Analysis on the Novel "the Hours"

QUESTIONS ON THE FILM "THE HOURS"

1) "The Hours", based on the novel written by Michael Cunningham, is more than a biographical movie about Virginia Woolf. How can you describe

the importance and co- relation between the three female main characters: Virginia, Laura Brown and Clarissa Vaughan?

The novel is essentially about women. Women from different periods, of different ages, and oddly the same in various aspects. We get to know women that apparently lead perfect lives, considering the external aspect, and all of them come to a moment in their lives when they stumble upon the superficiality of their days and face their disturbed inner selves. The fates of the three characters cross because of the fact that Laura is reading exactly the book Virginia wrote, while Clarissa Vaughan appears to be a kind of living breathing Clarissa Dalloway.

2) It is known that the movie tells a lot about the feminine universe in its various aspects. How were men inserted in this universe? What feelings could they represent

in the movie?

Men were shown as elements that were on the verge of the story, but, at the same time, they were essential to the development of the plot, as well as remarkable influences to the states the women are in in the movie. That is, though their presence in the lives of the three characters is of great importance for us to understand what they're going through, they always seem to be kind of unaware of what great tempests are occurring in the women's heads.

3) Relationship between women is also largely explored in the movie, as well as in the writings of Virginia Woolf. Considering that the movie is based on a literary book and is full of metaphors, what could the three kisses highlighted in the film mean, beyond the images shown (the kisses between female characters)?

As the film tells a lot about the feminine universe, the fact that they highlighted these three specific kisses between the main characters could be an attempt to show another way through which different feminine universes can interact, and they didn't necessarily mean "sexual involvement". The first kiss, for instance, between Laura and Kitty, could be easily taken as a statement that the former "was in love" with her female friend. That could really be the case, but the metaphorical nature of the movie can also provide us with other interpretations when we're willing to dig deeper. Laura led a life of devotion to her husband and she wanted to play the role of a perfect housewife, when all that was not her essence, really. She loved books, and was reading Mrs. Dalloway at that time. So, what we can infer is that she could be wanting to feel the same freedom and ecstasy Clarissa Dalloway felt when she kissed Sally during a moment of privacy. Maybe that was a way of escaping her dull life for some moments as well. As for Virginia's kiss on Vanessa Bell, it is known that Virginia was going through a hard time living in Richmond. She loved London, but she couldn't stay there any longer, because of her mental disturbance. It made her suffer a lot. So, when her sister came to visit her from London, it was like a part of the city was there next to her. The city she loved the most. Then, when it was time for Vanessa to leave, Virginia kissed her as if she wanted to feel a last taste of London. Clarissa Vaughan and Sally, on the other hand, were really romantically involved. But the kiss between them also meant that Vaughan was, after that hard day, finally deciding to live her life fully. It was like a sigh of relief for getting, finally, her freedom from the mental imprisonment Richard represented.

4) Define the relationship between Virginia and Leonard compared to the usual relationship between married couples.

Virginia and Leonard had an unusual kind of relationship. It is known that Virginia was, in reality, interested in women, and even had a relationship with her friend Vita Sackville. So, Virginia and Leonard's marriage basically involved a lot of respect and friendship between them. They loved each other, and were happy together, as Virginia points out in her farewell note to him. But that relationship was unlike the others either at that time or at the present time.

5) In what ways