Isolation and Communication A Stylistic Analysis of Thought Presentation in Mrs. Dalloway

Hua Guo

Abstract


Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf is well-acclaimed for its almost non-intrusive portrayal of characters’ state of mind. Many studies approach it from biographical, socio-historical, philosophical, and other non-linguistic perspectives, and most linguistic investigations deal with illustrative examples of a single linguistic device in this novel. Few are concerned with the presence of particular linguistic patterns that explain how the intricate flow of thought is successfully depicted. This paper offers a detailed elaboration on the criteria for categorizing thought presentation in Leech& Short’s model and distinguishes cases of ambiguity. A case study of Mrs. Dalloway’s flower purchase scene illustrates how different types of thought presentation along with different reporting clauses are used to convey the variation in the character’s mental state and the negotiation between her inner voice and the outside world.

 


Keywords


thought presentation, Mrs. Dalloway, stream of consciousness

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.1p.167

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