While reading Mrs. Dalloway, I found the two doctors very interesting. The two doctors in Mrs. Dalloway both represent two aspects of society. On one hand Holmes clearly represented the evil in humanity while Bradshaw clearly represented the rich upper class oppression, as perceived by Septimus. However, both Dr. Holmes and Sir Bradshaw had basically the same effect on Septimus.
Dr. Holmes began with saying that there was nothing wrong with Septimus, while there clearly was. Even though the idea of shell-shock was relatively new during the 1920s, Holmes simply told Septimus' wife, Lucrezia, that he needed to become a bit more manly. I think that Holmes' views represented the rest of societies views on this matter (the war veterans returning and the veterans unseen damage). In fact, in the end, Holmes was the person who ultimately pushed Septimus to the edge and Septimus jumped out of the window because he felt overcome with pressure from what "they" wanted. In this case, I think that "they" mainly refers to Holmes who as a whole represents the evil of human nature, however Bradshaw was also a big factor in this.
Sir William Bradshaw acknowledged that there was in fact something wrong with Septimus, but he used the common "medicine" at that time, by sending Septimus to an oppressive home in the country to fix him. Woolf herself also suffered from these facilities, and in Mrs. Dalloway she really critiques this in Septimus' reaction and view on Bradshaw. For example, Septimus states that "Sir Bradshaw was not a nice man" (156), and Septimus' was distraught when he learned that he would be separated from his wife. However, Sir Bradshaw is different from Dr. Holmes in that he has a much higher status, and his views were more scientific in comparison.
Then, I noticed while looking over the book that while Septimus was first meeting with Bradshaw, Woolf stated "Once you fall, Septimus repeated to himself, human nature is on you. Holmes and Bradshaw are on you" (155). This really shows that both Holmes and Bradshaw represent a big part of British society at that time, and both of these parts are the groups bent on repressing anything that deviated from what they thought was normal.
This is very interesting. I hadn't thought much about what the two doctors symbolized for Septimus. But it's true that for him they represented the things he didn't believe, the things he was ashamed of, his burden as a man. I think these types of people were the ones that Septimus never wanted to depend on as a kid. But in what was his present state, he needed their help, but not their opinion. Because those two doctors represented a lot of doctors at that time, they didn't know how to help Septimus and people with sicknesses like his.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the two doctors in Mrs. Dalloway are meant to represent society, specifically the negative aspects. In class, we mentioned how Septimus is Clarissa's "alter ego," so I found it interesting that while Septimus is defeated by society, Clarissa embraces and even supports it. This said, I wonder what Virginia Woolf was going for. The book gives two very different endings for Septimus and Clarissa, and I'm not sure which one we're supposed to side with. On one hand, Septimus is forced into suicide by the two doctors (aka society). Yet, while Clarissa relates to him on a spiritual level in the last chapter, she still decides to keep her party going. I guess in this regard, Woolf meant to show the audience how Clarissa came at peace with herself, but I am curious as to what her overall point on society was.
ReplyDeleteI think its really important thats these two people have been portrayed as doctors. Not only because they have an intimate relationship with Septimus, but because their symbolic significance is all the more relevant. People use doctors when they're sick, or when they think something is wrong with them. Human nature tries to stifle the feeling of something being wrong, it tries to reason it away like everything is ok. Who hasn't gone to school when they feel a little gross to later find out they've contracted some kind of ridiculous flu? Once you realize something really is wrong, you go see a real doctor which costs a lot of money to see, even if you just have a virus. Hence Bradshaw's perceived representation of the wealthy upper class. Even now the two characters represent a cycle in the world of healthcare.
ReplyDeleteWhen Holmes says "nothing is wrong" with Septimus, it seems to mean that, through his narrowly defined, strictly *physical* lens, nothing appears to be the matter (i.e. his temperature is regular, his pupils aren't dilated, etc.). This implication is that it's somehow within Septimus's power to stop acting so erratically and think of his wife for a change. Holmes's training doesn't incline him to consider Septimus from a psychological standpoint--and the fact is, he can't find a single objective "symptom" of any illness. The limitation is that of medical science more generally, not solely with Holmes as a person. But his overconfidence, his utter certainty, and the judgmental way he dismissed Septimus's experience ("Nonsense! We all feel a little glum every now and then!") certainly bolsters our sense of his arrogance.
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