Quote 22
So the room was an attic; the bed narrow; and lying there reading, for she slept badly, she could not dispel a virginity preserved through childbirth which clung to her like a sheet. (2.10)
Clarissa’s most profound moment of erotic expression was with Sally Seton – that one kiss. She feels that she’s a virgin now that she sleeps by herself.
Quote 23
Why, after all, did she do these things? Why seek pinnacles and stand drenched in fire? Might it consume her anyhow! Burn her to cinders! (6.7)
Clarissa worries that her party will be a failure. She wonders why she sets herself up for failure and disappointment. These are all feelings that she cannot express to the outside world for fear of losing her facade of upper-class perfection.
Quote 24
She had once thrown a shilling into the Serpentine, never anything more. But he had flung it away. (6.85)
Clarissa had never been forced to give anything up and had never taken any real risks. She compares throwing a coin into a lake to Septimus’ throwing himself out the window. Both she and Septimus have been repressing emotions, they just deal with it differently.