Chapter 2 Summary

In this chapter, we've flashed back to 1923, eighteen years before Virginia Woolf kills herself. The author wakes from a dream which has given her inspiration for the novel she's working on: Mrs. Dalloway. She will begin her novel with Clarissa Dalloway running out to buy flowers on a beautiful day in June. In the bathroom, Virginia washes her face without permitting herself to look in the mirror. Sometimes, in the mirror, she sees a dark vision rather than herself. She cannot risk any unpleasantness this morning, not when she's inspired and in the mood to write. She grabs a cup of coffee from the dining room, avoiding breakfast and her servant, Nelly, in the kitchen. She knows black Nelly would only ruin her mood. She instead goes to her husband, Leonard, who is already at his desk, glaring at printing errors he's found...