Empathy and Ethics: The Depiction of Animals in Modernist Literature | ||||
| مجلة الطفولة و التربية (جامعة الإسکندرية) | ||||
| Volume 56, Issue 3, October 2023, Page 571-605 PDF (343.74 K) | ||||
| Document Type: المقالة الأصلية | ||||
| DOI: 10.12816/fthj.2023.414731 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
| Ibrahim Mohamed Othman | ||||
| English Language Department, King Faisal University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| This article examines the role of animals in modernist literature, focusing on how writers such as Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence employ animal imagery to explore human-animal relationships, ethical concerns, and moral consciousness. Modernist literature, emerging in the early twentieth century, reflects a shift away from anthropocentric perspectives, challenging traditional human superiority over non-human animals. Through close readings of Flush (1933) by Woolf and St. Mawr (1925) by Lawrence, alongside works by James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, and Katherine Mansfield, this study investigates the complex ways in which modernist authors portray animals as sentient beings with agency, rather than as mere symbols or allegorical devices. Drawing upon philosophical and scientific influences, including Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and early twentieth-century discussions on animal welfare, the article contextualizes modernist representations of animals within broader ethical and ecological discourses. The analysis highlights how modernist narrative techniques, such as stream of consciousness and fragmentation, facilitate an empathetic engagement with non-human perspectives, disrupting traditional boundaries between human and animal experience. By foregrounding animals as central figures in literary modernism, this study underscores their significance in shaping contemporary ethical debates about human-animal relationships, ultimately demonstrating how modernist literature anticipates present-day discussions in animal studies and environmental humanities. | ||||
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