1. THE CHANGE IN THE CONCEPT OF TIME Barzellato Roberta, 5°A A.S. 2012-2013 A comparison between the concept of time in the Modern Age and in classical societies

2. Reasons For Choosing The Present Path  The concept of time fascinates me because of its cultural importance  To better understand the innovations in Modern society  To improve my skills in making intertextual connections First Questions  Why is time so important?  Why did the concept of time change in Modern Age?  What are the main differences between classical time and modernists one?

3. The Importance Of Time In Classical Society [Epistulae ad Lucilium, I - Seneca]  Time was considered precious  People thought they could dominate it  Past, present and future are different «cathegories»  The importance of the present: the only moment to realize the self-improvement Ita fac, mi Lucilii: vindica te tibi, et tempus quod adhuc aut auferebatur, aut subriepiebatur aut excidebat collige et serva. […] In hoc enim fallimur, quod mortem prospicimus: magna pars eius iam praeterît; quidquid aetatis retro est mors tenet. Fac ergo, mi Lucili, quod facere te scribis, omnes horas complectere Omnia, Lucilii, aliena sunt, tempus tantum nostrum est. Remember to act thus, my dear Lucilius: set your- self free for your own sake ; gather and save your time. which till lately has been forced from you, or tilched away, or has merely slipped from your hands. […] We are mistaken when we look forward to death ; the major portion of death has already passed. Whatever years lie behind us are in death's hands. Therefore, Lucilius, do as you write me that you are doing: hold every hour in vour grasp. Nothing, Lucilius, is ours, except time.

4. The Industrial Revolution The most important «values» were production and profit The time of production became more important than the one of the existance The Chrisis Of Time-Control An important event in history People were time dependant

5. The Modernist Period Important events  Confirmation of Victorian doubts and fears about society and man’s place were  International competition for the control of trades  Atmosphere of tension European defensive alleances  The First World War Consequences  Brutalization of men (science and industry)  Distruction of people’s self-confidence  Euclidean geometry and Newtonian physics were put into discussion

6. A new conception of time  A.Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: space and time change according to the point of view  W.James’ flowing time: simile of the river  H.Bergson’s psychological time: time is an illusion because past and future exist together with the present in people’s mind Influence in literature and art

7. James Joyce  No objective time: the whole story lasts only one day  Expansion of inner time: past, present and future on the same layer Present: what an unearthly hour I suppose theyre just getting up in China now combing out their pigtails for the day well soon have the nuns ringing the angelus […] Past: […] the sun shines for you he said the day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head in the grey tweed suit and his straw hat the day I got him to propose to me yes […] Future: to put about the place in case he brings him home tomorrow today I mean no no Fridays an unlucky day […] whatll I wear shall I wear a white rose or those fairy cakes in Liptons […] [Quotation from Molly’s monologue]  Use of the stream of consciousness: focalization on men’s mental process association of different images: no logic, no chronological sequence but a spontaneous way.

8.  No paragraphs and punctuaction Memories and ideas flows without a logic The human being can’t organize them.  Interior monologue: -Subjective perspective -No differences between inner and external world

9. Virginia Woolf  Interior monologue: importance of characters Loss of writers’ authority  Contrast between psychological time and clock time Chronological time: one single day Consciousness: shift of the point of view  Stream of consciousness  Division in units as Big Ben strikes the hours Big Ben: reminder of the presence of a material world unconnected with humen’s desires

10. Salvador Dalì, The persistance of memory The importance of inner time No molten-clock devoured by ants Revenge for the domination of time Three molten clocks: images for the inner time Inner time: an elastic time hung by a tree delatation of the memory on an embryonic form: symbol of life time dominates people’s life Presence of a fly Rot, the passing of time

11. Pablo Picasso, Guernica The simultaneity  Different points of view Coexistence of past, present and future  Re-elaboration of the scene by consciousness Importance of the subjectivity Guernica, 1937

12. Claude Debussy Various rhythm and no-concateneted chords the absence of paragraphs and punctuactions in literature Free and fragmented melodies free association of images

13. Conclusions Modernist period Clock-time:  Governs the progress of life and orders events  Dominant time  Past, present and future on the same layer  Flexible  Flowing time  Subjective time Two different «types» of time Inner time: VS Classical society  People dominated time  Past, present and future different cathegories  The importance of the present