Mocern Fiction

Virginia Woolf in her Modern Fiction makes a fair

attempt to discuss briefly the
main trends in the modern novel or fiction. She
begins her essay by mentioning the
traditionalists like H. G. Wells, Amold Bennett and Galsworthy. who, while they
propound ideas and open out new vistas to the human
new
mind, still follow the
Victorian tradition as far as the
technique of
the novel is concerned. They believed
that a great force on the individual was environment.
However, they differed from
one another in
subject matter in Amold and Gialsworthy
the socialist point of view
dominated and Wells, a brilliant writer of scientific romances.
Mrs. Woolf marks
these three as "materialists'. While defining the term
as well as
Woolf states that these writers
their writing is stuffed with unimportant things;
they spend immense skill
and dexterity in making the trivial and transitory a bo00st of truth of life. As life
escapes, the worth of the literary piece in minimal. Mrs. Woolf while criticizing the
three makes a pivotal point of criticism on the traditional method of novel writing of
Fielding types.
Extending the pinnacle of criticism Mrs. Woolf further bids her point that the
types are devoid of life or spirit, truth or reality. The essence of the novel i.e. the
is in
ISlity of lhts missing the traditional method of novel writing which is
superlicial
constrained,
characterization,
by his
not
artificial framework.
free will but
own
powerful and some
Here in this types 'the writer seems
unscrupulous tyrant.
The tyrant is none other than the restriction the
or catalogue of types such as plot,
of in dressing up all these eriterion what we
comedy, tragedy,
the
treatment
of
love cte.

receive is death life or spirit spontancity

terminology or doggerel methods.
or or low of conscience behest of

Mrs. Woolf makes it clear that the objective of the writer in his or her ereation
is to look within and life as a whole. The traditionism or materialism do not capture
the
moment
that evanescent the tomind
reception ofThus of
myriad impressions-trivial,
trust upon life.,
fantastic,
writer is free and he could
and engraved.
or a
write what he chose. So to dot down what he feels should not be conventionally in
comcdy, tragedy or love interests in accepted styles. Here is a withdrawal from
external phenomena into the flickering half shades of the author's private world. The
reality lies not in the outer actions, but in the inner working of the human mind, in
the inner perceptions.
Further, analyzing the inflow of life, Mrs. Woolf defines life not as a series of tales
symmetrically arranged. She says it as a "luminous haloa semi-transparent envclope
SurrOunding us Irom uhe beginning of consciQus to the end. Conseious is a constant
flow, not jointed, not chopped up in bits. Thus the
purpose of the writer
should be the delineation(explanation) of deeper and deeper into
the human consCiousness. Mrs. Woolf, in this respect, mentions the
innovators ike James Joyce and Joseph Conrad. Citing an example from The
Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, she points out that here is in
result recording the "atoms
the story apparent disconnection and in coherenceasa otf
of life' in the stream of conscience. Through inefable style. fragmented, hazardous.
and
unpleasant, here is undeniably important spirit or life. Mrs. Woolfgommenis "In
contrastwith those whom we havecalled materialists,Mr. Joyce isspiritual". The
externals of personality the habits, manners, physical appearance etc are altogether
discarded as it seems impossible to give a psychologically true account of character
by such means. Joyce's in his novel loses himself'into the complexities and subtleties
of inner life.
The new novel on consciousness, as Mrs. Woolf clarifies, is purely

psychological. Under the influence of new

psychological theories. life is not
regarded as a mere tales, but a series of moments. In fact, the psychological theory
of the functioning mind is stream-of consciousness. The technique or method
a
by which it is possible to capture them is tnuly the new type. Mrs. Woolf asserts.
Here is Joyce and the types who are to
explore the dark places of psychology ignored
still date. Mrs. Woolf here observes a key point from Russian literature where,
world f mind well as
particularly Chekhov is worth mentioning of exploring the as

the world of heart. Moden English fiction is influenced by Russian literature its
spiritualism, saintliness, inquisitiveness.
In conclusion, Mrs. Woolf in Modern Fiction pleads not to be narrow- minded
and conventional. She says that there ample possibilities of the art and here is no
are

imit to the horizon. Here no "method', no experiment, no extraordinary is forbidden,

does
but and pretence should be discarded. The proper stuff of fiction
only falsity
not exist-everything is the proper fiction, every feeling. every thought if
stuff of
saturated by spirit or life in it.
they are