Modernism and the Techniques of Twentieth Century Novel As exemplified by the works of James Joyce And Virginia Woolf

Abstract

The term “Modern” in its simplest sense means “new”. If we describe something as being new, therefore it must be interesting and well liked by all people. This fact does not mean to accept the new and reject the old which has been overshadowed. As in literature, the term modern refers to a specific period in literature that extended between the years 1890-1970. And it is used to describe the style and ideology of art that were produced by writers during this specific period. Modernism as a literary movement refers to the radical shift in aesthetic and cultural sensibilities evident in the art of the First World War one period. The ordered stable meaningful world view of the nineteenth century could no longer meet the great developments that followed the war. There emerged a new tendency in writing and that is modernism. As a movement, Modernism was influenced by many factors foremost there were the consequences of the First World War that involved many countries following 1914. As a result, changes occurred inside the European societies, including the emergence of classes: ruling, middle and working. Another factor was the scientific discoveries and the ideas and theories put forward by Einstein, Freud, Saussure, Darwin and Karl Marx. Modernism encouraged the idea of re- examination of every aspect of existence, from commerce to philosophy, with the objective of finding that which was holding back progress and replacing it with the new and therefore seeking better ways of reaching the same end. Modernists like James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and Franz Kafka, William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, D.H. Lawrence, Joseph Conrad responded to all these changes in their writings. This thesis attempts to investigate and identify the factors, characteristics and evolution of the term modernism and then the techniques of the Twentieth century novel. Also to discover the extent of applying these features and techniques to modernists such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. Chapter one is introductory in that it presents background knowledge about the meaning, prior movements, characteristics, influential factors, theories and developments of Modernism. It also includes tracing the origin of the term Modernism and its beginning. The chapter concludes with shedding light on the modern novelists. Chapter Two covers the Literature Review on two referred modern novelists James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. This review helps to have a better insight into the topic of this research. The literature review is expanded to include reviews of three MA thesis conducted previously. Chapter Three is mainly devoted to study James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, the most outstanding modernist writers, while at the same time highlighting the basic features that distinguished them as being extraordinary writers. Chapter Four presents selected novels by James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. These novels seem to present the basic ideas and techniques already incorporated by them. Their writings are investigated and analyzed according to the application or the presence of these features. The conclusion is meant to be a recapitulation of the main ideas that are content in the study; including points that have already been hypothesized.