Michael Cunningham's Reading of Mrs Dalloway

Abstract

This thesis focuses on Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours in the context of postmodernism. As The Hours is a postmodernist interpretation of Mrs Dalloway, the thesis also discusses Virginia Woolfs modernist approach in order to compare it with Cunningham's postmodernist position. I have adopted the methods of close reading and analysis in both Mrs Dalloway and The Hours. To substantiate my assertions I have consulted a number of secondary sources that form the basis of the theoretical part. The aim of the thesis is to provide a sufficient theoretical background to a detailed analysis of the two novels in question and support it by a number of adequate examples contained in the novels. The thesis consists of four chapters, each divided into several sections that focus on specific aspects of modernism and postmodernism. The first chapter "Major principles of modernism" deals with the basic features and principles of modernism, with a special focus on the genre of the novel. The second chapter "Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway' focuses on Mrs Dalloway in the light of modernism and draws an outline of the techniques used and themes contained in the novel. The third chapter "Major strategies of postmodernism" tries to demonstrate the links between modernism and postmodernism to further explore major features and...

This thesis focuses on Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours in the context of postmodernism. As The Hours is a postmodernist interpretation of Mrs Dalloway, the thesis also discusses Virginia Woolfs modernist approach in order to compare it with Cunningham's postmodernist position. I have adopted the methods of close reading and analysis in both Mrs Dalloway and The Hours. To substantiate my assertions I have consulted a number of secondary sources that form the basis of the theoretical part. The aim of the thesis is to provide a sufficient theoretical background to a detailed analysis of the two novels in question and support it by a number of adequate examples contained in the novels. The thesis consists of four chapters, each divided into several sections that focus on specific aspects of modernism and postmodernism. The first chapter "Major principles of modernism" deals with the basic features and principles of modernism, with a special focus on the genre of the novel. The second chapter "Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway' focuses on Mrs Dalloway in the light of modernism and draws an outline of the techniques used and themes contained in the novel. The third chapter "Major strategies of postmodernism" tries to demonstrate the links between modernism and postmodernism to further explore major features and...