【Abstract】 As the most influential woman writer in the twentieth century， Virginia Woolf is endowed with much reputation and admiration in terms of her works especially the stream-of-consciousness ones by her employing some modernist techniques， among which moment of being is usually used to illustrate the motif of her novels and considered as a prior viewpoint of research for some literary critics.
　　【Key Words】 Moment of Being， Mrs. Dalloway， Septimus’s death
　　When it comes to Mrs. Dalloway， the typical representative of “stream of consciousness”， it is acknowledged that there exist two paralleled narrative-lines： one is in line with the perspective of Mrs. Dalloway （Clarrisa）， 52 years-old， the wife of a MP and the other is of Septimus， a veteran of WWI. It’s set in the novel that they don’t know about each other but share together an inherently similar mindset or we say psychic state in conformity. With regard to the protagonist， Clarissa often feels perplexed about the meaning of life and somehow the concept of death occasionally haunts her mind despite her position in the high society and the affluent life. And as for Septimus， he suffers from the miserable shell shock and can’t escape the torture of stress disorder and appalling fantasy when his dead friend Evans’s figure， the chaotic sounds haunt in his mind. Eventually he chooses to kill himself to relieve from the inside oppression.
　　1.Moment of Being or an Epiphany
　　It is most likely for us to mention the two literary masters in England----Virginia Woolf and James Joyce as the topic turns to “moment of being or epiphany”. “Epiphany has its linguistic origin of ancient Greek， which means the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something.” （Lei Rong &An Yang：39）. And Woolf held the similar view about this thought with her “being” and “non-being” perspective as the core of “moment of being”. The moment of being is a hidden pattern behind the cotton wool in Woolf’s sense and it triggered the formation of the author’s life philosophy and life writing （Yang Lixin：81）.
　　2.Septimus’s Death and Moment of Being of Clarissa
　　Though Septimus and Clarissa stand for two different classes， the followings insinuate their huge similarities： fear towards the war， hatred upon the hypocritical power at that time， the longing for harmonious personal relationship and perception or epiphany of life and death. But from the novel we can figure out that Clarissa represents sanity and life； Septimus insanity and death. 　　Hearing a news about a young veteran’s suicide， Clarissa actually experiences a philological change and undergoes a process of retrospection upon the topic of death. After she enters into the little room upstairs， she envisages it and at first feels confused about Septimus’s death， later fear emerges when she thinks about her situation and finally she has a moment of peace when she sees the old neighbor through her window. She realizes that Septimus’s death doesn’t refer to the total withering of one’s life. Thus， on the one hand， the significance of her epiphany is embodied in her pondering over the essence of the question--“life and death”. "Death was defiance. Death was an attempt to communicate； there was an embrace in death （Woolf： Mrs. Dalloway）.” Eventually she does not show too much pity to him but a huge gratitude because she grapes the essence of life that rests with facing up to it， leading a positive life with affirmative attitude and expressing the enthusiasm and courage which fail to turn up before. “But she must go back. She must assemble （Woolf： Mrs. Dalloway）.” Such a moment of being drives her back to the social life and makes her perish the thought of death， which can be deemed as Clarissa’s rebirth after her constant thought over Septimus’s death.
　　On the other hand， the significance of her moment of being also embodies in criticizing the whole society that impels people to lose their true selves. Frequently interweaving the depiction of the past and the present of the characters， the author shapes Clarissa into a person who has been striving to reconcile herself to the current life. BUT what’s her identity： Clarissa or Mrs. Dalloway？ As a wife and mother， Clarissa isn't satisfied with the situation： a promising husband as a member of the Parliament， a lovely daughter and no worries about the life burden. She doubts the rigid marriage， the boring identity as a housewife and the vacuous smiles and words while holding parties. What produces an irony is that the identity of the wife and the mother reminds her all the time of being intoxicated in this secular life and avoiding the poignant quests on her self. She fulfilling her duty as “Mrs. Dalloway”， her visible self “is prisoned in the present space， enslaved to the physical time （Mo Zhou： 24）.”Therefore， she tries to find the self through constant nostalgic memories. Till Septimus’s death， Clarissa holds that a resonation on her self comes into being， thinking Septimus by his suicide attempts to protest against oppression and persecution of the society to the individuals and to safeguard the free mind and independent personality.
　　Broadly speaking， Clarissa feels keenly the oppressive forces in life just like Septimus， but her aspiration to endure prevails at last. Because Septimus’s death initiates Clarissa into a moment of being， an epiphany to lift the vague veil the tedious life bestows to her， letting her have a transformation from a faint consciousness upon essence of life and the self quest to a clarified one. And as what Woolf expounded on the hidden moment of being， the material and social selves can be surpassed and the self consciousness can be a part of the big hidden pattern.
　　【References】
　　[1]Lei Rong， An Yang. Moments of Being in Mrs. Dalloway [J]. Journal of Language and Literature， 2011（6）.
　　[2]莫舟.弗吉利亚·伍尔夫小说中主要女性人物的自我发展[D].上海外国语大学，2004.
　　[3]杨莉馨.关于弗吉利亚·伍尔夫的“存在的瞬间”[J]. 解放军外国语学院学报，2013（3）.