The advancements in understanding the human psyche influence Clarissa’s character and Woolf’s type of modernism in Mrs. Dalloway due to stream of consciousness and ideas about the id, ego, and superego.

A critical influence on Clarissa Dalloway and modernism is William James’s idea of stream of consciousness. James advanced the idea that the human psyche produces a succession of thoughts that follow one another in clusters that may not always appear coherent.

James’s concept influences Clarissa’s character since her view of the world and self manifests through a stream of consciousness. For example, St. James’s Park makes her think of Peter and why it was a wise choice to marry Richard. Thoughts about Peter yield to thoughts about her surroundings and how she is with other people. She remembers “Sylvia, Fred, Sally Seton—such hosts of people.”

Another advancement in the human psyche relates to Sigmund Freud’s ideas about the id, ego, and superego. The id represents instinctual desires like hunger or sex. The superego represents the lure of suppressing those needs and abiding by a superior moral or ethical code. Meanwhile, the ego tries to mediate between the need to fulfill desires or always abide by buttoned-up societal norms.

It’s possible to see Clarissa’s character as a product of the id, ego, and superego. Peter represents Clarissa’s successful suppression of the id since Richard is a more practical partner than Peter. Her critical thoughts about her daughter, Elizabeth, further her character’s bond to the ego and superego since, arguably, her daughter represents the id as she follows her desire and wanders off alone toward the disreputable Strand.