“
It was their idea of tragedy, not his or Rezia’s.
SeptimusMrs Dalloway · Section 10
Dr. Holmes is coming up the stairs to take Septimus away. Septimus, cornered, throws himself from the window. For him, death is not tragedy but escape from the doctors who would cure him of his humanity.
Why This Matters
Septimus rejects society’s narrative of his death. His suicide is an act of defiance, not defeat.
deathdefiancemedical authority
Paths of Glory
C.R.W. Nevinson, 1917 · Public Domain