FRAGMENTED IDENTITY IN VIRGINIA WOOLF'S NOVELS: A MODERNIST EXPLORATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND SELFHOOD

Virginia Woolf, one of the most prominent representatives of literary Modernism, transformed the traditional concept of character and identity through her innovative narrative techniques. Her novels reject the idea of a stable and unified self, presenting identity as fragmented, fluid, and continuously shaped by memory, time, social relationships, and personal experience. This article examines the representation of fragmented identity in Virginia Woolf's major novels, particularly Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and The Waves (1931). The research applies qualitative textual analysis based on Modernist literary theory, narratology, and psychological approaches. The study focuses on Woolf's use of stream of consciousness, interior monologue, and free indirect discourse as methods of representing complex human consciousness. The findings demonstrate that Woolf portrays identity as a dynamic process rather than a fixed condition. Her characters experience conflicts between their inner desires and external social expectations, revealing the psychological uncertainty of modern individuals. The article concludes that Woolf's exploration of fragmented identity represents one of the most significant achievements of Modernist fiction and continues to influence contemporary studies of consciousness and subjectivity.