Virginia Woolf in the Age of Cinema: ＂Mrs. Dalloway＂ and ＂The Hours＂ as Translation Projects

Abstract

Virginia Woolf has become a significant cultural icon since her death. In the 1990s, a number of plays adapted from Woolf's works were produced. However, it is with the release of the following three films that the star status of Virginia Woolf in popular culture has been established. With the advance of technology, we can appreciate her character, personal life and writing style through the compilation of cinematic images. Among these films, ”Mrs. Dalloway” is the direct adaptation of Woolf's novel while ”The Hours” manages to follow the techniques, main themes and become the afterlife of Woolf's work. In the famous essay ”The Task of the Translator,” Walter Benjamin suggests the notion of ”afterlife” of the original text/work of art. In another equally celebrated essay ”The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin states the influence of mechanical reproduction on the work of art. As a consequence, mechanical reproduction emancipates art from the task it was originally endowed with. In this regard, if we view the ”Virginia Woolf” as the work of art, then the translation, the reproduction of the writer may lack the ”aura,” but it also become more down to earth and accessible. All in all, ”Mrs. Dalloway” and ”The Hours” may not create a unique Woolf, they are equally original as the real Virginia Woolf nonetheless.