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THE HOURS:
THE (FE)MALE GAZE?
ISABEL LOUSADA
VANDA DE SOUSA
In oduc ion
Ou aim is o show ha he li e a y con en ion ( enowned midday opos) is
ansla able o he ex o a mo ing image using he g amma ical code and
sign cons uc s o ilm ex (Wollen, 1984) p esen in Vi ginia Wool ’s no el
(M s. Dalloway – 19961). The e, he con en ion in ques ion is used in i s mos
classical sense, in w i ing, and in he li e a y use o space, ligh , colou s and
mo emen . Adap ed om Vi ginia Wool ’s no el, Michael Cunningham’s ex
The Hou s (1998) main ains he classicism o he con en ion. Howe e , he ilm
The Hou s (2002) sugges s he a i ma ion o his same classicism bu e e ses
he e ms: unde lying dange is ans o med in o a possibili y o sal a ion and
auspicious e en s, o he p ese a ion o he soul, e en i h ough dea h. Simila
o he wo li e a y ex s on which i is based, he ilm employs he same elemen s
(space, ligh , colou s, and mo emen ) o which we migh add he scenog aphy
design ( amewo k by opposing in e io /women and ex e io /men), aming
emphasizing he ield and he o - ield, he mise-en-scène, and he sound ack.
1 M s Dalloway had i s i s edi ion on May 14, 1925, edi ed by Hoga h P ess (owned by Vi ginia and
Leona d Wool ), wi h co e a by Vanessa Bell; he i s edi ion in Po uguese came o p in in 1982,
ansla ed by Rica do Albe y, edi ed by Ulisseia, we ha e used he 1996 edi ion, ed. Penguin Books.
146
The Midday Topos o Noonscape
The midday opos o noonscape a e con en ions o classical li e a u e, ebo n
wi h mode nism, which ela e o he sola e ec s o midday and noon ide
inducing an e en . In he Odyssey, Menelaus’s encoun e wi h P o eu sugges s
a good omen (Ho , 1999). In a mo e classical use, i indica es dange (Ho ,
1990), as used in M s. Dalloway. Vi ginia Wool ’s no el add esses he issue o
he p ese a ion o he soul, basing i s d ama ic s uc u e on he hou indica ed,
h oughou he ex , by he bea ing o he a ious clocks o London, which a e
used o s uc u e he no el i sel , no in chap e s, bu by ma king he hou .
While awa e o he dange in he hea o he sun (opp essi e hea and indolence),
he con en ion sugges s a locus amnoenus. In he Wool ian ex , he cha ac e o
Cla issa Dalloway’s ollows he doc o ’s ad ice: “a midday hey dis obe” (Wool ,
1996, p.35). She en e s he house bu does no ealise ha by pu ing he yellow
ha on he bed, she is no ou o each o he hub is o supe s i ion.
The li e a y con en ion o he midday opos is exp essed in colo , ime, seclusion,
suspension o onesel as ega ds place and mode o p ese a ion. A noon, he
sun s ops o an ins an , suspending ime: i is he momen o abno mali y,
ca elessness, e o , madness, pe di ion, and deli ium. I ’s he ime o dea h o
sal a ion.
The Hou s – he no el(s)
Acco ding o Vi ginia Wool ’s dia is ic wo k, he no el begins by being named
The Hou s2 ha Michael Cunningham e ie es o his ex , paying homage o
Wool ian canonical ex , M s Dalloway an accoun o one day in London – June
23 d, 1923. Ha ing been ill and con ined o he a ic oom o a long pe iod,
Cla issa Dalloway lea es ha mo ning – a 10 o’clock, o he sound o Big Ben
– o buy he lowe s she will wea a he pa y ha same nigh , in o de o
2 “(…). Pensam com en usiasmo no meu p óximo li o, a que eu penso chama As Ho as. (…)”. [They
hink en husias ically o my nex no el which I hink I’ll call he Hou s] (Wool , 2018, p.233).
ISABEL LOUSADA and VANDA DE SOUSA
147
p omo e he poli ical ca ee o he husband, Richa d Dalloway. The splendid
mo ning e okes memo ies o summe , when, a he age o eigh een, she chose o
ma y Richa d in p e e ence o Pe e Walsh, o whom she had s ong eelings.
Tha same day, Pe e Walsh in London, ha ing e u ned om India, looks o
Cla issa, in oducing he midday opos. F om his mee ing, close o he a al
hou , doub s abou he choice, abou lo e, aging, iden i y and abou he (un)
happiness esul ing om choices made h oughou he li e a e enewed. I will
be a he end o he day, upon lea ning o he suicide o he poe c ippled in he
wa and unknown o he , ha Cla issa appeases he soul (W igh , 1944). As she
goes up o he a ic oom, seeing he old neighbou nex doo also climbing he
s ai s, ligh in hand, Cla issa esigns he sel o he ine i abili y o being ali e, o
making choices. Li e mus be li ed (Thaku , 1965).
Cunningham’s no el The Hou s e isi s he Wool ian uni e se, ecoun ing one
day, in he yea 1923, in Richmond, beginning wi h he cha ac e Vi ginia
w i ing he book M s Dalloway, hen swi ching o Los Angeles, in 1951, wi h
he cha ac e Lau a B own eading he same no el on he bi hday o he
husband Dan B own. The ime ame shi s once again o New Yo k in 2001, o
he day o he pa y in which Cla issa Vaughan (nicknamed Cla issa Dalloway)
o ganizes a pa y commemo a ing he li e ime achie emen awa d o he w i e
Richa d B own.
Th ough h ee emale cha ac e s, in di e en epochs, bu uni ed by he same
ex , M s Dalloway, he no el The Hou s, encompasses h ee emale uni e ses
con aining he same exis en ial ques ions as hose p esen in he Wool ian
cha ac e , leading o h ee encoun e s a he a e ul hou and he making o
h ee li e decisions.
The Hou s – he ilm
The ilm makes use o a p ologue, one migh say a alse lashback, o he suicide o
Vi ginia Wool and he suicide le e she w i es o Leona d Wool . Immedia ely
i e eals a solu ion o he exis en ial ques ion which has guided he w i ing om
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i s o igin – M s Dalloway, o Michael Cunningham’s ex , culmina ing in he ilm.
Con a y o he book adap a ion in he o m o emedia ion (Bol e & G usin,
2000), he ilm in e locks ime ames as an exe cise in pos mode n w i ing
(Lyo a d, 2003) which in e wea es dis inc empo ali ies and dis inc d ama ic
nuclei, as i hey we e no empo ally and spa ially dis inc , and in e wea es
h ee di e en plo s making use o he w i ing o he mo he no el as a d ama ic
componen o union and explana ion. I is an exe cise in pos -mode nism, in
i s e isi a ion o a canonical ex , wi h a agmen a y s uc u e ha alues bo h
spa ial and empo al discon inui y, celeb a ing he na a ion as a consequence
o images, appa en hemsel es, bu eeing space o in e p e a ion (Deleuze,
2006, pp.43-44). Film howe e is no a uni e sal and p imi i e language, no
i sel an ac ual language, be o e mo emen s and p ocesses o hough (p e-
linguis ic images) and iews on hese mo emen s and p ocesses – p e-signi ying
signs (Deleuze, 2006, pp.334-335). In his sense, he ilm expe ience o The
Hou s is pa adigma ic, when i sugges s a up u e o meaning and meaning
sys ems, a ising om each o he emale cha ac e s, a i med in a classic cu e
in h ee ac s: Vi ginia, non-con o mis ; Lau a, emancipa ed; Cla issa Vaughan,
libe a ed.
Fi s Ac – Dawn
The ilm opens wi h Vi ginia d essed in b own. A close-up p e en s he ligh
om en e ing he scene, deepening he b own and beige ha cha ac e izes he .
Th ough a oiceo e we hea Vi ginia’s suicide le e , as she comes in o iew, wi h
he ocus on he hands. Only hen is he iden i y e ealed. The ligh is obscu ed
by da kness – ea – and when she is isible, he b own she wea s becomes
almos och e, ul illing he sc een. The cha ac e is inside, pe pendicula o he
da k ame o he doo way. Clea ly, in he in e io space, he eminine jux aposes
he ex e nal space amed by he doo which, h ough glass, allows a glimme
o ligh o en e – bu does no e en ul il he unc ion o ligh ing: o ligh en.
When she u ns owa ds he doo , he b own o he d ess is e en mo e s iking,
ISABEL LOUSADA and VANDA DE SOUSA
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da kening he in e io space.
Vi ginia heads o he doo , bu he posi ion and mo emen s indica e he p essu e
o an obsession, e lec ed in he way she walks. Symbolizing he bold ansi ion
om in e io o ex e io , he came a d aws away om he cha ac e , es ablishing
a dis anced mise-en-scène (in e p e ed as non-ag eemen ); he came a ollows
he om a dis ance. He b own coa ed igu e blends wi h he g eens o he
ege a ion and lends i sel o a scene media ed by he d ama ic weigh o he
cha ac e ’s pe o mance. The ligh ha ou side would be expec ed is los in his
sequence and is al eady absen when Vi ginia eaches he Ri e Ouse. F om
he e he wa e s ha appea b ownish in unison wi h he clo hes a e in aded
by g ey, as he cha ac e en e s wi h he in en o being swallowed up by he
i e . Subme ged, he b owns o Vi ginia’s clo hes almos ade in o he wa e s,
he ea h, and he b anches ha en elop he and d ag he ine body down,
in oking Ophelia3. The p ologue ends. The day begins!
The h ee eminine cha ac e s a e su ounded by whi e ligh , which ouches each
o hem, adjus ing o he colo s and ligh ha ep esen hem.
The h ee a e seen as aces on hei pillow, in oking he Wool ian mo i o he
hou s, bu also de ining hem by soli ude: all a e ma ied, all wake up alone.
The sho s o hei aces es ing on each pillow ma k he ansi ion be ween
space and ime: Vi ginia goes o he washbasin, and lowe s he ace, bu i is he
washed ace o Cla issa Vaughan ha ises again, in a p o usion o whi e o chids
de ailing he déco . The e immedia ely ollows he ace o Lau a B own, linked
o he book M s Dalloway, imme sed in a p o usion o g eene y and oliage, he
colou s o which become a dominan scenog aphic ea u e in he poesis.
The scene de ines he colou o each: b own o Vi ginia, whi e o Cla issa and
g een o Lau a B own. Simila ly, he i s ac de ines he d ama ic s uc u e.
The women belong o he domes ic in e io . In ospec ion is ese ed o he
3 We e e o he wo k o Si John E e e Millais – Ophelia, 1852, which ep esen s he cha ac e Ophelia
o he Shakespea ean ex Hamle .
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150
bed oom (each aces es ing on i s pillow), while in domes ic li e hey lose hei
sense o sel , being bound o hei domes ic ou ine. Cla issa lea es he la o
buy lowe s, bu we only see he b ie ly in public: we see he en e he lo is ’s;
we see he en e Richa d’s building; we see he in he hospi al. He p esence
ou side is lee ing.
We see Vi ginia going o a walk, wi h Leona d’s pe mission, bu wi hou
enjoymen : she is imme sed in he no el she is abou o w i e. The h ee
emale igu es a e po ayed in a con ex ha dis inguishes hem om he male
cha ac e s. The men (wi h he excep ion o Richa d B own, he poe ) make
hei en ance h ough he on , om he le o he igh -hand side. The
ligh ing and he apidi y o hei mo emen s a e a me apho o hei eedom.
Toge he wi h he men, wo seconda y emale igu es a e ea ed in he same
way. Cla issa’s companion Sally and he daugh e , Julia, ep esen wo di e en
o ms o emancipa ion: he o me is an a i ma ion o he own will and is
g an ed a ce ain masculini y e en in he way she d esses; he la e displays he
emancipa ion ep esen a i e o he gene a ion. Bo h a e allowed a ouch o ed
in he clo hing hey wea , pe haps concealing a bold, doomed igu e.
No ably, he canonically eminine cha ac e s emain in he space o domes ici y,
al hough each esponds di e en ly: Vi ginia is e i ied o he maids; Lau a eels
uncom o able a home because she eels uncom o able in he ole as wi e,
mo he and housewi e; Cla issa emb aces wo houses: he own and Richa d’s.
Such a eading is exp essed in he se ing in which we ind each o hem: mos ly
s anding, a ely sea ed, bu in any o he si ua ions amed by doo ways (ei he
in e io , o a he on doo ), o in a window bay. The emale p o agonis s
Dald y chose o ame. The male (o masculinized) cha ac e s he a ibu es
wi h he mo emen o en e ing om he ex e io o he in e io , in acking
sho s which emphasize his mo emen as a sign o ansg ession. This language
excludes he cha ac e o Richa d B own, whom we wi ness mos ly sea ed, an
in eg al pa o he house, he ex e io o which is only e ealed when, si ing on
he window sill, he d ops in o he ligh , o his dea h.
ISABEL LOUSADA and VANDA DE SOUSA
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Second ac – Midday, he yellow hou – o he non- emo al o he hub is
In a wa me ligh now, a noon, he h ee women a e exposed o dange and
obliged o e lec on hei choices, hei li e, hei ques o happiness. Vi ginia
is isi ed by Nessa (he sis e ) and he nephews. We wi ness he e lec ion on
dea h, when he niece inds a dead bi d, whose g a e will be ado ned wi h he
yellow oses Vi ginia was ca ying. Wi h he ace o he g ound, eclining by he
bi d, Vi ginia knows ha i is necessa y o c oss he wa e s when one dies, in an
e oca ion o he Hades Ri e . This is epea ed when Cla issa is in e up ed by
Louis Wa e s (wa e s), and also in he case o Lau a in he d eamlike scene whe e
she decides no o commi suicide, ising om he wa e s ha ha e al eady
subme ged he . Yellow ela es o Lau a in he colo o he oses ha Dan o e s
he i s hing in he mo ning and which she con empla es be o e deciding o
lea e he house and en a oom in a ho el (whe e she will li e ou he dilemma
caused by he eading) and, in he ki chen, Cla issa has di icul y o sepa a e he
yellow egg yolks om he clea whi es.
While making a bi hday cake o Dan, Lau a is in e up ed by he neighbou
Ki y. She becomes awa e ha as a ma ied housewi e, mo he o Richa d and
p egnan o he second ime, she does no ha e he li e she wishes o – she did
no make he igh choices.
While p epa ing a meal o he pa y, Cla issa is in e up ed by Louis Wa e s
who ques ions he obsessi e ca ing o Richa d B own. He con esses o eeling a
sense o eedom since sepa a ing om Richa d4.
Ma ked by he p esence o yellow in each scene, he h ee cha ac e s a e exposed
o dange : hey e lec on hei choices, hey e lec on hei iden i y; hey e lec
on wha happiness means o hem. The h ee a e awa e o being ali e.
4 “CLARISSA – anyway, i doesn’ ma e . I was you he s ayed wi h. I was you he li ed wi h. You’ll see
when he comes. He’s s ill Richa d. His mind wande s and he’s in a lo o pain. Bu he e’s some cons an
quali y. The e’s his Richa d-ness.
LOUIS mo es owa ds he , ca e ul abou wha he wan s o spell ou .
LOUIS – The day I le him I go on a ain and made my way ac oss Eu ope. I el ee o he i s ime
in yea s” (Ha e, 2002, p.70).
THE HOURS: THE (FE)MALE GAZE?
152
All h ee a e conscious o hei unhappiness. They know ha o be ali e is o
make choices.
Thi d ac – La e a e noon
Vi ginia akes he isk o lea ing he home. We encoun e he on he pla o m
a Richmond s a ion. She wan s o go back o London, bu Leona d a i es
and con on s he . In he hea o hei a gumen he ligh ing is such ha i
accen ua es he dominan b owns; e en Leona d seems imp egna ed by his
colou .
In ex emis, Lau a pos pones he decision o commi suicide. We see he a
home wi h he son a he husband Dan’s bi hday dinne . Again, he ligh ing is
somb e. A e he semi-da kness o dinne , in con e sa ion wi h Dan, he scene
is again amed by doo ways – Lau a inside he ba h oom, Dan ou side. She
is in shadow, while he is illumina ed by he a i icial ligh o he bed oom, he
doo way be ween hem. He asks he i she is coming o bed – she lies ha she’s
jus inishing b ushing he ee h. Wha will he choice be – o esign he sel o
con inue in he sea ch o happiness?
The aming o emale igu es in doo ways, in con ined spaces, is mos
no iceable in Cla issa’s scenes, mos ma kedly in he sho s o he deep ele a o
sha in Richa d B own’s building. Cla issa helps Richa d p epa e o he
pa y. The na a i e he e elies on he in ensi y o he sho s, in he absolu e
black o he ele a o , a he en ance o Richa d’s chao ic house. The whi e o
Cla issa’s cha ac e appea s as a huge plas ic bag ha she uses o collec he
ga bage sca e ed a ound he house, in sha p con as o he da kness caused by
he pieces o clo h ha co e he windows. By ying o clea he windows, so
ha ligh can en e , Cla issa e e ses he s uc u e o he windows as eminine
language. Si ing on he window sill, Richa d s a es ha keeping him ali e is he
only aison d’ê e she has in he li e, and asks he o epea how she wen o buy
lowe s in he mo ning (an allusion o he Wool ian ex – “M s. Dalloway said
she would buy he lowe s he sel ”), ecalling ha hey we e in lo e a he age o
ISABEL LOUSADA and VANDA DE SOUSA
153
eigh een. Sepa a ed now, jus iends, ha ’s wha li e is all abou . We s ay ali e
because o o he s; we make choices. Tha ’s being ali e. Bu is i wha i means
o be happy?
Climax ollowed by esolu ion – Nigh ollowed by dawn
Re u ning o he in e io , o semi-da kness, o b own ones, Vi ginia in o ms
Leona d ha she has made a decision: he cha ac e o he new no el, he poe ,
mus die so ha o he s can li e.
On he window s ill, Richa d in o ms Cla issa ha she will ha e o ind a eason
o li e beyond keeping him ali e. He le s himsel all om he window in o he
p ecipice as a silen sc eam ha eleases (he ?) him h ough suicide.
Emphasizing he nigh and he in e io déco , and ei e a ing he amewo k
o he doo ways, we lea n ha Lau a is Richa d B own’s mo he , and ha she
decided o wai o he daugh e o be bo n be o e lea ing he amily and ge ing
a job as a lib a ian in Canada. As o Vi ginia, we know a he ou se , om he
p ologue, ha she commi ed suicide in he da k wa e s o he Ri e Ouse.
Conclusion: The Hou s – he e(male) gaze?
The women po ayed he e a e con ined o he domes ic sphe e. Whe he i
be 1923, 1951 o 2001, hey emain walled in he in e io space and almos
iden i ied wi h he doo ames ha suppo jois s, mo a and s ucco. The doo s
de ine a bo de line wi hin which he women a e con ined o a non-place hey
yea n o escape om and a e p e en ed om ha ing a li e o hei own (Po o,
1947).
Al hough linked o w i ing, hey ha e no oice o hei own and depend on male
o masculinized igu es such as Sally, Cla issa’s companion. A a ime o winning
he su age e o e, a a ime o he pos -wa boom and a a ime which su i ed
he millennial bug o 2000, all o hese women, he p o agonis s, a e sla es o
he social oles om which hey canno ee hemsel es.
Vi ginia c osses he p i a e space wice: ch onologically, o seek inspi a ion by
THE HOURS: THE (FE)MALE GAZE?