Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway, first published in 1925, examines one day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class Londoner married to a member of Parliament. The novel addresses the nature of time in personal experience through multiple stories, particularly that of Clarissa, as she prepares for and hosts a party, and that of the World War I veteran Septimus Warren Smith, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. The novel is widely considered to be a groundbreaking work of twentieth-century literary fiction.

The narrative begins and ends with Clarissa as it details a day in her life. Clarissa is a seemingly disillusioned socialite whose mood fluctuates: at some moments she seems delighted, at others she seems depressed. Her overall affect suggests suppressed symptoms of depression.