“A Soldier’s Rebirth”

Menghan Zu

I created this according to one scene in the book Mrs Dalloway. In Mrs Dalloway, the scene Septimus opens the window and jumps to his death, which impresses me and evokes my thinking. Although Woolf doesn’t give much of a description of Septimus as he jumps out of a window and falls on “Mrs. Filmer’s area railings” (Woolf 264), it gives our readers plenty of room for imagination. Using Procreate and Photoshop, I completed my image to present my understanding of this scene. To better illustrate my interpretation of the plot, I added some art effects. The golden armor, the wings, the countless hands in the window, the hands of Big Ben, the falling petals, all helped to convey my understanding in my picture.

The Golden Armor

In my imagination, Septimus is a soldier in a golden armor because his identity in this novel is a soldier returning from the World War I But more than that, he is an admirable warrior for the moment, who is going to death bravely. His past as a soldier in the field of battle brought him honor and eventually led to his mental breakdown. But right now, he’s fighting for himself. He donned the golden armor of a true warrior, battling spiritual dilemmas and the post-world war I state of being a zombie. Death is more like a wake-up call from self- doubt here, a reminder that he has to contend with a long history of mental suffering.

Wings

Wings have multiple meanings here. First, the dim, glowing wings behind him contrasted sharply with the dark background of the night. His wings will carry all the fear and restless- ness that preceded his jump and will carry his purest soul to heaven. His body is falling, but his soul is rising. Second, for Rezia, the Septimus she remembers meeting for the first time is alive again. He’s Rezia’s “Young Eagle” (260) again, brave and powerful. As far as Septimus is concerned, he’s back to his ideal self. Third, just like those “little men and women brandish- ing sticks for arms with wings on their backs” (261) in his papers, he sought the meaning of fraternity. But for a moment, at least, he found his purpose.

The Countless Hands in the Window

The countless hands in the window are separated from Septimus by the window. Septimus in the window is in pain. But, the Septimus outside the window is a relief, because those hands will no longer hold him. Those hands represent shell shock, backward means of psy- chiatric treatment, self-righteous doctors, outside society’s indifference and so on.

The Hands of Big Ben

I tried to show as much of the face of Big Ben as possible. At that moment, it is a quarter to 12:00. The moment Septimus jumps out the window and embraces death. As for Rezia, she also heard “the clock was striking one, two, three: how sensible the sound was; compared with all this thumping and whispering; like Septimus himself” (264). The clock here informs Rezia of Septimus’s death. And very early, there is a related description: “ ‘I will tell you the time,’ said Septimus, very slowly, very drowsily, smiling mysteriously at the dead man in the grey suit. As he sat smiling, the quarter struck—the quarter to twelve” (168). The hands of Big Ben stopped at 11:45 to indicate the death of Septimus.

The Falling Petals

I added the petals at this time to express my sympathy and best wishes to Septimus’ wife. Woolf has a long account of Rezia’s psychic activity after Septimus’s death. Rezia feels like she was “flying flowers over some tomb” (265). All her pain and misery had gone with Septi- mus. I call this picture “A Soldier’s Rebirth” here because death, in my opinion, is the happiest way for a Septimus to be in that situation. He is at least truly free. Death is not to be feared, but to live in pain is to him an unending torment. His death makes the character more spiritual and radiant based on my understanding.