Between Tradition and Progress: History and Modernity, Land and Sea

Abstract

The review presents the monograph Travel, Modernism and Modernity, written by British scientist Robert Burden, published in 2015. The purpose of Burden’s book was mainly to develop and analyze meanings of modernistic travel writing. Fundamental for his studies were literary and non-literary works written by five British and American writers: Joseph Conrad (1957–1924), Edward Morgan Forster (1879–1970), David Herbert Lawrence (1885–1930), Henry James (1843–1916) and Edith Wharton (1862–1937). Their works have repeatedly been the object of interest of literary scholars. However, what distinguishes Burden’s work from the other analyzes, is very broad contextual perspective. Burden elaborately presents the main characters of his book, emphasizes the importance of autobiographical themes in their texts (not only those related to traveling), contextually analyzes their works in historical, sociological and psychological context. What is connecting selected texts is not only the journey – in fact, the whole study is devoted to pointing out parallels, correspondences, as well as original features, specific, significant differences in the writing of five English-language authors. The discussed book appears as a great summary of previous views, at the same time it offers an interesting thoughts about the archetypical motif of traveling, wandering, searching for a place and human identity (both: individual and national). Although the texts described in Burden’s work were written at the beginning of the twentieth century, it seems that the author’s investigations are extremely relevant also nowadays.