On the Image of Flowers in The Hours from Feminist Perspective

劉子華

Abstract：People often use flowers to describe women in literary and television works. “Flowers” plays an important role in The Hours as well. This article will interpret the flower from a feminist perspective. By analyzing the connotation of the flower， people can get a clear idea of the living conditions and the final choices of the three women in the film. Besides， their efforts to obtain womens true freedom and liberation are the embodiment of the development of modern feminism， which also inspire people to think about the ultimate goal of feminism.

Key words：The Hours；feminism；flowers；identity；patriarchy

A famous film theorist Bella Balaz once said in his “Film Aesthetics” that it is possible for people to adapt a novels plot and story into a perfect stage script or screenplay. The Hours， adapted from Michael Cunninghams novel of the same name， is in full compliance with the novels purpose and structure， depicting three women in different time and space. The film tells the story of three different women， which is inextricably linked with British woman writer Virginia Woolfs novel “Mrs. Dalloway”.

Recently， the film industry has developed rapidly， meanwhile， the importance of film semiotics has gradually been highlighted， more and more people tend to accept this concept. In terms of “semiotics of cinema”， as a certain symbol， image emphasizes its spiritual meaning， always an abstract meaning. By applying flowered image， it can reveal the life status and inner feelings of the three women and show their self-pursuit and exploration.

1. Murky purple——release of death

Traditionally， in the male-dominated society， as ornaments， flowers became a female metaphor since women are always in passive state and having no voice. It is a common paradigm to compare the female with the flowers when men appreciate women. Flowers have long not been separated from the womans figure and mood. Owing to the influence of traditional culture and social environment in ancient patriarchal society， flowers were understood as a symbol of female.

Purple is always a mysterious color， which is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The flowers in Virginias house are purple. In one sense， a purple room can boost her imagination and creativity. The dark tones， nevertheless， just like women who lived under the light of men. In the early twentieth century， the idea of “gender equality” was accepted by some major European and American countries. For instance， in 1920， American women gained the right to vote， and British women won the right to vote in 1928. The feminist movement was depressed due to material prosperity and consumerism and the prevalence of individualism. During the Great Depression， economic problems overwhelmed everything. The entrapment of women did not been effectively improved， feminism was greatly in a state of being ignored. Then， women s fight for their status was still limited on the right to vote. Every day， Virginia lived under the supervision of her husband. At the doctors request， she lived in Londons countryside， but she was bent on returning to London， where the citys bustle could inspire her on writing. “Ive endured this custody！ Endured this imprisonment！” As an extremely sensitive， depressed writer， her ideas didnt meet the traditional male-dominated society. Finally， she choose to commit suicide.

The purple flowers are beautiful but perishable， which were like Virginia herself in many ways. Perhaps according to her， death was not an absolute bad thing. As she wished， she eventually went across the time barrier and broke free in this way.

2. Bright yellow——pursuit of freedom

On her husbands birthday， Laura intended to buy flowers but her husband had already prepared a bunch of yellow roses. To this aspect， she didnt have a chance to buy flowers by herself， or we can say she didnt have a chance to realize her own value. The “yellow roses” also occurs when she was making a cake for her husband. Since the “yellow roses” pattern was not beautiful enough， she put it into the trash without hesitation. Here， the yellow flowers， which were thrown away as rubbish， reflected negative feelings of Laura， her depression and irritation， even some sort of self-loathing. In the 1950s， the feminist movement made women gain wide acceptance about their social status， but the war brought it back to its original place. The war has ended and it was supposed to re-establish “harmonious” families in society to let men enjoy the warmth of home. Afterwards， the public prejudices against women in a patriarchal society can be seen everywhere.

On the one hand， Laura was trying to be a good housewife doing all the house chores with all her might. On the other hand， somewhere in her mind， she hated and excluded her own identity. Yellow rose， though beautiful， it was lonely and wistful. When Kitty cried in front of her for she could not give birth to a child， Laura also realized her own subordinate role. She attempted to end her trouble by suicide. However， since she was already pregnant， Laura Brown eventually did not choose to die. In order to develop their own potential， women must engage in activities in the public sphere as men. This is the mainstream of the feminist ideology of American society since the 1960s. Therefore， women are encouraged to give up the image of housewives as self-identity. Instead of making a balance in the cause and the family， Laura totally give up her family life， she left home， and found a job then.

Compared with Virginia Woolf， she was not that extreme and she in deed accomplished freedom with positive attitude towards life.

3. Various colors——independence of living

In the opening scene of this film， Virginia decided to start her novel by “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.”； In an early morning， Laura sat on the bed， reading “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself； Until the new century， Mrs Clarissa could shout to her lover， “Sally， I think Ill buy the flowers myself.” Here， her house has already been decorated a variety of colors of flowers. “I want to buy flowers myself” is a kind of women s declaration of reconstructing their own identity. This detail shows that her life does not be arranged by others. Or in other words， they are gradually gaining their right self-recognition. Actually， she in deed bought flowers by herself on the basis of her own aethestic standards. The original vague state of women gradually became clear. From buying flowers for the party to living with her girlfriend， everything she did was in her own control. Both in the economic and emotional aspects， she has completely achieved independence. Here， various colors of flowers symbolize the independence of breaking the shackles of male chauvinism.

Feminism， in new century， is also called Postmodern feminism， For one thing， it affirmed the feminist movement truly protect womens social rights and interests， for another， feminists try to question whether subvert the traditional family model or not. They fundamentally negates the duality of men and women， but emphasize the sociality of gender roles， and views the equality of men and women as the product of patriarchy. Postmodern feminism is still in the stage of growth in completing the goal of womens liberation.

One day， Virginia almost spent all the morning to prepare the party for her ex-boyfriend， Richard， but to bring back his suicide. And yet for all that， she did not lost confidence for future. Both of her girlfriend and her lovely daughter give her motivation to live. To a large degree， she has more freedom and independence in matter and mind than the first two women. In the final scene of the film， her contented smiling is like a brunch of colorful flowers which is blooming.

4. Conclusions

For these three women， though in different time and different environment， “flowers” has been endowed with more profound meaning， becoming a mirror of their mind. In fact， we could go further and say that “flowers” has been a leading thread through out the development of feminism and awakening of women s subjective awareness.

Over time， the color of flowers becomes more and more bright in this film. “Flowers” as a feminist image， its color change symbolizes women s advancement in self-awakening， which is a poetic manifestation of women s efforts to get out the barriers of male culture. From the want of buying flowers to buy flowers themselves， they never stop in the road of seeking independence， we see women s frustration， confusion for self-awareness and self-liberation， but we also find their courage， efforts and progress. Women consistently explore ways for their development and survival and never stop their footstep. At the same time， it arouse our thinking about the survival condition of modern women as well.

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