Modern Fiction by Virginia Woolf Questions and Answers

MODERN FICTION

               In this article, we have covered “Modern Fiction” by Virginia Woolf’s questions and answers. Hope you are gonna enjoy this.      

Table of Contents

• Q1) WHAT DOES VIRGINIA WOOLF PRESENT BY HER SURVEY IN ‘MODERN FICTION’?
• Q2) WHO ARE FIELDING AND JANE AUSTEN?
• Q3) WHAT DOES THE ESSAYIST MEAN TO SAY BY THE ANALOGY BETWEEN LITERATURE AND MOTOR CARS IN THE ESSAY MODERN FICTION?
• Q4) “WE DON’T COME TO WRITE BETTER” – WHO ARE REFERRED TO AS ‘WE’? WHAT DOES THE SPEAKER MEAN TO SAY HERE?
• Q5) WHAT DOES THE ESSAYIST MEAN BY THE PHRASE ‘LOFTY PINNACLE’ IN MODERN FICTION?
• Q6) WHO ARE CALLED ‘HAPPIER WARRIORS’ AND WHY? 
• Q7) WHAT DOES VIRGINIA WOOLF MEAN TO SAY BY “HAPPIER WARRIORS”?
• Q8) “IT IS FOR THE HISTORIAN OF LITERATURE TO DECIDE” – WHAT IS TO BE DECIDED?
• Q9) “WE ONLY KNOW THAT….” – WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW AND WHAT DOES THE ESSAYIST MEAN TO SAY HERE?
• Q10) “WE RESERVE OUR UNCONDITIONAL GRATITUDE” – WHO ARE REFERRED TO HERE AND WHY ARE THEY GIVEN UNCONDITIONAL GRATITUDE?

Q1) WHAT DOES VIRGINIA WOOLF PRESENT BY HER SURVEY IN ‘MODERN FICTION’?

ANS) According to Virginia Woolf, in making of any of her survey, even in the freest and loosest, of modern fiction, people are taking it for granted as MODERN FICTION is somewhat an improvement to the old.

Q2) WHO ARE FIELDING AND JANE AUSTEN?

ANS) According to the essay Modern fiction, by essayist Virginia Woolf, the novelists, Henry Fielding did well, and Jane Austen even better with their simple tools and primitive materials. And their masterpieces certainly their writings have a strange air of simplicity, which we cannot find in today’s writings even after getting so many materials and information.

Q3) WHAT DOES THE ESSAYIST MEAN TO SAY BY THE ANALOGY BETWEEN LITERATURE AND MOTOR CARS IN THE ESSAY MODERN FICTION?

ANS) According to the essayist, Virginia Woolf, in the essay ‘MODERN FICTION’ we came to know about the analogy between the literature and the motor cars that in the course of the time we have learnt much about making machines/motor cars but we have not learnt/develop anything about how to make literature. We are still in the dilemma and we keep moving in different directions without any aim and come back to the same position again and again without any progress in the process. 

Q4) “WE DON’T COME TO WRITE BETTER” – WHO ARE REFERRED TO AS ‘WE’? WHAT DOES THE SPEAKER MEAN TO SAY HERE?

ANS) The essay ‘MODERN FICTION’ was written by Virginia Woolf. In the above question quoted line, ‘WE’ mainly refers to the writers, especially English Fiction writers. In this context, she said that we just write to keep moving literature in anyhow. She also referred to the context of making machines and literature, that we know lots of things in a few centuries of machines but the same thing can be claimed in the perspective of literature. But unable to understand anything people just move in a circular motion and reach to the point from where they had started.

Q5) WHAT DOES THE ESSAYIST MEAN BY THE PHRASE ‘LOFTY PINNACLE’ IN MODERN FICTION?

ANS) The phrase ‘lofty pinnacle’ is taken from the essay ‘Modern Fiction’ by Virginia Woolf. In the essay, lofty pinnacle refers to the advantage ground from where people can view their existing position on their way to get success. 

Q6) WHO ARE CALLED ‘HAPPIER WARRIORS’ AND WHY?

ANS) The phrase ‘happier warriors’ was taken from the essay ‘Modern Fiction’ by Virginia Woolf. Here in the essay happier warriors are refers to those writers who had completed their struggle and reached their success with their hard work. And their works were so famous that we cannot stop accomplishing them by whispering in envy that their fight was not so fierce for them as for us.

Q7) WHAT DOES VIRGINIA WOOLF MEAN TO SAY BY “HAPPIER WARRIORS”?

ANS) Through the phrase ‘happier warriors’ Woolf wanted to clear us that, people from the flat ground think that the famous personalities had reached their success without any struggle and hard work. But when we look from the lofty pinnacle, we can clearly see that the writers had really worked hard to achieve their goals.

Q8) “IT IS FOR THE HISTORIAN OF LITERATURE TO DECIDE” – WHAT IS TO BE DECIDED?

ANS) The question quoted line is taken from the essay “Modern Fiction” by Virginia Woolf. Through this line Woolf wanted to make us understand that, it is the historian of literature, who will decide that where are we standing in the prose fiction, i.e., in the beginning, or ending or standing in the middle as from the plain/flat surface little is visible to us.

Q9) “WE ONLY KNOW THAT….” – WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW AND WHAT DOES THE ESSAYIST MEAN TO SAY HERE?

ANS) The phrase is taken from the essay ‘MODERN FICTION’ by Virginia Woolf. Through this phrase, Woolf wanted to make us know that gratitude(praise) and hostilities(envy) inspire us. That is certain paths leads us to fertile lands and some path leads us to dust and dessert. And Woolf, the essayist here means to say that we need to take our chances to reach our goals and achieve our part of success.

Q10) “WE RESERVE OUR UNCONDITIONAL GRATITUDE” – WHO ARE REFERRED TO HERE AND WHY ARE THEY GIVEN UNCONDITIONAL GRATITUDE?

ANS) The above text is taken from the essay ‘Modern Fiction’ by Virginia Woolf. Here are the writers such as Mr Thomas Hardy, Mr Joseph Conrad and Mr William Henry Hudson for their wonderful and soulful writings.