Modern Time Consciousness And Its Embodiment In The Stream Of Consciousness Novel

Novel had been shouldering the task of life-presenting long beforethe beginning of 20th century. It passed judgments over life with itsomniscient narration. Nevertheless, at the threshold of 20th century, everything changed. The foremost is in philosophy, with Henry-Bergsoncoming on stage. He ended the long-run debate between mechanism andsubjectivism. He took the 'now' as always changing and developing. This'now' is no longer a piece of the outside world, but a duration itself, which contains yesterday and is moving toward tomorrow. It is a streamof life with many impulsions in conflict. To Bergson, only this could becalled 'reality' Therefore, we should start with this 'now' , diveinto the stream of life, to accomplish novel' s task of presenting reality.This article concentrates on 'time', not only in philosophical meaningbut also in literary narration, to demonstrate how one of the trends ofmodernism reform——stream of consciousness novel reshaped literarynarration both in time structures and on literature motifs. This is insome sense the byproduct of philosophy, to present the attendant reality.Though, it also foretold the deep conflict between the make-up world andthe real world, that there' s no necessary correspondence between them.Symbol does not necessarily stand for certain reality. This is the plightawaiting us as modernism moves on and post-modernism nears.