Towards a Definition of American Modernism
Author(s): Daniel Joseph Singal
Source: American Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 1, Special Issue: Modernist Culture in America
(Spring, 1987), pp. 7-26
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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TOWARDSA DEFINITION OF AMERICAN
MODERNISM
DANIELJOSEPHSINGAL
Colleges
Smith
andWilliam
Hobart
"ON OR ABOUTDECEMBER 1910,HUMANCHARACTERCHANGED."SO DECLARED
writers
onModernism
all subsequent
thatvirtually
Woolfina statement
Virginia
ofModernist
origins
the
tracing
historians
Though
quote.
to
havefeltobliged
withWoolfs exactchoiceofdate,theyhaveincreasingly
culture
havequarreled
in
theintelligentsia
theturnofthecentury
around
cometoagreethatsometime
thatwould
insensibility
shift
a profound
begantoexperience
andAmerica
Europe
moralvalues,andintime
inthearts,transform
ofcreativity
leadtoan explosion
PeterGay
Modernism,
society.
Western
oflifethroughout
theconduct
reshape
and
the
thedance, novel,
andmusic;
sculpture,
painting,
changed
"utterly
reports,
intounknown
Anditsventures
and thought.
poetry,
thedrama;architecture,
togeneral
waysof
ofhighculture
regions
from
therarefied
territory
percolated
thata
evidence
thegrowing
notwithstanding
Indeed,
andseeing."
feeling,
thinking,
many
its
appearance,
made
has
recently
"postmodernism"
of
newsensibility
of
culture
as thedominant
hasserved
itself
thatModernism
wouldcontend
writers
Waruptothe
World
theFirst
theperiod
justafter
from
America
twentieth-century
I
present.
is,
culture
whatModernist
onexactly
noconsensus
is assuredly
there
Although
thecommonest
accordonwhatitis not.Perhaps
there
doesseemtobe a growing
a concept
it with"modernization,"
of equating
is thepractice
misconception
Put
socialscientists.
many
among
andstillfashionable
MaxWeber
from
emanating
ofrelated
beseenas a culture-aconstellation
should
properly
Modernism
simply,
the
during
cameintoexistence
andmodesofperception-that
values,
beliefs,
ideas,
influence
onartand
andthathashada powerful
century,
midtolatenineteenth
by
1900.Modernization,
sinceroughly
on bothsidesof theAtlantic
thought
therise
involving
development,
a process
ofsocialandeconomic
denotes
contrast,
thatcan be
institutions,
andbureaucratic
urbanization,
technology,
ofindustry,
thesetwo
between
Therelationship
century.
traced
backas faras theseventeenth
in
arising
Modernism
with
complex,
exceedingly
is
phenomena
historical
important
norms
of
its
especially
ofmodernization,
tothetriumph
partas a counterresponse
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8
AmericanQuarterly
Despitethat
EuropeandAmerica.
innineteenth-century
andefficiency,
rationality
hastypically
modernization
stancetoward
however,
theModernist
initial
hostility,
with
admiring
thevitality
simultaneously
Modernists
byambivalence,
beenmarked
it
thedehumanization
whiledecrying
progress
oftechnological
andinventiveness
initswake.Thus,despite
theetymological
similarity,
Modernism
tobring
appears
and
norshould"modern"
differentiated;
and modernization
mustbe sharply
as synonyms.2
everbe treated
"Modernist"
withthe
equatesit exclusively
viewof Modernism
problematic
Another
attheturn
ofthetwentieth
avant-garde
andstyleoflifeoftheartistic
philosophy
in
inthissenseusually
connotes
radicalexperimentation
"Modernism"
century.
and
flaunting
the
of
the
perverse
and
decadent,
a
deliberate
cultivation
artistic
style,
Theentire
toshockthebourgeoisie.
movement,
behavior
ofoutrageous
designed
ofhighly
ofa smallnumber
wascomprised
essentially
tothisdefinition,
according
ofcertain
largecities,
quarters
talented
basedinthebohemian
poetsandpainters
around
thetimeofthe
andBerlin,
culminating
suchas Paris,NewYork,Vienna,
masters
as Picasso,Poundand
FirstWorldWarintheworkofsuch"canonical"
Howe
critics
likeIrving
A variation
byliterary
putforth
onthisdefinition,
Joyce.
itas an
slightly
morerangebyviewing
andLionelTrilling,
allowsModernism
inbohemia
butlateradopted
bytwentieth-century
culture"'
originating
"adversary
and ultimately
frommasssociety,
estrangement
in theirgrowing
intellectuals
as a virtualparodyof its earlierselfin theformof the 1960s
reappearing
Ineither
thought
asessentially
seesModernist
counterculture.
case,thisperspective
to
incharacter,
evertobesusceptible
andfartooamorphous
negative
andrebellious
definition.3
there
andfar
isa morerecent
Asthepresent
toshow,
however,
essaywillattempt
thattakesissuewiththe"bohemian"
toModernism
approach
moresatisfactory
intheTrilling
thetip
tradition
confuse
thatthosewriting
contending
interpretation,
andspectacular
manifestaonthemorevisible
forthewholeiceberg
byfocusing
whilemissing
itsperiodofascendancy
itsunderlying
tionsoftheculture
during
an
inthisviewrepresents
Modernist
Farfrom
structure.
thought
beinganarchic,
under
chaotic
torestore
theoften
a senseofordertohuman
experience
attempt
anditmostassuredly
a
oftwentieth-century
doescontain
conditions
existence,
of the
if one knowswhereto look.Notjusttheplaything
unifying
principle
inliterature,
ithasassumed
a commanding
painting,
music,
position
avant-garde,
other
realmofartistic
orintellectual
andvirtually
every
architecture,
philosophy,
in thisformulation
well
hascastitsinfluence
endeavor.
Modernism
Moreover,
middle-class
much
of
theintellectual
eliteto encompass
contemporary
beyond
areheldbya majority
of
Western
Itsvalues,though
somewhat
diluted,
society.
in suchdiversecontexts
as
anditsstyleis manifested
Americans,
present-day
the
andpopularmusic.In short,
television
suburban
advertising,
architecture,
asa
tobetreated
heresuggests
thatModernism
deserves
definition
beingproposed
and
ortheEnlightenment,
culture
historical
muchlikeVictorianism
full-fledged
modeofthought.
ofourcurrent
lessthanthebasiccontours
thatitsupplies
nothing
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American
Modernism
9
andtoseehowitcameintobeing,it
To locatetheinnerdynamics
ofModernism
is necessaryto return
briefly
to thecultureagainstwhichtheearlyModernists
fromthe1830s tothe
rebelled.Victorianism,
whosereigninAmericaranroughly
urban
earlytwentieth
century,
was closelyassociatedwiththerapidlyexpanding
ethoswascentered
upontheclassicbourgeois
bourgeois
classofthatera.Itsguiding
so important
forsuccessina burgeoning
valuesofthrift,
diligence,
andpersistence,
capitalisteconomy,along withan immenseoptimismaboutthe progressthat
withits
culture,
industrialization
seemedsuretobring.Atthesametime,Victorian
ideal visionof a stable,peacefulsocietyfreefromsin and discord,proved
inenablingthemembers
ofthisnewmiddleclasstokeeptheir
immensely
helpful
balanceina worldthatwas changing
veryfast,inwaystheydidnotalwaysexpect
orunderstand.4
setofbedrockassumptions.
At thecoreofthisnewculturestooda distinctive
universe
overbya benevolent
God
presided
Theseincludeda beliefina predictable
convictionthat
and governedby immutablenaturallaws, a corresponding
aboutall
at a unifiedand fixedsetof truths
humankind
was capableof arriving
onpreserving
absolutestandards
basedona radical
aspectsoflife,andaninsistence
dichotomybetweenthatwhichwas deemed "human"and thatregardedas
the deepest
above all thatconstituted
"animal."It was thismoraldichotomy
outlook.On the"human"or "civilized"sideof
guidingprinciple
oftheVictorian
linefelleverything
thatservedtoliftmanabovethebeasts-education,
thedividing
thearts,religion,
andsuchdomesticated
emotions
as loyalty
refinement,
manners,
containedthose
and familylove.The "animal"or "savage" realm,by contrast,
threatened
andwhichtherefore
self-control,
instincts
andpassionsthatconstantly
had to be repressedat all cost. Foremostamongthosethreatswas of course
whichproperVictorians
conceivedof as a hiddengeyserof animality
sexuality,
withlittleor no warning
at the
existingwithineveryoneand capableoferupting
All erotictemptations
wereaccordingly
stimulus.
supposedto be rooted
slightest
and,as
out,sexualpleasureevenwithinmarriagewas to be keptto a minimum,
NancyF. Cott has shown,the standardof respectableconduct,especiallyfor
A gloriousfuture
of
"frommodesty
topassionlessness."
women,shifted
decisively
materialabundanceand technologicaladvancewas possible,Victorianswere
in humannaturewas effectively
convinced,butonlyif theanimalcomponent
suppressed.5
wasthewaythismoraldichotomy
toview
fostered
a tendency
Equallyimportant
Masao Miyoshi
the worldin polar terms."There is a value in possibilities,"
" . . . buttheVictorians
toooftensaw theminrigidpairs-all ornothing,
observes,
were made in everyaspect of existence:
whiteor black." Sharpdistinctions
Victorians
characterized
societiesas eithercivilizedor savage,drewa firmline
betweenwhattheyconsideredsuperiorand inferior
classes,and dividedraces
intoblackandwhite.Theylikewiseinsisted
onplacingthesexesin
unambiguously
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10
AmericanQuarterly
basedonwhatRosalindRosenberg
describesas "theVictorian
"separatespheres,"
in
which
deemed
women
faith sexual polarity,"
as "by natureemotionaland
it was
passive,"whilemen were "rationaland assertive."Such dichotomies,
werepermanently
rootedinbiologyandinthegenerallawsofnature.
believed,
The
"right"way,themoralway,was to keep thesevariouscategoriesdistinct
and
segregated.6
Put in slightly
different
terms,whatthe Victoriansaspiredto was a radical
standard
towallthemselves
ofinnocence.
offas
Theywereengagedinan attempt
as possiblefrom
as evilandcorruption,
whattheyregarded
andtocreate
completely
ontheirsideofthebarrier
a bravenewworldsuffused,
inMatthew
Arnold'swords,
with"harmoniousperfection."
writesDonald H.
Nineteenth-century
thinkers,
thatwasnotjustintelligible,
Meyer,"longedfora universe
andmorally
reassuring,
butsymphonic
as well."To be sure,actualbehaviorattimesseemedto
challenging,
ofinnocence,
undercut
thispursuit
butthepointisthatfortheVictorian
middleclass
innocencestillremained
a powerful
andalmostuniversal
cultural
ideal.Evenwhen
fromit,as doubtless
behaviordiverged
theidealcontinued
to
happenedquiteoften,
be venerated.
NorwastheVictorian
ethosregarded
as especiallyoppressive
bythe
of its nineteenth-century
greatmajority
middle-classadherents.
Rather,in the
oftheirexperience
context
itwasbothcomforting
anddistinctly
uplifting-asetof
valuesthatoffered
moralcertainty,
spiritual
balm,and thehopethatcivilization
mightat lastriditselfofthebarbaricbaggageremaining
fromhumankind's
dark,
preindustrial
past.7
Nevertheless,
bytheendof thecentury
variousindividuals
in Europeand the
UnitedStateswerebeginning
tochafeundertheburden
ofVictorian
and
repression
to challengetheirinherited
culturein different
ways.A beliefdevelopedthat
modernbourgeoisexistence
hadbecomeperilously
artificial
and"over-civilized,"
and thatthe degreeof self-control
thatVictorianmoralityrequiredof each
individual
was stultifying
thepersonality.
"Manyyearnedto smashtheglassand
breathefreely,"writesT. J.JacksonLears,"to experience'real life'in all its
In mostinstances,
theseearlyrebelsshouldbe seenas postintensity."
though,
Victorians
ratherthanincipient
fortheydid notat bottomdesireto
Modernists,
overthrow
butrather
totemperoramenditinways
nineteenth-century
moralism,
thatwouldmakeitmorebearable.Lears skillfully
documents
thevariousexotic
devicestheyresorted
to in theirfutileattempts
to breakwiththeirconventional
existence
andregaincontactwith"reality."
But,as he also shows,identifying
with
medievalknights
ortakingupOrientalreligion
werenomorethansafesubstitutes
foractualliberation
and couldnotresolvetheculturalcrisisthesepeoplewere
caughtup in. The overwhelming
of post-Victorians
majority
wereaccordingly
fatedtodwellina kindofno-man'sland."Wandering
betweentwoworlds,"
Lears
thesevictims
ofcultural
reports,
transition
typically
"remained
outsiders
inboth."8
Thefirst
truesignsofModernism
appearedinEuropeduring
thelatter
halfofthe
nineteenth
intheformofa succession
ofsmallmovements,
eachmakingits
century
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American
Modernism
11
tothenewculture
uniquecontribution
thatwasgradually
comingintobeing.Most
conspicuous
attheoutsetweretheFrenchSymbolist
poets,beginning
withCharles
Baudelaireinthe185Os,whooverturned
thetraditional
mimetic
conventions
ofart
bywriting
as muchaboutwhatwas transpiring
withintheirownmindsas about
eventsorobjectsinthe"real"world."Paintnotthething,
buttheeffect
itproduces,"
ranStephaneMallarm&'sdictum.To thatend,Symbolist
verseemployedhighly
allusivelanguage and imagerythatdescribedthe subjectof the poem only
indirectly,
butconveyedas fullyas possiblethepoet'semotionalresponseto that
subject.The Symbolists
weresoonjoinedbytheImpressionist
painters,
who in
similarfashiondevaluedtheostensiblesubjectmatterandresolvedto captureon
canvastheirown subjectivereactions.Bothmovements,
in otherwords,moved
andseemingly
beyondthestable,rational,
objectiveworlddecreedbynineteenthcenturypositivismin orderto explorethe far murkierand less predictable
ofhumanperception
andconsciousness.
In Symbolism,
operations
Impressionism,
andotheralliedmovements,
oneseesemerging
oneoftheforemost
then,
tendencies
ofModernism-the
desiretoheighten,
savorandshareall varieties
ofexperience.
Atthesametimedevelopments
takingplaceinmoreorganizedfieldsofthought
wereproviding
a philosophical
underpinning
forthisurgeto seekoutexperience.
Writersas diverseas HenriBergson,Friedrich
Nietzsche,and WilliamJames
agreedin rejectingthe prevailingtheorythatdividedthe mindintoseparate
or "faculties,"
compartments
andin depicting
experience
as a continuous
fluxof
sensationsand recollections-whatJameswould term"the streamof consciousness."Thatrawsensory
flux,theyconcurred,
was as closeas humanbeings
couldcometoknowing
Abstract
reality.
concepts,
alongwithalltheotherproducts
of rationality
thattheVictorians
had gloriedin as thehighestachievements
of
wereseenas inherently
and
civilization,
because
faulty misleading
precisely
they
represented
anattempt
flowandremoveknowledge
from
its
tostoptheexperiential
A perception
inan abstraction
properdynamiccontext.
was as lifeless
imprisoned
andimperfect
a modelofreality
as a butterfly
box.AsJames
impaledina specimen
insisted:
"Whenweconceptualize
wecutandfix,andexcludeanything
butwhatwe
have fixed,whereasin the real concretesensibleflux of life experiences
each other."To be sure,mostof theseearlyModernist
thinkers
compenetrate
regardedrationalconcepts,
that
especiallythetruths
of science,as usefulfictions
helpedtogettheworld'sworkdone,so longas thoseconceptswerenotconfused
withpermanent
truths.
Yetthemainthrust
oftheirwritings
involved
theobligation
toloosenformal
andrational
one's
restraints,
expand
consciousness,
openoneselfto
theworld,and perfectone's abilityto experienceexperience-exactly
whatthe
Victorians
had mostfeared.1I
Further
momentum
forthisculturalsea-changecamefromnewfindings
inthe
physicalsciences."In thetwentyyearsbetween1895 and 1915," notesAlan
Bullock,"thewholepicture
ofthephysicaluniverse,
whichhadappearednotonly
themostimpressive
butalsothemostsecureachievement
ofscientific
thought,
was
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12
AmericanQuarterly
brought
intoquestion."Thecertainties
ofNewtonian
andtheEuclidian
mechanics,
geometry
on whichitwas based,gave wayto a newphysicsin whicheverything
dependedon therelativepositionandmotionoftheobserver
andtheobjectbeing
observed.Non-Euclidian
versionsof geometry
abounded,all equallyverifiable,
untilHenriPoincar6wasledtosuggestin 1902that"onegeometry
cannotbe more
truethananother;
itcan onlybe moreconvenient."
Radicaltheoretical
shifts
that
servedtodemolish
a hostoffamiliar
anddistinct
conceptsweretakingplaceatboth
thecosmicandmicroscopic
levels:space,farfrombeinga void,was nowseenas
filledbyfieldsofenergy,
whiletheatom,farfrombeingsolid,wasitselfmadeupof
tinyparticlesthatorbitedeach otherat a distance.The discoveryof radium,
thatseemingly
solidmattercouldturnintoenergy,
demonstrating
was shocking
butitwas soonfollowed
enough,
byAlbertEinstein's
proofearlyinthecentury
that
space andtimecouldno longerbyconstrued
as separateanddistinct
but
entities,
mustbe placedona continuum.
Clearly,thenewsciencehadlittleusefortherigid,
dichotomous
thattheVictorians
hadreliedupontoorganizetheirworld;
categories
itwas as enamoredofdynamicprocessandrelativism
as thenewphilosophy
and
art.II
By the early twentieth
centurythe profusionof artisticand intellectual
movementswas striking,
especiallyin Paris, whichwas fast becomingthe
centerof Modernistactivity.
Most important
international
duringthefirsttwo
werePost-Impressionism,
decadesofthecentury
and
Cubism,Imagism,
Vorticism,
theItalianvariant,
tobe followedafterthewarbyExpressionism
Futurism,
(mainly
based in theGermaniccountries),
and RussianConstrucDadaism,Surrealism,
tivism-andeventually
and Structuralism.
Modernist
by Existentialism
masters
came to dominatein all the arts,fromPicasso,Cezanne,Braque,and Klee in
toJoyce,
painting,
Pound,Eliot,andMalrauxinliterature,
andWebern
Stravinsky
in music,alongwithMies vanderRoheand FrankLloydWright
in architecture.
thenewtheories
Moreover,
andvaluesbeingfashioned
elitewere
bytheintellectual
atthelevelofpopularattitudes
increasingly
paralleledbysimilar
developments
and
intherampantconsumerism
behavior,
becomingunmistakable
andyouthculture
ofthe1920s. Inbothcasesthemotorsourcewasthesame:a response
tothecultural
malaisebrought
aboutbylateVictorian
repression.
Whatall thesevariousmanifestations
of Modernismhad in commonwas a
passionnotonlyforopeningtheselftonewlevelsofexperience,
butalso forfusing
together
ofthatexperience
disparateelements
intonewandoriginal"wholes,"to
thepointwhereone can speakof an "integrative
mode"as thebasisofthenew
culture.
thequintessential
Putsimply,
aimofModernists
hasbeentoreconnect
all
thattheVictorianmoraldichotomy
toreasunder-to integrate
once morethe
humanandtheanimal,thecivilizedandsavage,andtohealthesharpdivisions
that
thenineteenth
hadestablished
inareassuchas class,race,andgender.Only
century
inthisway,theyhavebelieved,woulditbe possibletocombatthefundamentally
dishonestconceptionof existencethattheVictorianshad propagated,
freethe
naturalhumaninstincts
andemotionsthatthenineteenth
had
bottled
century
up,
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American
Modernism
13
tomodemlife.InthebluntwordsofWilliamCarlosWilliams:
vitality
andsorestore
that,deniesthat,heis livinga biglie,andsoon
"Manis an animal,andifheforgets
lessthan
Modernists
wereintent
on nothing
enoughotherliesgetgoing."In short,
had triedto banish.'2
an entireaspectofbeingthattheirpredecessors
recovering
to bring
haveattempted
Againand again,fromartto socialpolicy,Modernists
triedtokeepseparate.Farfrombeing"the
thatwhichtheprevious
culture
together
of theirrational,"
and JamesMcFarlane
MalcolmBradbury
mererehabilitation
thecoalescence,
involves"theinterpretation,
thereconciliation,
Modernism
write,
the fusion-of reason and unreason,intellectand emotion,subjectiveand
of the
threestagesin thedevelopment
objective."McFarlanein factidentifies
culture:
a firststageofearlyrebellion(in otherwords,thebohemianstagethatis
oftenmistakenforthe cultureas a whole)duringwhich"theemphasisis on
of those
disintegration
on thebreakingup and the progressive
fragmentation,
'systems'
and'types'and'absolutes"'thattheVictorians
meticulously
constructed
of parts,a
had assiduouslycreated;a secondstagemarkedby "a re-structuring
by
concepts";anda final,maturestagecharacterized
re-relating
ofthefragmented
ofthings
heldtobe forever
a blending,
a merging
mutually
previously
"a dissolving,
modeisnotso
"thedefining
thingintheModernist
exclusive."Thus,heconcludes,
the trueend resultof
muchthatthingsfall apartbut thattheyfall together";
13
"is notdisintegration
but(as itwere)superintegration."
Modernism
Cubism,a
modewascertainly
ofthisintegrative
Themostgraphicmanifestation
by
soughtto revitalizetheexperienceof perception
movement
thatdeliberately
artistic
conventions
thathad stoodsincetheRenaissance.Sincethere
challenging
all
ortruth,
Picassoandhiscolleaguesmaintained,
wasnosuchthingas fixedreality
task
relationtoeachother.Thepainter's
objectswouldhavetobe seeninshifting
partsandhavethosepartscontinuously
intocomponent
wasthustobreakupforms
notso mucha senseoffragmentation
as ofwholeness.
Sharp
overlap,conveying
weretobleedfrom
colorsandtextures
outlineswerealwaystobe avoided;rather,
toenhancethesense
withsubduedcolorsusuallyemployed
oneobjectintoanother,
of a formwereto be
of unity.Wheneverpossible,boththeinterior
and exterior
renderedalongsideeach other;likewise,thebackground
was to have thesame
and thetwowereto
value and prominence
as themainsubjectof thepainting,
Finally,in Cubistcollage"found"objectsfromthe"real" world,
interpenetrate.
wereto be incorporated
intothe
suchas scrapsofmetalor piecesofnewspaper,
worktojuxtaposethespheresofaesthetic
creation
life,emphasizing
andeveryday
how thepaintingwas botha collectionof pleasingshapesand colorson a flat
In thismanner,
aboutperceivedreality.
as
surfaceand simultaneously
a statement
assaulton the
EugeneLunntellsus, the Cubistsmountedtheir"revolutionary
of objects,whichare takenapart,broughtintocollision,and
seemingstability
bywhich
onthepicturesurface"intoa seriesof"contingent
syntheses
reassembled
14
andperception
humanactivity
remaketheworld."
of
driveforintegration
This ever-present
explainsso muchaboutthehistory
of
Modernism.It allows one to make sense,forexample,of the predilection
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14
AmericanQuarterly
and writers
forsuchdevicesas paradox(whichjoins
twentieth-century
thinkers
suchas
ofcontradictory
emotions,
(thefusing
seemingopposites)andambivalence
observations
concepts
and
empirical
toplace
loveandhate),andfortheirtendency
Italso
thanintightly
demarcated
categories.
orspectrum
rather
alonga continuum
withitsjuxtaposition
ofevents
montage,
helpsaccountforthepracticeofcinematic
theattempt
tobreakdownboundaries
betweenstageandaudience
andexperiences;
harmoniesand
theater;theresortto multipleoverlapping
in twentieth-century
incontemporary
music,especiallyjazz(whichalsoblendstheprimitivism
rhythms
andtheconcernformaximizing
ofitsAfrican
originswithmodemsophistication);
mostfully
achievedinJoyce's
inliterature-perhaps
thesimultaneity
ofexperience
dividers
a novelstructured,
as StephenKernpointsout,so that"traditional
Ulysses,
of sequenceand distancecollapseintoa unifiedwholewhichthereadermust
envisionafterseveralreadings."In therealmofsocialaction,itwas thisstresson
forthe
culturalpreconditions
thatcreatedthenecessary
breakingdownbarriers
twentieth
concertedcampaignsto eliminatea "separatesphere"for
century's
dichotomizing,
ofVictorian
thatmostnoxiousby-product
women,
andtooverthrow
racialsegregation.'5
hasbeentheModernist
reconstruction
all theseefforts
atintegration
Underlying
of humannature.If theVictorianssoughtto place a firmbarrierbetweenthe
and those
and spirituality,
suchas rationalthought
"higher"mentalfunctions,
"lower" instincts
and passionsthatFreudwouldin timeascribeto the "id,"
strove
tounitethesetwolevelsofthepsyche.ThuswheretheVictorians
Modernists
thata
to be theirmostprizedcharacter
trait,withitsinjunction
held"sincerity"
havedemanded
Modernists
person'sconsciousselfremainhonestandconsistent,
whichrequiresa blendingoftheconsciousand
nothing
less than"authenticity,"
totheworldis the"true"
strataofthemindso thattheselfpresented
unconscious
a far"morestrenuous"
selfin everyrespect.
observes,
represents
This,as Trilling
thesortofintense
andnecessitates
thandidthecodeofsincerity,
precisely
standard
to stream-ofthattheVictorians
soughttoavoid.Hencetheresort
self-knowledge
consciousnesstechniquein Modernistnovelsin orderto capturewhatD. H.
self"as opposedto"theoldstableego"of
Lawrencecalledthe"real,vital,potential
'6
character.
nineteenth-century
theculture,
forwith
Yetitisjustatthispointthata massiveparadoxariseswithin
theuniverse
characterized
byincessant
flux,andhumanbeingsunabletoknowits
thegoalofperfect
must
withanything
integration
certainty,
approaching
workings
the
at leastwithinthenaturalworld.Thus,although
alwaysremainunattainable,
heorshemustalsobe awarethatthey
Modernist
seeksintegration
andauthenticity,
willneverfullyarrive.
forthat
Norwouldcompleteintegration
reallybe desirable,
ofourcontemporary
wouldmeanstasis.The coalescingofthevariedfragments
butmustconstantly
be sought.The sole
existencecan neverbe consummated,
intellectual
systemssuchas
exceptionsto thisruleare foundin self-contained
orinimaginary
affirmed,
mathematics,
languageorlogic,as thelogicalpositivists
practicetypically
settings
conjuredup forthepurposesofart(thoughModernist
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American
Modernism
15
ofthissortbe clearlyidentified
demandsthatartifice
as such).Otherwise,
all that
as continuous
to natureandlifemustbe construed
pertains
dynamically,
process;
comeswithdeath.
theonlylastingclosure,inModernist
terms,
Herelies thereasonwhypersonalidentity
has oftenbecomeproblematic
and
forthoselivinginthetwentieth
The Victorian
tension-ridden
century.
expectation
thata personbe consistent
andsincererestedontheassumption
thatcharacter
was
definedlargelyby social role,whichin turnwas normallyfixedby heredity,
inhis
oncean individual
upbringing,
andvocation.Accordingly,
matured,
anyshift
theModernists,
orhercharacter
wasviewedwithsuspicion.
as Ronald
Bycontrast,
Bushputsit,viewhumannature"in a stateofcontinuous
the
becoming."Neither
theself,Bushexplains,can achieve
self,noranyworkofartdesignedto portray
orclosure";suchclosurewouldautomatically
"completeness
violatethecriterion
As a result,
of authenticity.
one mustconstantly
createand re-createan identity
intheworld.Difficult
baseduponone'songoingexperience
thiseffort
though
may
be at times,nothing
lesswillmeettheModernist
standard.17
Finally,thisparadoxicalquestforandavoidanceofintegration
accountsforthe
a
Modernist
culture.
becausetheyrepresent
specialroleoftheartswithin
Precisely
realmwherethatquest can be pursuedwithrelativesafetythroughsurrogate
in new
experience,
theartshave becomea mediumforradicalexperimentation
waysofamplifying
perception,
organizing
thepsyche,andextending
culture.
As
Susan Sontagpointsout,artin thiscentury"has come to be investedwithan
stature"
becauseofitsmissionof"makingforays
intoandtakingup
unprecedented
on thefrontiers
ofconsciousness
positions
(oftenverydangerous
to theartistas a
person)andreporting
backwhat'sthere."Artis aidedinthistaskbyitsreadyaccess
tothedevicesofsymbolism,
andmyth,
Bruner's
metaphor,
all ofwhich,inJerome
words,serveto connect"thingsthatwerepreviously
separatein experience"
and
thatcannotbe joined throughlogic. Artin thisway "bridgesrationality
and
impulse"by fusingtogethermetaphorically
the objectiveand subjective,the
andtheintrospective-breaking
beliefsandrejoining
empirical
apartconventional
theresulting
in a mannerthatcreatesrelationships
and meaningsnot
fragments
Inshort,
before.
wheretheVictorians
sawartas didacticinpurpose-asa
suspected
vehicleforcommunicating
andillustrating
preordained
moraltruths-toModernists
ithas becometheprincipal
meansofcreatingwhatever
provisional
orderhuman
beingscan attain.18
ThustheModernist
world-view
hastakenshape.Itbeginswiththepremiseofan
universe
wherenothing
human
unpredictable
iseverstable,andwhereaccordingly
beingsmustbe satisfied
withknowledge
thatispartialandtransient
atbest.Norisit
to devisea fixedand absolutesystem
ofmorality;
moral
possiblein thissituation
values mustremainin flux,adaptingcontinuously
to changinghistoricalcircumstances.
To createthosevaluesand garnerwhatever
knowledgeis available,
individualsmustrepeatedlysubjectthemselves-bothdirectly,
and vicariously
art-to thetrialsofexperience.
Aboveall theymustnotattempt
toshield
through
behindillusionsor gentility,
themselves
as so manydid duringthe nineteenth
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16
American Quarterly
Modernist
world-view
has,especiallyat
century.
To be sure,withpassingtimethe,
towardcorruption
and
thesametendencies
thehandsofthemassmedia,undergone
Butinitsidealformat
cultures.
routinization
thathavebesetothermajorhistorical
innocenceand
least,Modernism-instarkcontrastto Victorianism-eschews
no matter
how
demandsinsteadto know"reality"inall itsdepthandcomplexity,
It
howpainful.
might
be,andnomatter
incomplete
andparadoxicalthatknowledge
a demanding,
andattimesevenheroic,
visionoflifethatmostofitsadherents
offers
by
mayinfacthavefallenshortof,butwhichtheyhaveusedtoguidethemselves
nonetheless.
theNew YorkArmory
Althoughit has becomecommonpracticeto identify
as the
painting,
Showof 1913,withitsexhibition
ofCubistandPostimpressionist
on thisside of theAtlantic,
firstshotfiredin thebattleto establishModernism
skirmishes
hadinfactbeenunderway
forseveraldecades.Bythetime
significant
intermediaries
theshowopened,Gertrude
SteinandEzra Pound,thetwoprincipal
betweenthe UnitedStates and European Modernism,were alreadyfirmly
at theirpostsoverseas,Greenwich
up withcultural
Villagewas filling
entrenched
ofthemajorintellectual
infields
andartistic
breakthroughs
rebels,andproponents
suchas physics,
andthesocialscienceshadlong
philosophy,
psychology,
biology,
universities.
Showand
sinceestablished
beachheadsatAmerican
BoththeArmory
vehiclesfor
the openingof AlfredStieglitz'sfamousgallerywere important
withheadquarters
overseas,butinAmericathewarhadlongsince
communication
beenstarted,
andbytheperiodjustbeforetheFirstWorldWaritseffects
couldbe
ofCharles
frommuckraking
totheirreverent
seeneverywhere,
history
journalism
inTheMasses.Therewere
A. Beardtothecallsforpersonalandpoliticalliberation
of coursesome differences
fromEurope-in JohnHigham'sneat formulation,
"Americansrebelledby extendingthe breadthof experience,Europeansby
werethe
valuesanddynamics
oftheculture
itsdepths"-buttheessential
plumbing
RichardHofstadter
sumsup,"... wasthata modern
same."Whatwashappening,"
intheUnitedStates.Modernism,
inthought
as
criticalintelligentsia
was emerging
in art,was dawningupontheAmericanmind."19
thenewcultureto this
Surelythetwokeyfiguresin theprocessof importing
rootswereWilliamJamesandJohnDewey.James,
andgivingitAmerican
country
withthelatestEuropeanthought
as anyAmericanofhisday,was
as conversant
thathumanbeingsexistedon
wonoverearlyinhiscareertotheDarwinianpremise
a continuum
withotheranimals,andthatthehumanbrainwasnomoreorlessthan
theenvironment
thoseperceptions
useful
a biologicalorgandesignedtoselectfrom
forsurvival.
ForJamesthatmeantthattheVictorian
separating
practiceofradically
onesmadeno sense.
the"higher"rationalfacultiesfromthe"lower"instinctual
"Pretend
whatwe
themindmustbe conceivedofas functionally
integrated:
Rather,
usis atworkwhenweformourphilosophical
opinions.
may,thewholemanwithin
justas theydo inpracticalaffairs...."
Intellect,
will,taste,andpassionco-operate
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American
Modernism
17
Once themind,guidedbyitspassions,had chosenwhichperceptions
to bringto
itmightproceedtoformulate
consciousness,
abstract
conceptsbasedon them,but
indoingso,Jamesinsisted,
itnecessarily
introduced
further
distortions.
The initial
rawsensoryexperience,
he believed,was theclosestwe couldcometo knowing
reality;
each application
oftheintellect,
howevervaluableitmight
be forpractical
tookus further
fromthe"truth."20
purposes,
For thisreason,Jamesconcluded,humanbeingswere doomed foreverto
To thegreatmajority
epistemological
uncertainty.
ofhiscontemporaries
thiswasa
horriblerevelation,
butto Jamesit was infinitely
exciting,
preciselybecause it
in
banishedthe closed,deterministic
universeof nineteenth-century
positivism
favorofan "open"universe
governedbychangeandchancewheretheprocessof
discoverywould be continuous.
Embracingpluralismas a positivegood, and
groundinghis own systemof thoughton the experientialbasis of "radical
Jamesbecamethefirst
empiricism,"
important
American
Modernist
intellectual.21
Dewey,althoughheavilyinfluenced
byJames,was a moresystematic
thinker
andscience.More
inclinedtogivegreaterrecognition
tothevirtues
ofrationality
explicitly,
the centralpurposeof all of Dewey's thoughtwas eradicatingthe
betweenintellect
andexperience,
dichotomy
andaction,thatheandJames
thought
had inherited.Sensoryperceptions,
he contended,must be filteredthrough
intelligence
to becomemeaningful,
whileat thesame timescientific
theorizing
mustalwaysbe controlled
bytestingin therealworld.One mightevensay that
Dewey,in keepingwiththe"integrative
mode"ofModernist
culture,
devotedhis
careerto combatingdualismsof all kinds-including
thosedividingmindfrom
body,sciencefromart,thecityfromthecountryside,
andtheelitefrom
thecommon
finalclosure.Everywhere
onelooksinhis
people-all thewhile,ofcourse,resisting
onefindsthissensibility
ofhowthebasictask
writings
atwork,as inhisdiscussion
of both art and science is to blend elementsof perceptioninto integrated
in sucha waythattheprocesscan "recur"indefinitely:
"relationships"
A well-conducted
scientific
discovers
as ittests,andprovesas itexplores;
itdoesso in
inquiry
virtue
ofa method
Andconversation,
whichcombinesbothfunctions.
drama,[the]novel,and
ifthereisanordered
architectural
construction,
experience,
reacha stagethatatoncerecords
andsumsup thevalueofwhatprecedes,
andevokesandprophesies
whatis tocome.Every
andeveryawakening
closureis an awakening,
settlessomething.
One canlikewiseseetheModernist
ethosatworkinDewey'splanfor"progressive
withitseffort
education,"
toconnecttheclassroomwith"reallife"experience,
its
pluralisticstresson breakingdown social barriersby encouraging
interaction
fromdiverseclassandethnicbackgrounds,
amongstudents
anditsimperative
that
teachersnotdeliverfixedtruths,
butrather
attheearliestage
impress
uponchildren
thetentative,
pragmatic
character
ofknowledge.22
Indeed,one mightrightfully
speakoftwopredominant
"streams"ofAmerican
fromJamesandDewey.TheJamesian
Modernist
culture,
proceeding
respectively
streamcentersitsinterest
on theindividual
celebrates
consciousness,
spontaneity,
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18
AmericanQuarterly
and flows
and theprobingof new realmsof personalexperience,
authenticity,
TheDeweyanstream,
bycontrast,
tendsto
theartsandhumanities.
mainlythrough
focus on societyas a whole,emphasizesthe eliminationof social barriers
reason
andtriestoweldtogether
ethnic,
racial,andgender),
economic,
(geographic,
socialaims.Witheachpassingdecade
andemotionintheserviceofprogrammatic
ultimately
diverged,
thesetwostreamshaveincreasingly
century
ofthetwentieth
butthatfact
internal
tensionwithinAmericanModernism,
creatingan important
atthe
particularly
shouldnotbe allowedtoobscuretheirmanycloseresemblances,
while
scientist,
James,afterall, consideredhimselfa professional
beginning.
ontheindividual
anddesigned
wasalwayscentered
Dewey'seducationalprogram
the
have reflected
Bothstrains,
moreover,
to tap thechild'snaturalspontaneity.
with
and
empiricism
ofAmericanModernists pragmatic
preoccupation
frequent
of Modernists
in war-ravaged
as opposedto thetendency
democratic
pluralism,
cultoftheirrational.
anda concomitant
experience
Europetofocusonapocalyptic
Era,as HenryMayhas shown,thecultural
BythelatterpartoftheProgressive
inAmericawas spreading
thatJamesandDeweyhadhelpedtoinitiate
revolution
codesofgentility
weresetting
asideVictorian
Muckraking
journalists
everywhere.
at thehighestlevelsof Americanlife,namingspecific
and exposingcorruption
Veblenwere
Scholarslike CharlesBeardand Thorstein
nameswhennecessary.
to shedtheir
determined
takinga newcriticallookat theirsocietyanditshistory,
howsordiditmight
nomatter
innocence
andferret
out"reality"
nineteenth-century
theearthy
ofimmigrant
vitality
likeJaneAddamswerepraising
be.Socialworkers
be blendedwithratherthan
thatsuchOld Worldheritages
cultures
and insisting
overwhelmedby the dominantnationalculture.In New York, the Young
includingMax Eastman,JohnReed,FloydDell, MargaretSanger,
Intellectuals,
weremeeting
at Mabel
EugeneO'Neill,RandolphBourneandWalterLippmann,
andcalling
authors
thelatestEuropeanModernist
DodgeLuhan'ssalon,discussing
intheirowncountry.
Atthesame
andpoliticalliberation
noisilyforsexual,artistic,
architecture
along
time Frank Lloyd Wrightwas busy reshapingAmerican
and facades,employing
Modernistlines,stripping
away "false"ornamentation
wood,glass,and stone,and usingan
"authentic"materialssuch as untreated
betweeninterior
and
abundanceofwindowsanddoorsto erasethedemarcation
onehistorian
first
notes,"was toreducethenumber
exterior.
objective,"
"Wright's
air,andvistaspermeated
spaceso thatlight,
of... separatepartsandmakea unified
in qualityas theywerepopularized,
thewhole."His designs,thoughattenuated
World
forthemasssuburban
housingboomfollowing
suppliedthebasicpatterns
in
the
secondhalfofthe
thata majority
ofmiddle-class
Americans
WarII,ensuring
homes.23
wouldlivein Modernist-styled
century
inAmericacouldbe
ofthenewculture
Yetperhapsthemostinfluential
stirrings
FranzBoas andtheextraordinary
groupof
foundintheworkoftheanthropologist
In The Mind of Primitive
Man,
discipleshe trainedat ColumbiaUniversity.
publishedin 1911, Boas took directaim at the bedrockVictoriandichotomy
thatso-calledsavagepeopleswere
betweencivilization
contending
andsavagery,
of
and theinhibition
aestheticdiscrimination,
fullycapableoflogic,abstraction,
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American
Modernism
19
taboos,and
anynumber
ofcustoms,
biologicalimpulses,
whileEuropeanspracticed
as
For Boas such attributes
ritualsthatcould onlybe construedas irrational.
ofcultural
perspective,
andtherewas
"human"or"animalistic"
wereall a matter
over
no scientificreason forgrantingthe Europeanperspectivesuperiority
criterion
fornormativejudgment
wastheDarwinian
another-theonlypermissible
one of how successfully
a culturealloweda particularsocietyto adapt to its
and
theranksofsocialscientists
first
within
environment.
Theseinsights,
spreading
thenthrough
thegeneralpopulation,
wouldin timetransform
Americanattitudes
thereigning
stereotype
ofblackpeople,whomthe
concerning
racebyundermining
awaythe
oldmoraldichotomy
hadconsigned
to"savagery."Indeed,byknocking
culturaland scientific
propsof racismand replacingthemwitha new cultural
this attitudinal
change in turn
modalitythatfavoredpluralisticintegration,
to secure
uponwhichthevariousmovements
providedtheessentialfoundation
black rightswereable to build.As MarshallHyattconcludes,"Boas's critical
whichAmerica
a newwayofthinking,
without
contribution
... layinproviding
thelongroadfromPlessyv.Ferguson
toBrownv.Boardof
couldnothavetraveled
Education."24
invadedpopular
sensibility
Finally,one shouldtakenoteofhowtheModernist
cultureduringthe ProgressiveEra. That processis clearlyvisiblein Lewis
whichchartsthewaymembers
ofthe
Erenberg's
studyofNewYorkCitynightlife,
throwing
malaisebygradually
moreprosperous
classesovercamepost-Victorian
of gentilityand seeking out more sensuousformsof
aside the restraints
In thenineteenth-century,
heobserves,
each"sex,class,andrace...
entertainment.
divided,
was expectedto occupyitsexclusivesphere.Publiclifewas increasingly
fromthevaluesofpubliclife."Butthe
andtheprivaterealmofthehomediverged
becauseit
ofthenewnightlife,
was notableprecisely
cabaret,thefocalinstitution
"relaxedboundariesbetweenthe sexes, betweenaudiencesand performers,
betweenblack cultureand whites."For
betweenethnicgroupsand Protestants,
between
the
entertainer
andhisaudience"fellwith
traditional
"barriers
example,
evenwentout
theelimination
oftheraisedstage,curtain,
andfootlights;
performers
into the audience duringtheiracts. Moreover,the majorityof the leading
thatfelloutside
camefromimmigrant
entertainers
and songwriters
backgrounds
theorbitofVictorianrespectability
and hencewerevaluedin largemeasurefor
of
andexperiences
theirabilitytoputwell-to-do
patronsintouchwiththevitality
the1920s when
lower-class
life-an attribute
thatbecameevenmoreprizedduring
to
inHarleminsearchofblackperformers
went"slumming"
thought
cabaret-goers
To be sure,patrons
be especially"natural,uncivilized,[and] uninhibited."
ofsumptuous
demandedan atmosphere
eleganceto providea senseoforderand
ofthis
be
Butthebasicthrust
that
would
not
declassedthemselves.
guarantee they
toerase
theeffort
popularcultureremained
newlycreatedandrapidlyexpanding
someof
theVictorian
linebetweenhumanandanimalandthus"toliberate
dividing
that
been
contained
therepressed
the
had
wilderelements, morenaturalelements,
bygentility."25
inpublicsensibility
was
evidenceofthistransformation
The mostunmistakable
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20
AmericanQuarterly
surelythe dancingcraze that swept the nationbetween 1912 and 1916,
theyouthrebellionofthe1920s.Victorian-era
foreshadowing
dancessuchas the
waltz,Erenbergobserves,had emphasized"control,regularity
and patterned
movement,"
alongwith"a lookbutdo nottouchapproachtoone'spartner."
The
scoresof dancesintroduced
after1912, mostof whichhad originated
in black
featured
culture,
"heightened
bodilyexpression"
andfarmore"intimacy"
between
The verynamesofthedances-bunnyhug,monkeyglide,grizzlybear,
partners.
and lame duck-suggesteda delectablesurrender
to animality
and "rebellion
againsttheoldersexualmores."Mostnotorious
was theshimmy,
"a blacktorsoshakingdance"thatbecametheragejustafterthewar.It was accompaniedbya
newformof musiccalledjazz, also of black origins,
whichfeatured
stillwilder
rhythms,
frequent
and recurrent
improvisation,
attempts
byearlybandsto make
theirinstruments
"duplicateanimal sounds."Moral reformers,
and
ministers,
membersof the oldergenerationwerepredictably
aghastat thisoutbreakof
impulse."Jazzand moderndancing"in theireyes,writesPaula Fass,seemedto
herald"thecollapseofcivilizedlife."It is clearinretrospect
that,viewedfroma
Victorianperspective,
such forebodings
were not without
forthe
justification,
behaviorof middle-class
youthduringthe 1920s demonstrated
just how widely
Modernistvalues had spreadwithinthe nationand how quicklytheywere
dominance.26
approaching
To tracethecourseofModernist
inAmericainfulldetailwouldrequire
culture
farmorespace thanis availablehere.Sucha narrative
wouldnecessarily
include
1920s novelistslike Fitzgerald,Hemingway,
Dos Passos, and Faulkner,who
chronicled
thedisintegration
of modernsocietyand culture,
butwhoseprimary
was somehow"tomaketheworldre-cohere."
concern,
Bradbury
rightly
observes,
Itwouldalsoencompassthedocumentary-style
writers
ofthe1930swhosoughtto
intheconsciousness
immerse
themselves
ofsociallymarginal
groupslikesouthern
JamesAgeeandWalkerEvans,intheirLetUsNow
sharecroppers-most
notably
PraiseFamousMen,withitsimpassioned
effort
topareawaytheseparation
between
theauthors'consciousness
andthatoftheirimpoverished,
illiterate
subjects(along
withAgee's pained realizationof the impossibility
of breakingdown those
Otherillustrations
barriers).
ofthematureAmericanModernist
sensibility
would
runthegamutofcultural
andintellectual
fromtheinterwar
activity
periodonward,
includingthe"humanist
existentialism"
of postwarliterature,
theneo-orthodox
theologyof ReinholdNiebuhrand Paul Tillich,thepluralismof social scienceoriented
suchas RichardHofstadter
writers
andDanielBell,thepragmatic
social
reform
initiatives
oftheNew Deal andGreatSociety,the"International
Style"in
urbanarchitecture,
and theriseof modernadvertising,
where,as BruceRobbins
putsit,the "techniquesof the modernist
classicshave been incorporated
into
modernist
commercials."
Finally,a completeaccountofthenewculture's
fortunes
inAmericacouldnotleaveoutthevariouscountervailing
movements
thataroseto
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Modernism
American
21
Ku KluxKlan
liketheFundamentalists,
values,either
seeking,
Modernist
challenge
somenew
ortoproffer
certainties,
torestore
nineteenth-century
and"NewRight,"
orthodoxMarxismand the
formof absolutismin the mannerof scientism,
accompanying
fromthetensions
ortoproviderefuge
ofB. F. Skinner,
behaviorism
of
process,as havesomevarieties
Modernism
anemphasisonbureaucratic
through
culture.27
corporate
momentforAmericanModernism-and
It wouldappearthattheculminating
ofthe
ofitsend-came in the1960s.The celebration
perhapsalso thebeginning
the
andauthenticity,
ofhumannature,
thequestforspontaneity
animalcomponent
thebreaking
downofsocialandcultural
desiretorazeall dualismsanddistinctions,
and
to expandconsciousness
thequestfor"wholeness,"and theeffort
barriers,
realization.A new
discovernewmodesofexperience-allweregivenheightened
whentheywerein
spokenofas a "counterculture"
ofrebels,ironically
generation
embraceof
factridingthecrestof a culturaltidalwave,carriedtheModernist
conclusionbyletting
inevitable
to itsseemingly
and primitivism
naturalinstinct
thelast
drugs,overthrowing
withmind-altering
hairgrowwild,experimenting
vestigesof conventionalsexual mores,and creatingin acid rock a musicof
poundingsensuality.The same forcescould be foundat work among the
intellectualelite, where writerslike Susan Sontag condemneda supposed
oftheintellectat theexpenseofenergyand sensualcapability"in
"hypertrophy
or
at describing
lifeand demandedthatcriticsforegoall attempts
contemporary
enough,"she
art.Contendingthat"our world"is "impoverished
interpreting
insistedthatwe abandon"all duplicatesof it,untilwe again experiencemore
to
groupstookthisphilosophy
performing
whatwe have."Numerous
immediately
lifeand art-mostnotably
bybridging
to achieveauthenticity
heart,endeavoring
the LivingTheater,whoseParadiseNow invitedmembersof the audienceto
what
disrobeon stageandjoin thetroupinsexualhighjinks.Viewedinretrospect,
oncevestedwithdeep
aboutsuchexcessesis thewaymatters
seemsmoststriking
emotion
andcommitment
bythoseengagedintheinitialbattleagainstVictorianism
was
werenowoftenreducedto a pointlessgame.One sensesthatthependulum
muchlikelateVictorianculturein the
to swing,thatModernism,
againstarting
Ifso,thenthe
itself.
tocaricature
andstarting
1890s,was atlastbecomingoverripe
be moreaccurately
thedawnofan Aquarianage,might
1960s,insteadofmarking
ofa fastagingculture.28
viewedas thedeath-rattle
discussion
inreaction
toit,therehasbeenincreasing
Sincethatdecade,andpartly
As onemightexpect,thoseattempting
ofthepossiblearrivalof"postmodernism."
haveoftendisagreedwitheach other,buttheydo
to describethisnewsensibility
the1960s.Ithas
becameunmistakable
during
seemtoconcurthatitspresencefirst
intheform
ofPopandminimalist
art,
tomostaccounts,
manifested
according
itself,
draws on cliches frompopularculture
in an architecture
that intentionally
("learningfromLas Vegas," as RobertVenturiputs it), and in the literary
andJosephHeller,amongothers.
ofTom Wolfe,Donald Barthelme,
productions
Whatthesevarioustendencies
appearto haveincommonis whatRichardWolin
This content downloaded from 147.129.130.129 on Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:05:28 PM
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22
AmericanQuarterly
elite,"a pseudo-populist
calls"thevalorization
ofmassculture"
bytheintellectual
ethoswhichsuggeststhatthegap between(high)artand lifehas beendefinitely
bridged."To putthisinslightly
different
terms,
onemightsaythatthedemocratic
tobreakdownalldivision
betweentheeliteandthepopular
urgewithin
Modernism
thinkers
to dismiss
has at lastovercomethelong-standing
practiceofModernist
The result,Wolinargues,is a
mass cultureon the groundsof inauthenticity.
thatis impatientwith"complexity"
and "wantsinsteadworksof
sensibility
literature. . . as absolute as the sun, as unarguable as orgasm,as delicious as a
lollipop."29
FredricJamesonlikewisespeaksof an "aestheticpopulism"as theessenceof
in
and complainsofa newsuperficiality,
a "waningofcontent,"
postmodernism,
he
which"depthis replacedbysurface,
"Thepostmoderns,"
ormultiple
surfaces."
claims,"haveinfactbeenfascinated
precisely
bythiswhole'degraded'landscape
ofschlockandkitsch,
ofTV seriesandReaders'Digestculture,
ofadvertising
and
have
motels... materials
theynolongersimply'quote,'as a JoyceorMahlermight
intotheirverysubstance."As he sees it,thisnew"cultural
done,butincorporate
dominant"has resolvedtheModernistcrisisof personalidentity
by thesimple
With
ofeliminating
theselfas a subjectofartorintellectual
speculation.
expedient
conflict-just
problems
of
noego,thereis conveniently
noemotion,
notroublesome
"style,"to thepointwhereartbecomeslittlemorethana matterof "codes" and
"pastiche,"a "virtualgrab-bag"of "randomraw materialsand impulses"
the peculiarcommodity
reflecting
fetishism
of "late capitalism."What postin
modernism
seemsto lack, short,
is thecreativetension-therefusalto achieve
closure-thathad characterized
Modernistart and thoughtat theirbest and
providedtheirspecialresonance.30
IfJameson
intheirdescriptions
andWolinarecorrect
ofpostmodernism,
whatits
adventmaysignalis a growing
to
tolerate
the
formidable
demands
made
inability
Modernist
lack
of
and
as
resolution
certainty-just
by
culture,
especiallyitsabiding
in
the
1
890s represented
an effort
toescapenineteenth-century
post-Victorianism
Where Americansonce soughtan antidoteto excessive
moral constraints.
The
repression,
theymaynowbe searching
outa remedy
forexcessiveliberation.
realunderlying
forcebeneathourpresent
maythusbe thedesireto
cultural
activity
finda stablepointofreference,
rockuponwhichtorestourperceptions
somefirm
and values-thoughpreferably
without
givingup thelessonsabouttherelative
himself
natureoftruth
thatModernism
itselfprovided.
ThusweevenfindJameson
attheendofhiscritique
fora newkindofcultural
sextant
callingalmostplaintively
andcompassto fashionwhathe callsan "aestheticofcognitive
mapping."'31
Some, includingJameson,seem to believe that the surestpath to such
regenerative
intellectualcartography
can be foundin Frenchpoststructuralist
One
theory,includingthe workof Derrida,Lacan, Foucault,and Althusser.
andtechniques
may
suspects,
however,
that,usefulas someofitsspecificinsights
in the long run will be viewed more as part of the
be, poststructuralism
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American
Modernism
23
postmodernist
maladythanas a cure.Theprimecharacteristic
ofitsgrandsystems,
as FrederickCrews recentlypointedout,has been "a growingapriorism-a
willingnessto settleissues by theoretical
decree,withouteven a pretenseof
evidentialappeal." In eschewingempiricism
thisway,he continues,
thepoststructuralists
and theirdiscipleshave been proceedingfrom"an unarticulated
feelingthatone at leastdeservesthehavenofan all-explanatory
theory,
a wayof
makingthecrazyworldcohere."Butinthemidstofthecultural
dilemmaposedby
late Modernism
it does notseemlikelythattheworldwillagreeto coherethat
easily;theexpedient
ofintellectual
game-playing,
forall itstemptations,
willnot
solvetheproblem.32
itseemsclearthatthepostmodernist
Moreover,
initiative
todatehastakenplace
withinan essentially
Modernist
framework.
The democratic
urgeto closethegap
betweenthe intellectuals
and the "people," the stipulation(in Pop art and
forexample)thatall artifacts
be clearlyidentified
architecture,
as artificial
and
inauthentic
whileat thesametimebeingseenparadoxically
as authentic
artifacts,
thepoststructuralist
resortto semioticanalysis-theseand otherpostmodernist
traitssurelyrepresentextrapolations
fromthe basic Modernistethos."Postmodernist
anti-artwas inherent
in thelogicof themodernist
aesthetic,"
Gerald
Graffobservesastutelyin supportof his contentionthat a major cultural
"breakthrough"
hasyettooccurinourtime.RobertMartinAdamssimilarly
finds
that"wheremodernism
has simplypushedahead,ithas exaggerated
tendencies
whichwerein it fromtheverybeginning,
by makingsymptomatic
jokes outof
them."Inshort,
as wasthecase earlierwithpost-Victorianism,
itwouldappearthat
thoseattempting
tofreethemselves
frominherited
beliefsandvalueshavethusfar
beenunabletodo so. Long-standing
theold
internal
contradictions
havesurfaced,
butitssuccessoris stillnothere.33
cultureis wobbling,
Wherethenare we headed?Ifthereis a lessontobe gleanedfromthestudyof
Fewpeopleattheturnofthe
theunexpected.
itis thenecessity
ofexpecting
history,
wereable to discerntheshapeof theculturalera theywere
twentieth
century
Thereisnoreason
andthosefewsawthatshapeonlyinitsvaguestoutline.
entering,
willfarebetterthistime.In themeanwhile,
nowthat
tothinkthatprognostication
we aregaininga modicumofcriticaldistancefromit,perhapsthewisestcourseof
of
action would be to occupy ourselveswithimprovingour understanding
as wellas themoregeneralprocessofculturalchangeinAmerica,in
Modernism,
orderto gainas muchperspective
as possibleon ourrecenthistorical
experience.
somewillobjectthat,with
Thatseemsthebestansweravailable,thoughdoubtless
one.
itis indelibly
a Modernist
itsrelativism
and contingency,
NOTES
and James
and Mrs.Brown(London,1924), 4; MalcolmBradbury
'VirginiaWoolf,Mr. Bennett
in Bradbury
and McFarlane,eds.,Modernism,
McFarlane,"The Name and Natureof Modernism,"
Masters
and
1890-1930(New York,1976),20, 28, 34-35;PeterGay,Freud,Jewsand OtherGermans:
This content downloaded from 147.129.130.129 on Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:05:28 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
24
AmericanQuarterly
Victims
in Modernist
Culture(New York, 1978), 21-22; Bruce Robbins,"Modernismin History,
inPower,"inRobertKiely,ed.,Modernism
Modernism
Reconsidered
(Cambridge,
Mass.,1983),231-32,
234-39; Daniel JosephSingal,The War Within:
FromVictorian
to Modernist
Thought
in theSouth,
1919-1945 (ChapelHill,1982),3-4.
20n modernization
see especiallyCyrilE. Black,TheDynamics
theory,
ofModernization.
A Studyin
Comparative
History
(NewYork,1966),7,9-26,46-49;andAlexInkelesandDavidH. Smith,
Becoming
Modern:IndividualChangein Six DevelopingCountries
(Cambridge,Mass., 1974), 15-25; forits
withinthe contextof Americanhistory,
applicability
see RichardD. Brown,Modernization:
The
Transformation
ofAmerican
Life,1600-1865(NewYork,1976),especially
3-22.Thedialectical
linkage
is exploredin PeterBergeret al., The HomelessMind
betweenModernismand modernization
Modernization
and Consciousness
(New York,1973),though
theauthorsuse theterm"demodernizing
inplaceof "Modernism."
consciousness"
See also EugeneLunn,Marxism
andModernism:
AnHistorical
andAdorno
Study
ofLukacs,Brecht,
Benjamin
(Berkeley,
1982),40-42.Foroneamongmanyexamplesof
worksthat badly confuseModernismand modernization,
see RichardWolin,"Modernismvs.
Postmodernism,"
Telos62 (Winter1984-85):9-11.
3Gay,FreudJewsandOtherGermans,
and
22-26;LionelTrilling,
BeyondCulture:
EssaysonLiterature
Learning
(NewYork,1968),xiii,3,30;Irving
Howe,TheDeclineoftheNew(NewYork,1968),3-5,9-10,
21-25; MarkKrupnick,
LionelTrilling
and theFate of CulturalCriticism
(Evanston,1986), 135-36,
143-45;DanielBell,TheCultural
Contradictions
ofCapitalism
(NewYork,1976),46-48.
as a Culture,"American
4DanielWalkerHowe,"AmericanVictorianism
27 (December
Quarterly
1975):508,511-14,521.
E. Houghton,
5Walter
TheVictorian
FrameofMind,1830-1870(NewHaven,1957),14,144-45,420;
JohnS. HallerandRobinM. Haller,ThePhysician
andSexuality
America
inVictorian
(NewYork,1977),
An Interpretation
126-28,109; NancyF. Cott,"Passionlessness:
ofVictorian
SexualIdeology,17901850,"inNancyF. CottandElizabethH. Pleck,eds.,A Heritage
ofHerOwn:TowardaNewSocialHistory
Women
ofAmerican
(NewYork,1979),166-68.
6Houghton,
Victorian
FrameofMind,162,171,144-45;MasaoMiyoshi,
TheDivided
Self:APerspective
on theLiterature
oftheVictorians
(NewYork,1969),xv;RosalindRosenberg,
BeyondSeparateSpheres:
RootsofModernFeminism
Intellectual
(NewYork,1982),xiv.
7Houghton,
Victorian
FrameofMind,266,297-300,356;Matthew
Arnold,
Culture
ed.J.
andAnarchy,
DoverWilson(Cambridge,
Intellectuals
andtheCrisisof
Eng.,1971),11; DonaldH. Meyer,
"American
27 (December1975):601; W. L. Burn,TheAgeofEquipoise:
A Studyofthe
Faith,"American
Quarterly
Mid-Victorian
Generation
(NewYork,1964),41, 106.
8T.J.JacksonLears,No Placeof Grace:Antimodernism
and theTransformation
ofAmerican
Culture,
1880-1920 (New York, 1981), 5-6, 13, 37, 48, 53, 57, 105-06, 166, 174; JohnHigham,"The
Reorientation
of AmericanCulturein the 1890's,"in Higham,Writing
American
History:
Essayson
ModernScholarship
Ind.:1970),78-79,99.
(Bloomington,
and McFarlane,"Name and Natureof Modernism,"
and Modernism,
9Bradbury
31; Lunn,Marxism
42-43,45; StephaneMallarm6,quotedin StephenKern,TheCulture
of Timeand Space, 1880-1918
inBradbury
DecadenceandImpressionism"
(Cambridge,
Mass.,1983), 172; CliveScott,"Symbolism,
andMcFarlane,
andOther
275. Fora detailedaccountofthe
Modernism,
219; Gay,Freud,
Jews,
Germans,
inan American
to Modernism
transition
see Singal,TheWarWithin.
setting,
ofTimeandSpace,204; James,
'lKern,Culture
TheMatrix
quotedinibid.,204;SanfordSchwartz,
of
Modernism.
Century
Thought
(Princeton,
1985),5-6, 12, 17-19.
Pound,Eliot,and EarlyTwentieth
andMcFarlane,
l'AlanBullock,"TheDoubleImage,"inBradbury
Modernism,
66-67;RobertW.Wald,
and Gravity:
TheTheory
Space,Time,
oftheBigBangandBlackHoles(Chicago,1977),10-11;Schwartz,
Matrix
ofModernism,
15-17;HenriPoincar6,
quotedinibid.,16;Kern,Culture
ofTimeandSpace,18-19,
TheSpecialandGeneralTheory
132-36,183-85,153,206;AlbertEinstein,Relativity:
(NewYork,1961),
inJohn
ofPhysics,"
56-57,94-96,141-44;GeorgeGamow,"TheDeclassification
Weiss,ed.,TheOrigins
ofModernConsciousness
(Detroit,1965), 167, 176-77,188.
TheWarWithin,
Modernism
l2Singal,
7-8;PeterFaulkner,
The
(London,1977),19;RichardHofstadter,
Progressive
Historians:
Turner,
Beard,Parrington
(New York,1968), 185; WilliamCarlos Williams,
ofModernist
inKiely,Modernism
quotedinRobertColes,"Instances
Anti-Intellectualism,"
Reconsidered,
217.
and McFarlane,"NameandNatureofModernism,"
'3Bradbury
46, 48-49;JamesMcFarlane,"The
MindofModernism,"
inBradbury
andMcFarlane,
Modernism,
80-81,83-84,92.
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American
Modernism
25
"The CubistNovel:TowardDefininga Genre,"in AnnJ.Abadieand
'4PantheaReid Broughton,
Miss.,1981),
and Yoknapatawpha,
1980 (Jackson,
DoreenFowler,eds.,A CosmosofMyOwn:Faulkner
andMcFarlane,
andReactioninParis,1905-25,"inBradbury
48-52;EricCahm,"Revolt,Conservatism
Modernism,
169; Kern,Cultureof Timeand Space, 143-45, 195, 7, 161-62; Lunn,Marxismand
Modernism,
48-51.
84-85;Kern,Culture
ofTimeandSpace,219-20,199-201,75-79;
15McFarlane,
"MindofModernism,"
35.
Lunn,Marxism
andModernism,
Mass.,1972),6,
andAuthenticity
(Cambridge,
7-8;LionelTrilling,
Sincerity
16Singal,TheWarWithin,
Menand Painted
72; KarenHalttunen,
Confidence
11, 143-47;Gay,Freud,Jewsand OtherGermans,
A StudyofMiddleClassCulture
51-54;
inAmerica,1830-1870(New Haven,1982),xvi-xvii,
Women:
andtheFuture
of
Eliot,Perse,Mallarme,
D. H. Lawrence,
quotedinRonaldBush,"Modern/Postmodern:
inKiely,Modernism
197.
theBarbarians,"
Reconsidered,
Autobiography:
The Role of Oscar Wilde,George
'7Jerome
H. Buckley,"TowardsEarly-Modern
1-3; Bush,"Modern/
Reconsidered,
Moore,EdmundGosse,and HenryAdams,"in Kiely,Modernism
370;
81; Singal,The War Within,
Postmodern,"
214, 196-201; McFarlane,"Mindof Modernism,"
in Erikson,
11; ErikH. Erikson,"The Problemof Ego Identity,"
Trilling,
Sincerity
and Authenticity,
and theLifeCycle(NewYork,1959), 118.
Identity
"MindofModernism,"
50;McFarlane,
andMcFarlane,
"NameandNatureofModernism,"
l8Bradbury
in TheSusanSontagReader(NewYork,1982),
Imagination,"
82-89;SusanSontag,"ThePornographic
Essaysfor theLeftHand (Cambridge,Mass., 1962), 62-63.
212; JeromeS. Bruner,On Knowing:
inhisotherwise
ofdescribing
the"logic"ofthedreamas the
excellent
essay,makestheerror
McFarlane,
of
andwriters
ofModernism.
He notes,forexample,how"a greatmanyoftheartists
guidingsensibility
in
twodecadesofthetwentieth
foundinthedreama "paradigmofthewholeWeltbild
thefirst
century"
and
thebanal and thesublimeforman indissoluble
whichrealityand unreality,
logic and fantasy,
and not
inexplicableunity."But surelythisis an earlyand moreextremeversionof Modernism,
to
ofthemorematureculture.The latterinvolvednotsimplyan attempt
necessarily
a characteristic
tointegrate
themwiththoseofrational
oftheunconscious,
butalsoaneffort
assimilate
thefiery
processes
ofthe"logic"ofModernism
than
a moreaccuraterepresentation
Thatiswhymetaphor
provides
thought.
See McFarlane,"MindofModernism,"
86.
doesdreamwork.
Historians,
184-85.
ofAmerican
Progressive
Culture,"101;Hofstadter,
'9Higham,
"Reorientation
and Other
Essays(New
"TheSentiment
inJames,TheWilltoBelieve
ofRationality,"
20William
James,
2
G. Murphey,
A History
inAmerica,
ofPhilosophy
York,1956),92,65-70;ElizabethFlowerandMurray
vols.(NewYork,1977),2: 643-44,649-50,669.
History
of
A Pluralistic
Universe
(NewYork,1909),318-19;FlowersandMurphey,
21William
James,
Philosophy,
2: 683.
(1900;
22John
(1934; NewYork,1958), 169; idem,TheSchooland Society
Dewey,Artas Experience
ofanysort,
could
animusagainstdichotomies
Chicago,1943),11-14,26-27.Dewey,withhisModernist
thevariouslevelsof education:"We wantto bringall things
evenwax eloquentaboutintegrating
to breakdownthebarriers
thatdividetheeducationof thelittlechildfromthe
educationaltogether;
so thatit shallbe
of thematuring
thelowerand thehighereducation,
instruction
youth;to identify
butsimply
education."
totheeyethatthereis no lowerandhigher,
Ibid.,92.
demonstrated
A Study
oftheFirstYearsofOurOwnTime(NewYork,
F. May,TheEndofAmerican
Innocence.
23Henry
Patterns
theLand.
Strangersin
184;John
Higham,
1959),220,280-84;Hofstadter,ProgressiveHistorians,
ofTimeandSpace,186-87,
1860-1925(NewYork,1963),251, 121;Kern,Culture
ofAmericanNativism,
TheNaturalHouse(NewYork,1954),14-20,38-40,51-54,62-65.Thebest
179;FrankLloydWright,
oftheGreenwich
treatment
is LeslieFishbein,
RebelsinBohemiaTheRadicalsofThe
Villagemovement
Masses,1911-1917(ChapelHill,1982).
24Franz
Man(191 1;NewYork,1965),17,29, 160-61,154,201,205-10;
Boas,TheMindofPrimitive
A History
Jr.,
(NewYork,1984),320-23;GeorgeW. Stocking,
LewisPerry,
Intellectual
LifeinAmerica:
of Anthropology
(New York,1968), 217-22,226,
Essaysin theHistory
Race,Cultureand Evolution.
forBlackEquality:TheDynamicsofEthnicity,"
190-91; MarshallHyatt,
"FranzBoas andtheStruggle
2 (1985): 295,269.
inAmerican
History
Perspectives
ofAmerican
Culture,
and theTransformation
Steppin'Out:New YorkNightlife
25LewisA. Erenberg,
1890-1930(Westport,
113, 125-26,131, 187, 195,255-56,240-41, 154.
Conn.,1981),5,23, xii-xiv,
Youthin
American
andtheBeautiful
26Ibid.,
148,150-51,153-54,249-51;PaulaS. Fass,TheDamned
the1920's(NewYork,1977),301-03,22.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
26
AmericanQuarterly
TheModemAmerican
Novel(NewYork,1983),61-62;JamesAgeeandWalker
27Malcolm
Bradbury,
Evans,LetUs NowPraiseFamousMen(1941; New York,1966),esp. 121,129,376-77;WilliamStott,
and Thirties
America(New York,1973),302, 305-07,310-11;DanielJoseph
Documentary
Expression
American
Historical
and AmericanHistoriography,"
Singal,"BeyondConsensus:RichardHofstadter
Radicalism:
ofIntellectual
Review
89 (October1984):978,996; HowardBrick,DanielBellandtheDecline
andPolitical
Reconciliation
inthe1940s(Madison,1986),20-21,38-39,165,191-92,208;
SocialTheory
inHistory,"
"Modernism
234-35.
Robbins,
History
ofAmerica
inthe1960s(New York,1971),
28William
L. O'Neill,Coming
Apart:AnInformal
inSontagReader,98-99, 104.
200-02,204-08;SusanSontag,"AgainstInterpretation,"
NewLeftReview146
ortheCulturalLogicofLateCapitalism,"
29Fredric
Jameson,
"Postmodernism,
"The
vs.Postmodernism,"
18-20,25,26;GeraldGraff,
(July-August
1984),53-54;Wolin,"Modernism
Modem
26 (Winter1973): 392; Bradbury,
Breakthrough,"
Triquarterly
Mythof the Postmodernist
FromLas Vegas:TheForgotten
Symbolism
of
et al.,Learning
American
Novel,160-64;RobertVenturi
Form(Cambridge,
Mass.,1977),6-9andpassim;Dell UptonandJohnMichaelVlach,eds.,
Architectural
Architecture
Places:Readings
inAmerican
Vernacular
(Athens,
Ga., 1986).Foran earlyviewof
Common
thatnowseemssomewhatdated,see Ihab Hassan,"POSTmodernISM,"
New
literary
postmodernism
3 (Autumn1971): 5-30.
Literary
History
"Postmodernism,"
54-55,59-62,65, 72-73,75.
30Jameson,
31Ibid.,
87, 89-90.
ofBooks,33
NewYorkReview
Crews,"In theBigHouseofTheory,"
32Ibid.,
71-72,91-92;Frederick
ThePostmodem
Condition,
trans.Geoff
(May29,1986),37,39-42.On thisdebate,seealsoJeanLyotard,
andBrianMasumi(Minneapolis,
1984).
Bennington
Breakthrough,"
387; RobertMartinAdams,"What Was
33Graff,
"Mythof the Postmodernist
Modernism?"
HudsonReview31 (Spring1978):29-30.
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