Experimental Modernism: The Subversion of Romance Formulas and the Dismantling of Realist Representation of the City in Virginia Woolf's Night and Day

Öz

Virginia Woolf’s second novel, Night and Day (1919), has generally been conceived as a typical example of the traditional English novel, which is characterized by the realistic rendering of common life and ordinary people. Some aspects of the book such as chronological order, omniscient narrator, and the traditional plot of love and marriage undoubtedly point to the realist tradition that the novel resides in. However, it is misleading to evaluate the text simply as a realist work because the narrative strategies Woolf employs throughout the book subvert the earlier literary conventions and signal the commencement of modernist literature that has changed the form and content of the English novel in the following decades. Throughout this work, Woolf questions both social and literary conventions by subverting romance formulas and describing psychologically-perceived London. While the subverted romance structure exposes the established views on gender and marriage, the portrayal of London through the consciousness of the characters prevents the novel from being a wholly realist work. The aim of this paper is to analyze how Woolf challenges traditional form and subject matter, and hence lays the ground for her later modernist works.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Virginia Woolf, Night and Day, realism, modernism, romance, city, feminism

Experimental Modernism: The Subversion of Romance Formulas and the Dismantling of Realist Representation of the City in Virginia Woolf's Night and Day

Öz

Virginia Woolf’un ikinci romanı Night and Day (1919), edebiyat eleştirmenleri tarafından genellikle realist İngiliz romanın tipik bir örneği olarak kabul edilir. Kitapta aşk ve evlilik gibi olağan temaların işlenmesi, olay örgüsünün her şeyi bilen anlatıcı (omniscient) tarafından kronolojik sırayla aktarılması gibi hususlar romanın gerçekçi yazın geleneğiyle olan ilişkisine işaret eder. Ancak Woolf her ne kadar yerleşik anlatı tekniklerinden faydalansa da metnin biçim ve içeriğinde yaptığı değişiklikler aracılığıyla geleneksel İngiliz romanını sarsarak modernist edebiyatın gelişimine katkıda bulunmuştur. Night and Day, geleneksel olmaktan çok mevcut gelenekleri sorgulayan bir eserdir. Woolf bir taraftan romans türüne ait özellikleri yeniden yorumlayarak cinsiyet rollerine ilişkin modern bir bakış açısı sunmuş diğer taraftan da kitabın adeta ana kahramanlarından biri olan Londra’yı karakterlerin bilinç süzgecinden geçirip anlatarak realizmden uzaklaşmıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı Night and Day’de biçim ve içerik açısından yapılan değişikliklere odaklanarak Woolf’un modernist edebiyata katkısını araştırmaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Virginia Woolf, Night and Day, realizm, modernizm, romans, şehir, feminizm

Kaynakça

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