Oh dear Albatross, there is much that you cannot understand about human nature, therefore, I would not even expect you to understand anything about women and their perplexing actions!  Especially a woman like Mrs. Dalloway.  She is very complex if you hadn’t noticed.  Beautifully composed yet a bit frenzied on the inside, especially when it comes to her feelings for her old friend Peter.  And he is a bit bewildering to you as well I am sure.  But I do believe it is much easier to understand a man rather than attempt to understand a woman.  Take for instance Peter, who claims Clarissa is too worldly for him, not the kind of woman he wants you would assume from his criticism.  Yet his negative criticism toward her seems to me like a means to convince himself of reasons he shouldn’t love her still, as a way to recover from the hurt he still feels of her rejection, to remind himself of her imperfections so he can move on, finally, in the way that she has with her life.  Why else would a middle-aged man still be alone if he was not stuck in the past, in love with a woman that he could never have?  Albatross, although you may not be able to understand right now, I believe you can catch on if you continue to study.  You are making some very good observations and forming excellent questions already.

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