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DOI: https://doi.org/10.63345/ijre.v15.i5.2
Dr. Jyoti Devi
Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Garhwal University
Uttarakhand, India
Abstract— This study examines the representation of fragmented human traits in the narrative technique of Virginia Woolf, situating her work within the broader framework of literary modernism. The paper explores how Woolf departs from traditional linear storytelling by employing innovative techniques such as stream of consciousness, interior monologue, and shifting perspectives to depict the complexity of human consciousness. Using a qualitative and analytical approach, the study closely engages with selected works, including Mrs Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and The Waves, to investigate how narrative form reflects psychological fragmentation and fluid identity. The central argument of this research is that Woolf’s narrative technique does not merely portray fragmented characters but structurally embodies fragmentation through language, time, and perspective. Her use of non-linear temporality and memory disrupts conventional notions of identity, presenting the self as dynamic, multiple, and continuously reconstructed. Furthermore, the study highlights how Woolf’s emphasis on subjective experience challenges objective realism and offers a deeper psychological realism rooted in perception and inner life. The findings suggest that fragmentation in Woolf’s fiction is both a stylistic innovation and a philosophical statement about modern existence. By dissolving narrative boundaries and privileging inner consciousness, Woolf redefines the relationship between form and identity, making her work a crucial site for understanding the complexities of human experience in modern literature.
Keywords— Virginia Woolf, Narrative Technique, Fragmentation, Stream of Consciousness, Modernism
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