"...a girl in a new dress . . . fresh and full of hope. No, she will not look in the mirror." (pg. 31)
Again, Cunningham shows how important the theme of age is to his novel. In this scene, Virginia is washing her face and refuses to look in the mirror. Instead, she chooses to pretend she is something else-- a young girl perhaps. Just like thousands of women all over the world, Virginia is in denial about aging. She cannot face the fact that she is growing old and thus growing closer to death. The urge to avoid aging and death is something that is built into human genetic code. It goes along with survival instinct. Virginian refuses to face (literally) her own age and prefers to pretend she is still a fresh girl full of hope-- something she idolizes but can no longer be. This is also an important part of Mrs. Dalloway, a book that Virginia Woolf wrote in the later part of her life as she was aging.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Connections I
"There are still the flowers to buy." (pg. 9); "Mrs. Dalloway said something (what?), and got the flowers herself." (pg. 29); "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." (pg. 37)
Here the reader sees the first sentence of the first three sections of The Hours. Each one begins with a different women with a sort of variation on the famous first line of Mrs. Dalloway-- Clarissa Vaughn thinking of her own flowers and thus establishing her as the modern day Clarissa Dalloway, VIrginia Woolf struggling to write the iconic line that defines the entire book and Laura Brown reading said line in her 50's bedroom. Cunningham uses that line to first tie all three women together. He also uses that line as a inside joke of sorts with those readers who have also read Mrs. Dalloway. The Hours deals so heavily with the themes and effects of Virginia's novel that it only fits that he would tie the book into his own piece of fiction in every way he could.
Here the reader sees the first sentence of the first three sections of The Hours. Each one begins with a different women with a sort of variation on the famous first line of Mrs. Dalloway-- Clarissa Vaughn thinking of her own flowers and thus establishing her as the modern day Clarissa Dalloway, VIrginia Woolf struggling to write the iconic line that defines the entire book and Laura Brown reading said line in her 50's bedroom. Cunningham uses that line to first tie all three women together. He also uses that line as a inside joke of sorts with those readers who have also read Mrs. Dalloway. The Hours deals so heavily with the themes and effects of Virginia's novel that it only fits that he would tie the book into his own piece of fiction in every way he could.
Meryl Streep and Vanessa Redgrave
"...Clarissa cannot immediately identify her (Meryl Streep?..." (pg. 27)
Meryl Streep is a famous actress with a very large fanbase and amount of critical acclaim. She has won several prestigious awards, including two Oscars for Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer, and continues to act in movies today. In an interesting bit of trivia and connection, she starred in the film adaptation of The Hours as Clarissa Vaughn, the very character that sees Meryl Streep on the street the morning of the party.
Link: http://www.merylstreeponline.net/
Monday, October 20, 2008
Aging
"...she still looks all right, handsome now instead of pretty-- when will the crepe and gauntness, the shriveled lips, of her old woman's face begin to emerge?"
Just like Mrs. Dalloway, age and death are both important themes in The Hours. In looking at all three of the women portrayed by Cunningham, death is a common thread between them. With Virginia, she fears she will wither away to death living in the country, a place characterized by its natural "life" but she feels the city is far more alive. In the end, of course, Virginia gives into suicide because she feels she cannot go on ruining others' lives (Leonard) or through another war, something tied heavily to thousands of deaths. With Clarissa, death and age surround her. She is constantly thinking of how she has aged and even how her feelings have aged and changed. She fears that in aging she has lost much of who she was (a young woman with "life") and settled for a more boring existence.
Just like Mrs. Dalloway, age and death are both important themes in The Hours. In looking at all three of the women portrayed by Cunningham, death is a common thread between them. With Virginia, she fears she will wither away to death living in the country, a place characterized by its natural "life" but she feels the city is far more alive. In the end, of course, Virginia gives into suicide because she feels she cannot go on ruining others' lives (Leonard) or through another war, something tied heavily to thousands of deaths. With Clarissa, death and age surround her. She is constantly thinking of how she has aged and even how her feelings have aged and changed. She fears that in aging she has lost much of who she was (a young woman with "life") and settled for a more boring existence.
Mrs. Dalloway Allusion
"She straightens her shoulders as she stands at the corner of Eight Street and Fifth Avenue, waiting for the light. There she is, thinks Willie Bass, who passes her on some mornings . . . The light changes and he walks on." (pg. 13)
This lengthily paragraph written from the point of view of someone other than Clarissa Vaughn echoes the paragraph within Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf-- "She stiffened a little on the kerb, waiting for Durtnall's van to pass. A charming woman, Scrope Purvis thought her . . . There she perched, never seeing him, waiting to cross, very upright." (Woolf, pg. 5) Since Clarissa Vauhgn is playing the "part" of a modern Mrs. Dalloway, it is fitting that Cunningham chose to almost exactly parallel this small scene from Mrs. Dalloway in his own novel. It shows the comparisions between Clarissa Dalloway and Clarissa Vaughn and also serves as an intelligent aside to the readers familiar with Woolf's novel.
This lengthily paragraph written from the point of view of someone other than Clarissa Vaughn echoes the paragraph within Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf-- "She stiffened a little on the kerb, waiting for Durtnall's van to pass. A charming woman, Scrope Purvis thought her . . . There she perched, never seeing him, waiting to cross, very upright." (Woolf, pg. 5) Since Clarissa Vauhgn is playing the "part" of a modern Mrs. Dalloway, it is fitting that Cunningham chose to almost exactly parallel this small scene from Mrs. Dalloway in his own novel. It shows the comparisions between Clarissa Dalloway and Clarissa Vaughn and also serves as an intelligent aside to the readers familiar with Woolf's novel.
HIV/AIDS
"You have no T-cells at all, none that we can detect" (pg. 11)
In this simple aside sentence, Cunningham informs the reader that Richard suffers from the HIV/AIDS virus. HIV (which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus) finds and kills certain white bloods cells (T-cells) that fight infections. AIDS (which stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is the final stage of the HIV. Richard is in the final stage of HIV and even though there are new drugs for him to take to try and save his body, Cunningham makes it clear that Richard's mind is beyond repair.
Link: http://www.aids.gov/basic/overview/index.html
In this simple aside sentence, Cunningham informs the reader that Richard suffers from the HIV/AIDS virus. HIV (which stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus) finds and kills certain white bloods cells (T-cells) that fight infections. AIDS (which stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is the final stage of the HIV. Richard is in the final stage of HIV and even though there are new drugs for him to take to try and save his body, Cunningham makes it clear that Richard's mind is beyond repair.
Link: http://www.aids.gov/basic/overview/index.html
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Luftwaffe
"...bombers drone in the sky, though she looks for the planes but can't see them." (pg. 1)
Virginia Woolf killed herself in 1941, right after the onset of World War II. The bombers she is referring to are the Luftwaffe. During WWII, London and other Allied cities were bombed heavily by the Luftwaffe under Hitler's orders.
Link: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERluftwaffe.htm
Virginia Woolf killed herself in 1941, right after the onset of World War II. The bombers she is referring to are the Luftwaffe. During WWII, London and other Allied cities were bombed heavily by the Luftwaffe under Hitler's orders.
Link: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERluftwaffe.htm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)