“Catch me if you can” was the invitation Virginia Woolf tried to meet in various ways
during her career as a writer. This invitation had been uttered by a character in Woolf’s
essay Mr Bennet and Mrs Brown1, where she expresses her intention to catch reality
within her novels. The discussion of representation of reality has a long tradition.
Before Virginia Woolf began to think about the concept of reality, the Edwardians tried
to transfer reality to their novels by presenting detailed descriptions of the outer world.
When the modern writers emerged, they turned their backs on the traditional novel and
adopted the current interest in psychology into their works by concentrating on the
individual mind. In this context, Virginia Woolf’s thoughts and theories are very
interesting as she criticised both, the Edwardians as well as some modern writers. That
is, she was neither convinced by the technique of the Edwardians, nor by the way her
contemporaries approached the psychological representation of reality. She felt
disappointed by the former mainly because of their detailed description of the outer
world which she regarded as superfluous, and blamed the latter for their monological,
unrestricted representation of the mind. Although Woolf supported the modern tradition
to concentrate on the mind rather than on plot, she had an aesthetical claim which was
incompatible with the erratic stream of consciousness technique. Additionally, she
questioned the objectivity of a monological representation and searched for new ways to
catch and represent reality. The problem was thus, how to convert her intentions into
her writing.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Virginia Woolf’s concept of reality
2.1 New literary strategies
2.1.1 Multiperspectivity
2.1.1.1 Bakhtin’s Dialogism
2.1.1.2 The dialogic subject
2.1.1.3 Woolf in dialogue with the world
2.1.1.4 Dialogue within the novel
2.1.2 Poetry
2.2 Impact on the reader
2.2.1 Horizon of expectation
2.2.2 New narrative strategies to liberate the reader?
3 To the Lighthouse
3.1 Coherence
3.2 Connection of the scenes
3.3 Concentration on the mind
3.4 Moments of Unity
3.5 Dynamic reality
3.6 The dialogue between Lily and Mrs Ramsay
3.7 Characters as narrators
3.8 Multiperspectivity to create objectivity?
3.9 Poetry within the novel
3.9.1 Inadequacy of language to express emotions
3.9.2 Metaphors
3.9.2.1 Water/Sea
3.9.2.2 Light
3.9.2.3 Journey
3.9.3 Music and rhythm
3.10 The role of the reader
4 Between the Acts
4.1 Uniting structure
4.2 The permeable mind
4.3 The dynamic voice
4.4 Polyphony
4.5 Between acts
4.6 Poetry
4.6.1 Metaphors
4.6.1.1 Water
4.6.1.2 Light
4.6.1.3 A leader
4.6.1.4 Silence
4.6.1.5 Mirror Modes
4.6.1.6 Others
4.7 A play in a play
4.7.1 Fears of the artist
4.7.2 Oscillation between fiction and reality
4.8 Advising the reader
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis examines Virginia Woolf's theoretical concept of reality and its practical representation in two of her major novels, To the Lighthouse and Between the Acts. The primary objective is to analyze how Woolf moves beyond traditional, monological narrative techniques to create a more authentic, multifaceted representation of reality that accounts for the complexity of the human mind and individual identity.
- The transition from traditional, plot-driven fiction to experimental, psychological narratives.
- The use of multiperspectivity and polyphony to eliminate the authoritative omniscient narrator.
- The role of poetic elements, such as metaphors and rhythm, in capturing the essence of emotions and human experience.
- The active, meaning-creating role of the reader within the author-reader relationship.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.1 Multiperspectivity
Virginia Woolf distances herself from the ‘egoistical’ and monological representation which her contemporaries used in combination with the stream of consciousness technique. In her opinion, it only offers the reader a restricted inside into a single figure’s mind and thus, deprives him from a broader view („[it] tended to imprison the reader inside an individual ego," Naremore 1973, p. 63). However, in any case, we can assume that Woolf was aware that life is too complex to be communicated from only one perspective. She feels restricted by the traditional techniques in the expression of what she regards as essential:
“Is it due to the method that we feel neither jovial nor magnanimous, but centred in a self which, in spite of its tremor of susceptibility, never embraces or creates what is outside itself and beyond? Does the emphasis laid, perhaps didactically, upon indecency, contribute to the effect of something angular and isolated?“ (Virginia Woolf 1994a, p. 162).
As a consequence, she first of all disempowers the authoritarian, omniscient narrator by reducing him to an undefined voice which is sometimes even indistinguishable from the voices of the characters. To supplant such traditional formulations like “Point of view” Richter (1970) refers to the subjective “voice” of the characters as well as of the narrator. However, he does not refer to the spoken voice but to the inner voice which cannot be exactly defined but which tries to transport feelings. It has the tone of the interior monologue but it is more than that. It is not the verbalized consciousness but the verbalized being of the characters by giving voice to the moment and transcending the self. It is this “no one’s voice” like Virginia Woolf calls it in Between the Acts (BA: 211). To achieve this impersonal impression, Woolf uses different stylistic means such as phrases like “he thought,“ “it seemed to her”, “one felt“ so that the reader cannot always define from what direction the voice comes. It changes constantly by coming from within the characters, the surrounding or from above.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: This chapter outlines Woolf's critique of traditional Edwardian and monological modern literature, setting the stage for her exploration of new narrative methods to represent reality.
Virginia Woolf’s concept of reality: This section explores Woolf's theoretical foundations, focusing on the development of multiperspectivity, the use of poetic language, and the shifting power dynamics between author and reader.
To the Lighthouse: This chapter analyzes how the experimental structure and thematic focus of this novel implement Woolf's theories, particularly regarding the concentration on the mind and the role of the reader.
Between the Acts: This chapter examines Woolf’s final novel, exploring how it synthesizes her literary experiments through a permeable, polyphonic narrative structure that bridges the gap between fiction and reality.
Keywords
Virginia Woolf, Multiperspectivity, Polyphony, Stream of Consciousness, Reality, To the Lighthouse, Between the Acts, Narrative voice, Common Reader, Modernism, Intersubjectivity, Poetic prose, Dialogism, Audience, Literature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work focuses on Virginia Woolf's theoretical development and application of a new literary style designed to capture the "essence of reality" by moving away from traditional, monological narrative structures.
What are the primary themes analyzed in the study?
The main themes include multiperspectivity, the role of the reader, the integration of poetry into prose, and the use of the "dynamic voice" to represent a collective consciousness.
What is Woolf's primary research goal or central question?
The goal is to analyze how Woolf successfully transitioned from being constrained by traditional plot structures to developing a form of writing that reflects the fragmented, complex, and subjective nature of reality.
What methodology does the author employ?
The author uses a literary-analytical approach, conducting a close reading of two specific novels (To the Lighthouse and Between the Acts) while contextualizing them within Woolf's own essays and theoretical concepts like Bakhtin’s dialogism and Iser’s reception theory.
What does the main body of the work address?
The main body explores the theoretical framework of Woolf's concept of reality and proceeds to a detailed textual analysis of her last two major novels, highlighting how her narrative strategies evolve from the earlier experimentalism of the 1920s to the finalized style in her last work.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Virginia Woolf, multiperspectivity, polyphony, narrative voice, reader-response, modernism, and subjective reality.
How does the author define the "dynamic voice" in Woolf’s later work?
The dynamic voice is described as a non-omniscient, shifting narrative perspective that flexibly changes distance from the events, sometimes merging with characters and other times acting as a journalistic observer to draw the reader into the narrative.
What role does the "lily pool" play in Between the Acts?
The lily pool serves as a vital symbol for human existence, cultural survival, and the unity of life, reflecting Woolf’s hope and fears regarding contemporary history and the threat of war.
How does the author interpret the significance of the pageant within Between the Acts?
The pageant is interpreted as a "play within a play" that acts as a mirror for Woolf's own literary theories, specifically questioning the function of art in society and the potential for collective experience to bridge individual isolation.
- Quote paper
- Ann-Kathleen Kraetzig (Author), 2008, Antiauthoritarian representation of reality within two of Virginia Woolf's novels, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/122403
