At one point in The Hours, Michael Cunningham has Virginia Woolf wonder if "a single day in the life of an ordinary woman [can] be made into enough for a novel" (5.2). In another passage, the narrator reflects—through Virginia Woolf's eyes again—that "[m]en may congratulate themselves for writing truly and passionately about the movements of nations; they may consider war and the search for God to be great literature's only subjects; but if men's standing in the world could be toppled by an ill-advised choice of hat, English literature would be dramatically changed" (7.8).
Well, both Woolf and Cunningham are here to show us that those kinds of small decisions actually can be really big.
By spending most of its time exploring the mundane wishes, fears, and anxieties of three women who are simply going about their days, The Hours totally affirms Woolf's view that the ordinary, everyday experiences of relatively average women can be the subject of great literature.
Questions About Women and Femininity
- Of the three protagonists, who enjoys the most freedom and privilege?
- Each of the three protagonists performs at least some traditionally "feminine" roles, such as being a wife, a mother, or a caregiver. Which of these roles does each of the protagonists perform, and how do those performances affect the protagonists' lives?
- Which of the three protagonists is most burdened by the roles she is expected to play?
- How do the ages of the three protagonists affect their lives?
Chew on This
One of the novel's three protagonists is in her early thirties, another is in her early forties, and another is in her early fifties. By splitting the narrative up amongst three generations of women, Cunningham creates an opportunity to explore how age can influence women's social and cultural status.
One of the novel's three protagonists is living in the early 1920s, another is living in the late 1940s, and another is living at some point in the 1990s. By exploring women's lives during three very different periods of the twentieth century, The Hours invites us to explore how women's roles have changed over time.