Exploration of Kinship beyond the Traditional Definitions by Michael Cunningham - Book Report/Review Example

Exploration of Kinship beyond the Traditional Definitions by Michael Cunningham Name Institution Date Exploration of kinship beyond the traditional definitions by Michael Cunningham Introduction Self struggles and pursuance is what the novel “The hours” depicts. The novel by Michael Cunningham portrays a life-chain of women who are responding to the conflicts within themselves and the people surrounding them. Cunningham brings out the aspect of affiliation which is beyond the normal customs and rituals. The feel affection, optimism, desolation and inheritance are the aspects that influence the kinship the characters in Cunningham’s book as he depicts in is characters. Joffe (2007), notes that the search for affiliation involves assuming other people’s demands and focusing on oneself as the character Clarissa indicates. “The hours” novel focuses on three women to display the kinship beyond tradition definitions, in relationships with other people, and the events surrounding them, in the different evolving generations. Cunningham tackles different themes that portray the aspect of kinship beyond traditions. Characters The novel introduces Clarissa Vaughan in the New York City, who stands for the most recent generation. Although traditions forbid homosexuality, Clarissa exercises lesbianism with her partner Sally and they even cohabitate. This illustrates an evolving generation that allows display of sexual orientation in public. She is also an ex-lover of a famous poet Richard. This shows she also has affairs with men. The events of the character’s life are evident that tradition is not a barrier to her affiliations. Leaving her homosexual partner cleaning up the house is an indication that she is the supposed “wife” but is not playing her role. Tradition prohibits such relations and insists on relationships of opposite sex. Virginia Woolf is the next introducing character of the middle generation in a mental illness state. By virtue of what the society and family requires of her, Virginia is persevering in a state of relationship that she does not like, preventing herself from expressing her true feelings for a fellow girl she liked when young. That is why she uses a character in the novel she writes. The society does not embrace Virginia’s mental problem as the maids in the house portray it. The society requires Virginia to have children; one thing she thinks keeps her out of it all. Laura Brown, a mother of one child and pregnant of another exhibit a different character in all, suggesting the affiliation that is not supported by the society she lives in. Her inability to play the mother and wife role and her relation with kitty are questionable. (Woolf. 2003) Events Sally cleaning the apartment when Clarissa is out suggests that Clarissa who is supposed to be the “wife” in the relationship is not playing her role. The society requires that a woman be a woman and play her role as a man does the same, this disqualifies their act. As Clarissa walks to the flower shop, she meets with Walter an associate who writes articles on homosexuality, an aspect that the society strongly detests. According to Young & Cunningham (2003), the event, that is walking through to flower shop brings out memories that are not right according to the norms and traditions of the society. Although he is less interested in fashion and popularity, a character about him that Richard hates, though Clarissa likes. Clarissa’s bisexual nature is something that does not gain a chance in the definitions of the tradition. She thinks of her complicated relationship with Richard in the past, contrasting it to the good and lasted current relationship with her lesbian partner. The event of Clarissa visiting a neighborhood brings up another aspect prohibited by the tradition. It reminds Clarissa of the time her and Richie used to visit in their teenage, and evidence of their previous trial and error relationship, although Louis is the one that Richard loved and established a serious relationship with. This was betrayal. The tradition required marriage before intimacy and morally, it was not good for Clarissa to get involved with Richard knowing that he loved her childhood friend. By entering into Richard’s residence, Clarissa associates the place with lifelessness, which is not right. Although Richard does not clean, considering his health status. Clarissa’s interest in caring for him and fixing the parts of his life that he is ignoring, including the party, suggests otherwise. Sally going to a lunch date with a gay celebrity arouses questions and Clarissa for a moment questions infidelity. As she stands in her kitchen, she also thinks of a possibility of breaking it off with her current partner and go back to her old life. This depicts betrayal, infidelity and immorality. The fact that Laura Brown is pregnant explains the reason as to why she is not in a position to play the role of a mother and a wife to the husband and son. Although, is not a justification to the tradition as it requires that she plays her role as the wife and mother. Cunningham, author of “The hours” exhibits the aspect of war through the character Laura, where she is still hoping to be the mother and wife character that she desires. She feels the love of her son and husband which she desires to give back, but fells incapacitated. At Laura’s kitchen, the aspect of barrenness is depicted as kitty is unable to bare children. The event that occurs in the kitchen when Laura and Kitty kiss each other is a taboo that the tradition can never support. It worsens when Laura’s son Richie happens to have seen and heard everything, since it is not good for him. Events at Leonard’s, Virginia’s husband place of work exhibit a negative attitude of people towards work. Leonard and his assistant not in the best of terms, and Virginia feeling tired and exhausted are contrary to the requirements of work. In the process of walking Virginia engages her mind to thinking about the character she is writing about. She thinks of suicide, which is wrong and the only genuine love for her character which is not accepted by society, as she says that at the time, the character was not bound by the rules of the tradition and family. Because she dislikes Richmond, she plans to pretend to have healed so that they move back to London, and compares this moment with that of her character Mrs. Dalloway. Deceit is a “don’t” in the tradition. Virginia expresses her inability to fit in the world of child bearing as her sister visits with children. The society at that time expects her to bare children, having been married. Relationships Relationships among family members are among the relationships that the novel illustrates, both approved and disapproved. They vary, as some are imposed and involve deceit while others are good. Laura brown has a family comprising of the husband Dan and the son Richie, who love and appreciate her. Their relationship is a little bit complicated on Laura’s side as she thinks that she is unfit for the role as a mother and a wife. She feels that she is failing but for while, does not lose hope of making it right. Her interest and attraction to another lady is what is destroying her and affecting her relations. Her son Richie happens to see the event that occurs in their kitchen between his mother and their neighbor Kitty. This is likely to ruin his relationship with his mother. Vanessa and her three children have a great relationship and even play together. Virginia and her husband have no children but he still loves her. Relationships between spouses are evolving through successive generations. Being so much reserved in the previous generations, and becoming more linen as the generations advance. According to Israel (2012), homosexuality and infidelity in the previous generations and traditions was strictly condemned, and traditions imposed strict measures for the same. If one was to practice it, then it was in secret or let go. Laura and Virginia are women of an earlier generation where restrictions meant exactly that, although they had history of homosexuality and hidden interest in fellow women, this remains a secret within them and could only express in a character in the case of Virginia. Clarissa on the other hand freely declares her sexual orientation and goes ahead to cohabit with her partner Sally who plays the husband role. The relationship between Clarissa and Richard was of the right kind, but it was as a result of betrayal and not based on lasting intentions. It was a trial and error kind of a relationship. Informal kinds of relationships are also mentioned in the novel by the author. Characters engage in relationships that lack formality and some remain secrets as they are not supported by the society. As Virginia, a character in the novel puts it; it is not for the people around you but because of what one believes in. Laura’s interests and attraction to Kitty is kept secret by the both of them, since both are married and the later has a son and pregnant to bear another child. The society does not also allow. Virginia’s youthful attraction for a fellow girl is kept secret although she is still feeling the same way. Relationship among friends also exists but it is full of deceit and betrayal. There is lack of transparency and trust, and is not genuine. The relationship between Clarissa, Richard and Louis is evident. Clarissa is involved with Richard and she knows that he loves Louis, this is betrayal. She offers to care for Richard as he is ill, although because she is a friend, but also in connection to their past. Relationships at work are worse, and full of laziness and discontent. Leonard Virginia’s husband and his assistant do not have a very good relationship at their work. Virginia on the other hand is lazy and because of her mental state, cannot work for long without rest (Joffe. 2007).  Themes The novel puts emphasis on the Lesbianism, Gay, bisexual and Transgender issues which the characters defend and exercise. These are the aspects of affiliations that tradition disapproves of. Virginia Woolf, a character in the book, has relations with women. This applies to Laura Brown, mother to Richard who kisses her neighbor Kitty, a fellow woman. Clarissa Vaughan is a third character who not only has affairs with a fellow woman, but also the opposite sex. She has a partner sally and is also Richard’s ex-lover. The novel illustrates the extent of liberty which people of consecutively evolving generations have in expressing their sexual orientations publicly. Mrs. Woolf and Mrs. Brown are characters who confusing thoughts as one cannot tell precisely which sexual orientation they embrace. Since they are of an earlier generation, where homosexuality was prohibited, tradition may have had a limit to their freedom of expression. If it was the current generation like of Clarissa, the two could be lesbians. The culture of their times shirked such sexuality. This makes the characters to live in distress and most people consider them dramatic. Like the case of Laura Brown. Mental illness is another theme of interest that “The Hours” brings into picture. The novel considers mental illness as identity. Mrs. Woolf, Virginia Woolf, decides to become herself and assume other people existence by doing what she perceives is right. This is what people think is not normal. The novel depicts an understanding of the situation as a normal one. Virginia learns and embraces the idea of sanity that engages imitation to some extent, not because of the people around her, but for her and what she believes in. The aspect of suicide also features in all the two generations, where Virginia and Richard, think of suicide and finally carry it out. Richard’s mother, out of despair, decides to commit suicide too instead of starting a new life and leaving her family (Young & Cunningham. 2003). Conclusion The changing aspects of morality in the society are rampant. People are adopting trends that suit them and not caring about the set norms and tradition. These aspects are changing the society to a more free world of expression and activities. Betrayal and deceitfulness are now part of the society that could never have happened if people chose to stick to the previous generation’s tradition. References Young, T., & Cunningham, M. (2003). Michael Cunningham's The hours": A readers’ Guide. New York. Woolf, V. (2003). Mrs Dalloway. London: Collector's Library. . Joffe, S. L. (2007). The kinship coterie and the literary endeavors of the women in the Shelley circle. New York: Peter Lang. Josh Israel. (2012). Bryan Fischer: No Dialogue, No Middle Ground on LGBT Equality. Retrieved on February 12, 2012 from < http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/issue/> Read More