In creating Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf comments on the corruption of society and the lack of care for those affected by mental illnesses. Sir William, a psychologist with a superiority complex in Mrs. Dalloway, treats all of his patients the same way: he prescribes them bedrest, a lesson in proportion, and ultimately conversion. Although this treatment may help some, it is not a “cure-all” and, conversion causes more harm than good. Through Sir William’s treatment of his patients, Virginia Woolf demonstrates that conversion is a violent mechanism for therapy, and although it seems benevolent to society, it oppresses those who it is meant to help.
For conversion to occur, one must learn about proportion, the practice of having a balanced …show more content…
When Sir William taught his wife, Lady Bradshaw, proportion, he exerted his dominance over her, and his oppression of her conforms her to his ideal woman. Lady Bradshaw once enjoyed catching salmon by herself; however, she now catches salmon with Sir William: “Once, long ago, she had caught salmon freely. Now, quick to minister to the craving which lit her husband’s eye so oilily for dominion, for power, she cramped, squeezed, pared, pruned, drew back, peeped through” (2572). Lady Bradshaw enjoyed being independent before Sir William felt it was necessary to change her. Due to Sir William’s oppressive nature and power over Lady Bradshaw, Lady Bradshaw conforms to his wishes and loses her independence to him. Another way conversion creates a loss of individualism is through Sir William’s treatment of his patients. Sir William treats all of his patients in the same way and believes that there is a cure-all for their mental anguish: proportion. In curing them, he is conforming them to society’s views of normal behavior. His patients’ families and friends admire his ability to help people who “insist that [they are] prophetic Christs and Christesses,... [professing] the end of the world, or the advent of God should drink milk in bed, as [he] ordered” (2572). Sir William based his thirty years’ experience (2572) as a doctor around the practice of proportion and conversion. His views of his patients are all …show more content…
Conversion, although disguised as helpful to one’s mental health, is detrimental to those suffering from mental illnesses. Sir William treasures proportion and promotes it to his patients universally; however, with proportion comes conversion, a violent “prescription”: “At Hyde Park Corner on a tub she stands preaching; shrouds herself in white and walks penitentially disguised as brother love… offers help, but desires power; smites out of her way roughly the dissentient or dissatisfied” (2572). When Conversion “smites” the mentally, she breaks them down. Those affected by her wrath know it to be burdensome; however, she pardons family and friends of the patients, although they are submissive to her (2572). Through the imagery of clocks, Woolf demonstrates the amount of authority held over those who lack a sense of proportion. Clocks further exemplify the character of Sir William and usage of submission through proportion and conversion: “Shredding and slicing, dividing and subdividing, the clocks of Harley Street nibbled at the June day, counseled submission, upheld authority, and point out in chorus the supreme advantages of a sense of proportion” (2573). By counseling submission, the clocks are representative of Sir William. The “shredding and slicing” of the time on a clock conjures imagery of the chopping of meat and exemplifies the hardness and superiority that Sir William portrays in his
For conversion to occur, one must learn about proportion, the practice of having a balanced …show more content…
When Sir William taught his wife, Lady Bradshaw, proportion, he exerted his dominance over her, and his oppression of her conforms her to his ideal woman. Lady Bradshaw once enjoyed catching salmon by herself; however, she now catches salmon with Sir William: “Once, long ago, she had caught salmon freely. Now, quick to minister to the craving which lit her husband’s eye so oilily for dominion, for power, she cramped, squeezed, pared, pruned, drew back, peeped through” (2572). Lady Bradshaw enjoyed being independent before Sir William felt it was necessary to change her. Due to Sir William’s oppressive nature and power over Lady Bradshaw, Lady Bradshaw conforms to his wishes and loses her independence to him. Another way conversion creates a loss of individualism is through Sir William’s treatment of his patients. Sir William treats all of his patients in the same way and believes that there is a cure-all for their mental anguish: proportion. In curing them, he is conforming them to society’s views of normal behavior. His patients’ families and friends admire his ability to help people who “insist that [they are] prophetic Christs and Christesses,... [professing] the end of the world, or the advent of God should drink milk in bed, as [he] ordered” (2572). Sir William based his thirty years’ experience (2572) as a doctor around the practice of proportion and conversion. His views of his patients are all …show more content…
Conversion, although disguised as helpful to one’s mental health, is detrimental to those suffering from mental illnesses. Sir William treasures proportion and promotes it to his patients universally; however, with proportion comes conversion, a violent “prescription”: “At Hyde Park Corner on a tub she stands preaching; shrouds herself in white and walks penitentially disguised as brother love… offers help, but desires power; smites out of her way roughly the dissentient or dissatisfied” (2572). When Conversion “smites” the mentally, she breaks them down. Those affected by her wrath know it to be burdensome; however, she pardons family and friends of the patients, although they are submissive to her (2572). Through the imagery of clocks, Woolf demonstrates the amount of authority held over those who lack a sense of proportion. Clocks further exemplify the character of Sir William and usage of submission through proportion and conversion: “Shredding and slicing, dividing and subdividing, the clocks of Harley Street nibbled at the June day, counseled submission, upheld authority, and point out in chorus the supreme advantages of a sense of proportion” (2573). By counseling submission, the clocks are representative of Sir William. The “shredding and slicing” of the time on a clock conjures imagery of the chopping of meat and exemplifies the hardness and superiority that Sir William portrays in his