MEDIUMS IN LITERARY SETTINGS: THE LEVERAGE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE MODERN NOVEL

ABSTRACT. Literary theorists have always been in search of new ways of expression and new experiments, so much so with reference to the modern novel like, for instance James Joyce’s Ulysses, Dubliners, or Portrait of the Artist. Generally, modern writers made use of theoretical notes or marginalia in order to approve or disapprove of certain terms and ideologies, and to set forth their distinct aesthetic philosophy well into the 20th century. The fact that modern writers such as Joyce were in a constant process of changing perspectives and denouncing Realism’s infatua-tion with objectivity can be traced back to their common habit of leaving behind works unfin-ished just to have a glance into the newly launched technologies on the market, and to put to the test the functionality of subjectivism through the stimuli mediated by scientific discoveries such as waves communication, atonality or techniques similar to the stored-program architec-ture. The question remains for us, and for the modern writers as well, how far will the employ-ment of these mediums push the writer’s inner experience into drawing back from society to create styles which allow for one way or both ways communication. In Joyce’s case, we feel, there is a constant peril of misusing concepts like “experience ” and “technics ” when we analyze his novels, which is why this study debates on the nature of Joyce’s epistemology at the very impact with urban technology, concluding that this approach to technology leaves Joyce’s work unfin-ished and open to ongoing interpretations