The Modernist Novel

The History of the English Novel

The English novel peaked during the time period of Victorian literature. Many sub-genres have developed from the English novel. View the presentation below to review the history and rise of the English novel:

20th Century Modernist Novel

Modernism in literature started a little into the 1900's and ended around the mid 1900's after World War II ended
The novel, already popular from Victorian literature, continued to reflect the thoughts and feelings of surrounding society during the time period
The unintended consequences of death and despair caused by World War I led people to no longer trust institutions such as the church or the government
Even history had continuously glorified war, but after war time atrocities, history was no longer trustworthy, either.
Without institutions to lean on, the focus on the individual and finding true strength and answers in the inner self was the focus during Modernism
Modernist novels also reflect the effects of industrialization and the continued incorporation of technology in society
Modernist writers often abandon typical characters or plot structure
- The plot structure of the novels often mirrors the confusion or inner thoughts of the individual with:
  - Fragmentation (no chronological order of events)
  - Stream of consciousness (uninterrupted flow of a character's inner thoughts)
  - Multiple character viewpoints during the story.
View the example of stream of consciousness from American novelist William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
- Notice in the example below how the narrative lacks punctuation and any kind of structure in order to mirror a person's actual thought patterns and truly represent the inner thoughts of the individual

Image of a quote: "I am and you are you and I know it and you don't know it and you could do so much for me if you just would and if you just would then l could
tell you and then nobody would have to know it except you and me and Dari" (Faulkner 51).
-from As I Lay Dying

Characteristics of Modernist Novels

Realistic in Presentation
- Presents a realistic image of the world during the time-not just the sordid aspects of society but
  pessimism replaces the optimist of Victorian literature
Reaction against Victorian Literature
- Strong reactions against political, religious, and social views (including industrialization)
Focus on the Individual
- Belief that the world is however the individual perceives, so the point of view is subjective and normally the perspective of one character's distorted view
Themes from Effects of War
- Themes of loss, alienation, and despair
Break from Typical Literary Structure
- Stray from the chronological plot fragmentation, stream of consciousness, and multiple character viewpoints in the structure of the novel
Psychological in Nature
- Focus on Freud's ideas concerning the subconscious or innermost self

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.