Human Alienation and Emotional Disintegration in Modernist Literature: A Thematic Analysis of The Waste Land, Mrs Dalloway, and The Metamorphosis
Abstract
Modernist literature emerged as a response to the unprecedented social, political, and cultural transformations of the early twentieth century, particularly the effects of industrialization, urbanization, scientific advancement, and the devastation of the First World War. These historical changes disrupted traditional systems of belief and contributed to widespread experiences of isolation, psychological instability, and identity crisis. Human alienation and emotional disintegration consequently became central thematic concerns of Modernist writers. Although previous scholarship has extensively examined these themes individually, relatively limited attention has been devoted to exploring their interconnected relationship across representative Modernist texts. This study investigates how human alienation functions as a catalyst for emotional disintegration through a thematic analysis of The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot, Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Employing a qualitative research design based on close textual reading, the study is informed by Modernist literary theory, Freudian psychoanalytic theory, and existential philosophy. The analysis demonstrates that social estrangement, spiritual emptiness, psychological trauma, and fragmented identity are mutually reinforcing conditions that define the Modernist representation of the human experience. Furthermore, the selected texts reveal that narrative fragmentation, symbolism, and stream of consciousness are not merely stylistic innovations but artistic strategies for portraying the fractured consciousness of modern individuals. The study concludes that alienation and emotional disintegration constitute interconnected defining features of Modernist literature and remain highly relevant for understanding contemporary experiences of loneliness, psychological distress, and identity fragmentation in an increasingly complex modern world.
Keyword: Modernist Literature; Human Alienation; Emotional Disintegration; Thematic Analysis; Psychological Fragmentation; Existentialism; Modernity
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21173986
