"What if you decided to want no more?" (214)
Laura says this as she is preparing to go to bed, but this is possibly one of the most important quotes in the entire book. One of the problems that all three of the women deal with is that none of them are truly happy, they all want more. Virginia wants to move to London because she thinks it'll make her feel better. Clarissa wants more complexity in her life; she is unhappy with how simple and easy everything is with Sally. And Laura wants Kitty, but she is married to a man who is perfectly content. These three women all wish they had more. Their desires are the driving force behind their feelings of unhappiness.
http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm
This link is an article about the basics of Buddhism. The basic values of Buddhism are all very closely related to the above quote. According to Buddhism, desire is the leading cause of unhappiness. In The Hours, the women's problems all arise from their need to have more.
Passionate, profound, and deeply moving, The Hours is the story of three women: Clarissa Vaughan, who one New York morning goes about planning a party in honor of a beloved friend; Laura Brown, who in a 1950s Los Angeles suburb slowly begins to feel the constraints of a perfect family and home; and Virginia Woolf, recuperating with her husband in a London suburb, and beginning to write Mrs. Dalloway.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Section 3-Links
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/242166
This is a link to a poem we read earlier this year written by Marie Howe. "Practicing" is about a group of girls who experiment with each other sexually but in an innocent way. This is directly related to third section of The Hours because this section focuses heavily on the kiss between Kitty and Laura. Their kiss happens innocently, but it has a sexual, adult connotation.
The following links relate both to this section of the book and to the above poem. These articles both discuss the likelihood of adult women to experiment sexually. Interestingly enough, one of the articles talks about the possibility that this experimentation is done very purposefully, rather than as an accidental happening.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219616.php
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-09-15-womenbisexuality_x.htm
This is a link to a poem we read earlier this year written by Marie Howe. "Practicing" is about a group of girls who experiment with each other sexually but in an innocent way. This is directly related to third section of The Hours because this section focuses heavily on the kiss between Kitty and Laura. Their kiss happens innocently, but it has a sexual, adult connotation.
The following links relate both to this section of the book and to the above poem. These articles both discuss the likelihood of adult women to experiment sexually. Interestingly enough, one of the articles talks about the possibility that this experimentation is done very purposefully, rather than as an accidental happening.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/219616.php
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-09-15-womenbisexuality_x.htm
Section 2-Poem
His eyes have only been open for three years, but he has already discovered perfection.
The boy's mother drifts past him and away from him as she gathers the ingredients to create something beautiful.
She will be defined by the finished state of her cake.
He tracks her movements, documenting it all so that he will know how to move when he is that size.
A smile spreads across his face as he watches her an intensity that resembles appetite.
The light reflects off the measuring cup as his hands him his passage to manhood.
If he completes this task--transferring the flour successfully--he'll be trustworthy, a big kid, a hero.
He observes her with the highest admiration.
The boy's mother maneuvers around the cornered surfaces. To him, she makes dodging these bullets look graceful. Those corners always know right where to hit him.
His eyes have only seen what a good three years will allow, but he has seen enough to know what's important.
The boy's mother drifts past him and away from him as she gathers the ingredients to create something beautiful.
She will be defined by the finished state of her cake.
He tracks her movements, documenting it all so that he will know how to move when he is that size.
A smile spreads across his face as he watches her an intensity that resembles appetite.
The light reflects off the measuring cup as his hands him his passage to manhood.
If he completes this task--transferring the flour successfully--he'll be trustworthy, a big kid, a hero.
He observes her with the highest admiration.
The boy's mother maneuvers around the cornered surfaces. To him, she makes dodging these bullets look graceful. Those corners always know right where to hit him.
His eyes have only seen what a good three years will allow, but he has seen enough to know what's important.
Section 1-Poem
Wolves hunt alone.
They stay with the pack when they need sleep and security, but wolves hunt alone.
And they are always hunting.
Virginia's inner devil reminds her that the things she's hungry for cannot be hunted.
She pines for understanding.
She dreams of decent writing.
She craves health,
But the jaws of a wolf were not designed to taste the abstract.
Virginia will be hungry forever.
Wolves hunt alone.
They are solitary creatures. They are misunderstood.
So it is in Virginia's nature to go into the river with no sense of whether or not she will return.
They stay with the pack when they need sleep and security, but wolves hunt alone.
And they are always hunting.
Virginia's inner devil reminds her that the things she's hungry for cannot be hunted.
She pines for understanding.
She dreams of decent writing.
She craves health,
But the jaws of a wolf were not designed to taste the abstract.
Virginia will be hungry forever.
Wolves hunt alone.
They are solitary creatures. They are misunderstood.
So it is in Virginia's nature to go into the river with no sense of whether or not she will return.
Monday, April 30, 2012
The Hours (1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmxFAT581T4
I chose this song by Ludovico Einauldi because I think it resembles the tone/mood found at the beginning of the book. The beginning opens with the suicide of Virginia Woolf. This song starts off slow, but gradually builds; this characteristic resembles the blast of freedom that Virginia Woolf feels when she dies and how she is no longer boggled down by her animate headaches; lastly, the repetition of the main theme throughout the song reflects how even though Virginia Woolf may be dead, her spirit still continues to exist and she is aware of everything that is happening around her.
I chose this song by Ludovico Einauldi because I think it resembles the tone/mood found at the beginning of the book. The beginning opens with the suicide of Virginia Woolf. This song starts off slow, but gradually builds; this characteristic resembles the blast of freedom that Virginia Woolf feels when she dies and how she is no longer boggled down by her animate headaches; lastly, the repetition of the main theme throughout the song reflects how even though Virginia Woolf may be dead, her spirit still continues to exist and she is aware of everything that is happening around her.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)