Narrative Techniques in the Modern Novel
Interior Monologue
Also called the “stream of consciousness,” this technique gained prominence after the publication of Ulysses (1922). It offers the highest degree of subjectivity, eliminating the narrator’s voice and presenting the character’s thoughts directly.
Édouard Dujardin, a 19th-century French writer, defined the interior monologue as: “The inner monologue, like every monologue, is a speech by the character in question. It is intended to introduce us directly into the inner life of that character, without authorial explanations or dialogues.”
This technique provides insight into the subconscious, reproducing thoughts in their nascent state. It often uses direct sentences and minimized syntax.
Types of Interior Monologue:
- Ordered/Logical: The character’s consciousness flows logically.
- Chaotic: The writing mirrors the character’s spontaneous mental associations.
Counterpoint
This technique presents multiple interwoven storylines, alternating between them. The term, borrowed from music, gained literary traction with Aldous Huxley’s novel Counterpoint. It adds momentum to the narrative by introducing simultaneous times, places, or characters, potentially challenging readers unfamiliar with the technique.
Behaviorism
This technique emphasizes objectivity. The narrator disappears entirely, leaving the characters’ actions and behaviors to convey the message. The narrative adheres to a strict present timeframe, without references to past or future. Individual character is often de-emphasized in favor of a collective protagonist, as seen in Jarama.
Multiperspectivism
This technique presents the same event from multiple perspectives, with each character offering their subjective interpretation based on partial knowledge. The combined interpretations reveal the true meaning of the story, avoiding the limitations of a single narrator. A prime example is William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, narrated through the consciousness of seven children.
Flashback
Borrowed from film, this technique disrupts chronological order to depict past events. While common in contemporary novels, it was less prevalent in traditional narratives.
Chronological Disorder
A hallmark of the contemporary novel, this technique involves interweaving different timeframes, distorting or compressing time as needed. Ulysses exemplifies this, with its vast length (900 pages) dedicated to a single day. Earlier examples exist, such as Leopoldo Alas’ La Regenta, where the first half covers three days and the second half three years. Collective protagonist novels like Camilo José Cela’s La Colmena also utilize time compression to effectively portray numerous characters.
Space
The transformation of time has impacted the concept of space in the novel. Modern novels may focus on limited spaces—a house, a room, or even the protagonist’s inner world—without emphasizing the external setting. The nouveau roman, for instance, might dedicate an entire page to describing a window.
External Structure
Contemporary novels often abandon traditional chapter divisions. Some use unnumbered sequences, as in Luis Martín-Santos’ Tiempo de silencio. Others transform chapters into recurring phrases, like Juan Benet’s Volverás a Región or Gonzalo Torrente Ballester’s La saga/fuga de J.B. Some novels blur the lines between poetry and prose, incorporating line breaks, varied typography, engravings, and newspaper articles, treating the novel as a playful, multimedia form.