The world as a work of art: Relationship in the novels of Virgina Woolf.

摘要

The novels of Virginia Woolf illustrate a concept important for us as individuals and collectively for humankind, the concept of relationship. Before dealing with Woolf's texts directly, I have provided an overview of the nature of novels before modernism began to challenge the "status quo," the reception to modernist authors and texts and specifically the reception of Woolf's novels. Modernist texts, particularly those of Woolf, use stream of consciousness to lay bare the complexity and instability of human identity. Identity is neither real nor concrete, but rather relationship is what gives us our sense of Self within the larger context of humanity. As I look at three of Woolf's novels, it becomes apparent that Woolf privileged relationship and by entering into her texts the reader can become connected to the world Woolf visualized as a "work of art" wherein we each exist as a vital part.