Aviation

“The sound of an aeroplane bored ominously into the ears of the crowd…letting out white smoke from behind…making letters in the sky!” (pg. 20)

In the early twentieth century, aviation intrigued all classes of the world. At first, the airplane’s invention was looked upon with skepticism due to the inherent dangers of flying, but by the 1920s it had become a great success. Airplanes initially debuted in World War I and were used for reconnaissance missions and attacks. They were, however, viewed as being impractical having only been in existence for merely a decade. Following the war, they began gaining recognition at fairs and carnivals where they did aerial stunts and were a form of entertainment. Woolf references aviation because of its popularity during the 1920s. She shows how the people of this time period were not fully accustomed to flying yet still severely intrigued through her description of the townspeople becoming captivated upon sighting the “aeroplane.”

Not only does the aeroplane serve as cultural context, but it also symbolizes flight and time in relation to speed. Flight is frequently observed in the novel though usually not in its literal sense, for instance when Septimus jumps out a window and "flies" to his death. There is a constant focus on time due to the book essentially being a countdown to the party. The common phrase "time flies" corresponds perfectly with the speed of the aeroplane.

"Inventions: Airplane." Free Website Hosting – Angelfire free website templates to make your own free website. Web. 29 Sept. 2009. http://www.angelfire.com/co/pscst/airplane.html

Photo Credit: Spirit of St. Louis. Digital image. Web. 30 Sept. 2009. http://www.behindthegreen.org/storage/images/tallmantz6.jpg