Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Sept. 24, 2007. Includes bibliographical references.

Esta tese propõe uma análise do romance americano The Hours (1998), de Michael Cunningham, que afirmamos ser uma reescrita da obra da escritora canônica Virginia Woolf na contemporaneidade. Trabalhamos com a ideia principal de adaptação, nos referindo de forma particular às adaptações literárias, tendo em vista que Cunningham utilizou para a composição de The Hours diversos trabalhos de ficção e não ficção que chamamos de obra de Woolf, estando assim inserida no campo dos trabalhos acadêmicos relacionados aos Estudos da Tradução e da Adaptação. Por esse motivo, decidimos utilizar dois conceitos principais de adaptação para embasar esta discussão: o de Linda Hutcheon (2006) e o de Julie Sanders (2006), pesquisadoras que atuam nessas áreas. Embora o trabalho de Hutcheon seja mais direcionado às chamadas adaptações fílmicas, sua importante teorização em torno da adaptação e dos adaptadores foi amplamente utilizada dentro da discussão que propomos sobre Michael Cunningham e a problemática em torno da elaboração do romance em questão. Segundo Hutcheon (2006), a adaptação é vista como um processo que comporta tanto a repetição quanto a novidade, sendo os adaptadores responsáveis pela seleção dos textos adaptados e também pelo modo como esses textos serão configurados em um produto final. Também trabalhamos com os conceitos de adaptação e de apropriação de Sanders (2006). Esse último revela o aspecto autoral e ideológico dos adaptadores nas adaptações. As apropriações servem, segundo nossa conclusão, para mostrar a interferência direta do adaptador na narrativa, seus preceitos e propostas literárias. Também evidenciam sua interpretação particular de temas, argumentos e personagens do texto-fonte. Ainda nos valemos do conceito de reescrita de Lefevere (1992a) para caracterizar The Hours como o trabalho que retomou as discussões em torno da obra virginiana na contemporaneidade. Essa retomada se deu para dois públicos: os professional readers conhecedores de seus textos de ficção e não ficção, as refrações e também para os non-professional readers, novo público que não necessariamente teve contato com a obra dessa autora. Esta pesquisa examinou o segundo volume dos Diários (1980), o sexto volume das Cartas (1982), além do romance Mrs. Dalloway (1925), trabalhos de Woolf, para mostrar, através de alguns exemplos e comentários, como se deu o processo de adaptação e apropriação de temas, personagens e outros elementos desses textos. Também serviu para observar de que maneira o adaptador Cunningham alternou adaptações com apropriações para formar a narrativa The Hours, produto literário final. Esse romance reescreve a obra de Woolf no contexto atual porque dialoga principalmente com o conceito pertinente de apropriação, indispensável para a apreciação de formas narrativas que trabalham com a ideia de adaptação. O leitor contemporâneo busca na ideologia do escritor-adaptador seu entendimento particular e propostas atuais para esse diálogo. / This thesis proposes an analysis of the American novel The Hours (1998), by Michael Cunningham, which we claim to be a modern-day rewrite of the oeuvre of canonical writer Virginia Woolf. We worked with the main idea of adaptation, referring in particular to literary adaptations, considering that Cunningham used several works of fiction and nonfiction, which we call Woolfs oeuvre, for the composition of The Hours. As such, it belongs to the field of academic work related to the Translation and the Adaptation studies. Therefore, we used two main concepts of adaptation to provide a basis for this discussion: those of Linda Hutcheon (2006) and Julie Sanders (2006), researchers working in these areas. Although Hutcheons work is more directed toward so-called filmic adaptations, its important theorizing regarding adaptation and adapters was extensively used in the discussion that we put forward on the subject of adapter Michael Cunningham and the problems surrounding the creation of the novel The Hours. According to Hutcheon (2006), adaptation is considered to be a process that involves as much repetition as it does novelty, and adapters are responsible both for the selection of adapted texts and also for how these texts will be configured in a final product. We also worked with the concepts of adaptation and appropriation of Sanders (2006). The concept of appropriation reveals the authorial and ideological aspect of adapters in adaptations, the direct intervention of the adapter in the narrative, its precepts and literary proposition. Besides, it demonstrates the adapters particular interpretation of themes, arguments and characters of the source text. We also availed ourselves of Lefeveres concept of rewriting (1992a) to characterize The Hours as the work that resumed the discussions surrounding Woolfs work in current times. This resumption was aimed at two readerships: professional readers connoisseurs of her works of fiction and nonfiction, and the refractions and also for non-professional readers a new readership that has not necessarily had contact with Woolfs oeuvre. This research then examined the second volume of Diaries (1980), the sixth volume of Letters (1982), and the novel Mrs Dalloway (1925) works by Woolf to show, through examples and comments, how the process of adaptation of themes, characters and other elements of these texts played out. It was also necessary to observe how the adapter Cunningham alternated adaptations with his appropriations to create the narrative of The Hours, the final literary product. The novel The Hours rewrites Woolfs work in the current context because it principally maintains a dialog with the relevant concept of appropriation, indispensable to the enjoyment of narrative forms that work with the idea of adaptation. Present-day readers seek their own personal understanding and current propositions in the ideology of the writeradapter for this dialog.

Esta dissertação é uma análise dos novos modelos de organização familiar e da epidemia de AIDS como são apresentados em As Horas, de Michael Cunningham. Para discutir as experiências familiares no romance, as personagens Laura Brown e Clarissa Vaughan foram analisadas em função de suas identidades queer e normativa, respectivamente. No referente à epidemia de AIDS, foi discutida a sua potencialidade metafórica na literatura, principalmente em relação ao personagem Richard Brown. A contextualização da síndrome no cenário norte-americano e seu impacto na comunidade gay foram também examinados. / This thesis is an analysis of new forms of familiar arrangements and the AIDS epidemic as presented in Michael Cunninghams The Hours. In order to discuss familiar experiences in the novel, the characters Laura Brown and Clarissa Vaughan were analyzed in terms of their queer and normative identities, respectively. In reference to the AIDS epidemic, its metaphorical potentiality in literature was discussed, mainly in relation to the character Richard Brown. The contextualization of the syndrome in the American scenario and its impact over the gay community were also examined.

Esta dissertação é uma análise dos novos modelos de organização familiar e da epidemia de AIDS como são apresentados em As Horas, de Michael Cunningham. Para discutir as experiências familiares no romance, as personagens Laura Brown e Clarissa Vaughan foram analisadas em função de suas identidades queer e normativa, respectivamente. No referente à epidemia de AIDS, foi discutida a sua potencialidade metafórica na literatura, principalmente em relação ao personagem Richard Brown. A contextualização da síndrome no cenário norte-americano e seu impacto na comunidade gay foram também examinados. / This thesis is an analysis of new forms of familiar arrangements and the AIDS epidemic as presented in Michael Cunninghams The Hours. In order to discuss familiar experiences in the novel, the characters Laura Brown and Clarissa Vaughan were analyzed in terms of their queer and normative identities, respectively. In reference to the AIDS epidemic, its metaphorical potentiality in literature was discussed, mainly in relation to the character Richard Brown. The contextualization of the syndrome in the American scenario and its impact over the gay community were also examined.

Esta tese propõe uma análise do romance americano The Hours (1998), de Michael Cunningham, que afirmamos ser uma reescrita da obra da escritora canônica Virginia Woolf na contemporaneidade. Trabalhamos com a ideia principal de adaptação, nos referindo de forma particular às adaptações literárias, tendo em vista que Cunningham utilizou para a composição de The Hours diversos trabalhos de ficção e não ficção que chamamos de obra de Woolf, estando assim inserida no campo dos trabalhos acadêmicos relacionados aos Estudos da Tradução e da Adaptação. Por esse motivo, decidimos utilizar dois conceitos principais de adaptação para embasar esta discussão: o de Linda Hutcheon (2006) e o de Julie Sanders (2006), pesquisadoras que atuam nessas áreas. Embora o trabalho de Hutcheon seja mais direcionado às chamadas adaptações fílmicas, sua importante teorização em torno da adaptação e dos adaptadores foi amplamente utilizada dentro da discussão que propomos sobre Michael Cunningham e a problemática em torno da elaboração do romance em questão. Segundo Hutcheon (2006), a adaptação é vista como um processo que comporta tanto a repetição quanto a novidade, sendo os adaptadores responsáveis pela seleção dos textos adaptados e também pelo modo como esses textos serão configurados em um produto final. Também trabalhamos com os conceitos de adaptação e de apropriação de Sanders (2006). Esse último revela o aspecto autoral e ideológico dos adaptadores nas adaptações. As apropriações servem, segundo nossa conclusão, para mostrar a interferência direta do adaptador na narrativa, seus preceitos e propostas literárias. Também evidenciam sua interpretação particular de temas, argumentos e personagens do texto-fonte. Ainda nos valemos do conceito de reescrita de Lefevere (1992a) para caracterizar The Hours como o trabalho que retomou as discussões em torno da obra virginiana na contemporaneidade. Essa retomada se deu para dois públicos: os professional readers conhecedores de seus textos de ficção e não ficção, as refrações e também para os non-professional readers, novo público que não necessariamente teve contato com a obra dessa autora. Esta pesquisa examinou o segundo volume dos Diários (1980), o sexto volume das Cartas (1982), além do romance Mrs. Dalloway (1925), trabalhos de Woolf, para mostrar, através de alguns exemplos e comentários, como se deu o processo de adaptação e apropriação de temas, personagens e outros elementos desses textos. Também serviu para observar de que maneira o adaptador Cunningham alternou adaptações com apropriações para formar a narrativa The Hours, produto literário final. Esse romance reescreve a obra de Woolf no contexto atual porque dialoga principalmente com o conceito pertinente de apropriação, indispensável para a apreciação de formas narrativas que trabalham com a ideia de adaptação. O leitor contemporâneo busca na ideologia do escritor-adaptador seu entendimento particular e propostas atuais para esse diálogo. / This thesis proposes an analysis of the American novel The Hours (1998), by Michael Cunningham, which we claim to be a modern-day rewrite of the oeuvre of canonical writer Virginia Woolf. We worked with the main idea of adaptation, referring in particular to literary adaptations, considering that Cunningham used several works of fiction and nonfiction, which we call Woolfs oeuvre, for the composition of The Hours. As such, it belongs to the field of academic work related to the Translation and the Adaptation studies. Therefore, we used two main concepts of adaptation to provide a basis for this discussion: those of Linda Hutcheon (2006) and Julie Sanders (2006), researchers working in these areas. Although Hutcheons work is more directed toward so-called filmic adaptations, its important theorizing regarding adaptation and adapters was extensively used in the discussion that we put forward on the subject of adapter Michael Cunningham and the problems surrounding the creation of the novel The Hours. According to Hutcheon (2006), adaptation is considered to be a process that involves as much repetition as it does novelty, and adapters are responsible both for the selection of adapted texts and also for how these texts will be configured in a final product. We also worked with the concepts of adaptation and appropriation of Sanders (2006). The concept of appropriation reveals the authorial and ideological aspect of adapters in adaptations, the direct intervention of the adapter in the narrative, its precepts and literary proposition. Besides, it demonstrates the adapters particular interpretation of themes, arguments and characters of the source text. We also availed ourselves of Lefeveres concept of rewriting (1992a) to characterize The Hours as the work that resumed the discussions surrounding Woolfs work in current times. This resumption was aimed at two readerships: professional readers connoisseurs of her works of fiction and nonfiction, and the refractions and also for non-professional readers a new readership that has not necessarily had contact with Woolfs oeuvre. This research then examined the second volume of Diaries (1980), the sixth volume of Letters (1982), and the novel Mrs Dalloway (1925) works by Woolf to show, through examples and comments, how the process of adaptation of themes, characters and other elements of these texts played out. It was also necessary to observe how the adapter Cunningham alternated adaptations with his appropriations to create the narrative of The Hours, the final literary product. The novel The Hours rewrites Woolfs work in the current context because it principally maintains a dialog with the relevant concept of appropriation, indispensable to the enjoyment of narrative forms that work with the idea of adaptation. Present-day readers seek their own personal understanding and current propositions in the ideology of the writeradapter for this dialog.

This thesis reassesses American AIDS literature of the 1980s and 1990s by focusing on four major writers: the poets Thom Gunn (1929-2004), James Merrill (1926-1995) and Mark Doty (1953-), and the novelist Michael Cunningham (1952-). It questions the dominant critical discourse on literature of the epidemic, contending that while competing versions of the postmodern provided useful models for reading AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, it is now necessary to adjust the critical position in line with the intellectual turn away from the cultural theories of that time. The introduction provides an overview of the most prevalent constructions of AIDS’ postmodernity through the period, arguing that critics were anxious to fit the epidemic to the theoretical models of the day, and going on to suggest that the writers under scrutiny actively question or even resist these models. Chapter One reads the later collections of Thom Gunn against his earlier work, arguing that he writes a "poetry of prophylaxis" which draws on his literary past in order to construct a defence against the uncertainties of the epidemic age. Chapter Two develops this question of self-reconstruction, examining the last two collections of James Merrill and his 1993 memoir in light of his own diagnosis with HIV. It proposes that in the renegotiation of his body, he might help the reader both remember and "re-member" him. Chapter Three turns to the work of Mark Doty, in particular the memoir Heaven’s Coast and the two collections, My Alexandria (1995) and Atlantis (1996), suggesting that Doty reclaims metaphor for palliative good at a time when AIDS theorists such as Paula Treichler registered scepticism during the "epidemic of signification". Chapter Four discusses the 1990s novels of Michael Cunningham, arguing that in order to “know” AIDS, outside of contemporaneous postmodern readings, it is necessary to "re-know" or "recognise" older literary models. The thesis ends with a brief account of post-1990s AIDS literature and theory, before concluding that each writer argues for models of literary continuity as a means of neutralising the possible creative rupture wrought by immunodeficiency.

With a rising interest in visual media in academia, studies have overlapped at literary and film scholars' interest in adaptation. This interest has mainly focused on the examination of issues regarding adaptation of novel to novel or novel to film. Here I discuss both: Michael Cunningham's novel The Hours, which is an adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, and the 2002 film adaptation of Cunningham's novel. However, my thesis also investigates a different kind of adaptation: the adaptation of a literary and historical figure. By including in The Hours a fictionalization of Virginia Woolf, Cunningham entrenches his adaptation with Virginia Woolf's life and identity. My thesis compares the two adaptations of Virginia Woolf's identity in the novel The Hours and the film The Hours and investigates the ways in which these adaptations funnel Woolf's identity through the perception of three men"”Michael Cunningham, novelist; David Hare, screenwriter; Steven Daldry, director. My reaction to the fictionalization of Virginia Woolf in The Hours mirrors Brenda Silver's sentiment in the introduction to her book Virginia Woolf: Icon: "My distrust of those who would fix [Virginia Woolf] into any single position, either to praise her or to blame her, remains my strongest motivation" (5). The vast discrepancy between the one dimensionality of Mrs. Woolf, The Hours' character, and the complexity in Virginia Woolf's identity that becomes apparent to a reader of her fictional and autobiographical writing reveals the extent to which Cunningham and the filmmakers simplify Virginia Woolf's identity to fit their adaptations. My motivation in writing this thesis is in drawing attention to the ways in which The Hours fixes Virginia Woolf into a single position and the resulting effects The Hours may have on future interpretations of Virginia Woolf.

In this dissertation I examine a variety of modern and postmodern texts by applying the theories of French philosopher Henri Bergson. Specifically, I apply Bergson's theories of time, memory, and evolution to the texts in order to analyze the meaning of the poem and novels. I assert that all of the works disrupt conventional structure in order to question the linear nature of time. They do this because each must deal with the pressures of external chaos, and, as a result, they find timeless moments can create an internal resolution to the external chaos. I set out to create connections between British, Irish, and American literature, and I examine the influence each author has on others. The modern authors I examine include T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and William Faulkner. I then show the ways this application can elucidate the works of postmodern authors Toni Morrison and Michael Cunningham.

<p>Following from such theorists as Sara Ahmed, Lee Edelman and Heather Love, this thesis seeks to address current scholarship on queerness and temporality that conceptualizes queer subjects as complicating traditional notions of linear time, reproduction, and progress. Mobilizing theories of temporal disruption and disorientation, including backwardness and the queer moment, this thesis explores the association between such disruptions and a persistent impulse to reckon with and reconstruct what I refer to as “the fugitive dead,” understood here both as past events and as the ghostly figures of the dead and effaced. Such disruptions can, this project posits, foster queerly generative affinities between seemingly separate categories (e.g. between the present and the past or between the living and the dead), thereby providing alternatives and challenges to normative temporal trajectories.</p> <p>My analysis considers literary representations of such temporal disruptions, drawing on Virginia Woolf’s <em>Mrs. Dalloway</em>, Michael Cunningham’s <em>The Hours</em>, and Alison Bechdel’s <em>Fun Home</em> to explore their treatments of temporal linearity, queer moments, affinity and connection, as well as haunting and spectrality. Furthermore, this thesis also addresses the capacity of literary texts to <em>enact </em>temporal disruption in the form of the revisioning project, which can be figured as the literary attempt to encounter the fugitive dead. Ultimately, this thesis explores the literary and intertextual dimensions of this complex approach to queer temporality, advocating for the generative possibilities of an attentiveness to the continued presence of the past and an engagement with the figures of the lost and disappeared.</p> / Master of English

My dissertation critiques Western culture’s vertical command of “growing up” to adult completion (rational, heterosexual, married, wealthy, professionally successful) as a reductionist itinerary of human movement leading to subjective sedimentations. Rather, my project proposes ways of “moving rhizomatically” by which it advances a notion of a machinic identity that moves continuously, contingently, and waywardly along less vertical, less excruciating and more horizontal, life-affirmative trails. To this end, my thesis proposes a “rhizomatic semiosis” as extrapolated from the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to put forward a notion of language and, by implication, subjectivity, as dynamic and metamorphic. Rather than trying to figure out who the child is or what it experiences consciously, my project wishes to embrace an elusiveness at the heart of subjectivity to argue for continued identity creation beyond the apparently confining parameters of adulthood. This dissertation, then, is about the need to re-examine our ways of growing beyond the lines of teleological progression. By turning to Deleuze’s child, an intangible one that “makes desperate attempts to carry out a performance that the psychoanalyst totally misconstrues” (A Thousand Plateaus 13), I wish to shift focus away from the hierarchical, binary, and ideal model of “growing up” and toward a notion of movement that makes way for plural identities in their becoming. This endeavour reveals itself in particular in the work of John Wray, Todd Field, Peter Cameron, Sara Prichard, Michael Cunningham, and Cormac McCarthy, whose work has received little or no attention at all—a lacuna in research that exists perhaps due to these artists’ innovative approach to a minor literature that promotes the notion of a machinic self and questions the dominant modes of Western culture’s literature for, around, and of children.