The Hours

The Hours I believe is a celebration of life, suicide is mentioned a few times throughout the novel which is a very touchy subject, especially in our society. I think of it as a celebration of life because Laura Brown does not kill herself even though it is very clear that she is not happy with her life. Laura felt like she wasn’t an individual anymore, she was now known as her husband’s wife, something that she did not want to be known as. She feels irritated by her husband and her son, she feels irritated that she must have sex with him and make him breakfast in the morning. One of the reasons that she stays with him, is mostly due to the war. Her husband was in the war and when he came out of it, he chose Laura as the woman that he wanted to be with. I'm sure many people are struggling from thoughts of suicide, and to over-come it is a very good and relieving thing. In the end, Laura did not commit suicide; she had her books as an escape, and she ends up leaving her husband and her son, to escape away from the life that she so hated. Unfortunately, Virginia Woolf did commit suicide but clearly, dying was the only thing that could make her truly happy. Throughout her story, it was clear that Virginia was a little bit strange, she avoids things such as looking in the mirror to avoid her shadow, or to avoid speaking to people who will put her in a bad mood, as well as eating, all she wanted to do was write.

Though Virginia committed suicide, she stopped Laura Brown from committing suicide. With the end of one life, saves another. Her writing was so wonderful and beautiful that Laura used her writings to get away from the world that she hated and into another that she loved. Without Virginia’s book, I’m sure that Laura Brown would of committed suicide as well. Yet Laura had a small breaking point in which she realized that she did not want to be crazy like Virginia Woolf. Clarissa Vaughan didn’t have thoughts of suicide, but she witnessed suicide from her best friend, Richard. Throughout the novel Clarissa would see things that would remind her of her and Richard when they were young and lovers. Sadly, Richard is dying from AIDS and she is now living a life with another woman. She contemplates whether or not she chose the right life and wonders what her life would have been like if she was to be with Richard instead of Sally. Overall the book is fantastic and a great way to show how that sometimes life can be difficult and will get you down, but there’s always a way to bring your life back up, whether it be from a book written by a person who feels the same way or not, there is always a way to save a life.