Clarissa and Septimus, at first glance, feel like very separate and different people. But why do they have a strange connection? I believe that both of them are deviant in the system of “social society”, where they suffer from a lack of true, emotional connection.
Clarissa is presented as a very social individual throughout the book; she plans parties, is married, and has numerous friends in high society. However, we learn later on that she does not feel emotionally “connected” with them. She throws parties in the attempt to create bonding moments between people her age, which is rarely seen. She is in a stable marriage with a successful husband, but they are rarely emotionally open with each other. Her own husband struggles to tell her that he loves her, even after decades of marriage. This is not viewed as a bad thing, as she says “a little independence there must be between people living together day in day out in the same house; which Richard gave her, and she him.” (7) Since this independence is something she prefers, it’s a reason she chose Richard over Peter. Nonetheless, despite Clarissa knowing that people will always have distance between each other, she still tries to connect with them through her social parties.
Septimus shares the same fate, but on a much more extreme level. After his traumatic experience at war, he struggles to connect with the people he loves, especially his wife Rezia, who is forced to take care of him while he can barely say coherent sentences. His doctors make things even worse as they are extremely dismissive of his condition, and wave him off saying some time spent relaxing would help for sure. Septimus ultimately feels like his lack of connection to others leads to him losing control over his own life. Thus, as a final act of protest he ends his life as a way to show he still has some control. The difference between him and Clarissa is that she was able to accept living without these intimate connections, while he spiraled out of control. But in some way, it could be argued that he is “free” from this burden, compared to Clarissa who still has to go through it every day.
Clarissa has never met Septimus, so why does she feel such a strong connection to him? Clarissa knows exactly what it’s like to feel emotionally estranged by the people surrounding her. However, instead of expressing it outwardly in big bursts, she keeps it quietly to herself, manages to come to terms with it. The story ends with Clarissa going back to her party, while Septimus’s fate meant going back to heaven. Ultimately, Clarissa is the “victor”, while Septimus’s end implies his inability to adapt to the world.
