Mrs. Dalloway 6

“Lady Bruton herself preferred Richard Dalloway, who arrived at the next moment (104)”

The way in which Virginia Woolf transitions into different scenes is very interesting. Here is Lady Bruton, thinking and reminiscing, when suddenly she thinks of Richard Dalloway. He then arrives “at the next moment.” By doing this, Woolf is showing time moment by moment, rather than scene by scene (as in most novels). This is very important for the author to do considering the book takes place over the course of only one day. For example, if Woolf wrote “Lady Bruton herself preferred Richard Dalloway. When Richard arrived...” this would not create the same sense of time--as if no time has passed at all.