Modernism

Introduction

“Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.” (Samuel Butler)

This has been rightly observed from reading the works of many writers and going through their lives that their work is greatly influenced by what they experience during their lifetime. At times, the very act of writing characterizes an attempt by the writer to escape the cruelties of real world or a sort of reconciliation with self, with memories, desires or the ugly past. Thus, to the writer, the writing becomes a sort of therapy, a way of discovering the existential labyrinth and a means of exploring his/her inner self. An author's life can have a colossal influence on his/her work. Everyone on this earth is an amalgamation of what he/she observes and experiences in life. These experiences and observations are greatly reflected in one's thoughts, emotions, behavior and most importantly in his/her work. Art, including writing, is a way of imitating life regardless of the genre or form the artist adopts. Consequently those experiences add a unique color and flavor to every stroke of a pen.

One of the most interesting things about literature is that an author's work greatly reflects his/her struggles and experiences in life. In addition, a peep into the time period the authors is writing in and what he is writing about are mirrored in his work. What he hears and see and what he thinks are some important factors that shape whatever he creates. This has proved to be extremely true with fiction writers. In most of the literary fiction, the characters usually demonstrate the attributes and qualities that the author is familiar with and this made the writing process much easier. The familiarity with or experience of certain attributes, events or time allow the work to be more realistic and readers can easily relate the narration with particular time and space. Another reason for this amalgamation could possibly be something that the author enjoys. Thus, he writes about something he has personally experiences which make his work more successful as it relatively easier to write about something one knows than something one has never experienced. A large number of contemporary writers even try to live the life of their characters in order to portray them more convincingly.

This concept of self representation and self realization through one's writing is clearly evident in Virginia Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway' and Joseph Conrad's 'The Heart of Darkness'. In both of the great works, the discourses should be seen as a means to represent themselves to themselves and to their readers as well. The present paper attempts to explore this very concept of self representation by these great modernist writers in their respective works.

Discussion

Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway

While reading her discourses in 'Mrs Dalloway', one would observe the present of self that is, as a literary scheme and value, at the core of Virginia Woolf's discovery of her own and the characters' thought patterns, as the readers, ...