Virginia Woolfs Dalloway and Michael Cunninghams The Hours - Essay Example

Word Count: 1297 Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Cunningham’s The Hours  Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Michael Cunningham’s The Hours are two novels that center on the lives of women over a period of over a century. They feature a cast of individuals who seem to be the odd ones out in society and whose lives have in one way or the other been affected by an incident in their lives. These novels deal with matters of everyday life that affect individuals from different backgrounds and it is essential to note that they also provide the reader with a personal perspective of the characters. Therefore, both Mrs Dalloway and The Hours are novels that represent life as it truly is rather than the way that society demands it should be and this is a theme that will be discussed in this paper. Mrs. Dalloway is a story that has as its main focus life in Britain during the interwar period and it attempts to deal with issues that individuals in this society were not willing to talk especially in public. Among the issues that were taking place in this society, yet nobody was willing to address is the existence of homosexual and lesbian relationships. These were issues which were hardly ever addressed in the relatively conservative society of Britain during the first half of the twentieth century and it created a situation where such relationships were often looked down upon. The same situation occurs in The Hours where while there has been considerable progress since the time of Mrs Dalloway, where the so-called non-traditional relationships were hardly ever recognized, Cunningham addresses the new issues that have become a reality in the modern world, specifically HIV and AIDS. Cunningham uses Richard, a prominent writer who has just won an award and suffers from AIDS, to personify the manner through which individuals in the modern society have come to suffer from this disease. One would argue that it is through the characterization of Richard from Clarissa’s perspective that Cunningham comes to inform the reader of how while the modern world may have accepted homosexuality, it has yet to come to terms with AIDS. The myths and stigma that are attached to this condition seem to be the cause of the depression that Richard seems to be suffering as seen through his not being excited about the party that Clarissa is preparing for him for winning the award. When one compares Mrs Brown’s character in The Hours with that of Mrs Dalloway, one will find these characters to be very similar. One would argue that this is mainly because they both seem to be unsatisfied with the life that they are living despite having pursued the expectations made of them by society. It is essential to note that despite these characters wanting to, they do not seem to be able to connect reconcile their desires with that of their lives’ reality. Instead, there is an element of sadness in the way that they conduct their lives; as if they would rather be free to enjoy themselves and pursue their desires rather than being tied down by societal expectations. Therefore, both of these novels are a reflection of individuals living in a manner demanded of them by society rather than according to their own desires. It shows that the world between Mrs Dalloway’s time and that of Mrs Brown has not changed much and this is especially the case when one considers that both of these women are housewives whose lives revolve around their husbands. This is seen where Mrs Brown reflects that “She will not lose hope….mourn her lost possibilities, her unexplored talents…she will remain devoted to her son, her husband, her home and duties, all her gifts…want this second child” (Cunningham 79). These novels create a feeling that despite everything seeming to be going on well, they merely cover the sometimes sad aspects of the realities that involve the different characters. It can be argued that both Woolf and Cunningham are attempting to develop a picture of how the past can have a significant effect on the present. These two stories are examples of the realities that have been a factor of life in society for the last century yet individuals are not comfortable talking about them. One of the most significant themes in these novels is that of unfulfilled love which in Mrs Dalloway can be seen through Mrs. Dalloway’s reminiscing over her shared kiss with Sally Seton, a highly independent woman, before Mrs Dalloway got married to her husband. This revelation would have been a taboo during Mrs Dalloway’s tome because homosexual or lesbian relationships were frowned upon. Mrs. Dalloway states that the mutual kiss was the most joyous moment in her life and this is most likely the reason why she thinks about that moment. This is also the case with her namesake Clarissa in Cunningham’s The Hour where she also reflects on her relationship with her partner Sally with whom she has been living for eighteen years. While this may be the case, one would argue that Clarissa does not have the same feelings for Sally as she had for Richard and this is the reason why she keeps reflecting on her past relationship with the latter. This is seen in the statement, “Why doesnt she feel more somber about Richards perversely simultaneous good fortune…and his decline ("You have no T-cells at all, none that we can detect")? What is wrong with her? She loves Richard, she thinks of him constantly, but she perhaps loves the day slightly more” (Cunningham 11). Homosexual feelings or relationships are issues that are given prominence in Mrs Dalloway so that while such relationships were rarely ever talked about during that period, they existed in the society and that many individuals were often involved in them. Septimus Smith, one of the main characters, it can be argued, is a man who is plagued by his feelings for a friend that he lost during the Great War. Despite his having survived the war, he has ended up with a serious mental disorder which has made him see hallucinations of his friend Evans. The description of Septimus’ relationship with Evans by Woolf shows that they were more than friends and that they might have had a relationship. Septimus’ homosexual feelings are evidenced through his reflection that having intercourse with his wife is filthy. In this case, Septimus seems to be extremely unhappy with his relationship with his wife and he seems to prefer the moments that he spent with Evans, a man that he truly loved. One statement that is made in Mrs Dalloway to reflect the feelings of this man as well as Mrs Dalloway herself is that “to love makes one solitary” (Woolf 17). In conclusion, the discussion above has shown that both Mrs Dalloway and The Hours are novels that represent life as it truly is rather than the way that society demands it should be. Both of these novels attempt to deal with issues that individuals in this society were not willing to talk especially in public. An argument has been made that the unhappiness of Mrs Dalloway and Mrs Brown can be seen because they both seem to be unsatisfied with the life that they are living despite having pursued the expectations made of them by society. Furthermore, it has been argued that both Woolf and Cunningham are attempting to develop a picture of how the past can have a significant effect on the present. Finally, the discussion has shown that homosexual feelings or relationships are issues that are given prominence in Mrs Dalloway so that while such relationships were rarely ever talked about during that period, they existed in the society and that many individuals were often involved in them. Works Cited Cunningham, Michael. The Hours. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. Print. Woolf, Virginia. Mrs Dalloway. London: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Read More