Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Suppression and Insight Comparative Analysis of Mrs Dalloway and The Hours - Literature Essay Samples
Through examining the intertextual connections between two texts, the effects of context, purpose and audience on the shaping of meaning is made evident. Virginia Woolfââ¬â¢s modernist novel ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢ (Penguin, 1925) and Stephen Daldryââ¬â¢s postmodern film adaptation of Michael Cunninghamââ¬â¢s novel ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢ (Miramax, 2002) are examples of this, as ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢ offers new insights about repression through the lives of its three heroines as well as affirming those offered in ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢. This is manifested through the exploration of the struggle and failure to conform to societal expectations and its psychological impacts and the sense of unfulfillment due to oppressive societal roles and norms. The exploration of how the inability to embody societal roles can have repressive repercussions on oneââ¬â¢s mental health and interior self is evident in Woolfââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢. Although modernism was in response to scientific developments, Woolf represents the ignorance of psychology when it manifests in the authoritarian form of mechanically minded Dr Holmesââ¬â¢ and Bradshawââ¬â¢s resistance to Freudian developments as they mistreat shell-shock suffering Septimus due to their denial of male weakness. Through the use of Septimusââ¬â¢ indirect interior monologue a modernist device that highlights the inner self we see that he imperatively assures himself that ââ¬Ëhe would not go madââ¬â¢ in a society concerned with external facades which Woolf criticised in her 1924 essay ââ¬ËMr. Bennet and Mrs. Brownââ¬â¢ a foreshadowing and ironic allusion to Shakespeareââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËKing Learââ¬â¢. Through the beneficial use of intertextualit y, we can now understand that the inability of others to accept his mental illness is cause for Septimusââ¬â¢ psychological descent into madness. Thus, Dr Holmes is personified ââ¬Ëhuman natureââ¬â¢ Septimus would rather commit suicide than suffocate in a repressive society with no concern for the interior self, a choice that has significant ramifications for the characters of Daldryââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢. Additionally, Daldryââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢ examines how restrictive societal roles can cause the inner-turmoil of individuals, leaving them to question their self-worth, evident through Laura Brown, enhancing understanding on the multifacted concept of repression through the study of intertextual connections. The struggle of maintaining the archetypal constricting 1950ââ¬â¢s housewife facade overwhelms Laura and she goes to commit suicide in ââ¬Ëa room of her ownââ¬â¢. As Laura begins to read ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢, Glassââ¬â¢ musical score sounds, the valuable intertextuality allowing us to understand Lauraââ¬â¢s inner conflict with her external self, paralleling to Septimus. Virginiaââ¬â¢s postmodern foreshadowing voiceover, ââ¬Å"Did it matter that she must inevitably cease completely?â⬠echoes Woolfââ¬â¢s modernist stream of consciousness style, and the camera cuts between them highlight the composer and responderââ¬â¢s postmodern, m etafictional relationship. The aerial shot of the surrealist, postmodern nature of the water overwhelming Laura as the music crescendos echoes the water motif across texts as Virginia drowns herself and as Septimus ââ¬Ëplungesââ¬â¢ out the window to his death due to the detrimental ramifications of a repressive society. However, Laura Brown ââ¬Ëchose lifeââ¬â¢ as she found a way to escape her family which metaphorically imprisoned her. Thus, intertextual connections powerfully vivify the analogous relationship between ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢, while providing new insight about repression in Woolfââ¬â¢s classic. In addition, Woolfââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢ examines how sexually repressive societal norms may restrict individuals from substantial relationships, offering insight on how one can seek meaningful connections through sexual fluidity, as women were expected to be sexually ignorant in Edwardian England. This is evident when Clarissa, who feels unfulfilled as ââ¬ËMrs Richard Dallowayââ¬â¢, often reverts to the past as a sanctuary of youth. Through Woolfââ¬â¢s modernist stream of consciousness style, Clarissaââ¬â¢s excitement of her sexually liberating kiss with avant-garde Sally at Bourton is conveyed it was hyperbolically ââ¬Å"the most exquisite moment of her whole lifeâ⬠. Sexuality is integral to Woolfââ¬â¢s innovations in plot, apparent in her 1929 essay ââ¬ËA Room of Oneââ¬â¢s Ownââ¬â¢, as she suggested lesbian plots as a truthful depiction of character in a sexually repressive society. Through the yonic flower motif in ââ¬Å"a match burn ing in a crocusâ⬠, Clarissaââ¬â¢s affair with Sally is symbolic of sapphist liberation and a paradox to the sexual repression of women. These positive connotations contrast to Clarissa feeling ââ¬Ëlike a nunââ¬â¢ with Richard, the social norm of heterosexual marriage and emphasis on fertility sexually restricting her. In this respect, Clarissa Dallowayââ¬â¢s liberating internal self has significant impacts on the three heroines of Daldryââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢. Furthermore, through the study of intertextual connections, Daldryââ¬â¢s ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢ explores how the pressure for individuals to conform to societal gender roles can deprive them of personal fulfilment, enhancing comprehension of the ramifications of repression. The opening montage, with Glassââ¬â¢ emotionally charged musical score and camera cuts between the three heroines, as well as the triptych colour palettes initially connects the women in a postmodern, metafictional, composer, responder and creator relationship. Boundaries between time frames are blurred, mirroring the stream of conscious style of Woolfââ¬â¢s novel. Lauraââ¬â¢s inability to embody the stereotypical housewife in Post-WWII Los Angeles, where Cunningham was raised, is symbolised through her failure to bake the hyperbolic ââ¬Ëridiculously easyââ¬â¢ cake, which eventually causes her to ostracise herself from her repressive ââ¬Ëidealââ¬â¢ family, paralleling to Septimusââ¬â¢ hesitation to commit to family life and contrasting Mrs Dalloway, who is obliged to conform to social expectations and be the ââ¬Ëperfect hostessââ¬â¢. The triptych highlights the lack of maternal qualities of the three women, expressing how they could escape the inhibiting societal emphasis placed on the ideal feminine figure, unlike Clarissa Dalloway and Sally Seton. New concerns surrounding repression such as the implications of constrictive societal roles and norms on the mental health and the satisfaction of individuals is evidenced through intertextual links between Virginia Woolfââ¬â¢s modernist novel ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢ and Stephen Daldryââ¬â¢s postmodern film ââ¬ËThe Hoursââ¬â¢. The intertextual links help clarify the values, form and context of each, enabling audiences to better appreciate Woolfââ¬â¢s message whilst broadening their understanding of ââ¬ËMrs Dallowayââ¬â¢, after almost a century.
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