STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS NARRATION IN VIRGINIA WOOLF

Abstract

In the Modernist era, writers reflected the disillusionment of their times by rebelling against conventional methods. The intention was not merely to express new content, but to fundamentally change the process by which meaning could be gleaned from this content. Modernist writers such as Virginia Woolf forced readers to redefine and recreate the act of reading. One of the most characteristic techniques these writers employed was 'stream of consciousness,' a term employed to various degrees in both Mrs. Dalloway and The Waves. In analyzing stream-of-consciousness, this paper first delves into the genre's philosophical and psychological influences, with an emphasis on the prespeech levels of consciousness and Bergson's theory of "durational flux." It then examines nonlinear narration in these two works, with a focus on memory, desire and the so-called "Modernist Paradox." Because stream-of-consciousness literally changed the shape of the novel form, this paper next examines the concept of space as a conduit for time, a juxtaposition of internal and external, and also a new definition of "narrative space." An evaluation of the increased emphasis on sound and other sensory input beyond the visual follows, particularly the influence of, and parallels between, stream-of-consciousness and musical forms. Ultimately, this paper argues that the myriad impressions conveyed in stream-of-consciousness literature, particularly that of Virginia Woolf, is represented in the subjective meaning-making.