A Landscape of Women’s Inner World A Feminist Perspective on the Film The Hour/

何燁

【Abstract】The film The Hours is about one days story of three women who lived in different times and whose lives are intertwined and somehow connected with the novel Mrs.Dalloway.This paper intends to analyze the female characters lives and psychology from the feminist perspective and reveal the journey of females struggle， development and self-perfection in 20th century.

【Key words】Feminism；The Hours；Woolf

The film The hours， adapted from Michael Cunninghams same titled Pulitzer-award-winning novel， has won recognition from film critics and film awards.The film has told a story of one days life of three women who live in separate times and whose lives are intertwined and somehow connected with the book Mrs.Dalloway.It has displayed an unusual depth of exploring womens mind and life and offered audience a real view into females inner world.

Analysis On the Character of Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf in the film has been attributed with double meanings， as a film character and， as the cultural icon and the feminist writer who we have been familiar with.Nevertheless the story of Virginia Woolf does not stand out too abruptly and is weaved seamlessly into the whole structure of the film.The film has presented one day of Woolfs life in Richmond and tried to show some central issues in Woolfs life： womens seclusion and isolation from the outside world dominated by men； assertion for control of ones own life and the consequent danger of receiving hostility and criticism by the surroundings； unavoidable conflicts between self-desire and social regulation.Female emotion has also been explored in this part.When Vanessa tries to say goodbye to her sister， Virginia even gives her a long and passionate kiss.This strong lesbian implicative scene is actually a deliberate effort to reconstruct womens emotional world.Women have formed a subculture of their own， “through a shared and increasingly secretive and ritualized physical experience.Puberty， menstruation， sexual initiation， pregnancy， childbirth， and menopause – the entire female sexual life cycle – constituted a habit of living that had to be concealed.” And in this relationship there is “intense feelings of female solidarity.” （Showalter 11） As Here the close scene of Virginia and Vanessa is a reconstruction of womens world excluded from any men or their influence.

Analysis On the Character of Laura Brown

Laura， in some critics eyes， may be the “most tragic figure of the film” （Simon 123）， “a refraction of Woolf herself” （Cardullo 670）.Lauras story has presented us a typical American middle-class housewife， who “would be a Perfect Lady， an Angel in the House， contentedly submissive to men， but strong in her inner purity and religiosity， queen in her own realm of the Home” （Showalter 13）.

In the film， Laura decides to make a cake as a proof of love for her husband. Here making a cake can be seen as a domestic symbol： in that times social circumstance Laura has no other means of realizing her life meaning and proving her value but to do the domestic work， but the housework in essence means “labor for others” （Showalter 15）， and what Laura longs for， the independent and self-developing life， it needs personal space and self-promotion and are “in direct conflict with the subordination and repression inherent in the feminine ideal” （Showalter 16）.As a woman with self-awareness， Laura is obviously trapped in this situation between the social expectation and regulation she needs to meet， and the personal desire of self-development， the latter of which is just what male-dominated moral principles have denounced.

The ending of her story is tragic： after giving birth to the baby， Laura abandons her children and husband and settles down alone in a Canadian library， bearing the eternal moral burden in her conscience as the “worst irresponsible mother”.Such a tragedy can never be prevented as long as the unequal social conditions remain the same.

Analysis On the Character of Clarissa Vaughn

As the last female character and a professional intellectual woman in New York， Clarissa can be seen as the modern version of Mrs.Dalloway， and this is implicated by their same first name.If Virginias novel more focuses on the early 19th centurys British society， the modern version of Clarissa has put emphasis on the mental and emotional condition in modern womens part.The modern Clarissa is a New York publishing editor， an independent intellectual woman， has a child and has lived with her female lover for more than ten years.In contemporary society， women can have the career ambition， gain respected status and live a life based on her own will， as Clarissa has done， but in the underlying cultural aspect， the struggle of the self-identity for women is still hard to finish.Just as in the film， Clarissa is still psychologically bonded with her former companion Richard and relies on him to fulfill her lifes meaning.

Hope and love is buried in the ending： Clarissa finally meets Richards mother， which turns out to be Laura who left her family then and as in consequences had made the irreversible damage.When desperation is gone， women begin to understand each other： Clarissas daughter gives Laura a sincere embrace with acceptance and understanding， while Clarissa and Sallys long kissing suggests their renewed relationship after the misunderstanding.Though faced with difficulties， inconvenience and bias， it is implied in the ends of film that women can reach beyond all those troubles and come to understand and accept themselves and others， and have the powers of realizing their real liberation

The Hours has presented us lives of three women in an artistic but cruelly real manner.From three characters lives we can see clearly the development of womens rights and social status， and also some problems faced by generations of women.Women in the film The Hours， unlike most Hollywood commercials， are no longer just “pretty dolls” or “object for satisfying mens sexual desire”， but characters of great depth and are displayed in a sophisticated manner.The Hours has been an effective effort for creating and restoring womens true image in film history， and has made the exploration into womens sophisticated inner world.

Reference：

[1]Cardullo， Bert.“Art and Matter.” The Hudson Review， Vol.56， 4 （Winter， 2004）： 669-676.

[2]O'Rourke， Meghan.“To the Madhouse.”2011-4-30.

[3]Patteson， Ann.“ ‘The Hours Is About Moments： A Film Review.” Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies， Vol.1， 2 （Fall， 2003）： 121-125.

[4]Showalter， Elaine.A Literature of Their Own.Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2004.

[5]Simon， Linda.“Virginia Wolfs nose.” Biography， Vol.28， 2 （Spring， 2005）： 309-311.

[6]The Hours.Writ.Michael Cunningham and David Hare.Dir.Stephen Daldry.Miramax， 2002.