The theoretical formation of Mise en Abyme and its intertextual applicability in Michael Cunningham's The Hours

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive exploration of the themes and multi-layered narrative structures in Michael Cunningham's The Hours (1998) through the lens of the literary theory of mise en abyme, examining the implications of the novel's internalised intertextual dialogue with Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway (1925). The mise en abyme is utilised as a narrative device for dissecting the self-reflexive instances in The Hours, necessitating a tracing of its theoretical formation from its earliest interpretations to its refinement by various scholars, which culminates in the exploration of the role of self-reflexivity in sign studies, reader-response theory, and postmodern poetics. The current study also introduces an extension to the literary phenomenon of mise en abyme, the concept of intertextual mise en abyme, which is deeply rooted in Gérard Genette's framework of hypertextuality. It is proposed that this intertextual mirroring creates and nurtures a necessary tension between the original work and its adaptation, where each reflection both acknowledges the original and forms an integral part of the adaptation's narrative. Therefore, the study analyses the novel's self-reflexive inspection of its own status as an adaptation, the processes of its creation and reception, and the real versus ideal dichotomy. Furthermore, it presents mise en abyme as a conduit for the cyclical movement of artistic creation and the immortality of the creative process as proposed in the narrative of The Hours, with characters reflecting the original author and adapting novelist. Lastly, the research illustrates the novel's thematization of the dynamics between the artist's imagination and its publicised expression through the reception of art, as a complex mirror, reflecting both individual and collective attitudes towards the symbolic value of intellectual works of art. Keywords: mise en abyme, intertextuality, self-reflexivity, Michael Cunningham, The Hours