(I know some books can have a writing style that will differ a lot to what readers of predominantly modern literature will be used to today)

I’m only through the first chapter and finding it incredibly confusing. The way characters are introduced, discussed and interact is not very clear to me and the descriptions of things going around her is not very clear either.

Let’s look at this segment:

No doubt they were not all bound on errands of happiness. There is much more to be said about us than that we walk the streets of Westminster. Big Ben too is nothing but steel rods consumed by rust were it not for the care of H. M.‘s Office of Works. Only for Mrs. Dalloway the moment was complete; for Mrs. Dalloway June was fresh. A happy childhood, and it was not to his daughters only that Justin Parry had seemed a fine fellow (weak of course on the Bench); flowers at evening, smoke rising; the caw of rooks falling from ever so high, down through the October air, there is nothing to take the place of childhood. A leaf of mint brings it back; or a cup with a blue ring. Poor little wretches, she sighed, and pressed forward. Oh, right under the horses’ noses, you little demon! and there she was left on the curb stretching her hand out, while Jimmy Dawes grinned on the further side.

She’s going along the street to buy gloves but then starts talking about Justin Perry? Who is he? And then Jimmy Dawes, who is that? One paragraph later Hugh Whitbread starts a dialogue with her. Between this Scope Purvis is also introduced as well as Mrs Foxcroft. These characters are not discussed any more other than their names and one line on what they are currently doing/ have done.

I don’t even know anything about Mrs Dalloway, not even her first name yet, and now I’m thinking about all these other characters.

Also what’s the right under the horse nose part? Did she nearly get hit by a horse? Why would that leave your hand stretching out?

And we have this:

“Milly?” said Mrs. Dalloway, instantly compassionate.

“Out of sorts,” said Hugh Whitbread. “That sort of thing. Dick all right?”

“First rate!” said Clarissa.

At first I thought Clarissa was a third character chiming into the conversation I only realised later Clarissa is Mrs Dalloway! Lol

Is it something I can just persevere with and I’ll get used to it / it makes more sense as it goes, or is the book known to be harder to read than average?