would go so far as to make a scene at this party of hers, especially when WE know she's got this renewed sense of appreciation for the "miracle" that is her life, and how Richard has always been there for her.
ReplyDeleteI always wish we could see the ensuing conversation after Woolf pulls the plug at the end of the novel, but that's because I have trouble predicting how the conversation would really go. Peter's already "made a scene" once about Clarissa, and he feels pretty embarrassed about it. But if anyone in this novel is willing to embarrass himself, it's Peter--so maybe you're right, and he would push this moment toward a crisis. I definitely agree that Clarissa is in no way envious toward the wife of the major in the Indian army, though.
I liked what you said in the beginning, and how Clarissa's reflections on Septimus' death show her in a new light. I think this is because the novel comes full circle in a way, as Clarissa and Septimus' stories intersect, and Septimus has an impact on Clarissa's thoughts. I think the ending of your take is a bold answer to questions we've asked throughout the novel: is Clarissa happy with her life? In your version we get that answer, and Clarissa has found that she is satisfied, in the end.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting take on an alternate ending of Mrs. Dalloway. It provides a sense of closure for Clarissa and Peter and it shows that she doesn't regret her choice of marrying Richard and rejecting Peter when she was 18.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Simrah, this is incredible. I would have loved to see something like this in the novel, and I agree that Clarissa's reflection on Septimus's death makes her appreciate her life. In your alternate ending, she fully embraces her identity and life choices. She appreciates her existence and talent in being the "perfect hostess." Even in the novel, the window scene and brief moment before the start of the party, showcase Clarissa's growth and confidence. Both scenes allow her to shift her perspective from regret to a recognition of her happiness, self-worth, and purpose.
ReplyDelete