How Septimus Smith's Pre-War Self Relates to his Post-War Self
Septimus is the strangest and most interesting character I've ever encountered. He's a mix of reflections on Virginia Woolf's own life and commentary on society, which culminates in an incredibly complex character. Septimus's post-war life has many echos and contrasts with his life pre-war and during the war.
Before volunteering to join the war, Septimus was seen as not masculine enough and too bookish. Society and his boss thought that fighting in the war would bring about a change to make him more masculine. And it did, the war made Septimus more traditionally masculine as he rose through the ranks and defied the odds and survived. However during the war he lost his ability to feel, which he was actually proud to have lost. He realized that it was not a good thing and panicked, married Rezia. Now he feels too much and is overwhelmed. He went through three stages of feeling too much -> feeling nothing at all -> feeling to much again.
Similarly before going too war he was ambitious, with dreams of becoming a famous poet and writer. During the war he rose through the ranks and by all accounts of society was a successful soldier. He still maintains his ambition and beliefs that he is special and different through his messages that he must share but is unable to. Virginia Woolf's depiction of Septimus strikes me as very revolutionary. The unique glimpse we get into his mind is not something you see in literature or other forms of media.
Wow I didn't notice the parallel between his ambition before/during war to how he feels prominent/godly in his hallucinations. This makes me wonder: how would have Septimus been like if he didn't commit suicide and instead survived to fully recover from PTSD? Would he have still been an ambitious person? It would be really interesting to see what type of a writer (perhaps a revolutionary writer like Woolf) Septimus would have become after going through the war and the hallucinations.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post! I agree with you that there are strong connections between pre-war and post-war Septimus. When I read some of the passages about pre-war Septimus, they almost seemed like something that post-war Septimus would say and sometimes it was hard to tell which Septimus I was reading about. Even before the war, Septimus loved writing and seemed to believe that he was destined for greatness and I think this is really connected to the papers he writes after the war and intends to give to the prime minister. Lucrezia is always trying to find Septimus' true self in his post-war self and I think that when we finally got more details about Septimus' pre-war self, I had a much better idea of what she was looking for and how it was still there in Septimus' personality.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I also find it interesting how Virginia Woolf represents artistry in a variety of ways. Even through a life-changing experience, Septimus seems to remain an artist of sorts albeit not as conformed to society. He views the world in an almost poetic way, and is able to notice and appreciate nature.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I definitely agree that it was very interesting how even in his madness, Septimus still maintained a little bit of his old self and beliefs. A lot of the things he wishes to discuss about the prime minister seem to be almost poetic due to his love of literature, and I love how the novel mentions that Septimus still reads and enjoys Shakespeare, just with a newfound understanding of Shakespearean themes and characters.
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