The New Dress Summary

“The New Dress” by Virginia Woolf is a short story about the character Mabel Waring. She is constantly thinking about her new dress negatively. For the party she wears an old fashioned dress thinking as original deliberately. May be that was affordable for her economic condition. On reaching the party and watching the other partygoers, she feels self-conscious and insecure. She worries that her new dress is not appropriate for the occasion. After greeting the hostess, she goes to look at herself in a mirror, immediately deciding that it’s not right. She imagines the other guests are looking at her mockingly.

She curses herself for wearing that yellow dress in the name of being original. She continues to condemn herself for wearing that old-fashioned dress. When Rose Shaw in the party praises her dress, she feels she is being mocked.

Mabel tries to think of some way “to lessen this pain.” She describes her situation in agonized terms, as if she is not be mentally stable. Mabel compares herself with fly in the saucer and all other partygoers as beautiful butterflies dancing on the floor. She doesn’t take anything on positive note. She considers Robert Haydon’s remark as polite but insincere.

In her stream of consciousness she tries to think back to how happy and comfortable she felt at the dressmaker’s room.  The kind Miss Milan pinned her hem, asked for her measurements, and tended to her pet canary. However, the world in the party is different. She expected Charles Burt commenting on her dress as charming. Instead he asks her to get a new dress. She rebukes herself for caring about what others think of her.

Mabel recalls growing up in her unremarkable family and her dreams of romance and adventure in far-away lands. She thinks about her reality, including her marriage. She thinks of special, lonely moments in her life, which she describes as delicious and divine. These were the only moments when she felt truly happy and fulfilled.

She wonders if these moments will become more and more infrequent as she gets older. She wants to find a way to be happy. She decides to pursue self-improvement and transformation through some helpful, astonishing book, or an inspirational public speaker. Having talked herself out of her internal crisis, she gets up to leave the party. Before she goes, she approaches Mrs. Dalloway, assuring the hostess that she enjoyed herself at the party.

Introduction

This is the story of Mabel Waring and her yellow dress. Mabel receives an invitation to a party at Mrs Dalloway’s place. But her doubts about the dress keep her anxious throughout the little time she spends in the party. The writer’s technique of stream of consciousness allows us to peep into Mabel’s mind and follow her chain of thoughts.

Invitation to the Party

On receiving an invitation from Mrs Clarissa Dalloway, Mabel prepares to attend the party. She spends hours with the dressmaker to choose a dress. After much thought and elaborate discussion, she decides on a yellow dress. But as soon as she enters the party, a sense of self-doubt takes such a strong grip over her mind that she keeps wondering whether or not she looks good enough.

The Beginning of the Doubt

Mabel believes that to be fashionable in London society requires a good fortune. She believes she can never be fashionable. As soon as she enters Mrs Dalloway’s house, she meets Mrs Barnet. Mabel interprets the look on her face to be a look of disapproval of Mabel’s dress. Her confidence is shaken and on being greeted by the host of the party, Mabel grows more suspicious of her decision of wearing that dress. A final look into the mirror confirms that Mabel looks unfashionable and that her dress is not appropriate.

Mabel’s Past Life

Worrying so much over a dress seems a trivial matter until we get a peep into Mabel’s mind. Her thoughts reveal that her past life has not been easy. Mabel’s lack of confidence and her excessive self consciousness begin to make sense when we get to know the kind of childhood she had.

Money had always been scarce in her childhood and her family had struggled to make the two ends meet. A series of misfortune had aggravated the troubles of her poor family. Due to this, Mabel had never had an access to the high fashion of the society. Mabel’s married life had not made things any better and she lives in a small house with her husband Hubert and their two kids. They have no maids and can only afford bare minimum food.

The Cause of Mabel’s Insecurities

Mabel’s modest family background explains the sense of inferiority that constantly troubles her. However, she remains aware of the fact that the opinions of others or their approval should not be a matter of her concern. Despite knowing that she lacks conviction, she fails to free herself from the inferiority complex. This is because she has deeply ingrained the class differences that mark certain people as superior to others. She nevertheless tries hard to fit in into the high fashion society of Mrs Dalloway, but fails miserably.

The Fly in the Saucer

Mabel likens her condition to that of a fly trapped in a saucer. As much as she detests this image, it is stuck in her mind. She remembers having read it somewhere and the image of a fly trying to crawl over the edge of a saucer now seems like her own situation. Due to a lack of self-worth, she pictures herself as a poor, miserable fly while the other people at the party seem to her to be dragonflies, butterflies or beautiful insects. Mabel is so consumed by her insecurities that she sees herself as inferior to everyone.

Mabel’s Need for Validation

Dressed in her pale yellow silk dress, Mabel grows highly unsure and begins to suspect that people are mocking at her. She therefore initiates conversations with some people in hopes of getting a compliment or validation. Her anxieties are further heightened by guests like Charles Burt. Rose Shaw’s words of praise seem pretence to Mabel.

All praise seems mere pretence to her. Every compliment she receives is dismissed by her as merely an act of politeness. Seeing Charles Burt and Rose Shaw engaged in a conversation, Mabel assumes they are making fun of her yellow dress. She is further disconcerted by Mrs Holman who approaches her but talks only of her children’s ailments.

The Yellow Dot

Seated uneasily on a blue sofa, Mabel sees her reflection in a mirror. She sees herself as a yellow dot. This is the result of a complete absence of regard for herself and her worth, that makes her see herself reduced to mere dot. Her diminshed reflection in the mirror symbolises the incompetent and worthless person that Mabel has reduced herself to.

By constantly overthinking and doubting, she has begun to consider herself inferior to others like Rose Shaw or Mrs. Dalloway. She believes that she is an unsatisfactory mother and a wobbly wife.

Mabel’s Resolution

After a chain of conflicted thoughts trouble her during the party, she resolves to be a changed person and transform her life for better. But very soon, the determination fades away. Wrapped in her old Chinese cloak, Mabel Waring leaves the party early.

Conclusion

Mabel’s insecurities stem as much from her self-conscious thoughts as from her low social standing. She constantly feels out of place during parties but keeps attempting to fit in. She leads an unsatisfactory life at home and considers herself worthless. This is a woman trapped in the modern dilemma of identity. She dwells so much on her dress and cares too much for the opinions of others about herself.

Thus, Mabel Waring is an unfortunate figure who is the victim of her obsessive thoughts. She desperately tries to elevate herself to the social standing of the high class but fails. She is an alienated, lonely figure who is a victim of her own thoughts and of the class differences that she tries to efface.

The New Dress

Virginia Woolf

Alienation, Isolation, and Loneliness The New Dress Virginia Woolf -Woolf was born into a privileged household on January 25th, 1882.

-She began writing when she was young and published her first novel in 1915.

-She was known as an advocate for women rights and feminist movements helped influence her writings.

-Virginia Woolf was known for her battles with depression.

-Virginia Woolf committed suicide on March 28th, 1941. Alienation (noun) : A sense of powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, or cultural- or self estrangement brought on by the lack of fit between individual needs or expectations and the social order.

"The main object in life for the coming woman will be not so much the mating as the making of herself." -Prentice Mulford Setting -Set in the early 20th century

-A time where women were still going through many struggles to gain social acceptance and importance.

-This was also a time where the appearance of women was important too. Two Main Settings Setting Mrs. Milans Workroom:

Mabel felt, "Rid of cares and wrinkles, what she dreamed of herself was there--a beautiful woman." (pg. 494)

In the workroom, Mabel didn't feel judged.

There were no expectations but her own.

The setting of the workroom acted as a safety for where Mable could truly be herself.

Mrs. Dalloways Party Setting “Mabel had her first suspicion that something was wrong as she took her cloak off and Mrs. Barnet…confirmed the suspicion—that it was not right, not quite right.”

This is the first line in the story and it reveals so much about where Mabel is.

This is where Mabel began to feel separated and disconnected from the world because of the dress she was wearing.

The setting of the party is what disconnected Mabel from the people around her.

Mabel Waring is the protagonist of the story, but not however a dynamic character.

The story is told through a stream of consciousness fashion.

There is a very intense internal conflict going on within Mabel.

Mabel is a woman consumed with thoughts of self-hatred and insecurities.

Mabel constantly felt like a failure because she wasn't married to anyone of wealth or high social standings. Character: Mabel Waring Mabel compared herself to a fly.

Mable “saw herself like that—she was a fly, but the others were dragonflies, butterflies, beautiful insects, dancing, fluttering, skimming, while she dragged herself up out of the saucer.” (pg. 494)

Mabel is overcome with feelings of constantly being criticized by those around her.

At the party, Mabel was “left alone on the blue sofa, punching the cushion in order to look occupied, for she would not go join Charles Burt or Rose Shaw.. perhaps laughing at her by the fireplace.” (pg. 498) Character: Mabel Waring Mabel's character does not go through any drastic change. She starts of in the same emotional state that she ends in.

When Mabel first arrived at the party and noticed her dress compared to the other women's dresses, she felt that hers was not suitable and was severely insecure about this.

Because Mabel's character is one that is overcome with self-judgment, negative self-esteem, and severe insecurities, Mabel Waring unconsciously alienates herself from the people around her. Character: Mabel Waring Virginia Woolf used very distinctive words to describe the emotional state Mabel Waring was going through.

Tone When describing Mabel while she was wearing the yellow dress, she wrote that Mable “felt like a dressmaker’s dummy standing there, for young people to stick pins into.” (pg.493) The words that Virginia Woolf chose were words that captured that Mable felt that she was always being criticized and that other people were constantly picking apart Mabel’s insecurities.

Because of the word choice that was used, we the readers are given a much clearer understanding as to who Mable Waring is.

Because of the narrator perspective that the reader gets, the narrator reveals the thoughts of Mabel Waring and how she views herself. Tone Mable described herself as “some dowdy, decrepit, horrible dingy old fly.” (pg. 494) After realizing how much she cares about what other people think of her, she starts thinking about her “odious, weak, vacillating character.” (pg. 496) The language that Virginia Woolf uses is to such an extreme, that it gives the reader the idea that Mabel Waring is going through serious emotional instability. The word choice that she chose also helps the reader to connect with the feelings of someone who may feel isolated or alienated from everyone. The feeling of being alienated from those around you, and alienated from society, comes from the lack of fitting with individuals or in the social order. Mabel Waring did not have the resources to be as well dressed as other women. She felt inferior to everyone around her, and felt constantly judged and ridiculed. She tries to overcome it but goes back to despising her character. Through the settings, character, and tone of the story, Virginia Woolf helped to connect the reader to the extreme feelings of alienation that Mabel Waring felt. When Expectations Are Not Met New dresses are supposed to make a girl feel absolutely beautiful. In Mabel Waring's case, a new dress made her despise who she was.

Glossary

annul – reduce to nothing

appalling – very bad

archeology – scientific study of material remains of past human life an activities

botany -a branch of biology dealing with plant life

bulging – swollen

clamour – a loud continuous noise

cormorant – large diving seabirds

coy – bashful

creaking – making a harsh, high pitched sound

decrepit – elderly and infirm

detached – aloof

dignified – august, distinguished

dingy – gloomy and drab

dowdy – unfashionable

etymology – scientific study of the history of a linguistic form (words, grammar)

fretful – restless

fructify – to bear fruit

furbishing – to give a new look to

gesticulating – using gestures

grudgingly – in a reluctant manner

lolling – hanging loosely

misery – physical and mental distress or discomfort

odious – extremely unpleasant

orgy – excessive indulgence

paltry – inferior

pluming – profound

to indulge in pride

deep or intense

pucker – a small fold

puffed up – inflated, swelled

relentlessly

remorselessly – affectless

repulsive – arousing intense distaste or disgust

rigged – manipulated

satirical – sarcastic

scrolloping – possessing heavy floral ornament

simpered – smiled in an affectedly coy manner

slinking – moving quietly with gliding steps

slouched – stood or sat in a lazy way

sordid – unpleasant

squint  – to look with eyes partly closed

vacillating – wavering between different opinions

vanity – excessive pride

weevils – small insects/beetles

wobbly – uncertain movement