Mrs. Dalloway Part 2- Emily Armstrong

It is obvious upon first delving into Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” that much attention was paid to the slight and subtle moments of character development. Woolf introduces an array of characters through quickly shifting points of view and uneven streams of consciousness. One character that I find intriguing is Hugh Whitbread. Clarissa Dalloway seems to adore Hugh as “she always felt a little skimpy beside Hugh; schoolgirlish; but attached to him, partly from having known him always, but she did think him  a good sort in his own way” (kindle 2%). The other characters of the story find him to be not as agreeable. For instance Clarissa’s mysterious friend Sally claimed that Hugh “represented all that was most detestable in British middle-class life” (kindle 37%). It is clear that Woolf is trying to make a point with each of her characters and in the case of Hugh Whitbread, who seems to be a minor character at best it could be to highlight his pompous nature.