Modernist and Postmodernist perspectives on the concept of truth

and art’s limitations to reveal it as seen in Julian Barnes’s “Flaubert's

Parrot” and Virginia Woolf’s “To the Lighthouse”

Standing as two landmarks in the realms of the modern times literary cannon,
Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse and Julian Barnes’s Flaubert’s Parrot, critically
acclaimed works, provide readers with a significant viewpoint into the distinct
perspectives of modernism and postmodernism regarding the concept of truth and
art’s limited capacity to uncover and reveal it. The current essay seeks to examine the
importance of these two literary works regarding how they outline the contrasting
(philosophical) features of these literary movements through their characters and their
experiences, as they search for meaning through art.

Woolf’s work encompasses the modernist approach to truth, focusing on its

subjective character and the commonly held belief in an objective truth. The novel,
through its modernist narrative technique, stream of consciousness, highlights the
characters’ quest for meaning through their experiences and outlines their futile
attempts to capture the ever-changing truth through means of artistic expression. Such
an instance providing glimpse into the aforementioned idea is illustrated by the two
feminine character's experiences in the novel, as they attempt to capture it: Mrs.
Ramsay’s mental representation of an idealized, timely-immortal dinner scene and
Lily Briscoe’s in-search-of-meaning artistic endeavours which are illustrative
examples of this pursuit.

Contrastingly, Barnes’s novel challenges the notion of a singular, universally

available truth and further explores the limited possibilities to capture it and reveal it.
In itself, the title of the novel outlines his view and suggests a turning away from
modernist standards. Nevertheless, it stands as a symbol of multiplicity and of the
intertextuality employed throughout the text. Through blurring the boundaries
between reality and fiction, Barnes questions the probability of art being able to reveal
an absolute truth. Furthermore, he examines the fractured and constructed nature of
truth through Geoffrey Braithwaite’s character and the recurring parrot motif, which
further symbolizes not only the character’s quest for truth, but is also a direct
reference to the parrot Flaubert held on his desk when writing some of his most
renowned works.

To conclude, the texts offer notable insights into the role art plays in capturing
truth and portraying it. Whereas, Woolf’s novel emphasizes the search for meaning
through art and its subjective nature (it is a personal experience for every character,
not subject to universality), Barnes calls into question the conceptualization of a sole
truth and delves into its multivalent identity.