On The Defamiliarization In The Hours

The Hours is an experimental literary work written by Michael Cunningham,a brilliant contemporary American writer.It is inspired by the life of British “Psychological Fiction School” writer Virginia Woolf and her work Mrs.Dalloway.Based on textual close reading,this thesis adopts Viktor Shklovsky’s theory of defamiliarization to delve into the defamiliarization arts from three aspects: literariness of language,narrative technique,and characterization.This thesis attempts to explore the purpose and significance of Cunningham’s use of defamiliarization arts in The Hours,that is,how these artistic features highlight the theme of female consciousness,and thus creating a unique sense of novelty,bringing the reader a special reading experience so as to endow the novel with artistic value and aesthetic value.This thesis first investigates literariness of language in the novel.Cunningham’s artistic language is mainly achieved through figure of speech and symbolic language.Rhetorical devices make daily language poetic and artistic,providing readers with unique aesthetic experience.Symbolic language triggers reader’s deep thoughts,increases the difficulty of reading as well as hinders readers’ cognition so as to enhance the perceptibility and understanding of the novel.Secondly,this thesis explores the narrative techniques of the novel mainly from juxtaposition,flashback and interior monologue.The three main storylines are juxtaposed between each other,switching time and space to break the reader’s automatic cognitive framework mold and stimulate readers’ curiosity to decipher the maze-like plot.Flashback breaks the traditional linear narrative mode,bringing suspense and digression to readers to reach defamiliarizing effect.The interior monologue also reflects the author’s ingenious turnover from omniscient perspective to interior monologue,showing characters’ rich flow of consciousness.Finally,this thesis focuses on characterization in The Hours,centering on three main characters’ special characterization pattern like Mrs.Woolf,Mrs.Brown and Clarissa Vaughan.Through the ways of biographical reshaping,deconstruction and parody,they follow tradition,deviate from tradition and break through tradition,showing unique characteristics of figures,reflecting the situation of three women and showing female consciousness in different eras,thus characters’ images exert a unique defamiliarization effect.The application of defamiliarized arts into The Hours succeeds in breaking readers’ habitualization and automation,and brings readers fresh perception and innovative experience,thus providing special aesthetic values to the feminist theme novel.Literariness of language,narrative techniques and characterization are the embodiment of Cunningham’s exploring women’s awareness and awakening in this novel,endowing special aesthetic values to this novel.Artistic charm and creation notion achieved by defamiliarization can also stimulate readers’ aesthetic appreciation on the form and content of the novel.