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

Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dallo fashion has been rewritten a number of times and in 1999, Michael Cunningham has once again revisited the novel and has written The Hours where he traces a individual day in the livelys of three women. Interestingly Cunningham has fictionalized Virginia Woolf, the writer apart from the 2 other regions Clarrisa Vaughan and Laura Brown. The Hours is homage to Virginia Woolf and the two female characters namely Clarrisa Dalloway of Virginia Woolfs Mrs.Dalloway and Clarissa Vaugham of The Hours nark a number of identicalities and dissimilarities and this essay delves into the habitualalities and contradictions of these two characters. Young states, The relationship among The Hours and Mrs. Dalloway is impossible to simplifyCunningham interweaves aspects of Woolfs life sentence, her novel, and her theories (38). WWoolf and Cunningham describe the life a fair sex called Clarrisa on a single day in June. Both these women are hosting a party and have com e out to buy flowers. They get to get a glimpse of a celebrity near the florist.Their spouses, creation invited by some famous personality, have gone out to dine without taking their wives. On their way home both meet an honest-to-goodness friend accidently. exclusively the two women belong to entirely unlike setting and time period. While Mrs. Clarrisa Dalloway lives in 1923 London, Mrs. Clarrisa Vaugham lives in the modern day wise York. Woolf represents the modernist hostel of 1920s in her novel, whereas Cunningham depicts the contemporary life elbow room in The Hours. The protagonist of The Hours Clarrisa Vaugham shares her first name with Woolfs Clarrisa Dalloway. Though the characterization of Clarrisa Vaugham is different from Mrs.Dalloway, the similarity in the first names does cause some ripples. just the names of other characters are not the uniform. For instance, in Mrs. Dalloway Clarrisas keep up is Richard but Clarrisa Vaughams husband is not Richard. Sally is an important 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 homosexuality and wherefore her Clarissa Dalloway demoes her secret homosexual interest in the novel.Further Cunningham himself being a gay writer, has penned down his own experiences in the world through Clarrisa Vaughams lesbian relationship with Sally. Virginias society treated homosexuality as unnatural and perverted and therefore she did not write about it overtly. forlornness is common to both Clarrisas. When Clarrisa Vaugham is invited for the party which her husband attends, she is utterly frustrated and states, I am trivial, endlessly trivial (94). Similarly, Clarrisa Dalloway is depressed when she comes to know that Lady Bruton has not protracted an invitation to her.Both these women represent the triviality of life. Both these wo men play the contribution of hostess to perfection and are interested in throwing parties that Peter Walsh remarks that Clarrisa is loose of only 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 fascinate towards the ordinariness of everyday life. Cunninghams Clarrisa does not have the quest to progress to lofty goals in life. She simply enjoys without reason the houses, the church, the man and the dog.Its childish, she knows. It lacks bank (12). Both Clarrisas are mature enough to understand that both quotidian and extraordinary are part of the world and have developed a fondness of an ordinary day in life. Clarrisas not only live with triviality and ordinariness but besides with dissatisfaction towards life in general. The hollowness of human life and the masks worn by people to retain their treasonably identity in the society is reflecte d through both the women characters and it is considered as a failure when the incidents around them do not take place as per heir plan and schedule.While Clarrisa emphasizes on winning the literary prize, no(prenominal) is bothered to listen to her. But she treats it as a precious self-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 hope and nurse the same hope throughout their life as they believe that much(prenominal) 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 shopping at the florists, she wishes to guess the celebrity and with a child-like enthusiasm she waits for her appearance as she believes that exposure actors represent eternity. Cunningham states, Clarrisa stands guiltily, holding her flower s, hoping the star will show herself again, embarrassed by her own interest (50). Clarrisa Dalloway is also inquisitive about the celebrity and by seeing the car she guesses the name of the actor. The communication between the characters is essentially self-coloured in Cunninghams fiction.The characters for instance could discuss about homosexuality openly while some degree of discretion and secrecy has been maintained in Woolfs version. Clarrisa and Sally for instance are always generous with kisses (89) though they do not express their love 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 daughter 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 hatred towards exclude Kilman, the tutor of Julia. In Virginia Woolfs novel, Elizabet h, daughter of Clarrisa Dalloway loathes the easy way of vitality of her mother and attaches herself with the feminist Doris Kilman. On the other hand, Julia, Clarrisa Vaughams daughter is in love with a New York lesbian by the name bloody shame Krull who is much older to her. Since Miss Kilman and Ms.Mary Krull are non-conformists who challenge the restrictions obligate 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 meaning 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 overcome the conquering that Woolfs Clarrisa suffered from. Woolf h as 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 exercise 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 compassion for others. deeds Cited Cunningham, Michael. The Hours. London Fourth Estate, 1999. Print. Happer, Howard. Mrs. Dalloway. Between Language and Silence The Novels of Virginia Woolf. Louisiana put forward Baton Rouge, 1982. Print. Young, Tory. Michael Cunninghams The Hours A Readers Guide. New York Continuum foreign Publishing Group, 2003. Print.