Virginia Woolf's novel, Mrs. Dalloway, uses themes that examine the environment of interwar England, which inhibited the ability to effectively communicate one's thoughts and feelings , because the cultural norm rejected them in favor of maintaining a "stiff upper lip." ". In order to survive in this setting, the characters in Mrs. Dalloway and The Hours are provided with means of escaping reality, in which they can ignore their feelings or temporarily alleviate the fear of their own mortality. The finality of suicide is presented to the characters as both the end of their problems, either through death or through learning of someone else's death. Finally, we will discuss how Woolf's inner monologue manages to convey to readers how difficult it is to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get an original essay Hours' stories across three generations offer another way to explain Woolf's broader theme of escape through universal suffering, while visually translating the flow of-consciousness writing style. Mrs. Dalloway is set after the Great War, which is still fresh enough in people's minds that while there is a sense of gratitude, the introduction of Septimus as a character dealing with a stress disorder post-traumatic serves to remind the reader that for many characters, I do not feel finished; This late period of world experience had generated in all, men and women, a source of tears. Tears and sorrows; courage and endurance; a perfectly straight and stoic attitude. (Woolf 8) Clarissa recognizes that there is sadness in people, but due to the emotionally oppressive culture she grew up in, her conscience forbids her from breaking social norms. The reason this persists is because Clarissa is becoming a relic who still believes in old England. Traditionalists cling to the Old English stoic method of solving its problems and seek meaning in English symbols and traditions. However, this idealism was lost on New Englanders, as many of them witnessed the tragedies of war. Septimus is disillusioned by the war and no longer finds meaning in English patriotism. These schools of thought create an environment that supports stoicism, because where one class sees its traditions crumble, another realizes that their traditions never meant anything, and thus a more comfortable solution of rejecting emotions appeared. The Hours effectively translates this environment in its scenes depicting Laura Brown as the 1950s housewife who must survive her times by suppressing her emotions; It would be wonderful to say that you regretted it. It would be easy. But what does this mean? What does it mean to regret when you have no choice? This is what you can take. So. No one will forgive me. It was death. I chose life (The Hours). Laura's choice of words shows the helplessness she felt during her time, as she was not able to express her true emotions. It is this stifling lack of communication that is reflected in Mrs. Dalloway through Septimus's inability to express his own thoughts due to his PTSD. Both characters also have life partners who are unable to ease their problems and sometimes exasperate them. The Hours demonstrates how the 1950s ethos of conforming andactively participating in the American dream – although different from English stoicism – produced almost identical results. of people who felt too oppressed. It makes sense that in these restrictive environments, the characters would look for ways to escape. The methods they use to escape are also very revealing of their personality, as Zwerdling suggests: "Woolf is deeply concerned with the question of how the individual is shaped (or distorted) by his social environment, by the way in which historical forces affect its social environment. life and change its course based on how class, wealth, and gender help determine its fate.” Both of Clarissa's plans are gone because busy, tedious work means they don't have to face their problems head-on; it also gives the impression that there is an attitude towards them that says: "I don't have problems, I get it together." In Mrs. Dalloway, Clarissa's party planning also shows one of her last remaining roles in society. At a mature age, Clarissa has fulfilled her maternal duties and since women of that era were not known to return to school or resume a career, she organizes parties which allow her to be at the center of the communication "network" that happens. throughout history. One can also make the maternal comparison to the Clarissa of the Hours, who cares for Richard in a motherly way and also throws parties to provide a means of communicating with old friends. Richard uses writing as a way to escape and make sense of his traumatic childhood, while his mother is a reader, as her escape occurs through a more passive form of immersion. Their relationship as writer/reader is important because it also dictates their ultimate method of escaping suffering. Richard's role as a writer indicates his need to escape into a role in which he feels in control, something that was lacking in his childhood and which ultimately formulated his suicide. The writer must have a more concrete approach to control, as is the case with Richard's suicide, whereas the reader's source of control comes first from the decision to escape, then from allowing others to escape. 'take him on a journey, much like Laura flees to Canada. Peter Walsh finds his escape through his relationships with women, through his first marriage, in his memories of Clarissa, and then in his engagement to Daisy. Peter's method of escape is indicative of his fleeting sense of security, particularly after stalking Maisie Johnson, while comparing her to Clarissa, and then finding himself lost after entering her home. He lives in a cycle of self-doubt, while searching for women who he believes will save him from himself. Woolf created Peter in this way to say that these methods of escape are only temporary, and that while they may ease the burden of suppressed emotions and impending mortality, they do not end suffering. It is important to note common methods of escape. the characters of the book and the film, because it shows how suffering is universal. A character must commit suicide for Clarissa to understand the value of a life. Woolf then uses suicide, not just to relieve the pain of life, but so that the other characters can learn to live. Septimus saves Clarissa from herself, thanks to the lesson she learns from his suicide. In The Hours, Richard commits suicide so that Clarissa can first learn to think for herself, since the cause of much of her conflict is losing herself to others. The Hours are capable of suggesting the end of suffering through another postulate. The Hours.