Modernism

Modernism

In terms of the novel's development, the Great War of 1914-1918  marks a fundamental break between the old world and the new. For many people the experience of the war, in which hundreds of the thousands had been killed, shattered their faith in society and its institutions. The Modernists, horrified by the effects of war and mechanised society in general, were interested in recovering the unique experience of the individual by exploring and recreating his/her inner world. The Modernists novel broke of the conventions with most of the conventions which had typified Victorian fiction. This is particularly visible in two aspect. First of all, the omniscient narrator as a moral and spiritual guide disappeared to be replaced by the direct or indirect presentation of characters' thoughts, feelings and memories. Secondly ,many Modernists novels no longer followed a linear plot or a chronological sequence of events. The development of the Modernist novel was deeply influenced by the theories of Freud. Freud's The interpretation of Dreams proposed a theory of human consciousness as multi-layered, involving different levels the most radically significant was the unconscious, which could not be accessed except through dreams. William James deeply influenced the narrative ,method of Modernists writers like Woolf and Joyce. Consciousness, James said doesn't not appear to itself chopped up in bits but is something that 'flows'. The theories of Freud, Bergson and James along with the technologies of mass culture inevitably led to the development of new techniques of writing. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf are the two greatest practitioners of stream of consciousness fiction. Their novels make use of many techniques, but the most important are: direct interior monologue which refers to the direct presentation of a character's stream of consciousness without the guiding presence of an author or narrator. Indirect interior monologue which presentation of a character's thoughts filtered through the voice of an anonymous third-person narrator. This type of monologue is generally easier to read as it often includes more descriptive passages or explanations