What stream exactly? The better nature of the early stream of consciousness fiction

Abstract

The term “the stream of consciousness” refers to two different notions: a philosophical psychology theory purported by William James (“the Stream”), and a genre in 20th-century fiction that deals with the conscious unfolding of its characters (“the Novel”). The received narrative, after philosopher and novelist May Sinclair introduced the term to the literary scene in 1918, is that the Novel is best read as a representation of the Stream. However, if the Novelists did in fact intend to represent the Stream, then it is unlikely that they would succeed for the three following issues: the Incommensurability Problem, the Overarching Problem, and the Anatomical Problem. The Incommensurability Problem is about the impossibility of transcribing some crucial aspects of the Stream into the Novel because of the respective natures of the Stream and transcription. The Overarching Problem is about how the chief techniques used in the Novels represent the views of other schools of thought. The Anatomical Problem is about why it is impossible to capture the form of the Stream. I argue that these problems ultimately present strong objections to the idea that the Novel is best read as a representation of the Stream. But, in light of these concerns, I also argue that we should not use the Novel’s successful representation of the Stream as a criterion to judge the success of the Novel as an artwork.