Dominance of the Novel in the twentieth century

Dominance of the Novel in Twentieth Century Literature

Novel flourished and became the dominant literary form in English during the twentieth century. It is undeniably popular literary genre in the modern age. The modern novelists can claim its importance with enthusiastic response. In the Restoration period, a new comedy by Congreve and Dryden used to receive with applause, in Victorian age the poet laureate Lord Tennyson's newly published poems were admired and believed to add great luster to the English literature.

In the twentieth century, the novel has held the supreme place in the realm of literature, while poetry has lost its position. The change from poetry to novel meets the needs of the modern world. By its nature, it is more accessible to the masses than drama and poetry. In addition, the novel is admirably suited as a vehicle for the sociological studies which attracted most of the great artists of the period. Aldous Huxley, DH. Lawrence, and James Joyce were all poets but they have changed from poetry to fiction; their permanent reputation is likely to rest on their novels. We may quote the examples of other fiction writer Edith Setwil and Virginia Woolf who have enriched fiction by bringing to it some of the luminous insight of poetry. They were poets but diverted their attention to fiction. Virginia's To the Lighthouse, Orlando and The Waves are experimental attempt, which have a strong influence over the poetry and drama and which are treated as the richest genre of English literature. Right from Chaucer to the Victorian age poetry and drama have played dominating role.

The novel in the twentieth century has gained an undoubted ascendency over all other literary forms. It's growing importance has been accompanied by serious study of the art of the novelist and; from a technical point of view, the progress of novel throughout the century, is unequalled in all its previous history.

 

Characterization in the Twentieth Century novels

The nineteenth century characters are not developed, they are called Flat characters. The novelist does not depict unimportant modifications, that is, they remain as they are from the beginning to the end. Most of the important characters of 19th century, like Micawber, Uriah Heep, Amelia Sedley, Fred Bayham, Mr. Proudie remain unchanged. Mrs Micawber is a very important character of the 19th century. She is saying at the end as she said in the beginning. In the sense; 19th century characters are static, not dynamic. Thus, the chief concern of 19th century novelist was to create memorable characters, to peruse a moral or to be based on a tale but modern novelist's object is to portray the characters realistically or as they are. In this process he makes a psychological research, in other words, reveals the character from within, dissects his mind and soul; and in conducting this research they get that human being is a complex creature, not a simple and innocent one. Man is made of both virtues and vices. According to psychology, man is like a river, running sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes clear or turbid; he presents a different form at every moment.

 

 Emergence of stream of consciousness novel (the modern psychological novel)

In the modern fiction, the point of interest lies very likely in the dark places of psychology. Psychology is the science of mental life, both of the phenomenon and of their conditions. The phenomenon or such things are concerned with feelings, desires, cognitions, reasonings and decisions of the mind. Hence, the stream of consciousness emerges out of psychology. In this genre of novel, let us call it the stream of things, of consciousness or of subjective life; the supporters of this concept of novel have endeavoured to portray the depth and complexity of human consciousness as faithfully as possible. Hence the story or plot may crumble; ruin, might seize upon the characters. It has been called the stream of consciousness novel, a novel of the silent or an internal monologue. It is a modern analytic novel, catching the very atmosphere of the mind. The modern novelists have turned fiction away from external to internal reality or social to the psychological reality.

It can be elaborated this idea that the novel of stream of consciousness is a journey of exploration into the realms of feeling and sensations. Modern novelists have discarded the traditional story. In the novel, story is involved in conscious or unconscious presentation of man's experience of life. Hence there are no falsification of facts. The new psychology has shifted the goal of novelist. There is no adoration of a tale by attaching a moral tag to the story.

 

In stream of consciousness novel, the aim is to get nearer to life. Whereas in traditional novel there was a flatness, but in stream of consciousness novels, the novelist is out to catch the intense psychological moment which led to many interesting elements. 

 

Human consciousness and association of ideas

Stream of consciousness novel stresses generally to expose the man's inner fluctuations of mind. The novelist mainly exposes passive states of the mind of characters which have repercussions on his actions and situation, where they live. The traditional novel is quite reverse; it ignores or unstresses ninety-nine percent of what goes on within the human consciousness in order to elucidate a definite course of external action. The new novel presents human consciousness which shapes the actions and reactions and explores the strange limbo where experience of the consciousness fades into unconsciousness. Hence the stream of consciousness fiction does not present a coherent and logical pattern of life. It breaks away from the tradition of revealing characters systematically. It distances with formal or traditional style of revealing characteristics systematically. Thus we do not get any shape itself into the story. Stream of consciousness technique is a process, not a specific state of mind. To sum up, in modern fiction there is richness and certainty of psychic life.

 

Technique of stream of consciousness novels

The novelist uses a different technique in stream of consciousness novels. It is directly or indirectly an interior monologue and omniscient description. It is a prose soliloquy which is handled very skilfully by the novelist who is capable of carrying various devices, strategies, symbols and wonderful craftsmanship to intervene all the associated ideas. Flaubert well said that "the author ought to be in his work like God in His creation, invisible and powerful. Let him be felt everywhere but seen nowhere." He should not state but render, not narrate what is going on, but it is flowing.

The important characteristic of psychological fiction is its freedom from rigid notions of time and space. There is no chronological sequence of events; past, present and future are dovetailed. The stream of consciousness technique is a means to escape from the tyranny of time and dimension. Retrospect and anticipation constitute the very essence of consciousness at any specific time. The past and future impinge on the present conditions and situations. The present gets the vision of the past and future. All these reminiscences occur in an illogical pattern, thus they cannot be confined within the boundary of time and place. Now we give the example of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. The plot construction is concerned with one individual memory. It is related to a woman who walks through a London street. She is making preparation for a party in afternoon. She is getting reflections; thinks of her life at Bouton, twenty years ago and remembers Peter Walsh who loved her. Time montage (combination) and free associations of ideas and images condition the flow of her consciousness. The past, present and future interchange in her consciousness.

Hence we may sum up this freedom from space and time by disregarding the selfish reality of life and stressing the time in which clock is artificial but mental time is natural. Thus, life is constituted by the processes of the mind. Inside object is presented by intuition and irrational process rather than surveying the ideas from outside. There is a flux of interpenetrated elements, unceasable by the intellect. It is called anti-mechanical mode of thinking. These all past and present are concentrated now.

In spite of certain criticisms against the form,  it can be argued that this kind of novel has discovered a new realm of experience and exposed the unimaginable depths and fluidity of human consciousness. It is a new province in the history of novel that reveals the deepest recesses of mind with remarkable artistic skill.