Narrative Techniques in the Modernist English Novel: A Study of Woolf, Joyce, and Lawrence

Authors

  • Ibrahim Mohamed Othman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70135/seejph.vi.2950

Abstract

This article examines the narrative innovations of Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and D.H. Lawrence within the context of Modernist literature, emphasizing the experimental techniques they employed to explore human consciousness and subjective realities. Building on foundational studies by scholars such as Bradbury and McFarlane (1976) and drawing insights from narratology and psychoanalytic theory, this paper analyzes how Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness, Joyce’s interior monologue, and Lawrence’s symbolic realism subvert linear narrative forms to create fragmented and multilayered portrayals of character psychology and temporality. Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse illustrate her approach to blending the internal and external worlds of characters through narrative fluidity, which has been noted to provide an "all-embracing consciousness" (Bell, 1972). Similarly, Joyce’s Ulysses demonstrates how interior monologue disrupts conventional narration, presenting thought as a kaleidoscopic and multidimensional phenomenon (Ellmann, 1959). Lawrence, in Sons and Lovers, emphasizes psychological realism and uses symbolic landscapes to convey complex emotional experiences, aligning with the psychoanalytic emphasis on subconscious drives (Moore, 1974). This study underscores how these narrative techniques not only represent individual consciousness but also reflect the Modernist ethos of questioning fixed identities, societal norms, and perceptions of time, thereby transforming the English novel into a medium for deep psychological and philosophical exploration.

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Published

2024-12-21

How to Cite

Othman, I. M. (2024). Narrative Techniques in the Modernist English Novel: A Study of Woolf, Joyce, and Lawrence. South Eastern European Journal of Public Health, 105–114. https://doi.org/10.70135/seejph.vi.2950

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Articles