Interior Monologue

In The Art of Interior Monologue in Literary Texts, Narzikulova writes:

“Interior monologue, also known as stream of consciousness, is a narrative technique used in literary texts to convey the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of a character in a direct and unfiltered manner. It allows readers to enter the character's mind, providing insights into their inner world and enhancing their understanding of the character's motivations, conflicts, and emotional state.” (1)

According to Tumanov, Mind Reading: Unframed Direct Interior Monologue in European Fiction, there are two types of interior monologue:

direct, which presents the character’s thoughts in exact wording of that thought, in present tense, often with the use of italics or quotation marks to distinguish from the narrative

and

indirect, where an omniscient author intervenes between the character’s direct stream of consciousness and the reader and describes their thought process, often in past tense.
(2-3)

Interior monologue is a way for the writer to facilitate a deeper connection between the reader and the character. It can reveal the character’s inner conflict, build suspense and aid the story’s progress.

For example, in Joyce’s Ulysses:

“I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.” (233)

In this excerpt, Gerty MacDowell - a disabled woman in her twenties who hopes to fall in love and marry - fantasizes about love and romance. Her inner monologue explores themes of desire, sexual awakening, femininity and identity. However, there is also a theme of voyeurism and objectification - as the vulnerable moment is being observed by Leopold Bloom, the man whom she fantasizes about. Through Gerty’s internal reflections, Joyce captures the essence of human longing while also bringing attention to the issue of objectification.

works cited

Tumanov, Vladimir. Mind Reading: Unframed Direct Interior Monologue in European Fiction. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1997. Print.

“Interior Monologue and Virginia Woolf.” Interior Monologue, 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 2 Oct. 2024 “Interior Monologue.” Poem Analysis. 2 June 2023. Web. 07 Oct. 2024.

Bolger, Dermot, and James Joyce. Ulysses. London: Oberon Books, 2018. Print.

Karolína Krúpová, 517835

Page updated

Report abuse