COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF VIRGINIA WOOLF'S ESSAYS “MR. BENNET AND MRS. BROWN” AND “MODERN FICTION” - THEIR APPLICATION TO "MRS. DALLOWAY" AND "THE GREAT GATSBY"

This paper presents a comparative analysis of Virginia Woolf’s essays “Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Brown” and “Modern Fiction”, which critique traditional literary conventions and outline a vision for the development of modernist literature. It further examines how the themes and techniques advocated in these essays are reflected in two prominent novels of the period: Woolf’s “Mrs. Dalloway” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. Both novels depart from conventional narrative forms, employing fragmented structures and internal character perspectives to explore themes such as disillusionment, the passage of time, memory, and alienation. The study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the narrative and thematic innovations that defined the transition into the modernist literary era.