symbolism of hours in The Hours..
I just finished watching the movie and I was wondering if someone could explain the symbolism of the "hours" in The Hours is.
There is really no symbolism. "the hours" are what these women have to deal with every day of their lives....the usual tasks....the cooking, the cleaning, the working, the children, etc.
Just getting through these "hours" every day is a real burden for all of them since none are what anyone would consider as being "happy" with their "hours".
Clarissa gets through the hours by planning parties (Mrs. Dalloway) for Richard and other reasons.
The other female characters get through "the hours" the best they can due to their children for example.
It's about THE HOURS because the women can't even think about getting through the days....they have to get through the dreadful "hours".
This is based on a fictional story and a biography of Virginia Woolf and how her story affected them.
I'm not going to say men vs. women here but it's more of an issue for women to deal with "the hours". Every hour requires a task. What do we do with our hours?
As far as the closing scene--I believe that Virginia Woolf is saying that she appreciated the "few" hours of happiness she had with her husband who did stay during her mental illness. But it was only HOURS. The rest of the time was truly difficult--not just for her but for the other 2 women in the movie and for most women in this world.
"Mrs. Dalloway, always giving parties to cover the silence"...."The Hours"
I am one of those women. And life goes on....
"Mrs. Dalloway said she's buy the flowers herself...."
Enjoy!
I had my own thoughts as to what "the hours" meant but I was really curious to know what "the hours" meant to other people.
What you said does make a lot of sense when I think back to the movie so thank you very much for your perspective!
-Krista
The symbolism of The Hours to me is that I had to sit through 'hours' of the worst movie I've ever seen. You couldn't pay me enough money to make me sit through those 'hours' again. All that maudlin depression, constant sad/dramatic debating of sexuality (with more agitated depression attached to it), constant suicidal thoughts/attempts/more thoughts/more attempts--not quite my idea of entertainment. But I guess it's a success, because it had me leaving the theater in a depressed state (don't recall anyone ever even smiling in it, but maybe it's because I've tried to block out the entire experience). Sorry, I don't want that kind of thing in the form of entertainment. Just my personal preference, but I prefer to spend my 'hours' watching happier, more uplifting movies.
shareSo why did you go?Had you absolutely NO idea what it was about?
shareWell said. The relatively few hours of shared happiness during a long, arduous marriage were the moments she chose to highlight in her suicide letter. "I can't go on spoiling your life any longer."
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