Compare and Contrast the characterization of Virginia Woolf’s Clarrisa Dalloway Essay

Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dallo air has been rewritten a number of measure and in 1999, Michael Cunningham has once again revisited the novel and has written The Hours where he traces a single daylight in the lives of three women. Interestingly Cunningham has fictionalized Virginia Woolf, the writer apart(predicate) from the two other characters Clarrisa Vaughan and Laura Brown. The Hours is homage to Virginia Woolf and the two female person characters strikely Clarrisa Dalloway of Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway and Clarissa Vaugham of The Hours pose a number of similarities and dissimilarities and this essay delves into the commonalities and contradictions of these two characters. Young states, The relationship between The Hours and Mrs. Dalloway is impossible to simplifyCunningham interweaves aspects of Woolfs breeding, her novel, and her theories (38). WWoolf and Cunningham describe the life a woman called Clarrisa on a single day in June. two these women argon hosting a party and have come egress to debase flowers. They happen to get a glimpse of a eminence come along the florist.Their spouses, creation invited by virtually famous personality, have gone out to dine without taking their wives. On their way home some(prenominal) take an old friend accidently. save the two women belong to entirely diverse background and time period. While Mrs. Clarrisa Dalloway lives in 1923 London, Mrs. Clarrisa Vaugham lives in the modern day current York. Woolf represents the modernist society of 1920s in her novel, whereas Cunningham depicts the contemporary life bearing in The Hours. The protagonist of The Hours Clarrisa Vaugham sh atomic number 18s her first name with Woolfs Clarrisa Dalloway. Though the motion-picture show of Clarrisa Vaugham is different from Mrs.Dalloway, the similarity in the first names does cause some ripples. But the names of other characters are not the same. For instance, in Mrs. Dalloway Clarrisas husband is Richard but Clarri sa Vaughams husband is not Richard. Sally is an consequential character who appears in both the fictions. While her relationship with Woolfs Clarrisa is latent, Cunninghams Clarrisa maintains a long-term lesbian relationship with Sally. Critics argue that Virginia Woolf is inclined towards homoeroticism and therefore her Clarissa Dalloway expresses her secret homosexual interest in the novel.Further Cunningham himself being a gay writer, has penned down his own experiences in the humans by dint of Clarrisa Vaughams lesbian relationship with Sally. Virginias society treated homosexualism as unnatural and perverted and therefore she did not write about it overtly. Loneliness is common to both Clarrisas. When Clarrisa Vaugham is invited for the party which her husband attends, she is utterly thwarted and states, I am trivial, endlessly trivial (94). alike, Clarrisa Dalloway is depressed when she comes to know that lady Bruton has not extended an invitation to her.Both these women represent the triviality of life. Both these women put to work the role of hostess to perfection and are interested in throwing parties that quill Walsh remarks that Clarrisa is capable of lonesome(prenominal) hosting parties and taking care of the household chores. Their lives are not basically significant but they continue to live in the society. Clarrisa Dalloway and Clarrisa Vaugham are fascinated towards the ordinariness of everyday life. Cunninghams Clarrisa does not have the gather up to achieve lofty goals in life. She simply enjoys without reason the houses, the church, the man and the dog.Its childish, she knows. It lacks edge (12). Both Clarrisas are mature enough to understand that both ordinary and extraordinary are part of the world and have essential a fondness of an ordinary day in life. Clarrisas not only live with triviality and ordinariness but likewise with dissatisfaction towards life in general. The hollowness of human life and the masks worn by people t o stay on their false identity in the society is reflected through both the women characters and it is considered as a failure when the incidents around them do not take plant as per heir plan and schedule.While Clarrisa emphasizes on winning the literary prize, none is bothered to listen to her. But she treats it as a peculiar possession which should be well-guarded and does not take into account of how the rest of the world views it. But in spite of the dissatisfactions and failures, they continue to live with a desire and cherish the same hope throughout their life as they call back that such dissatisfactions and darkness reflect the true inner joy of life and society as a whole. The attitude of both the Clarrisas towards fame is almost similar.Clarrisa Vaugham during her obtain at the florists, she wishes to guess the celebrity and with a child-like enthusiasm she waits for her appearance as she believes that movie actors represent eternity. Cunningham states, Clarrisa sta nds guiltily, holding her flowers, hoping the star will show herself again, humiliated by her own interest (50). Clarrisa Dalloway is alike inquisitive about the celebrity and by seeing the car she guesses the name of the actor. The communication between the characters is essentially strong in Cunninghams fiction.The characters for instance could discuss about quirkiness openly while some degree of discretion and secrecy has been keep in Woolfs version. Clarrisa and Sally for instance are always free-hearted with kisses (89) though they do not express their delight in verbally. Sally sends Clarrisa roses to expresses her love similar to Richard who also is not able to express his love verbally. Clarrisa Vaugham also fails to express her love for her miss Julia and is scared that she might lose her to someone.Similarly Mrs. Clarrisa Dalloway is also afraid that she might lose her daughter and that insecurity turns into aversion towards Miss Kilman, the tutor of Julia. In Virgi nia Woolfs novel, Elizabeth, daughter of Clarrisa Dalloway loathes the easy way of living of her mother and attaches herself with the feminist Doris Kilman. On the other hand, Julia, Clarrisa Vaughams daughter is in love with a newborn York lesbian by the name Mary Krull who is much older to her. Since Miss Kilman and Ms.Mary Krull are non-conformists who repugn the restrictions imposed upon them by the society, both Clarrisa treat them as adversaries. On the whole, the niceties of Clarrisa Dalloways Bloomsbury style are completely out of way and Clarrisa Vaugham adopts the rigorous New York way of living. Cunninghams Clarrisa is fiercely independent and looks into the future than the past. Happer states that Woolfs Clarrisa looks for the sum of life primarily in the past (112-113).Clarrisa Vaugham has no dominant male in her life and in a way, it is remarked that the Cunningham has successfully helped Clarrisa to evolve and outdo the oppression that Woolfs Clarrisa suffered fro m. Woolf has primarily focused on Mrs. Dalloways life. But Cunningham has extended the boundary and expressed the fact that love and hope are common to everyone in the society. To conclude the two women characters Woolfs Clarrisa Dalloway and Cunninghams Clarrisa Vaugham motion a number of similarities as well as differences.Cunninghams Clarrisa is seen as an evolution of Woolfs Clarrisa as she not only has imbibed the qualities of Mrs. Dalloway but also enriched the same and is appreciated for the fierce independence along with love and favor for others. Works Cited Cunningham, Michael. The Hours. London Fourth Estate, 1999. Print. Happer, Howard. Mrs. Dalloway. Between Language and Silence The Novels of Virginia Woolf. lah State Baton Rouge, 1982. Print. Young, Tory. Michael Cunninghams The Hours A Readers Guide. New York Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003. Print.