Theme of Haunting in the Following Modernist Works: Rebecca, A Haunted House and The Painted Veil

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Recommended: An essay on modernism

Modernism as a new genre emerged as a reaction to the previous one-Realism- and took its own place in literary canon. As being introduced to the literary world upon facing the brutal facts of life and its chaotic realities, it brought different aspects to the world of the writers. Its difference existed as a result of its newness not only in content but also in form. The genre of Modernism brought new dimensions to the literature by means of new techniques that are unconventional and unusual.In the field of art and literature, Modernism caused a shift in aesthetic and cultural sensibilities with the period of post World War One. The followers of the Modernism in literature got down to get rid of the aesthetic burden of Realism. They followed a different path. They introduced new devices,techniques and motifs that mark distinctive break with the previous genres. One of the motifs or themes that they deal with in Modernist novels is the theme of haunting, which we do not see in any Realist novel. In my essay, I am going to study this theme by referring to the various modernist works such as Rebecca, A Haunted House and The Painted Veil.

The theme of haunting with its distinctiveness is widely associated with Modernism and it is highly studied in the novels of the Modernist type. Since the Modernist writers downplay the content for the sake of the investigation of form, the use of haunting theme is an advantage for this aim.It contributes to the unusual fragmented and non-chronological writing style, it goes well with it. The circular, fragmented, jumping narration from here to there reinforces the sense of haunting. The narrator suddenly and let’s say constantly goes back to the past with flashbacks then ...

... middle of paper ...

...s still under the influence of Rebecca.

As she lives in the house of Rebecca she is forced to learn the things about her. The more she discovers things about Rebecca, the stronger the feeling of haunting becomes. She can not fight with her. She constantly feels that she should display the same habits with Rebecca such as using the morning-room after breakfast, writing letters, preference of the menu for the meals in order to be accepted by the servants. By doing so, she gets more and more captured. She is totally seized by the past. Even though she is in the present she keeps going back to the past, she is unable to dismiss the effect of it.

To conclude, in Modernist works like the ones I mentioned above the theme of haunting is introduced by means of different ideas and different materials, it is not necessarily handled with the use of real ghosts.

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