英国文学21-Stream-of-Consciousness

StreamofConsciousnessWoolf&JoyceStreamofConsciousnessInlate19thcentury,theliterarydeviceof“interiormonologue”wasoriginatedinFranceasanapplicationofmodernpsychologicalknowledgetoliterarycreation.Inthe20thcentury,undertheinfluenceofFreud’stheoryofpsychologicalanalysis,anumberofwritersadoptedthe“streamofconsciousness”methodofnovelwriting.Thestrikingfeatureofthesenovelistsistheirgivingprecedencetothedepictionofthecharacters’mentalandemotionalreactionstoexternalevents.Indoingso,thenovelistabandonedtheconventionalusagesofrealisticplotstructure,characterizationanddescription,andtheirwoksbecamesuccessionsof“fleetingimagesoftheexternalworldmingledwiththoughtsandhalf-thoughtsandshadowsofthoughattachedtotheimmediatepresentormovingbackandforthinmemory.”InEnglishliterature,JamesJoyceandVirginiaWoolfarethetwofamousnovelistsoftheschool.Definition“……todescribetheunbrokenflowofthoughtandawarenessinthewakingmind;ithassincebeenadoptedtodescribeanarrativemethodinmodernfiction.Longpassagesofintrospection,describinginsomedetailwhatpassesthroughacharacter’smind,…”“…thecontinuousflowofacharacter’smentalprocess,inwhichsenseperceptionsminglewithconsciousandhalf-consciousthoughts,memories,expectations,feelings,andrandomassociations.“Inliterarycriticism,streamofconsciousnessisanarrativemodethatseekstoportrayanindividual'spointofviewbygivingthewrittenequivalentofthecharacter'sthoughtprocesses,eitherinalooseinteriormonologue,orinconnectiontohisorheractions.Stream-of-consciousnesswritingisusuallyregardedasaspecialformofinteriormonologueandischaracterizedbyassociativeleapsinsyntaxandpunctuationthatcanmaketheprosedifficulttofollow,tracingacharacter'sfragmentarythoughtsandsensoryfeelings.Streamofconsciousnessandinteriormonologuearedistinguishedfromdramaticmonologue,wherethespeakerisaddressinganaudienceorathirdperson,andisusedchieflyinpoetryordrama.Instreamofconsciousness,thespeaker'sthoughtprocessesaremoreoftendepictedasoverheardinthemind(oraddressedtooneself)andisprimarilyafictionaldevice.ThetermwasintroducedtothefieldofliterarystudiesfromthatofpsychologybyphilosopherandpsychologistWilliamJames,brotherofwriterHenryJames.VirginiaWoolf(1882-1941)MajorWorks:TheVoyageOutNightandDayMrs.DallowayTotheLighthouseJacob’sRoomOrlandoTheWavesTheYearsBetweentheActsARoomofOne’sOwn(alongessay)WoolfwasanEnglishnovelist,essayist,epistler,publisher,feminist,andwriterofshortstories,regardedasoneoftheforemostmodernistliteraryfiguresofthetwentiethcentury.Duringtheinterwarperiod,WoolfwasasignificantfigureinLondonliterarysocietyandamemberoftheBloomsburyGroup.HermostfamousworksincludethenovelsMrsDalloway(1925),TotheLighthouse(1927)andOrlando(1928),andthebook-lengthessayARoomofOne'sOwn(1929),withitsfamousdictum,Awomanmusthavemoneyandaroomofherownifsheistowritefiction.Woolf’sViewa.Itthenovelistorevealthehiddenandinteriorlifeofthepeople,theonlyworldofanytruthistheinternalworld.b.Theworldinwhichweliveisdisjunctive,fragmentary,anddisorderly.ThepurposeofModernistwritingsistorevealthetruenatureofthemodernhumanconditionanditsdisconcertingabsenceofmeaning,purpose,andorder.c.Characterizationratherthanplotthusbecomesthetopmostconcernforwriters,andsequentialtimegiveswaytopsychologicaltime.d.Artisimportantbecauseitgivesmeaningtolife,helpsconquertheinevitabledisillusionmentsoflife,andprovidesthefulfillmentofhappinessthatnothingelsecanoffer.Thatistosay,shebelievesthatartcancreateaman-madeparadise.AnalysisoftheMajorWorksStyleofMrs.DallowayInMrsDallowayalloftheaction,exceptingflashbacks,takesplaceonasingledayinJune.Itisanexampleofstreamofconsciousnessstorytelling;everyscenecloselytracksthemomentarythoughtsofaparticularcharacter.Woolfblursthedistinctionbetweendirectandindirectspeechthroughoutthenovel,alternatinghernarrationwithomniscientdescription,indirectinteriormonologue,directinteriornarrationfollowsatleasttwentycharactersinthisway,butthebulkofthenovelisspentwithClarissaDallowayandSeptum'sSmith.Becauseofstructuralandstylisticsimilarities,Mrs.DallowayiscommonlythoughttobearesponsetoJamesJoyce's,atextthatisoftenhailedasoneofthegreatestnovelsofthetwentiethcentury.WoolfherselfderidedJoyce'snovel.TheHogarthPress,runbyherandherhusbandLeonard,hadtoturndownthechancetopublishthenovelbecauseoftheobscenitylawinEngland.MajorThemesofWoolf’sNovelsComplexityofexperienceLargepartsofWoolf'snoveldonotconcernthemselveswiththeobjectsofvision,butratherinvestigatethemeansofperception,attemptingtounderstandpeopleintheactoflooking.Inordertobeabletounderstandthought,Woolf'sdiariesreveal,theauthorwouldspendconsiderabletimelisteningtoherselfthink,observinghowandwhichwordsandemotionsaroseinherownmindinresponsetowhatshesaw.JamesJoyce(1882-1941)JoycewasanIrishexpatriateauthor,playwrightandpoetofthe20thcentury.MajorWorks:ThePortraitoftheArtistasaYoungManUlyssesFinnegansWakeDubliners(Araby)FeaturesofJoyce’sWorks:a.Joyceneverforgottopromotethespiritualfreedomofhisnativecountrywithhiswritings.Irishnationalismfeaturesprominentlyinhisworks.b.Tohisformalfeatures,Joyceisnotedforhisfrankrepresentationofreality.Heemb