o Published in 1925, 0UV'DOORZD\ is written in a style called
VWUHDP RI FRQVFLRXVQHVV. With this technique, the narration
keeps close to the consciousness of its characters, shifting
among perceptions, thoughts, and memories effortlessly and
with lightning speed in an attempt to evoke the quicksilver
nature of human consciousness.o The novel relates the thoughts of Mrs. Dalloway at the very
moment she thinks them in a way that’s simply not possible
for an outside observer to do in real life. Even if we knew Mrs.
Dalloway and could ask what she was thinking, the mere act
of translating her thoughts into speech would change what was
happening; she would no longer be alone in her own mind but
talking to another person.z Another remarkable book published in 1925 is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
7KHUHDWDWVE\7KLVERRNLVQDUUDWHGLQWKH¿UVWSHUVRQE\1LFN
Carraway, but even though Nick speaks directly to the reader in his own
voice, the narration here is less intimate than it is in 0UV'DOORZD.
o We learn about Nick’s history and his moral character through
his narration, but we get the impression that he is holding
certain things back.
o Nick stands somewhere in the middle of the literary continuum
between complete intimacy and no intimacy. We learn only
what he chooses to tell us, which means that we learn no more
about him than we might learn from him in real life.z A third example is 7KH 0DOWHVH )DOFRQ, Dashiell Hammett’s classic
detective story, published in 1930. Hammett’s main character, the
private detective Sam Spade, appears in every scene in the book, and we
see the entire story from Spade’s point of view.
o We get detailed descriptions of Spade’s appearance, gestures,
and actions; we also get a great deal of dialogue, in much of
which Spade isn’t necessarily telling the truth. But what we
never get in the novel is direct access to what Spade is thinking,