Modern Times

[poliphilo]

I just finished Novel On Yellow Paper. It's seventy years old and yet feels completely modern. Of course the cultural landscape is different-  they haven't had the second world war yet and there isn't any TV or internet,  but the voice- Stevie Smith's voice- is the voice of a contemporary. She thinks and speaks like one of us. You don't at any point find yourself thinking, well she would say that because those were autre temps, autre moeurs.

How old is the modern era? When exactly did olden times turn into modern times? Are the Victorians modern? Of course not. Is H.G. Wells? No, not quite. Is Charlie Chaplin? No - though Buster Keaton may be. My guess is the First World War marks the point after which you no longer find yourself thinking autre temps, autre moeurs. Pre-war people (that is to say, people whose characters were formed before the war) and post-war people (those whose characters were former during or after it) are two different species of human being. It's as if, during those four years, human evolution put on a spurt.

And what exactly is the difference between the two species? I think it's this, that modern people find it difficult to take themselves entirely seriously.

Comments

[tispity.livejournal.com]

When exactly did olden times turn into modern times?

That's such an interesting question. H.G. Wells explores it at length in his book Tono-Bungay, an old favourite of mine. After the death of Queen Victoria and the turn of the 20th century there seems to have been a real desire to view the world as changed - somehow progressed and new - but there's little to substantiate that view except a different date on the calendar (kind of reminds me of all the irritating hype surrounding the millennium). I find a lot of Edwardian literature interesting for the way it tries to negotiate this. I think you're right that it's the War that really marks the point of transition.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I see Wells as a transitional figure. He's still writing novels in the grand old Victorian tradition- and his prose style is a 19th century style- rather heavy and ornate.

Edwardian literature is interesting. I did quite a lot of work on Chesterton once- another transitional figure. He was in revolt against Wilde and the decadence but also sort of anchored and trapped in that mindset.