An Analysis of Men and Women’s Exist Plight from a Feminist Perspective: Taking Mrs. Dalloway as an Example

Abstract

Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway is the pinnacle of stream-of-consciousness fiction. Scholars have mostly focused their studies on aspects such as the novel’s stream-of-consciousness techniques and the theme of death. From a feminist perspective, this paper analyzes oppression and its reason caused by the patriarchal society through the physical and spiritual survival plight of men and women in the novel, as well as the resistance and self-redemption of the two main characters when facing exist plight. It shows that Woolf cares for both women and men, and ultimately focuses on the eternal proposition of “man” with a humanistic mindset.