Septimus is one of the central figures in Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, Mrs. Dalloway. The novel’s stream-of-consciousness is essential to immerse the reader in Septimus’s fractured psyche, offering a harrowing portrayal of post-war trauma and societal neglect with a subtext of sexual fluidity. The novel was adapted into a film in 1997, and Rupert Graves plays this role.
Septimus is a young, shell-shocked World War I veteran whose return to civilian life is marked by psychological disintegration. His trauma manifests in different ways, including bouts of paranoia and dissociation due to the difficulties he faces, navigating flashbacks from the war, and his contrastingly peaceful life in London as a married man. He also experiences hallucinations of Evans, his fallen comrade and superior officer, whose presence symbolizes survivor’s guilt — and, critically, a romantic or erotic attachment. The novel’s descriptions of their bond (Septimus “playing” with Evans “as dogs play”) suggest an intimacy that transcends the platonic.
His story plays an important role overall, as it parallels Clarissa Dalloway’s past, both having experienced same-sex attraction — Evans and his case, and Sally Seton in hers — while now intending to live in conventional ways. Yet neither fits neatly into their compulsory place in society, but it could be argued that both could find a place under the bi umbrella. Also relevant is the fact that Woolf’s prose treats their desires as natural yet unspeakable, displaying their repressive attitudes as a commentary on how societal norms and their lack of validation for people’s mental and emotional dimensions ultimately affect both characters. Even if their outcomes appear to be opposed, given that Septimus takes his own life and Clarissa can continue leading a “normal” life.
In the 1997 film, there are a few hints at Septimus’s bisexual identity, such as lingering glances between him and Evans. However, the novel goes further, positioning him as a bi figure lost to a rigid and unforgiving society.