For about half of The Hours, Laura Brown is obsessed with baking the perfect cake for her husband's birthday. For some reason, she believes that nothing but the best will do; she even throws away the first, simpler cake in order to make a beautiful blue frosted cake. But why does she do it?
After thinking about this for a bit, I'm still not really sure why she did it, but I think I figured something out. When Laura and Richie are baking the cake, Richie asks why they're baking the cake. Laura responds with, "We're baking the cake to show that we love [the father]". In addition, Laura decides to throw away the first cake after her episode with her neighbor that reveals a different side of her. I think that Laura throws away the first cake because it represents her inner self; it is not perfect, it is somewhat simple, and it isn't really ornate. She then bakes the second cake as a representation of what others think her to be. The second cake is extremely decorated and covered in icing; like the cake's perfection, Laura is supposed to have the perfect life because she has a loving husband, friendly neighbors, and a happy child. This is the version of herself that her husband sees, and this is the version she shows him at dinner.
Laura tries to hide her flaws from society, which ultimately results in her snapping and abandoning her family to be herself.
After thinking about this for a bit, I'm still not really sure why she did it, but I think I figured something out. When Laura and Richie are baking the cake, Richie asks why they're baking the cake. Laura responds with, "We're baking the cake to show that we love [the father]". In addition, Laura decides to throw away the first cake after her episode with her neighbor that reveals a different side of her. I think that Laura throws away the first cake because it represents her inner self; it is not perfect, it is somewhat simple, and it isn't really ornate. She then bakes the second cake as a representation of what others think her to be. The second cake is extremely decorated and covered in icing; like the cake's perfection, Laura is supposed to have the perfect life because she has a loving husband, friendly neighbors, and a happy child. This is the version of herself that her husband sees, and this is the version she shows him at dinner.
Laura tries to hide her flaws from society, which ultimately results in her snapping and abandoning her family to be herself.
"We're baking the cake to show him that we love him."
"Otherwise he won't know we love him?"
"That's right."
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