Monday, November 16, 2009
Mrs D #4
In what ways is the juxtaposition ("mirroring" or "doubling" might be helpful synonyms) of characters a distinctly modernist technique? You might think in terms of narrative structure, or you might think about how the juxtaposition of specific characters in Mrs. Dalloway deals with stereotypical modernist issues (look back in your notes).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think the juxtaposition of characters is an modernist technique as it can be considered as a way to show one of the major theme of modernism: the crisis of representation. My point being that Virginia Woolf can not describe a social class or a social status like the snobs which we studied in class through only one character. She has to look at this type of character from different points of view to show that there isn't a real definition of the snob type and that there are difference in each class of society and every type of person.Therefore it is by the juxtaposition of different characters having the same social status but each having their individuality that Virginia Woolf shows the crisis of representation.
ReplyDeleteThis juxtaposition definitely fits into the deep exploration of steriotypes, like we mentionned in class. These characters fit into different steriotypes (the well-to upper class, the house-wives, the poor...). Having several charcters portray these steriotypes gives a deeper meaning to the description as well as a sense of authority from a want to study the question from different angles and approach objectivity...
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of characters helps to portrait diffrent characters by comparing their reactions and their experiences. It therefore helps to emphasise, for example, on one's place in life ( existentialism ). We see this by comparing Septimus' point of view, who believes to be alone and abandonned, opposed to Lucrezia's POV who seems to be very attached to her husband and who protects and takes care of him.
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of characters offers a great perspective on the protagonists'lives and thoughts. For example, Mrs Kilman percieves clarissa in a completly different manner than the reader has, which gives us some level of enlightment, or further understanding. We also feel because of this that the characters connect to the reader in a very real way, and resemble them even more.
ReplyDeleteTiennot:
ReplyDeleteThe juxtapostion of characters in modernist literature, presenting the reader with different opinions and positions, enables a better understanding of the story as a whole. Benefiting from every possible points of view (omniscient, internal), the reader can judge, evaluate situations more than ever in order to understand "how things actually work".
It also brings up an important moral issue as alternative narratives in the story, such as Mrs.Kilman and Clarissa's, shows contrasted thoughts, which seem totally justified for the reader when he is in the characters' mind respectively. None of the characters are wrong, both what they think and what they feel are understood by the reader. Does Virginia Woolf and other modernists consider human as essentially good then? (and by literature illustrate the relevance of their position)
Though modernists seemed to have given up on mimesis, I think the juxtaposition of characters and the stream of consciousness represent an effective try to represent an objective reality.
LALAlalaaaaaaaaaa
I think the juxtaposition of characters is a new way of portraying characters, which, as Simon said is linked to the major hteme of 'Crisis of representation'. Plus, it is linked to other modernist techniques like metanarative or multiple points of vue (they all try to find a new way to analyse characters).
ReplyDeleteAs we said in class, one of the larger purposes of the effects of modernist narrative is the deep exploration of characters and stereotypes. Juxtaposing characters helps the reader to understand their personalities by comparison and contrast. We learn to know the personality of a character, then we study its psychological functioning and behavior and then the juxtaposition applies the character to society / comparison of characters.
ReplyDeleteI think that the "doubling" or juxtaposition of different characters can be considered as modernist, as it is a way to represent not THE absolute reality, but more each character's own reality, which is a more objective reality, as Tiennot has already said. It is an illustration of the "realism of presentation" (which corresponds to the stream of consciousness), in the sense that it represents an attempt to present reality as it is experienced by the individual character, offering therefore a greater perspective of the characters' experiences and feelings.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that the juxtaposition of characters is a modernist technique because it is linked as Cannelle said to one of the narrative techniques which is the multiple points of view. For example in Mrs Dalloway when the motor car drives through London, the reader follows the scene through different characters which are not all important. They represent the society of Post-war London like Mr Bowley. Therefore the doubling of characters also explores the use of stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Simon . The juxtaposition of characters is a modernist technique in the way that modernists have a crisis of representation. While using multiple point of views, the author helps the reader to better understand various characters and inform him that there isn't one objective definition of these characters. This can be illustrated by the Mrs Kilman narrative because the reader has been, since the beginning of the book, in Clarissa Dalloway's mind and has established a "close" relationship, meanwhle a new character criticizes her to the point that the reader is questioning Clarissa's integrity. I also wondered who was Mrs Dalloway? Is she a "good" person? Or is she evil like Mrs Kilman describes her?
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of characters is an illustration of the existential question that modernists were asking their selves about objective representation.
The juxtaposition of characters can be considered a modernist technique for, as does this blog's name explicit, the characters are all connected through a spider's web. This spider web emphasizes extreme subjectivity as it is made of the interior experiences of each character. This technique enables the exploration of a new world, the inner world of intimate experience.
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition of characters is a modernist technique as we can see in Mrs Dalloway where characters are juxtaposed to each other through their resemblances and differences. By doing this, Virginia Woolf uses multiple points of view. Also the doubling of characters helps the author to explore different stereotypes in post-war london society such as the "snobs".
ReplyDeleteJuxtaposition of characters is a fundamentally modernist technique as it questions the entire significance of one's experience, contrasting it and comparing to others', putting it into perspective and trying to understand it thanks to the characteristic stream of consciousness. This questioning of the experience, the past, relates to one's place and meaning in life, in existence itself, which is one of the modernist concerns: figuring out wether preconceptions and traditional representations, ideas, are truthful and loyal, or wether they are too absolute. By juxtaposing a set of characters, personalities, experiences, one can distinguish a more complex, subjective reality, one that might not be true to all, always, but might in the end prove to be the more sensible one.
ReplyDelete(Please forgive my delay! I had not written down the assignment for some strange reason, and only just realised how late I am!...)
i don t know how to make a post anywhezre else than here. i hope people will read it because i have a haunting question:*
ReplyDeleteIn class when we talked about the Snobs (Hugh, Dr Bradshaw and Lady Bruton), we said that they wer fully confident because of their social standing and wealth.
p. 121 lady b. "used to feel the futility of her own womanhood". Isn t that the sign of a existential crisis?