“Her walls, her cupboards, her bureaux, were teeming with second-hand dealings with life. It takes a bold and authentic robber to get first-hand plunder. Someone else’s marriage ring was on her finger; the photograph taken of Robin for Nora sat upon her table. The books in her library were other people’s selections. She lived among her own things like a visitor to a room kept “exactly as it was when—”
— Nightwood by Djuna Barnes
Technique
In Nightwood, Djuna Barnes builds character interiority through tangible objects. Modern character development commonly builds interiority through stream-of-consciousness, but Barnes relies on the things that reflect the inner life of her character, Jenny. She takes the lifelike route of showing us who Jenny is by arraying items that show her inner life.
The above passage lists symbol after symbol, sentence by sentence, to show us Jenny. She doesn’t have anything that’s truly hers. Everything in her home is second-hand, including the ring she’s wearing.
Use
- Think about what characteristics portray your character’s interests and emotions. They must reveal the character and move the plot forward, such as tying the inanimate object or action to another character to create forward progress.
- Avoid creating a long paragraph that reads like a list, as it can bore the reader.
The Periplous 