This paper intertwines an analysis of the female characters in the movie, The Hours, with the author's own currere writing to examine societal constructions and expectations of women, women's "work," and motherhood. By juxtaposing the everyday lives of four different women living in four different times, the author illustrates how the back-in-the-day longings, now-a-day musings, and some-day yearnings of the female self collide with these societal constructions and expectations. In doing so, the author describes her own process to understand and redefine what it means to be a woman and an academic and a mother and her own journey of rebirth while engaged in this process.

About the Author

Jill Voorhies Martin is a doctoral student and graduate assistant in the Department of Teaching and Curriculum Leadership at Oklahoma State University. Jill's research interests include issues of diversity and equity in education, especially those related to race, ethnicity, class, and gender. Jill can be contacted at jill.martin@okstate.edu