Modernist Thematic Concerns

Introduction

The occurrence of WWI during the first decades of the twentieth century made people change their focus from superficial to deeper levels, especially that of human nature and the difference between good and evil. Literature changed attitude as well, bringing under discussion themes which reflect the severity of the situation.

Modernists’ Concerns 

The general thematic concerns of Modernist literature are well-summarised by the sociologist Georg Simmel as follows: “The deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life” (11). As the quote claims, modernism is concerned with the individual rather than the society and its constraints (be it social, historical, or cultural). For that reason, modernist writers opted to produce literature that is free from any stylistic or thematic limitations. 

The WWI Aftermaths Depiction

As modernism succeeded the WWI’s horrors, chaos, and destruction; modernist literature became a depiction of the experience. A pessimistic tone emerged to reflect upon the aftermaths of the War on the psych of the individual. This destruction revealed the collapse of the whole Western civilisation. As a consequence, literary works collapsed in terms of theme, style, language, plot, and narration.

Narrative fragmentation, for example, became the tradition of the modern novel. Since the world is related not to the experience as it happens but as it is perceived by the individual; modernist narratives adopted different techniques to stimulate the presented experience. Stream of consciousness[1], internal monologue[2], and shift in narration are pragmatic methods throughout which modernist authors like Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, and T. S. Eliot succeeded to create works that are still modern.

Alienation and Lack of Communication

By the end of the War, alienation became a major theme in modernist literature. The destruction of values in Western civilisation led to questioning the reliability of human morals and kindness. This created a lack of communication between individuals of the same community if not of the same neighbourhood or family. Literature, as expected, has been a mirror to those experiences. The characters in modernist writings, especially in the novel, are emotionally and psychologically troubled. They are characters who are anti- social and introverted loners who sometimes dwell in the gloom of their minds as mere observers and thinkers, unable to associate with or communicate their feelings to others. This lack of communication gives rise to characters that are alienated, isolated, and detached from the external world. They are so alone that they seem oblivious of external realities. They escape to and live in the world they have created for themselves in their minds and are always afraid of and angered by external disturbance or interruptions.

Existentialism

Existentialism is a cultural and philosophical movement that enquires an understanding to an essential question: What does it mean to be human? As Jaspers (1959) puts it “Existence-philosophy is the way of thought by means of which man seeks to become himself; it makes use of expert knowledge while at the same time going beyond it” (159).

As nihilistic philosophy, it rejects the quest to look for significance in the traditional philosophies of the past (scientific or moral inquiries of the past). It merely doubts objectivity and rationality. Instead, it encourages originality, uniqueness, and creativity. Existentialist texts tend to evoke a sense of the authenticity in the reader’s mind. It encourages the reader to delve in random actions and to restore the individual willpower lost in ages of reason and standardised ancient philosophy. The how for existentialist is more important than the what. Existentialists discuss themes like absurdity, alienation, nothingness, and freedom. Key figures of existentialism are Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus.

Individualism

Individualism refers to the recognition that a human being is a source of knowledge and action and in no means is a subject to higher authority; be it religious, social, or political. As an autonomous creature, an individual has the capacity to lead his/her life without any constraints. This includes even internal constraints. Since the individual has unconscious part of the mind that guides his/her behaviour and thoughts, as psychology suggests, we expect his conformity to the internal control. Still it is his/hers; not an external factor as individualism supporters advocate. Individualism is reflected in many modernist novels such as Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (a novel which will be under scrutiny in the program). Characters are under struggle to get rid of the restraints of the city and always in hope to find their own individual liberties.

Conclusion

The diversity of the thematic concerns and the styles tailored to suit the modern chaos and meaningless expose to the reader an amount of literary texts rich and innovative. As the following lectures will reveal, not only the modernist writers but the literary works they produced challenging the readers’ objectivity and rationality; opening a wide access to scepticism and renewability.