Flush: A Biography

Flush is the titular character and the protagonist of the novel. He is a cocker spaniel, and his owner, Elizabeth, loves him dearly. In describing his sensations and thoughts, Woolf imbues him with an elevated consciousness. Flush may not be able to speak to humans explicitly nor understand the complexity or significance of certain actions, but he has enough self-awareness to contemplate his own place in their lives. This self-awareness is highlighted during Flush’s first meeting with Elizabeth. In her dark room, he comes face-to-face with his reflection in a mirror. At first, Flush believes that he is staring at another dog that looks just like him; then, he comes to realize that he is the dog in the mirror. This is a significant moment that shows Flush’s keen sense of self and his intelligence. Importantly, this moment occurs when Flush is with Elizabeth. Their relationship elevates them both. Through Flush, Elizabeth gains a brightness in her life, and through his proximity to Elizabeth and her intellectualism, Flush gains a greater degree of self-awareness. Elizabeth, the celebrated poet, rubs off on Flush, and he thus becomes an extension of her. Flush changes from a typical dog, who spends his day running through fields and chasing after smells, into a reflective, somber, and calm presence in the life of a noted poet.

Though Flush is prone to reflection, he fundamentally remains a dog. He may be able to intuit Elizabeth’s emotional state and experience powerful emotions of his own, but in his eyes, the actions of the humans around him are stripped down to their raw emotional states. He does not comprehend cultural activities or symbolism, like reading or writing, or the significance of prayer or a wedding ring. Flush’s inability to comprehend the nuances of human actions is a constant reminder that he is not human. Still, his perceptive descriptions of these events—like the flash of the new ring on Elizabeth’s hand—reveal these events to readers, who understand the significance of the ring better than Flush does. Later in the novel, when Flush is confused about why the humans are suddenly interested in turning tables and seances, his perspective suggests that this interest in spiritualism is as benign as meaningless as many other human actions. The dog’s perspective strips away the complexities of human action and shows the human characters in a new light.

Though Flush struggles to understand the intricacies of human interactions, he provides a sharp assessment of dog society. In the novel, the dogs parallel human society. In England, social classes exist among the dogs, with dogs understanding their place in a hierarchy that is determined by their appearance and breeding. When Flush first comes to London, he is introduced to the complexities of dog society, and—to his satisfaction—he discovers that he is a high-ranking member of the dog aristocracy. Flush spends so much time with humans (and, in particular, middle-class humans) that he takes on many of their attitudes regarding social class. When he is kidnapped, for example, he is appalled by the notion of drinking stale water from anything other than his usual and expensive bowl. When other dogs drink this water, Flush judges them. These class prejudices of the dog society are made all the more absurd when Flush visits Italy. There, he discovers a classless dog society in which no dog is ranked higher than another. With time, Flush comes to appreciate this egalitarianism. He takes up the mantle of an elder statesman, passing on his experiences to the next generation of dogs. The novel’s absurdist portrayal of the class prejudices of dog society is a critique of social class within human society, pointing out that it is equally artificial and ridiculous.

Robert Browning is a famous poet who falls in love with Elizabeth; the novel Flush portrays this real-life romance within its pages. Elizabeth and Robert are presented as intellectual and literary equals, and they fall in love through exchanging letters, discussing art and writing, and by reading one another’s work. As with Elizabeth’s life, the novel’s portrayal of Robert relies on some degree of dramatic irony. Flush has no idea that Robert is a writer or that he is notable in his own right. To the dog, Robert is the strange man whose foreboding presence threatens to separate Flush from Elizabeth. He is an intruder and menace when glimpsed from the dog’s perspective, which creates an ironic contrast with the readers’ understanding of Robert as a poet and Elizabeth’s romantic partner. Flush’s anger toward Robert is a comedic twist on his literary significance. His fame and his work mean nothing to a dog; what really matters is that he comes between Flush and Elizabeth. Rather than create an idealized biography of Robert and Elizabeth, their portrayal from Flush’s perspective removes their celebrity. Robert, according to Flush, is just an annoying man.

After their initial acrimony, Flush and Robert come to an agreement. Flush does not necessarily want to befriend Robert, but the ease with which Robert brushes off Flush’s attacks and the increasing closeness between Robert and Elizabeth force Flush to compromise. He realizes that he can either accept Robert’s presence or risk losing his relationship with Elizabeth. Robert accepts Flush’s presence, though their friendship never reaches as significant a level as that between Flush and Elizabeth. Robert even takes the side of Elizabeth’s father during Flush’s kidnapping, suggesting that Flush may be a necessary sacrifice to prevent the criminals’ victory. Robert is willing to risk Flush’s life to make an intellectual point about society, though Flush never finds out about this. Instead, their lives settle into an amicable truce. Robert and Flush never grow very close, but they are significant figures in each other’s life.