Modernism

In terms of the novel’s development, the Great War of 1914-1918 marks a fundamental break between the old world and the new. For many people the experience of the war, in which hundreds of the thousands had been killed, shattered their faith in society and its institutions. The Modernists, horrified by the effects of war and mechanised society in general, were interested in recovering the unique experience of the individual by exploring and recreating his/her inner world. The Modernists novel broke of the conventions with most of the conventions which had typified Victorian fiction. This is particularly visible in two aspect. First of all, the omniscient narrator as a moral and spiritual guide disappeared to be replaced by the direct or indirect presentation of characters’ thoughts, feelings and memories. Secondly ,many Modernists novels no longer followed a linear plot or a chronological sequence of events. The development of the Modernist novel was deeply influenced by the theories of Freud.