ABSTRACT

Virginia Woolf's third novel is usually praised for its innovative structure: the traditional framework of the novel (plot structure) has suddenly been jettisoned, and a new kind of form has been used in which the narrative progresses, on the whole, through a series of impressionistic episodes that create the 'life' of Jacob Flanders. There are no connective narrative links between the episodes. The novel, Jacob's Room, is a novel of scepticism which challenges the nature of fiction itself and raises disturbing questions about the nature of human existence. It is generally criticized for its characterization: Jacob Flanders fails to come to life and is far too shadowy a figure. Even though Jacob's Room is a much more intellectual, theoretical novel than any of her others, its impact is finally achieved through its poetic narrative.