PORTRAIT CONSTRUCTION IN MODERNIST FICTION: A LINGUISTIC AND INTERTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF WOOLF AND JOYCE

Abstract

This study examines at the linguistic and intertextual strategies used in portrait descriptions in modernist fiction, particularly Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dallowey (1925) and James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). Modernist authors revolutionised character portrayal by disregarding traditional descriptive strategies in favor of fragmented, psychologically driven, and intertextually complex narratives. Woolf and Joyce's linguistic choices, which include free indirect conversation, internal monologue, and syntactic complexity, represent their characters' psychological depth and growing self-awareness. Furthermore, their intertextual parallels to Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, and classical mythology deepen the significance of portrait descriptions, providing a multiple perspective of character identity. This study focuses on the dynamic role of portrait building in modernist fiction, demonstrating how Woolf and Joyce challenge traditional character depiction to redefine literary realism and artistic self-expression.