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The Women Who Creep in to Steal and Defile

In The HoursMichael Cunningham draws on the stylistic and thematic traits of

Virginia Woolf in order to construct a fitting tribute. Consequently one is able to find

many similarities betweenMrs. Dallowayand The Hours. !ne parallel between these

two wor"s is the treatment of Woolf#s Miss $ilman and Cunningham#s Mary $rull.

$ilman and $rull represent homophobic tendencies in the otherwise se%ually open&

minded main character 'Dalloway and Vaughan respecti(ely). The near hatred e%pressed

for the *outside# is resultant of a rift each of these women creates between the each

Clarissa and her daughter. This essay will mo(e through a discussion of the portrayal of

these two characters into a description of the se%uality of Dalloway and Vaughan and

culminate with an ac"nowledgement of the distance created between each Clarissa and

her daughter.

Doris $ilman is +li,abeth Dalloway#s tutor but Clarissa sees her as -+li,abeth#s

seducer the woman who had crept in to steal and defile/'Woolf 012). This statement

though Clarissa was in a fit of rage suggests a predatory se%uality. 3oth *seduce# and

*defile# are e%ceedingly powerful words. Miss $ilman is e(erything that Clarissa is not.

She is ordinary frumpy and religious -The cruelest thing in the world she thought

seeing them clumsy hot domineering hypocritical ea(esdropping 4ealous infinitely

cruel and unscrupulous dressed in a mac"intosh coat on the landing/'Woolf 056).

Clarissa is anything but. The entire plot ofMrs. Dallowayre(ol(es around Clarissa#s

party she is flighty and superficial characteri,ed by glitter and tinsel. Clarissa#s greatest

consolation was that -+li,abeth really cared for her dog most of all. 789 Still better poor

:ri,,le than Miss $ilman better distemper and tar and all the rest of it than sitting

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mewed in a stuffy bedroom with a prayer boo"/'Woolf 05); To Mrs. Dalloway e(en a

dirty dog with distemper is better than Miss $ilman. Throughout the no(el Woolf

depicts Miss $ilman and Mrs. Dalloway as being at odds Clarissa ta"es e(ery chance to

berate her oppositional counterpart.

Clarissa Dalloway and Miss $ilman are at odds inMrs. Dallowayin much the

same way as Clarissa Vaughan and Mary $rull in The Hours.

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a diamond something infinitely precious wrapped up which as they

wal"ed 'up and down up and down) she unco(ered or the radiance burnt

through the re(elation the religious feeling; 'Woolf 56).

Clarissa thus appears willing to recogni,e the (alidity of lo(e between two womenA -3ut

this question of lo(e 'she thought putting her coat away) this falling in lo(e with women.

Ta"e Sally Seton her relation in the old days with Sally Seton. ad not that after all

been lo(eE/ 'Woolf 2F) Clarissa is unwilling howe(er to ac"nowledge the possibility

of a relationship with another woman. Gerhaps if she were ali(e at the end of the

twentieth century Clarissa Dalloway would ha(e shown up to Clarissa Vaughan#s party

with another woman.

Clarissa Vaughan had the opportunity to marry her bise%ual best friend @ichard.

She turned him down deciding instead to spend her life with another woman.

Cunningham was able to do for his Clarissa what Woolf ne(er could he ga(e her Sally.

@ichard#s thoughts re(eal his belief thatA

Clarissa has at heart become a society wife and ne(er mind the fact that

she and Sally do not attempt to disguise their lo(e for anyone#s sa"e or

that Sally is a de(oted intelligent woman a producer of public tele(ision

for hea(en#s sa"eHhow much more dramatically underpaid does she need

to be. 'Cunningham 6)

While Clarissa is a lesbian she is not militant li"e -Mary the stern and rigorous Mary the

righteous sha(ed head beginning to show dar" stubble wearing rat&colored slac"s

breasts dangling 'she must be past forty) under a ragged white tan" top/'Cunningham

0J). Instead Clarissa chose to conform to society and li(e with a woman as she might a

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her refusal to conform to societal norms. Clarissa Dalloway loathes Miss $ilman for

similar reasons Miss $ilman too re4ects what Clarissa ob4ecti(ely defines as norms.

3oth Clarissa Vaughan and Clarissa Dalloway fear for the se%uality of their

daughters. It seems that they are each determined to ha(e their daughters be *normal.#

3ased on her relations with Sally at +li,abeth#s age Clarissa Dalloway is not so quic" to

dismiss +li,abeth#s relationship with Miss $ilman. @ichard assures her that it is only a

phase -3ut it might be only a phase as @ichard said such as all girls go through. It

might be falling in lo(e. 3ut why with Miss. $ilmanE/ 'Woolf 05) This implies that

perhaps Clarissa would ha(e been more accepting of her daughter#s lo(e for a woman if

that woman were more li"e herself or e%otic li"e Sally Seton or at least less li"e Miss

$ilman.

@egardless of the company she "eeps there is no doubt in Clarissa Vaughn#s mind

that 0)

The relationship between $ilman and $rull with the Clarissa#s respecti(e

daughters also causes resentment and occasionally e(en a distorted form of en(y. This is

alluded to throughout each no(el.

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Clarissa Dalloway and Doris $ilman are ri(als for +li,abeth#s affection. This

ri(alry has a religious aspect -This a Christian& this woman; This woman had ta"en her

daughter from her; She in touch with in(isible presences; ea(y ugly commonplace

without "indness or grace she "now the meaning of life/'Woolf 021). Lot only is Miss

$ilman commonplace she is also Christian. Clarissa wishes for +li,abeth to be a de(out

follower of her own religion& that of the Garty Consciousness. Clarissa feels about her

parties much the same was as Miss $ilman feel about religion -all she could say 7of her

parties9 was 'and nobody could be e%pected to understand)A They#re an offering/'Woolf

02). Miss $ilman recogni,es this struggle -Miss $ilman could not let her go; this

youth that was so beautiful this girl whom she genuinely lo(ed; 7. . .9 She must not let

parties absorb her/'Woolf 05).

The struggle between Mary and Clarissa Vaughan for

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her so littleE What happened to the ring Clarissa ga(e her for her

eighteenth birthdayE). 'Cunningham 0)

Mary is in lo(e with

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Clarissa Vaughan seem to be se%ually open&minded. owe(er upon closer e%amination

the reali,ation is that Dalloway while fond of her "iss with Sally did not li(e at a time

when she was able to accept a lesbian relationship. Vaughan li(ing with a woman has

come to terms with the relationship aspect but is not yet willing to accept acti(ism. Bt

heart each Clarissa is first a foremost a con(entional society wife. Gerhaps there is a

Clarissa Dalloway somewhere in the future with rebellious acti(ism in her blood.

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