Disillusion with Britain

With World War I’s end, the British Empire no longer enjoyed its traditional feeling of invincibility. The Allies may have won the war, but the nation was indubitably devastated by its immense loss of life. This reality check led to a nation-wide feeling of disillusion with their nation. Much like the obviously soon-to-come end to the rigid rules placed on the citizens by society, the stringent restrictions placed by the British government on its citizens is soon to unfurl as well. Just as those who hold so dearly to English tradition are seen as artifacts of a time gone by, a similar fate is soon to befall British rule as colonies world-wide gain their freedom. This significant change in national tradition is sending British citizens into a tailspin throughout the novel: something Woolf was, without a doubt experiencing in her own life, just as her readers experienced it in theirs.