The protagonist, Clarissa Dalloway is a 'charming, vivacious' and a very sensitive woman, 'very upright' in her bearing, having 'a touch of the bird about her'. She wanted to be stately and commanding like Lady Bruton, or like Lady Bexborough, 'slow and stately...very dignified, very sincere. Instead of which she had a narrow pea-stick figure; a ridiculous little face, beaked like a bird's'. Inspite of her 'light' appearance, Clarissa has a commanding presence, 'Not that she was striking; not beautiful at all; there was nothing picturesque about her; she never said anything specially clever; there she was, however; there she was'. In her own words, she 'loved success; hated discomfort; must be liked; talked oceans of nonsense'. She loves to give parties, dance, and being looked upon as a benevolent mistress, '...thank you ,thank you, she went on saying in gratitude to her servants generally for helping her to be like this, to be what she wanted, gentle, generous-hearted'. Even Lady Bruton who usually meets her with indifference or hostility has to admit that 'Clarissa had wonderful energy' in context of her parties; She loves her husband Richard Dalloway and is thankful to him for giving her space in their marriage 'For in a marriage a little license, a little independence there must be between people living together day in day out in the same house'. Her affection for her daughter Elizabeth becomes apparent in her resentment over Miss Kilman's influence over her daughter. Clarissa loves life, though finds it unbearable at the same time, 'very, very dangerous to live even one day'. This negativity in her thoughts appear to be a result of her recent illness, as well as perhaps the just ended War. She is an atheist 'not for a moment did she believe in God' and does good for it's own sake. Though the immediate cause of this was her sister's death, she has always been 'one of the most thorough-going sceptics'.
Clarissa's friend Peter Walsh admires her for 'her courage; her social instinct...her power of carrying things through...her spirit, her adventurousness', her charm and her honesty. According to him she has a 'genius' of getting people together at her parties, and she needed people around her to bring out her 'exquisite' sense of comedy. He finds her a better judge of character, Clarissa herself says 'her only gift was knowing people almost by instinct'; shrewd and having a clear knowledge of what she wants. At the same time however, he finds her 'hard...a trifle sentimental', 'insincere', 'worldly', 'cold as an icicle', 'That was the devilish part of her- this coldness, this woodenness, something very profound in her...an impenetrability'. He calls her a 'perfect hostess', implying all the superficiality involved in such a role, which Clarissa resents. This touch of artificiality is revealed in Clarissa's thoughts while she is out shopping for flowers in the morning, 'people should look pleased as she came in...Much rather would she have been one of those people like Richard who did things for themselves, whereas...half the time she did things not simply, not for themselves; but to make people think this or that'. Sally calls her a snob for she has invited Clarissa to come over to her place many times, but the latter never does. However, Sally is thankful for the friendship they shared, for it 'kept her sane...so unhappy had she been at home'.
Clarissa has a very active imagination, everything that is related to her or is remembered by her is very clearly felt and seen by her in her mind's eye, be they her reminiscences about Bourton when she was young, her conversations with her friends in those early days, her reactions to the incidents that happend then or are taking place now.
'...with a lttle squeak of the hinges, which she could hear now, she had burst open the French windows and plunged at Bourton into the open air', again, 'She stiffened a little; so she would stand at the top of her stairs'. The most graphic being, 'He had killed himself- but how? Always her body went through it, when she was told, first, suddenly, of an accident; her dress flamed, her body burnt. He had thrown himself from a window. Up had flashed the ground; though him, blundering, bruising went the rusty spikes. There he lay with a thud, thud, thud in his brain and then a suffocation of blackness. So she saw it.'
She appears to understand the reason why Septimus comitted suicide. Everyone strives to find a meaning in life, but as one grows older frittering one's life in parties and chattering, it becomes impossible to find any answer. Maybe the young man has killed himself because there is no meaning in life, and has instead found an embrace in death itself. 'Death was an attempt to communicate, people feeling the impossibility of reaching the centre which , mystically, evaded them; closeness drew apart; rapture faded; one was alone. There was an embrace in death'. She almost feels guilty for being alive and seems almost to resent this life because it ties one down to lead it to the end.
Clarissa understands her own nature, that she has been selfish and ambitious. But this is how she is and her friends are thakful for her selfless friendship.
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