Modernism and the fate of individuality examines the
complexities and transitions of the idea of the self in the
modernist period. Michael Levenson addresses the problem of
individuality, structuring his argument around detailed readings
of eight major novels by Conrad, James, Forster, Ford, Lewis,
Lawrence and Woolf, and his discussion engages with the
extensive body of modern theoretical writing on the topic. The
book addresses issues such as the crisis of liberalism, the
challenge to Eurocentrism, the advance of bureaucracy, and
the contest between men and women. Central to its concerns
is the problem, in locating the self within the entanglements
of a community, of defining formal concepts whilst preserving
a moral value.