“Suicide Solution” Direct result of an artistic rebellion against the edicts of the Romantic era, the aristocratic hypocrisy of the Victorian era and the horrors of both World War I and II, the modernist movement in the arts was inevitable. From the end of the 19th century until 1965, modernism came to the forefront of literature (Rahn). Defined by technological changes in the social, political, and cultural climate brought about by the aforementioned wars, the discoveries of the industrial age, and new schools of psychological theories, modernism is characterized by themes concerning alienation and disconnection and a loss of traditional values. of his predecessor. The literature of modernism shifted its focus from religious ideologies and social mores to that of science and technology (“British Literary History Chart”). This shift allowed and even challenged writers to introduce ideas into their individual works to consider things once considered politically incorrect, such as themes centered on death which ultimately leads to suicide, an unthinkable subject, let alone of a religious taboo in previous times. Rahn). Henrick Ibsen's play, Hedda Gabler, and Franz Kafka's short story, The Metamorphosis, fit into the period and literary pattern of modernism. Surprisingly, however, since its first publication date is 1818, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein can also be classified as a work of modernism due to its scientific focus and Victor and the creature's sense of disconnection and alienation from the world around them. The characteristics of modernism are evident in these works and although provoked by different circumstances, the self-infliction...... middle of paper ...... the character's only viable solution to make sense and put order in a world gone mad. Works Cited “Chart of British Literary History”. Pearson Education, 2010. Web, April 25, 2014. Norseng, Mary Kay. “Ibsen's Suicide and Hedda Gabler: (the seen and the unseen, the sight and the site, in the theater of the mind). Scandinavian Studies, Spring 99, vol. 7.1, number 1, p. 1-40. Web April 23, 2014. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Volume 2. New York: WW Norton and Company, 2013. O'Connor, Ciaran. A consideration of Kafka's metamorphosis as a metaphor for existential anxiety in the face of aging. Existential Analysis, 23.1, January 2012, p. 56. Internet. April 24, 2014. Rahn, Josh. "Modernism." The Literary Network. Internet. April 25, 2014. Teisch, Jessica. “Franz Kafka.” Bookmarks, number 19. Nov./Dec. 2005: 32-36. Gentlemen Renaissance. Internet. April 24, 2014.