Literature directly reflects society’s progression in each and every aspect.
Literature allows us to view history from another perspective. Literature is a gateway for us to learn the ideas of the past, express our emotions of the present, and create the dreams for our future.
Modernist Literature first came about in the later 19th century alongside significant industrial development, but it wasn’t until after World War 1 when modernist literature really took off. During this time period, many great writers influenced by the change in literature era emerged, Virginia Woolf being one of many.
Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway is a prime example of modernist literature, focusing on the adaptation of characters, experimenting with new ways of writing and paragraphs of absolute absurdity. Within the first couple of pages, we are introduced to a stream of consciousness. The story is constantly switching between characters yet maintains a fluidity. This can be seen when Mrs Dalloway hears a loud explosion outside the flower shop, Edgar J. Watkiss comments on it, and Septimus overhears his comment.
Edgar J. Watkiss, with his roll of lead piping around his arm, said audibly, humorously of course: “The Proime Minister’s kyar.” Septimus Warren Smith, who found himself unable to pass, heard him.
A couple sentences ago, the focus of the story had been on Mrs Dalloway in the flower shop, however the story is now redirected to focus on Septimus, who does play a large role within the story. Interestingly, Edgar J. Watkiss is never mentioned again.
Since the publishing of Mrs Dalloway, there has been two cinematic adaptions, one based off Mrs Dalloway, and another based off The Hours. The Hours written by Michael Cunningham is an amalgamation of 3 different timelines with 3 different central characters; Clarissa Vaughan, Laura Brown and Virginia Woolf.
The injustice of a cinematic adaption
For most people, it is much harder to sit down for several hours reading, than it is to watch a film. And why is that? The main difference between watching a movie and reading a book is the method information is being extracted and consumed. Watching a movie is equivalent to someone using a spoon to feed you, whereas reading a book is like using the spoon yourself. This becomes a limiting factor if you want to fully appreciate the brilliance of Mrs Dalloway.
The solitary traveller, haunter of lanes, disturber of ferns, and devastator of great hemlock plants, looking up, suddenly sees the giant figure at the end of the ride.
Sentences like these can never be incorporated subtly within a film. This is just one of many sentences that will be dismissed when creating a cinematic adaption of Mrs Dalloway. One of the main qualities of modernist literature (especially within Mrs Dalloway) is the absurdity in which ideas and sentences are stringed together, and this quality makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible for films to do justice with Virginia Woolf’s writing.
The story frequently takes us back to past memories of the main characters, namely Mrs Dalloway, Peter Walsh, Septimus Warren Smith and Lucrezia Smith (Rezia). Films have the ability to bring us back in time similar to the books, however the frequency in which Virginia Woolf brings us down memory lane would be a complication for films. The whole story is based in a single day, so a lot of the book is spent in the past. This can be an issue for films because a film would struggle to have a feeling of continuity, and can often result in too much confusion for the audience.
The final scene, the terrible scene which he believed had mattered more than anything in the whole of his life (it might be an exaggeration — but still so it did seem now) happened at three o’clock in the afternoon of a very hot day.
Peter Walsh recalls the a very important day to him. Each time Virginia brings us back to the pass, it is crucial to the story and cannot be dismissed. This memory that Peter has confirms our suspicion that he still has feelings for Clarissa. If films do not include each flashback, then a lot of the content would lost.
Possibly the most important reason as to why a film would not do Mrs Dalloway justice is because Virginia in Mrs Dalloway rejects the idea that one person knows everything. As the stream of consciousness moves around the characters, it focuses on the experiences and thoughts of that person at that time. So as you follow the stream of consciousness in the book, you also follow each person’s past and present experiences, and how they view the future. This quality within the book cannot be conveyed from a cinematic adaption. A stream of consciousness within a film would lose the same affect since you are getting shown or told what is happening, but it doesn’t take you to a personal level with the character. It’s kind of difficult to explain what I am trying to describe, so I’ll give you an example instead.
She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea alone; she had always had this feeling that it was very, very difficult to live even one day. Not that she thought herself clever, or much out the ordinary.
Unless this is specifically said within the film (which I would argue is more similar to an audiobook than a film), a film created today would not be able to give us the same affect, therefore doing injustice to Virginia Woolf’s work. Maybe in the future when immersion technology has advanced enough that emotions can be ‘injected’ into us, only then can an adaption of Mrs Dalloway be considered worthy.
Now I’m not trying to diss films that adapt from classics or even films that adapt from Mrs Dalloway, I’m just voicing my opinion that watching a cinematic adaption is way different of an experience than reading the actual book.
How The Hours (film) transformed my understanding of Mrs Dalloway (book)
First of all, The Hours in my opinion was very interesting film. Much like Mrs Dalloway the main concept around The Hours is also mortality.
The Hours incorporates many scenes that either requires additional analysing or having read Mrs Dalloway. Rarely would there be a scene within the film that cannot be related with Mrs Dalloway. One of my favourite scenes in the film was when Virginia Woolf and Angelica Bells have a funeral for a dead bird. Link to the clip.
Angelica- “Is it [bird] a she?”
Virginia- “Yes the females are larger. And less colourful.”
Angelica- “What happens when we die?”
Virginia- “What happens? We return to the place we came from.”
Angelica- “I don’t remember where I came from.”
Virginia- “Nor do I.”
Angelica- “She looks very small.”
Virginia- “Yes. Yes that’s one of the thing that happens, we look smaller.”
Angelica- “But very peaceful.”
Virginia understands the bird, but more than that she connects with the her. Angelica asks very childlike questions, but to Virginia it really makes her revaluate what death really means. Virginia believes that you return to where you came from once you die, and even if she doesn’t know where that place is, believing that death isn’t the end takes the fear out of dying. Angelica even describes the dead bird as peaceful, further hinting that death is not the end. The is also some sort of peaceful and divine music in the background, possible indicating that Virginia Woolf is ready to accept death.
However, when this is compared to the concept of death in Mrs Dalloway, it is rather contrasting.
She had once thrown a shilling into the Serpentine, never anything more. But he has flung it away.
Initially, I thought that Clarissa was acknowledging that she and Septimus were different. That Clarissa was not ready to give up her life, whereas Septimus couldn’t take the guilt anymore. After watching The Hours, it occurred to me that Clarissa and Septimus were not that different at all. I get a sense that Clarissa envies Septimus for having the courage. Clarissa cares too much about the small things in life to end it all. She is more worried of how others will react to her suicide rather than the thought of being dead.
All in all, Mrs Dalloway is truly one of the greatest work of modernist literature, and if you have not read this, do not think that reading a cinematic adaption of it will be the same. Again, I have no problems with a cinematic adaption, I just know it will not do the Mrs Dalloway justice. I would recommend watching The Hours after reading Mrs Dalloway, however if you like the feeling of I-have-no-idea-what-in-god’s-name-is-going-on-but-shit-is-going-down, then be my guest.
Bibliography
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4OOoZUTvdgBd2hPSVRGNFotLXM/view?resourcekey=0-BrK4jrXHGFhzlft-kj8wvA- Mrs Dalloway (entire book)
The Hours- film (2002)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hours-review-2002-movie-1070395/- A review/summary of The Hours (film)
