Time is Sporadic

Reading “Mrs. Dalloway” right after reading “The Mezzanine”, led me to automatically make comparisons between the two novels. A notable similarity that I noticed between both is that the novels are set over a very small length of time for how we normally think a novel should be. Both of these novels break the rules for how we think a timeline for a book should be.

“The Mezzanine” covers the thoughts of Howie during his one hour lunch break on an escalator ride. Anyone could write a novel about their thoughts during one hour of their lives, but it would probably be excruciatingly boring. The focus of “The Mezzanine” was to make the unremarkable seem remarkable. While on the escalator ride, Howie discussed his thoughts of everyday scenarios, such as using the men’s restroom, eating lunch, and he even marvels at the concept of tying his shoelaces, milk cartons, and plastic straws. “Mrs. Dalloway” also occurs over a very short amount of time. This novel covers the length of one day, from morning to night, of the experiences of Clarissa Dalloway. However, this novel feels slightly more complex while reading it because of how it shifts perspectives. But this is still an example of how “Mrs. Dalloway” is an unconventional novel, as it has multiple perspectives, and is over the course of only one day.

Both of these novels are experiments with the nature of time. “The Mezzanine” occurs over a simple escalator ride, while he is recounting his other experiences at work. And “Mrs. Dalloway” occurs over the course of one day, while different perspectives are telling stories from the past. In both novels, the present is intermixed with the past, and time is not only linear, but also sporadic.