He watched her snip, shape, as one watches a bird hop, flit in the grass, without daring to move a finger. For the truth is (let her ignore it) that human beings have neither kindness, nor faith, nor charity beyond what serves to increase the pleasure of the moment. They hunt in packs. Their packs scour the desert and vanish screaming into the wilderness. They desert the fallen. They are plastered over with grimaces." (Woolf 89)
These two paragraphs of Mrs. Dalloway are definitely my favorite of the book so far- although there are many great truths revealed throughout the novel that pertain to time, love, and life, this quote about human nature is one that I find to be most genuine. As humans, we have a tendancy to put ourselves on a pedastal, looking down upon what we consider to be lesser animals, for we believe ourselves to be superior in our intellegence and morals. In this passage, however, Septimus attempts to disprove this human ideal, stating that at our very core, we are equal to, if not worse than, those very animals we spend our lives degrading.
Of course, this idea is one that most are hesitant to consider; we humans are very secure in our beleif of superiority, and to some, it may be criminal to think of humans as equivilant, say, to such an animal as a mouse. Septimus acknowledges this, saying "let her ignore it", refering to his wife's refusal to view humanity in this rather degrading light. Although many will desist to recognize it, everything Septimus conveys here is true. Humans are merely "lustful animals", our motivation for the good we pride ourselves so much for doing is most often intrinsic, serving purely "to increase the pleasure of the moment." Septimus further emphasizes our animalistic foundations by using words that conote them; he states that we are a "breed", compares his wife to a bird, and asserts that we "hunt in packs." That we do: we "scour" this world, taking more than we need, purely for pleasure, taking down anything that stands in our way. Our sense of happiness is rooted in our desire for success, and therefore money- we conquer our "whims and vanities" at the espense of the poor. We are selfish, no better than the scavenging wolves that Septimus sees us as.
Why we have grown to view ourselves as so great is beyond me. These morals that we praise ourselve so strongly for having, what are they really, but excuses to allow our conquering of the world, to believe that we have a right to what is not really ours. We build upon wild land; we lock up animals that we view as inferior to us for our entertainment. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't see the animals with what we consider to be lesser morals doing this. As humans, we need to take a step off our pedestal for a moment and consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, we aren't as great as we think.
I loved this passage in the book, it was raw and stated to make a point. I really liked the way you broke down the diction connecting it to how humans are animals. The picture is as of now being saved on to my computer. :) (By the way this is Vaidehi)
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