How do Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours differ in Terms of their depictions of Mental Illness?
A Glimpse at the Ideas Discussed in Both Works of Literature
In a modern-day society so consumed by technology and the media, the significance of mental health is becoming ever so prominent and noticed. Observing the way in which mental illnesses are portrayed in works of literature from a different century allows for a checkmark of progress and an analysis of how the causes of it have shifted. The analysis of the works below allows for the observation of how mental illness was treated in a past society and the damages of an ignorant attitude towards it.
The seminal novel, Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf, delves deep into ideas related to mental illness and trauma, which is similarly seen in the film The Hours, by Stephen Daldry. The pair shares similarities in terms of character construction and mental states, though, varying in cause and context. Both pieces of literature are centered around themes of depression and trauma; the book is heavily accompanied by touches of Proust’s work of modernism, time and consciousness to develop dynamic characters that express the reality of their mentalities. A reference to the Shakespearean song ‘Fear no more the heat o’ the sun’ discusses the marginal difference between life and death, specifically in the novel, reflecting the mindset of characters looking to escape the unforgivingness of life. Within this central idea of depression and trauma, pre-existing character archetypes from the novel are jumbled and recycled in accordance with the causes for their behaviour to be used in the film. The movie provides more literal reasons for wanting to escape reality whereas the book travels into the mind of characters restricted by a society they are misunderstood in. All characters in both works suffering from past trauma for different reasons also are prone to depression (as seen) according to the theory of the American cognitive-behavioral therapist Aaron Beck. With direct influence from Joyce’s Ulysses and projections of Virginia Woolf’s own life, looking through the lens of behaviorist and psychodynamic theory the derivatives and inspiration for characters in extremely similar mental states can be found. This is despite the fact that the context and causes of these being different between the two pieces partially due to the form they were created as.
The predominance of Depression as a Theme
A predominant theme common in both pieces of work is depression, which is shown by the thoughts of many characters. This theme can already be identified from the beginning of both works.
The opening pages of Mrs.Dalloway begin with Clarissa walking through the bustling city of London and then a rush of reflective thoughts of “whether she must inevitably cease completely” spring to mind, discussing consciousness and state of mind. This interruption is inspired by the works of Marcel Proust who worked closely with time and consciousness to depict an accurate state of mind and add reality to characters. With this added realism, an element of tragicness is revealed by delving into Clarissa’s thoughts, indicating that she is not unfamiliar with the idea that “death ended absolutely.” Such thoughts consolidate the idea that Clarissa Dalloway is depressed and later it is shown that for her, “it was very, very dangerous to live even one day” without feeling overwhelmed by a life which she did not want to define her. This lays out a precedent for the mental illness-centric story that comes ahead. Similarly, The Hours begins with a scene in which Virginia Woolf is seen drowning herself in a river — thus putting emphasis on the movie which frequents the actions of mentally disturbed individuals, especially those that are depressed. The movie emphasises the drowning sequence later on when Laura is shown to be metaphorically drowning in a hotel room consuming pills. This signifies drowning to be a symbol of overwhelmingness and depicts depression to be an uncontrollable “river” or “flood” of emotions that need to be escaped from.
On the other hand, Mrs.Dalloway makes use of realism by showing character interaction with a deeper look into the minds of characters which is reflective of Proust’s work.
The novel takes inspiration from Ulysses as seen in the free-flowing narration such as “What a Lark! What a plunge!” which is ceased by Clarissa’s thoughts of depression. This is a scheme commonly seen implemented in various places of the novel where an abrupt thought about death is emphasized when the environment or scene is normal. For example, this is seen in the movie in various places such as when Clarissa pays a visit to Richard and begins by making normal conversation but is interrupted by a grim remark from him. This includes when he talks about “angels” and how his life is not worth living.
A similarity between the pieces is the constricting outlooks of society, Laura and Clarissa(Mrs. Dalloway) are restricted by their roles in life to truly be happy, serving as a “wife” and a “hostess”. Laura decides to abandon her former life, husband and child, in order to alleviate the depressed, suicidal state she is in. On the other hand, Clarissa concedes to a conventional life as a “hostess” and decides to “marry a Prime Minister” instead of fighting against her true desires to become something more. It is hard to gauge whether both these characters achieved true happiness and escaped the grasp of depression by the end.
From the movie, Virginia Woolf is a direct depiction of the real author in terms of her symptoms and situation. For example, the name of her husband is the same, Leonard and also the idea that “She herself is trapped here forever, posing as a wife” as seen when Virginia is fed up with being bedridden.
For example, the film constricts characters through their conditions and rules to stay home-ridden or stuck in an unwanted relationship which furthers their insanity; contrastingly, the novel primarily shows the characters unhappy with their respective roles in life and struggle to fit into conventional society thus leading to internal conflict.
Overall, the theme of depression is portrayed similarly in places where characters are restricted from something in society that defines them but differ in the way they are written or portrayed.
Trauma and its correlation with other mental illnesses + Aaron Beck
The characters, Septimus Warren Smith and Richard(The Hours) are a product of trauma, they show signs of paranoia in conjunction with extreme depression. These characters tie into Aaron Beck’s theory of depression which “proposes that persons susceptible to depression develop inaccurate/unhelpful core beliefs about themselves, others, and the world as a result of their trauma.” Thus, this abysmal attitude towards life is seen when Septimus and Richard talk about “Perfect nonsense it was; about death.” An emotional disconnect and hearing the “voices” of angels were noticed in both characters as they hallucinated. However, ultimately, the portrayal of trauma between Septimus and Richard is largely different.
Septimus suffers from PTSD or “shell-shock” as a result of the war in his later years and as a result, suffered from paranoia in response to his trauma flashbacks. As a character, Septimus suffers more from paranoia due to war flashbacks as he remembers “Evans! But no mud was on him; no wounds; he was not changed.”An indication that he is more mentally unstable than Richard due to his PTSD being triggered by the slightest occurrence which reminds him of the war. The main cause of his suicide was out of spite for the psychiatrists who ostracised him for his condition and apprehension about potential banishment to an “asylum”. Showing issues in society in response to mental illness rather than a personal self-loathe.
On the other hand, Richard suffers trauma due to his rough childhood after being abandoned, in conjunction with his later years as an author about which not enough is known. As a character, Richard suffers from self-hatred and how he is “only living for you[her] Clarissa”, in addition to only maintaining sanity whilst being on large amounts of medicine. The cause of his suicide is due to a lack of will to live and feeling like he does not have anything left to give as he is “failing” to provide anything to society.
Therefore, in a way that Septimus does not belong in society and the idea that Richard has nothing left to give to it, both characters come to their demise after being paralysed by traumatic pasts. This generally ties into the theory which claims that there is a “direct relationship between the amount and severity of someone’s negative thoughts and the severity of their depressive symptoms” by Aaron Beck. Due to the negative thoughts that both characters were subjected to, the paranoia (in the book) and lack of self-worth (in the movie). The depressive symptoms of both these characters were objectively larger than that of the other characters in the works, thus suggesting that they were surrounded by a more negative environment metaphorically and literally which is also potentially a result of their trauma.
Despite their similarities in trauma symptoms, both individuals suffered trauma at different ages in life and their reasons for leaving the bounds of their physical bodies are more so related to being misunderstood and defeated by society.
The Fine line between life and death + Escapism
Both pieces meddle with the idea that there is a fine line between life and death and this idea is tied into the lyrics of a song spotted in a shop window at the beginning of the novel.
A reference to Shakespeare’s “Fear no more the heat o’ the sun” catches the eye of Clarissa Dalloway early on in the novel summarising the thought process of characters pondering over the thought of death. The idea that life is not worth living due to the harshness of it ruminates in the mind of characters such as Septimus and Clarissa, this idea is accentuated by the song discussing the idea that death is an escape from an overwhelming world. In death, individuals are no longer affected by “winter’s rage” or the “heat o’ the sun” and thus the song depicts death being an escape, a notion often elaborated upon in the novel. This correlates to an unstable state of mind which occurs when the normal tides and crudities of the world become too much to bear and the only way out is where “worldly task hast done[did].”
Once again this idea of escapism from reality seen in the opening sequence of the movie, the tragic suicide of Virginia Woolf. Coupled with the contemplative nature of Clarissa at the beginning of the novel correlates to thoughts of death and how easily everything can “come to dust”. Or how easily escaping from the physical body, which is universally inevitable, can bring about the serenity numerous characters in the works need.
With the novel using an iconic song of Shakespeare’s to portray the volatility of life and death, the book discloses this idea in subtle ways and thoughts. Contrastingly, the movie utilises an opening scene that already plays with this theme by default, showing simple choreography which compliments this idea that death is an accessible way out of this world.
Ending Thoughts
With mental health being more widely recognized, it is vital to analyze works of literature such as Mrs.Dalloway and The Hours which are potentially social commentaries in order to acknowledge the step society has taken in the right direction.
Themes of mental illness are the predominant focus of both works and have drawn influence from other works such as Proust and the life of Virginia Woolf herself. Considered through the lens of Aaron Beck’s theory, it becomes clear how characters in both Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours have ended up in a poor mental state in conjunction with trauma. The novel utilizing the works of Joyce to add realism to what the characters feel and adding proximity to their thoughts, allows a raw connection to be created in which readers can feel the narrow line between life and death. The movie focuses more on the actions of the characters to express their distress in life, with characters running away from their depressing lives and restrictive societies. Both pieces show the mental damage of trauma similarly, with the reasoning and time it occurred being different but upholding the cognitive-behavioral theory regardless. Both pieces distinctly portray the fine line between life in death and run a narrative on the tight-rope between this, the way that this is portrayed is different largely due to the two varying forms of media.