In the 2002 film, The Hours by Stephen Daldry there are several themes portrayed. The theme that lasted throughout the film and was the most reoccurring , was the struggle with depression. The film intertwines three women living in different times throughout the 20th century. Although the women lived in different periods of time, each struggled with similar tribulations throughout their life time. Each of the women made a great effort to make those around them happy, rather than concentrating on their own happiness. To watch their struggle is not easy. To understand why they are struggling may be even harder.
Nicole Kidman plays the character of Virginal Woolf. A novelist from England, in 1923. She is suffering from depression. She lives with her husband, Leonard, who takes care of her through her illness. She is writing a book entitled Mrs. Dalloway. In the film, Woolf believes she is a burden on her husband and yearns to take the pressure off of him. He is unable to work because of her illness. She wanted her husband to be free of her, so that he could continue his life without having to worry about her. So, she commits suicide. It is clearly portrayed throughout the film that she is contemplating it all along. In one scene we find her lying in a garden next to a dead bird, looking at it, almost enviously. In a suicide note, written to Leonard she explains that he was her only happiness, and that she feels he'd be happier with out having to take care of her. This clearly illustrates that she was depressed and felt she was bringing depression amongst those in her life.
The second woman In the book who is suffering from depression is Laura Brown, played by Julianne Moore. She is a house wife in Los Angels in 1951. In the film she is trying to plan the perfect birthday for her husband, Dan, who is played by John C. Riley. At a first look, it is unclear as to why Laura is depressed. In the...