Discipline And Resistance: An Interpretation Of The Hours From The Perspective Of Foucault’s Disciplinary Power

Michael Cunningham(1952-),a marvelous novelist and screenwriter,is regarded as a rising star in contemporary American literature.The Hours is regarded as his representative work,which not only appears on the New York Times bestseller list but also wins the Pulitzer Prize and the Pen/Faulkner Award.Based on Virginia Woolf’s work Mrs.Dalloway,Michael Cunningham condenses the living conditions of three women of different eras into one day,which vividly shows the ubiquitous Disciplinary Power and resistance in their respective societies.The Hours attracts many experts and scholars’ attention both at home and abroad.They devotes themselves to studying the novel from different perspectives.However,the ubiquitous Disciplinary Power embodied in the novel is still a research perspective to be developed.It can be said that the Disciplinary Power is an enduring topic,which not only conforms to the research hotspots in various fields but also provides a new idea for the study of The Hours.This thesis bases on Foucault’s theory of Disciplinary Power to interpret The Hours.The thesis is divided into six parts: introduction,four chapters,and a conclusion.The Introduction mainly gives an account of the novel and its author,the current research status of The Hours at home and abroad,and the development and concept of Foucault’s Disciplinary Power.The first chapter focuses on the confined disciplined space in the novel.Through the analysis of the Richmond for Virginia,the Domestic House for Laura and the Apartment for Clarissa,it shows that Space is not a simple container or place for power to work in,but a positive and necessary constituent element.Through the principle of Space allocation and the system of Disciplinary Power,this modern society has become a Panopticon.The second chapter expresses that the ultimate purpose of the operation of Disciplinary Power is to make the body useful,effective and obedient.Therefore,Virginia’s obedient body is formed by her fear of being watched.Laura’s useful body is formed by the constraints of family ethics.Clarissa’s obedient body is formed by being renamed as Mrs.Dalloway.The third chapter reflects the influence of Foucault’s Power Discourse based on the network of Disciplinary Power,including Virginia’s madness,Laura’s sense of worldweariness and Clarissa’s contradiction.Any discourses will be marked by the power system and make an effect,therefore,the negative attitude of these characters is the result under the heavy pressure of truth words,and the spiritual destruction of the females in the novel by the Disciplinary Power.The fourth chapter mainly expounds on the strategies of power resistance in The Hours.Power and resistance are always inseparable,and it is inevitable for individuals who are trapped in the network of power relations to resist this power network.Disciplinary Power can produce a tame body,but it can also produce a rebellious body.In this chapter,Virginia picks up the pen in her hand to write;Laura chooses to leave and pursue herself;Clarissa wakes up from the memory and faces life directly.In the face of the Disciplinary Power of modern society,the protagonists have insight into the power loaded on their bodies.They do not give up all resistance,contrarily,they not only constructs a brave and tenacious new body but also realizes the harmonious unity of human spirit and flesh.In a word,taking Foucault’s Disciplinary Power as a reference,through the analysis of the closed space,the obedient bodies and the influences of Power Discourse,the author of this thesis attempts to reveal the various survival dilemmas of the protagonists in The Hours in the network of Disciplinary Power,as well as the possibility of seeking resistance and survival value in this situation.Therefore,the author of this thesis hopes that readers can observe others and themselves in the fictional world created by Michael Cunningham,observe the world and situation we live in and the crisis as well as predicament of human beings,through which we can actively explore and recognize ourselves.