Characteristics Of Modernism

Modernism is a term which is typically associated with the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The literary Modernism takes place after World War I shook men’s faith in the foundations and continuity of western civilisation and culture. The First World War was an event so devastating that it created rapidly a set of demands upon artists and writers that most would have found inconceivable before. Modernism is often used to refer to a twentieth century belief in the virtues of science, technology and of social change. Modernism as a movement can be recognized not only in literature but also in the sciences, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, Painting, Music, Sculpture and Architecture.
In Modernism, usually unknown events make the plot unclear and create question marks in reader’s mind and refuse the final or clear interpretation about the subject.
Experimental nature, Lack of traditional chronological narrative (discontinuous narrative), Break of narrative frames (fragmentation), Moving from one level of narrative to another, A number of different narrators (multiple narrative points of view), Self-reflexive about the act of writing and the nature of literature (meta-narrative), Use of interior monologue technique, Use of the stream of consciousness technique, Focus on a character's consciousness and subconscious are some of the formal features of modernist narrative.
The modernist short stories are usually fragment, precise, short, there is no effort in any short stories to capture totality and to say, short stories which have a glimpse of reality in a capsule form. Some of the famous modernist writers are James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, Charles Ba...

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... husbands seem to be attracted towards other women. This is a purely womanly instinct which is inexplicable. So, the basic theme of the story is womanly jealousy, which, when aroused in a woman, negates her good qualities and she becomes petty. Rosemary’s action illustrates this well.

The basic conflict in A Cup of Tea is as removed from us as the society in which it is set. Another theme which is in the story is the artificiality of the behaviour of fashionable people like Rosemary Fell. Her concern for the poor girl, Miss Smith, is not born out of her genuinely compassionate character. Her decision to bring the girl home and take care of her is the result of a sudden urge to indulge in an adventure. But the decision to dump the girl is also equally sudden. It has got to do with her womanly jealousy. These themes have been revealed in the story with great clarity.