THE CHANGE IN THE CONCEPT OF TIME

Barzellato Roberta, 5°AA.S. 2012-2013

A comparison between the concept of time in Modern Age and in classical societies

Reasons for choosing the path The concept of time fascinates me because of the importance people give to it.

To better understand the innovations in Modern society

To improve my skills in making intertextuality and connections between different subjects

Questions to start Why is time so important?

Why did the concept of time change in Modern Age?

What is the main differences between classical people’s idea of time and modernists’ one?

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.

The Industrial Revolution

The most important «values» were production and the profit

Time of production became more important

than the one of the existance

The end of the faith in the domination of timeAn important event in history

People were time depended

The Modern AgeImportant events

Victorian doubts and fears about society and man’s place were confirmed International competition for the control of trades

Atmosphere of tension European nations were obliged to make defensive alleances

The First World War

Consequences

Science and industry had only brutalized men Distruction of people self-confidence The basis of traditional science (Euclidean geometry and Newtonian physics) and

system of thought were put into discussion

A new idea about time

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: space and time change according to the point of view

James’ idea that time flows incessantly like a river

Bergson’s psychological time: time is an illusion because past and present exist together with the present in people’s mind

Literature and art were influenced by the new ideas

James Joyce

No objective time: the whole story lasts only one day Inner time expands from past to future: 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]

Stream of consciousness: he focuses on the mental process

association of different images: no logic, and so, no chronological sequence but a spontaneous way.

absence of paragraphs and punctuaction

Memories and ideas flows without a logic, so the human being can’t organize them.

Interior monologue: subjective perspective and no differences

between inner world and external world.

Virginia Woolf• Interior monologue: to tell the story through the minds of the principal characters• Contrast between psychological time and clock time

Chronological time: one single day

Consciousneess: shifts from one character’s point of view to the other,

from present to past

• Stream of consciousness

• Division in units as Big Ben strikes the hours: reminder of the presence of a material world totally unconnected with human desires.

Salvador Dalì, The persistance of memoryThe importance of inner time

Three molten clocks images for the inner time: one is hung by a tree: an event can be delated by the memorythe second one has a fly: rot, the idea of the passing of timethe third one is on an embryonic form: symbol of life as something that twists the geometrical and mathematical form of the mechanic time.

The persistance of memory, 1931

One no-molten clock is devoured by ants: it is a sort of revenge; time devours people’s life as well as ants devour the clock

Inner time: an elastic time memories

Pablo Picasso, Guernica The simultaneity

The same scene is painted from different points of view

Past, present and future cohexist

Men’s consciousness re-elaborates what people see

Guernica, 1937

Claude Debussy

• Rhythm is various and chords aren’t concatenated the absence of paragraphs and punctuactions in literature

• Free and fragmented melodies free association of images

Conclusions

Two different types of time:

Clock-time: governs the progress of life and orders events.

Inner time: flexible; constantly in flux and can be compressed or extended