Death in the Hours - 985 Words

The men and women of The Hours view death as an escape from an ordinary lifestyle which lacks anything truly extraordinary or exhilarating. Laura Brown considers death as an alternative to the constraints of her role as a mother and a wife. Both Richard Brown and Virginia Woolf ultimately commit suicide in order to escape their illnesses and their failures to live up to societys expectations. Though Laura does not end her life, she does die symbolically to her family. Over the period of a day, Laura Brown gradually succumbs to her overwhelming desire to liberate herself from her mundane life. Her life has taken a very different direction from what she ever thought it would, and she finds herself completing commonplace household†¦show more content†¦She feels she has done an inadequate job as a wife and as an author: she wishes fruitlessly that she might live up to societys expectations of being a mother who is not afflicted with illness and a much-celebrated novelist. However, in the day of her life that Cunningham recounts over the course of the novel, she does not fully accept death as the way to end her suffering, because she still bears a sense of optimism about her own capabilities. Initially, she convinces herself that the ordinary housewife, Clarissa, in her novel Mrs. Dalloway will commit suicide to flee her sorrows over being unable to accomplish some extraordinary or applauded feat. Yet, a glimpse at death in nature acts to change her view: . . . the bird is laid on the grass compactly, its wings folded up against its body. She knows it has died already, in Quentins palms. It seems to have wanted to make the smallest possibly package of itself (120). In death, the bird bears less significance, and life perdures all around it in the form of Vanessas children. Virginia relates herself to the bird, and realizes that she is not yet ready to be so insignificant. She has great hope in the potential for her novel, eagerly anticipating that in its writing, she can integrate herself to a degree back into the life of the thriving society of London. Thus, she chooses to use Clarissa Dalloway to represent the life she aspires to have, and chooses thatShow MoreRelatedDeath in the Story of an Hour Essay906 Words   |  4 PagesChopin‘s short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, focus on a woman’s dilemma near the turn of the 19th century. Contradicting the â€Å"normal† or sad assu mption of death, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† illustrates the significance of death representing freedom. The Story narrates about an hour of Louise Mallard’s life, as she tries to understand, and deal with her feelings of her husbands death. In The Story of an Hour, Chopin suggests that in certain situations, the death of a loved one may be a blessing. SuchRead MoreEssay on Death and Rebirth in the Hours1365 Words   |  6 PagesDeath and re-birth in The Hours Adapted from Michael Cunninghams Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Director Stephen Daldry and playwright David Hare, The Hours was inspired by Virginia Woolfs 1925 novel Mrs. Dalloway. It is no coincidence that The Hours was the working title Woolf had given Mrs. Dalloway as she was writing it. The emotional trauma that this film guides its viewers through becomes evident in the opening prologue. The scene begins with Virginia Woolf composing what would beRead MoreDeath Of An Hour By Kate Chopin955 Words   |  4 Pages Death is a natural part of life, and, therefore, a common theme in many literary works. Kate Chopin, the author of The Story of an Hour, explores the theme of death by unfolding the story of a woman whose husband dies in a tragic accident. While the wife initially weeps with grief, her emotions soon transform into feelings of secret delight over her new-found freedom. In his story The Monkey s Paw, W. W. Jacobs addresses the theme of death in a much darker manner. A holy man has placed a curseRead MoreThe Death Of A Rush Hour Horde966 Words   |  4 PagesThe air was heavy with the smell of beer, fumes of cigarettes, smoke stacks from the large industrial work buildings, and a foul stench reaping from the human labor of long hours, and hard days. The infamous rush hour horde scurried from cab to bus to train station all seeking an outlet of relief after a long day, whether it be at a bar or where they respectively reside. Jensen, a weary man with enough corrugation throughout his face resulting from the tireless stress making him look 20 years olderRead MoreEssay on Death In The Hours by Michael Cunningham980 Words   |  4 PagesThe men and women of The Hours view death as an escape from an ordinary lifestyle which lacks anything truly extraordinary or exhilarating. Laura Brown considers death as an alternative to the constraints of her role as a mother and a wife. Both Richard Brown and Virginia Woolf ultimately commit suicide in order to escape their illnesses and their failures to live up to societys expectations. Though Laura does not end her life, she does die symbolically to her family. Over the period ofRead MoreEssay on The Hours: Women, Sexuality, and Death821 Words   |  4 PagesThe Hours: Women, Sexuality, and Death The Hours is a movie that won the most awards in 2002.The movie is mainly about relationships, love, and death. This movie follows a single day in the lives of three women in different time periods between 1941 to 2001.The clothes that all three of these women wore were from different time periods. It is apparent from this movie that throughout history women were faced with trials and tribulations. Through each of their lives they battled with their ownRead More An Abstract View of Death in Mrs.Dalloway and The Hours Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesAn Abstract View of Death in Mrs.Dalloway and The Hours Works Cited Missing In Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours contradictory and almost altered views of death are presented. Virginia Woolf and Michael Cunningham portray death as escape for some, but an entrapment for others. It is no longer treated as a subject to worry about or fear, which society now views it as. A line from Shakespeares Cymbeline, Fear no more the heat o the sun / Nor the furious winter rages, sums upRead MoreIntegration of Life and Death in Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours Essay1356 Words   |  6 PagesIntegration of Life and Death in Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours show that life and death are dependent on each other. It is a persons life experiences that define their thoughts and feelings on death and death can define their life experiences. Cunningham, the author of The Hours, explains it best: We live our lives, do whatever we do and then we sleep - its as simple and ordinary as that. A few jump out of windows or drown themselves or takeRead More Essay on the Death of Freedom in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour919 Words   |  4 PagesDeath of Freedom in The Story of an Hour In Kate Chopin’s short story, The Story of an Hour, we are told that Mrs. Mallard, the main character, has a heart condition. Then Mrs. Mallard’s sister, Josephine, tells her Mr. Mallard died in a railroad disaster. At the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard dies when her husband suddenly walks through the door. The doctor says that Mrs. Mallard died of heart disease—of joy that kills (Chopin 27). Some people may agree with the doctor’s diagnosisRead MoreThe Death of Louise Mallard and Female Identity in The Story of an Hour1858 Words   |  8 PagesStory of an Hour, the protagonist Louise Mallard is afflicted with heart trouble but learns that her husband has died in a railroad accident. Upon her husband’s death, Mrs. Mallard catches a glimpse of what independence feels like, but it is quickly taken away from once her husband returns unharmed. Chopin’s feminist ideals form the basis of this story where she explores female identity in a patriarchal society. For women of her time, marriage could be likened to prison where only death could set