From Oppression To Harmony: On Ecofeminist Views In Michael Cunningham's The Hours

Michael Cunningham(1952--)is one of the most outstanding writers in contemporary America.Inspired by Virginia Woolf and her Mrs.Dalloway(1925),he published The Hours in 1998,which won both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999.In the novel,Cunningham takes Mrs.Dalloway as a clue,telling one day of three women in different times and spaces.The years after the publication of The Hours have witnessed an increasing academic interest in the novel.For a long time,lots of critics have noticed Cunningham's remarkable female consciousness.His profound consideration of women issues with environmental problems,however,receives little attention.This thesis,therefore,intends to explore Cunningham's ecofeminist views through the analysis of women's unique affinity with nature,the patriarchal oppression of women and nature as well as the tendency of harmony among nature,women,and men.This thesis consists of five sections.Besides the Introduction and Conclusion,there are three chapters.Chapter One focuses on the close relationship between women and nature in the novel.Nature is feminized for it gives the three oppressed women consolation,courage and vitality like a mother in the patriarchal culture;women are naturalized for they are closer to nature and share common qualities with nature,like devotion and unselfishness.Chapter Two is devoted to exposing the conflict between city and nature,the survival predicament of the three women as well as their respective revolts against the patriarchy.As the representative of aggressive patriarchal ideology,the city's rapid development causes the binary opposition of nature and culture.The three women are all victims of the patriarchal culture: Woolf suffered greatly from the physical and mental imprisonment;Laura was trapped in the tedious and demanding marriage life;Clarissa lost herself in the spiritual wasteland.But they chose to fight against the patriarchy through their respective lesbian relationships,from which they got comfort and support.Chapter Three explores the tendency of harmony among nature,women,and men.The day in the novel ends with the death of Richard,which implies the collapse of the patriarchy that Richard represents.Leonard's final compromise with Woolf,Richard's regret to Clarissa and forgiveness for his mother,Woolf's final liberation in water and Clarissa's desire for returning to nature all show Cunningham's hope for the harmony between men and women,human and nature.By taking ecofeminism as theoretical foundation,this thesis analyzes women's unique affinity with nature in order to dig out Cunningham's ecofeminist awareness and thoughts in The Hours.From the patriarchal oppression of women and nature to the harmony of nature,women,and men,Cunningham successfully expresses his sympathy with nature and women's suffering under patriarchy and appeals for the establishment of a more harmonious world.