The Stream of Consciousness

I was speed reading Mrs. Dalloway for class tonight. I wasn't really all that excited about reading the book, because I find that I am not a fan of stream of consciousness novels. But, after finishing it, I have to say I was surprised to find that I didn't find it all that painful.

A few years ago, I read Michael Cunningham's Mrs. Dalloway inspired novel The Hours. I loved that novel right from the very beginning. Both novels take place over the course of one day in the characters lives. The difference between the two is that The Hours seems to have a plot and you learn enough of the characters that you feel invested; you want to know what happens to them. I didn't find this same joy when I read Woolf's novel, but it got me thinking.

If some poor student found themselves immersed in my thoughts all day, they too would discover a pretty boring read. Sure, there are little morsels throughout my daily thought pattern that could be considered remotely interesting, but normally it is a pot full of circular thoughts bubbling to the surface in a random fashion. In Dalloway, the reader has the opportunity to enter more than one person's mind frame as the narrative structure invites us into various passer-by's and acquaintances of Mrs. Dalloway. That being said-the book was still pretty boring. I think that it is fitting because really, life is pretty boring. There have been a slim number of days that strike me as truly monumental. Sad to say I would be hard pressed to fill a single page with days that would titillate a reader. It is fitting that Mrs. Dalloway was actually not all that spectacular. I find the adding up of days and the outcome of choices to be the real story.