20th Century Novel

Throughout The Sun Also Rises, we see Jake's struggle as he deals with the fact that he can never be with the woman he loves and instead has to see her spend time with other men. We know that Jake is undeniably in love with Brett, but does Brett really feel the same way about Jake?  Although Brett tells Jake she loves him, she is engaged to Mike and spends time with multiple other men. She even tells Jake that if they lived together, she would undoubtedly cheat on him. However, they still have a deep and intimate emotional relationship and enjoy spending time with each other. Although Brett does go around with other men, she is open with Jake about it and they have an understanding that this is the dynamic of their relationship. I think one of Brett's favorite qualities in Jake is that he doesn't say anything about the number of men she spends time with. However, to the reader it is clear that it does hurt Jake internally to see the woman he loves be with other men. But...

The scene of Septimus' suicide was a difficult one to read. Personally, it was difficult to cope with knowing that his last thoughts were about how he did not want to die, and how he felt like he was being chased out the window by Dr. Holmes. Especially because he was feeling a sense of "normalcy" earlier with Rezia, Woolf lures the reader into a sense of false hope before he dies, making his suicide all the more difficult to grapple with. However, I think in this scene Woolf is trying to convey her own feelings on mental health, how gender norms affected it, and how society viewed it. As we are introduced to Septimus, Woolf begins by describing his physical appearance rather than diving straight into his psyche, as she does with most of the other characters. She notes that his eyes have "that look of apprehension in them which makes complete strangers apprehensive too" (Woolf 13).  By choosing to describe Septimus' outer appearances in this way as we ar...