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Chapter 16: Mrs. Dalloway
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Hours, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Passage of Time
Suicide and Mental Health
Marriage, Relationships, and Personal Fulfillment
Reading and Writing
Summary
Analysis
Laura gets back from her hotel room near six o’clock, a little later than she planned, thinking about the characters in Mrs. Dalloway on the drive home. Even as she pulls into Mrs. Latch’s driveway, Laura continues to feel disconnected from her life. She is also still thinking about death. Laura feels like she’s hiding a secret, like an affair, even though she didn’t do anything particularly harmful.
Laura’s suicidal feelings hint at how unsatisfying her lifestyle as a suburban housewife is. Laura hoped that escaping her house would offer a sense of release, but being alone just made her suicidal feelings stronger. Her situation captures how suburban life can be isolating and alienating—in both Laura’s time period and Virginia’s.
Themes
Laura apologizes to Mrs. Latch for being late, but Mrs. Latch says it’s no problem. Richie starts to cry when Laura comes over, but Mrs. Latch says he’s just glad to see her. Laura is a little embarrassed of how often Richie cries because she figures it makes other people assume that she is overprotective.
Like Dan, Mrs. Latch seems understanding of Laura’s shortcomings (like when she shows up late), but Laura puts the pressure on herself to succeed as a mother.
Themes
Laura takes Richie home, saying they should have just enough time to get everything ready before Dan comes back. All of a sudden, Laura hears Richie say “I love you” in a tone of voice that concerns her because it seems desperate. She wonders if he’s thinking about her with Kitty or if he knows she did something unusual while she was away. She reassures Richie that she loves him and that they’ll have a nice party for Dan with a nice cake that evening.
Despite his young age, Richie seems to sense that something is the matter with Laura. Richie saying “I love you” and really meaning it is a reversal of the previous chapter, where “I love you” was just a commonplace saying between Clarissa and Sally. Laura imagines that Richie sees so much that he can practically read her mind, suggesting how the pressure of being a mother and wife makes her feel like she is always being watched.
Themes
