https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 2, 2025
352
LETTER WRITING AND THE EPISTOLARY FORM IN MODERNIST LITERATURE
Hаbibоvа Mаnzilа Nuriddinоvnа
Tеаchеr аt thе Dеpаrtmеnt оf Uzbеk
Lаnguаgе аnd Litеrаturе, Russiаn аnd Еnglish Lаnguаgеs,
Bukhаrа Stаtе Mеdicаl Institutе nаmеd аftеr Аbu Аli ibn Sinа
Tеl: 97 852-55-05; е-mаil:
https://оrcid.оrg/0009-0003-3574-0391
Abstract:
This article explores the use of letter writing and the epistolary form in
modernist literature, focusing on its role in shaping character development, narrative structure,
and the artistic process. Through the works of Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence and others, the
article examines how letters serve as a tool for revealing the interior lives of characters and
creating connections between them, often transcending traditional forms of communication. By
highlighting the connections between letter writing and artistic creation, this article sheds light
on how modernist authors use this form to explore themes of identity, alienation, and the
boundaries between fiction and reality.
Keywords:
Epistolary form, modernist literature, Virginia Woolf, D.H. Lawrence,
letter writing, character development, artistic process, narrative structure.
Аннотация:
Статья исследует использование письма и эпистолярной формы в
модернистской литературе, акцентируя внимание на их роли в формировании развития
персонажей, структуры повествования и художественного процесса. Через произведения
Вирджинии Вулф, Д. Х. Лоуренса и других авторов, статья рассматривает, как письма
служат инструментом для раскрытия внутреннего мира персонажей и создания связей
между ними, часто выходящих за рамки традиционных форм коммуникации. Подчеркивая
связь между письмом и художественным творчеством, статья освещает, как
модернистские авторы используют эту форму для исследования тем идентичности,
отчуждения и границ между вымыслом и реальностью.
Ключевые слова:
Эпистолярная форма, модернистская литература, Вирджиния
Вулф, Д. Х. Лоуренс, письмо, развитие персонажей, художественный процесс, структура
повествования.
INTRODUCTION
In modernist literature, the epistolary form — a genre based on letters, written
correspondence, and other forms of communication — plays a pivotal role in exploring human
experience and perception. As authors sought new ways to depict subjective consciousness, the
letter became more than a mere vehicle for communication. It became an essential device for
creating connections between characters, exploring their inner lives, and examining the very
nature of narrative itself. Through letters, modernist writers such as Virginia Woolf, D.H.
Lawrence, James Joyce, and others experimented with form and content, using this intimate
medium to challenge traditional structures of storytelling and to deepen the connection between
writer, character, and reader.
METHODOLOGY
In works like Virginia Woolf's
Jacob's Room
, letters are not only a means of conveying
information but a window into the complexities of the characters' emotional and psychological
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 2, 2025
353
states. Woolf uses the epistolary form to blur the lines between the external world and the inner
world of the characters. Letters become a tool for exploring the fractured nature of reality,
providing a space where characters can express their thoughts, anxieties, and desires that would
otherwise remain unspoken.
The epistolary form in Woolf’s works is particularly important because it connects her
characters to a larger, universal truth. Woolf’s reflections on the epistolary form in
A Sketch of
the Past
underline this: she writes about the way her early experiences, such as moments of
sudden clarity — where she describes seeing a flower and thinking "That is the whole" — form
the basis of her artistic vision. For Woolf, the epistolary form allows her characters to reach
beyond the mundane world of everyday life and into the more profound patterns of existence.
In
Jacob's Room
, Woolf employs the device of letters to provide a snapshot of the characters'
interior worlds. For instance, the narrator imagines what a letter, representing the emotions of a
mother, would feel if it were aware of her son’s actions in the next room. The letter momentarily
adopts the identity of the mother herself, creating a surreal and intimate connection between
object and subject. The letter, traditionally a medium for presenting the thoughts of the writer, in
this case, almost transcends the written word to become an agent with its own subjectivity,
highlighting the malleability of narrative form in modernist literature.
RESULTS
In modernist literature, letters often do more than reveal a character's thoughts; they
also shape a character's identity. For instance, in D.H. Lawrence’s
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
, the
letters between Connie and Clifford Chatterley serve as a reflection of their respective emotional
and intellectual lives. Clifford, who once aspired to be a writer, uses letters as a way to express
his cleverness, but also as a mask for his deeper emotional isolation and class prejudices. Connie,
on the other hand, finds Clifford’s letters tedious, recognizing that while they may be well-
written, they lack the emotional connection she longs for. The letters thus serve as a tool for
demonstrating the failure of communication in their relationship, illustrating how the act of
writing can become disconnected from true emotional intimacy.
Similarly, Lawrence’s use of letters serves as a metaphor for the characters’ broader struggles
with art, class, and personal identity. The contrast between Clifford's sterile, intellectual letters
and Mellors’ more visceral, passionate communication highlights the ways in which letter
writing mirrors the larger themes of the novel: the struggle between mind and div, intellect and
emotion.
ANALYSIS
The epistolary form in modernist literature also reflects a broader thematic concern
with the creation of new realities. Letters, by their very nature, involve a subjective recounting of
events. In
Miss Lonelyhearts
by Nathanael West, the letters that Miss Lonelyhearts receives from
various correspondents provide not just a narrative of their lives, but a means by which he
constructs his own identity. The protagonist, who is never fully named, becomes defined through
the letters he reads. His role as a listener and responder to the letters distorts his sense of self,
illustrating how modernist texts often depict the dissolution of the clear-cut individual in favor of
a more fragmented, subjective experience of the world.
West’s use of letters in
Miss Lonelyhearts
turns the epistolary form on its head, focusing not on
the writers of the letters, but on the reader. Miss Lonelyhearts’ entire existence revolves around
these letters, and he cannot separate his identity from the correspondence he receives. This
inversion of the traditional role of letter writing — where the writer’s personality and character
are revealed — creates a profound commentary on the alienation and loss of identity that
permeates much of modernist fiction.
In many modernist works, the act of writing letters becomes synonymous with the
artistic process itself. The correspondence between characters, particularly in the case of women
writers in texts like
Jacob’s Room
, is depicted as an artistic endeavor that mirrors the act of
creating literature. The letters serve not only as communication but as a form of expression that
shapes the character’s artistic vision and self-identity.
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 2, 2025
354
In
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
, for example, Mellors’ letter to Connie serves as a direct reflection of
his own artistic sensibility. His language is visceral and raw, much like the novel’s overall
exploration of raw emotion, physicality, and desire. His letter becomes a small-scale version of
the novel itself, acting as a mise en abyme — a reflection within a reflection. Just as the
characters’ letters express personal truths and inner desires, they also mirror the larger themes of
the novels in which they appear.
DISCUSSION
Ultimately, the epistolary form in modernist literature serves as a powerful tool for
exploring the complexities of identity, communication, and the artistic process. Letters function
as mirrors that reflect the inner lives of characters, and through them, authors like Virginia
Woolf, D.H. Lawrence, and Nathanael West were able to push the boundaries of narrative form,
creating a richer, more intimate connection between the reader and the text.
As a literary device, the epistolary form continues to offer rich opportunities for
exploring the nuances of human experience. The way letters disrupt the traditional boundaries of
narrative, allowing authors to experiment with different perspectives, subjective truths, and the
act of writing itself, remains a hallmark of modernist literature. Through their correspondence,
characters transcend their immediate circumstances and create new realities, demonstrating the
enduring power of the written word to shape our understanding of the world and ourselves.
Letter writing in Jacob’s Room also tries to create connections, which is why the
narrator calls letters at one point “the unpublished works of women”. Female letter writers are
like authors, because like Virginia Woolf, they try to look past the cotton wool and reach the
patterns that bind us together.
The narrator begins to imagine that the letter is more than an inanimate object, that it has the
thoughts and feelings of a loving mother, and speculates what the letter would think and what it
would do if it knew that Jacob, its son, was having sex with a girl in the next room.
But if the pale blue envelope lying by the biscuit–box had the feelings of a mother, the heart
was torn by the little creak, the sudden stir. Behind the door was the obscene thing, the alarming
presence, and terror would come over her as at death, or the birth of a child. Better, perhaps,
burst in and face it than sit in the antechamber listening to the little creak, the sudden stir, for her
heart was swollen, and pain threaded it. My son, my son—such would be her cry, uttered to hide
her vision of him stretched with Florinda, inexcusable, irrational, in a woman with three children
living at Scarborough. And the fault lay with Florinda. (Woolf, Jacob’s Room 79)
Then the narrator completely stops talking about the letter and speaks directly about what Mrs.
Flanders, the writer of the letter, would do if she were in the situation that the letter witnesses:
“Indeed, when the door opened and the couple came out, Mrs. Flanders would have
flounced upon her—”
(Woolf, Jacob’s Room 79). In this episode, the letter completely takes on
the writer’s (Mrs. Flanders’) identity, parodying the character element of the epistolary tradition.
Letters were originally used in literature because their form allowed an author to record a
character’s thoughts. Here, the object of the letter momentarily gains its own subjectivity.
Like Mrs. Flanders, Clifford Chatterley in Lady Chatterley’s Lover is also an
artist figure because of his early foray into creative writing, although he eventually
abandons his ambitions as a writer and devotes himself to industry. However, the way his letters
to Connie are described are a reminder of his earlier literary ambitions:
“Clifford wrote
regularly. He wrote very good letters: they might all have been printed in a book. And for
this reason Connie found them not very interesting
” (Lawrence 283).
Previous descriptions of Clifford’s writing are extremely similar to what he includes in his
letter to Connie:
“He had taken to writing stories; curious, very personal stories about
people he had known. Clever, rather spiteful, and yet, in some mysterious way, meaningless.
The observation was extraordinary and peculiar. But there was no touch, no actual
contact”
(Lawrence 14).
In the character element of the epistolary tradition, letters were used to develop the character of
the letter writer, because they presented that character’s thoughts to external readers. However in
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 2, 2025
355
Miss Lonelyhearts, the letters in the text develop the character of the letter reader instead of the
letter writers, because the letters written by minor characters are the source of Miss
Lonelyhearts’ identity. His whole existence revolves around them. His real name is never
revealed to the external readers of the book, because he is only addressed as Miss
Lonelyhearts.16 The only conversations he has with other characters are about the letters. For
example, Shrike constantly ridicules Miss Lonelyhearts’ job, his attempts to cope with the
suffering he sees everyday, and his desire to speak to his readers about Christ. In the very first
scene of the book, the clever but sadistic Shrike tortures the conscience of his columnist by
satirizing a Catholic prayer, the Anima Christi, and leaving it on his desk. The other workers at
the paper follow Shrike’s lead and berate him as well.
CONCLUSION
The article provides a more general overview of the letters’ use in modernist fiction. It uses the
works of James Joyce as a case study, examining how one author’s use of the letter develops
over his artistic career. According to the previously stated, it can be concluded that the epistolary
genre has its ancient historic background. Based on the author's integration regarding
communication either with real or with imaginary reader, the dialogic nature is dominant, as well
as the subjective form of perception, i.e. the intimate provenience. It was established in this
paper that the number of definitions for this literary genre, its theoretic considerations, its
characteristics as well as its classifications are numerous. However, besides all of these, the fact
that epistolary genre is specific narrative form which offers a lot of perspectives and
opportunities for further researches remains.
The letter writers write about events that have their origins in the reality of the storyworld, but
deliberately misconstrue what actually happens. Like fiction, their letters create a new reality. In
addition, the emphasis on and depiction of composition draws parallels between letter writing
and novel writing.
The epistolary form in modernist literature is much more than a narrative tool; it is a reflection of
the fragmented, subjective realities of the modern world. Through letters, modernist authors were
able to explore the fluidity of identity, the complexity of human relationships, and the nature of
artistic creation itself. Whether through the introspective letters of Virginia Woolf’s characters,
the emotional isolation of Lawrence’s protagonists, or the alienation in West’s
Miss Lonelyhearts
,
the epistolary form remains a powerful means of expressing the inner workings of the mind and
the fractured nature of reality. As modernist literature continues to influence contemporary
narratives, the letter remains a significant form of communication, offering new perspectives on
the intersections of personal identity, art, and the world at large.
REFERENCES
1.
Faulker, William. Absalom, Absalom!. New York: Vintage International, 1990.
2.
Joyce, James. Dubliners. The Portable James Joyce. Ed. Harry Levin. New York:Penguin
Books, 1976.
3.
Joyce, James. Finnegans Wake. New York: Penguin Books, 1999.
4.
Lawrence, D.H. Lady Chatterley’s Lover. New York: Bantam Books, 1968.
5.
Woolf, Virginia. “From A Sketch of the Past.” The Norton Anthology of Literature,
Volume 2. Eds. M.H. Abrams, et all. New York: W.W. Norton and Company,2005. 2289-2293.
6.
Woolf, Virginia.. Jacob’s Room. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
7.
Habibova, M. N. (2021). Jorjina Houellning “Queen of the desert” biografik asarida
gertruda Bell timsoli tasviri. Academic research in educational sciences, 2(2), 770-778.
8.
Habibova, M. N. (2021). The theme feminism in the epistolary novels in modern times.
ISJ Theoretical & Applied Science, 11(103), 1101-1105.
9.
Habibova, M. N. (2022). THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN EPISTOLARY NOVEL
IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. EURASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES,
PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE, 2 (3), 135–139.
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 2, 2025
356
10.
Habibova, M. N. (2022). EVALUATIVE OBSERVATION ON DH LAWRENCE'S
EPISTOLARY ACHIEVEMENT. EURASIAN JOURNAL OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH, 2 (4),
489–494.
11.
Habibova, M. (2022). THEORIES OF INTERTEXTUALITY AND THE BASIC
FRAMEWORK
OF
KRISTEVA’S
FORMULATION
OF
HER
THEORY
OF
INTERTEXTUALITY. Eurasian Journal of Social Sciences, Philosophy and Culture, 2(5), 301-
307.
12.
Habibova, Manzila Nuriddinovna (2022). A BIOGRAPHY IS A SPECIALIZED FORM
OF HISTORY AND BASIC TYPES OF BIOGRAPHIES. Oriental renaissance: Innovative,
educational, natural and social sciences, 2 (5), 495-503.
13.
Habibova, M. N. (2022). Epistolary Novel as a Scientific Problem. American Journal of
Social
and
Humanitarian
Research,
3(10),
211–214.
Retrieved
from
https://www.grnjournals.us/index.php/ajshr/article/view/1575
14.
Habibova, M. N. (2022). The Epistolary Form and Art in Modernist Literature.
American Journal of Social and Humanitarian Research, 3(10), 206–210. Retrieved from
https://www.grnjournals.us/index.php/ajshr/article/view/1574
15.
Habibova, M. . (2022). WRITING THE NOVEL OF LETTERS AND THE ANALYSIS
OF LETTER FICTION AND DIARY FICTION. International Bulletin of Applied Science and
Technology,
2(11),
260–264.
Retrieved
from
https://researchcitations.com/index.php/ibast/article/view/317
16.
Habibova, M. . (2022). EPISTOLARY NARRATOLOGY AND CITATIONS FROM
AN EPISTOLARY SOURCE: SAMUEL RICHARDSON’S PAMELA AND CLARISSA AND
FRANCES BURNEY’S EVELINA. Евразийский журнал академических исследований,
2(12), 1131–1135. извлечено от https://in-academy.uz/index.php/ejar/article/view/6655
17.
Manzila Nuriddinovna Khabibova. (2022). JOYCE’S DEVELOPMENT AS AN
AUTHOR AND HIS EXPERIMENTS WITH THE EPISTOLARY FORM. American Journal
Of Philological Sciences, 2(11), 73–81. https://doi.org/10.37547/ajps/Volume02Issue11-10
18.
Manzila Nuriddinovna Habibova. (2022). LETTER WRITING AS ALLEGORY FOR
THE WOMAN WRITER. American Journal Of Philological Sciences, 2(11), 88–92.
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajps/Volume02Issue11-12
19.
Хабибова, М. Н. (2022). ЭПИСТОЛЯРНЫЙ РОМАН КАК НАУЧНАЯ ПРОБЛЕМА.
Results of National Scientific Research International Journal, 1(9), 394–402. Retrieved from
http://academics.uz/index.php/rnsr/article/view/1379
20.
Habibova, M. N. (2023). Origins of the Epistolary Novel and the Principal Epistolary
Works. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND APPLIED
LINGUISTICS,
2(2),
70–74.
Retrieved
from
https://inter-
publishing.com/index.php/IJLLAL/article/view/1159
21.
Khabibova, M. N. . (2023). The Historical Influence of the Epistolary Novel.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS,
2(2), 75–79. Retrieved from https://inter-publishing.com/index.php/IJLLAL/article/view/1161
22.
Habibova, M. (2023). SPECIFIC POSSIBILITIES WRITING TECHNIQUES USED IN
EPISTOLARY FORM AND THEIR EFFECTS ON BOTH THE CHARACTERS AND
READERS. Eurasian Journal of Academic Research, 3(5),172–177.Retrieved from https://in-
academy.uz/index.php/ejar/article/view/14085
23.
Habibova, M. (2023). EPISTOLARY COMPARISONS AND TRENDS. Евразийский
журнал академических исследований, 3(5 Part 4), 330–338. извлечено от https://in-
academy.uz/index.php/ejar/article/view/16170
24.
Habibova, M. (2023). PRAGMATICS AND COGNITION. Current approaches and new
research in modern sciences, 2(10), 90-96.
25.
Manzila Nuriddinovna Habibova. (2023). THE CONCEPT OF THE WHITE MAN’S
SUPERIORITY AND THE PORTRAYAL OF THE ARABIC CHARACTERS IN “THE
https://ijmri.de/index.php/jmsi
volume 4, issue 2, 2025
357
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA” AND “THE SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM”. Academia
Repository, 4(10), 24–31. Retrieved from https://academiarepo.org/index.php/1/article/view/96
26.
Habibova, M. N. (2023). Letter Fiction and Diary Fiction. American Journal of Public
Diplomacy and International Studies (2993-2157), 1(9), 153–158. Retrieved from
http://grnjournal.us/index.php/AJPDIS/article/view/1386
27.
Habibova, M. N. (2023). Women and the Epistolary Novel. American Journal of Science
on Integration and Human Development (2993-2750), 1(9), 119-124.
28.
Habibova, M. (2023). TE LAWRENCE AND ARAB NATIONALISTS IN THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE. THEORY AND ANALYTICAL ASPECTS OF RECENT RESEARCH
2 (20), 183-193
29.
Habibova, M. (2023). PRAGMATICS AND COGNITION.
Current approaches and
new research in modern sciences
,
2
(10), 90-96.
30.
Habibova, M. (2023). TE LAWRENCE AND ARAB NATIONALISTS IN THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE. THEORY AND ANALYTICAL ASPECTS OF RECENT RESEARCH
2 (20), 183-193
31.
Habibova, M.N. (2024). THE EPISTOLARY TRADITION AND ITS CONNECTION
BETWEEN LETTER WRITING AND THE ARTISTIC PROCESS. INTELLECTUAL
EDUCATION TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND INNOVATIVE DIGITAL TOOLS 2
(24), 192-198
32.
Habibova, M.N. (2024). THE ROLE OF PRAGMATICS IN BIOGRAPHICAL
WORKS. SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE MODERN EDUCATION SYSTEM 2 (22), 223-
229
