Modernism and Stream-of-Consciousness Narration: Exploring Subjectivity and Fragmentation

Modernism in literature is marked by a break from traditional forms, embracing experimentation in narrative structure, style, and subjectivity. One of the key techniques associated with modernist literature is stream-of-consciousness narration, where writers like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and William Faulkner sought to represent the continuous flow of thoughts, feelings, and memories in a more fragmented and disjointed manner.

This method mirrors the complexities of human consciousness and presents a direct confrontation with the linear storytelling of the past. The fragmentation of narratives is central to modernist literature, as writers attempt to reflect the disorienting nature of modern life and the disintegration of traditional social structures. Subjectivity becomes a major theme as the narrative is often limited to the perspective of one character, revealing the inner turmoil and psychological fragmentation of modern existence.

Modernism’s engagement with subjectivity through stream-of-consciousness allows for an intimate exploration of identity, memory, and time. This narrative technique emphasizes the fluidity of human experience and the impossibility of fully understanding the self or others, making modernist texts rich in complexity and open to multiple interpretations.

Long Tail Keywords:

• Modernism and stream-of-consciousness narrative

• Fragmentation in modernist literature

• Subjectivity in modernist novels

• Virginia Woolf and stream-of-consciousness writing