Virginia Woolf Timeline and Summary

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• As she slips in and out of sleep in the morning, Virginia Woolf dreams of the opening lines for her novel Mrs. Dalloway.
• After getting out of bed and splashing some water on her face, Virginia heads downstairs. She gets a cup of coffee, checks in with her husband, Leonard, then heads back upstairs to work.
• Virginia writes for two hours straight, then calls it quits for the day. She doesn't want to over-extend and over-tax her brain.
• After checking in with Leonard again, Virginia heads out for a late-morning walk. As she strolls through the suburbs, she ponders the fate of her heroine, Clarissa Dalloway.
• When she returns home, Virginia touches base with her cook, Nelly Boxall. They discuss Nelly's plans for lunch, and Virginia asks Nelly to make a quick trip into London to pick up some things for the afternoon tea.
• Virginia heads into the printing room to lend a hand, and she works there with Leonard and his assistants until her sister, Vanessa, arrives, with her sons and daughter in tow.
• Virginia's niece and nephews have found a dying bird in the yard, and Virginia helps to build a deathbed for the little thing. As she does, she decides not to kill her heroine after all.
• After tea, Vanessa and the children leave.
• As the evening comes on, Virginia slips away from the house once more—this time, without telling Leonard that she's leaving.
• Virginia heads for the train station, planning to catch the next train into London. She buys a ticket, then decides to take a walk around the block while she waits.
• Before she makes it all the way around, Virginia sees Leonard coming toward her.
• Rather than admit what she was up to, Virginia plays it cool and walks home with Leonard.
• Later that evening, as she starts to think about heading to bed, Virginia reaches a final decision about Mrs. Dalloway. Rather than kill off Clarissa, she thinks, she will kill "a deranged poet, a visionary" instead (20.13).