Where can I start? In my opinion she was a straight up feminist. The ideal woman was one who stayed home all day, took care of the children, cleaned the house, and cooked for her husband. Virginia Woolf was one who lived this life, but despised it to the max. After watching the movie "The Hours" I saw what women at this time period really had to go through.
"The Hours" Summary
Clarissa exits the flower shop and walks down the street to go visit Richard. She pauses near the trailer and watches two girls argue about which movie star they saw. Though the girls will get older and die, Clarissa considers the fact that the movie star will be remembered. On her way to Richard’s apartment, she passes the corner where they once stood when they were nineteen. On that corner the two argued and broke off their love affair because Clarissa wanted more freedom. She wonders what would have happened if they had remained lovers.
At Richard’s building, she goes in through the door and thinks about the dirty, squalid state of the tenement apartment building. The elevator doesn’t work, but Clarissa feels relief about this, since she was afraid it might break down and trap her inside. She climbs the stairs to Richard’s apartment and knocks on the door. He greets her by calling her “Mrs. D.,” a shorter version of his pet name for her, “Mrs. Dalloway.” When she comes in, Richard talks to himself in another room. She thinks about how sad she is that Richard didn’t get the new kinds of HIV drugs in time to avoid being mentally damaged by the virus.
Richard’s apartment is cluttered and stuffy, and Clarissa raises one of the shades. The expensive coffee machine she bought him sits unused and covered in dust on his counter. Since she has to prepare for the party, she tells Richard that she can only stay for a second. She mentions that she saw a movie star on the way to his house, and he expresses his disinterest in movie stars. He thinks his friends are so interesting that he doesn’t care about movie stars.
Clarissa reminds Richard about the party and the awarding of the prize. Richard says that he thought the party had already happened. He doesn’t want to go to the party or get the prize, because he doesn’t want anybody to pity him. He thinks the prize is being given to him out of pity, not out of genuine admiration for his work. Clarissa feels frustrated, because she feels he is finally getting recognition for his writing and that he should enjoy the acclaim. Despite this vote of confidence, Richard he expresses his embarrassment over how much he feels as if he’s failed to capture life on paper, particularly Clarissa’s life. His statement reminds Clarissa that he once wrote a whole book about her. Before she leaves, she tells him to take a nap and that she’ll be back at three-thirty to help him get ready.
At Richard’s building, she goes in through the door and thinks about the dirty, squalid state of the tenement apartment building. The elevator doesn’t work, but Clarissa feels relief about this, since she was afraid it might break down and trap her inside. She climbs the stairs to Richard’s apartment and knocks on the door. He greets her by calling her “Mrs. D.,” a shorter version of his pet name for her, “Mrs. Dalloway.” When she comes in, Richard talks to himself in another room. She thinks about how sad she is that Richard didn’t get the new kinds of HIV drugs in time to avoid being mentally damaged by the virus.
Richard’s apartment is cluttered and stuffy, and Clarissa raises one of the shades. The expensive coffee machine she bought him sits unused and covered in dust on his counter. Since she has to prepare for the party, she tells Richard that she can only stay for a second. She mentions that she saw a movie star on the way to his house, and he expresses his disinterest in movie stars. He thinks his friends are so interesting that he doesn’t care about movie stars.
Clarissa reminds Richard about the party and the awarding of the prize. Richard says that he thought the party had already happened. He doesn’t want to go to the party or get the prize, because he doesn’t want anybody to pity him. He thinks the prize is being given to him out of pity, not out of genuine admiration for his work. Clarissa feels frustrated, because she feels he is finally getting recognition for his writing and that he should enjoy the acclaim. Despite this vote of confidence, Richard he expresses his embarrassment over how much he feels as if he’s failed to capture life on paper, particularly Clarissa’s life. His statement reminds Clarissa that he once wrote a whole book about her. Before she leaves, she tells him to take a nap and that she’ll be back at three-thirty to help him get ready.
I see Virigina Woolf as a woman who was fed up with being unhappy. In my eyes, she thought the only way out of misery was to take her own life. Virginia Woolf wrote a note to her husband that was actually her suicide note. She tried numerous times to commit suicide, however she was not successful. Then one day she filled her pockets with large rocks and walked into the ocean and drowned. This act was played out also in "The Hours."
So far in my reading, "To The Lighthouse", I am loving it so far.
1 comment:
This is a nice summary, but it would be nice to get a bit more analysis to see how you interpret the book and to see a marker of how much you have comprehended (for yourself).
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