THE STUDY OF 
 A NOVEL* 
 
 BY 
 SELDEN L. WHITCOMB, A.M. (COLUMBIA) 
 
 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LITERATURE 
 IN THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS 
 
 D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1905, 
 BY D. C. HEATH & Co. 
 
TO 
 
 BRANDER MATTHEWS 
 
 As CRITIC AND TEACHER 
 OF THE NOVEL 
 
 IN GRATITUDE AND RESPECT 
 
 33447S 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THIS volume is the result of practical experience in 
 teaching the novel, and its aim is primarily pedagogical. 
 It is only within the last few decades that the novel has 
 been given much separate attention in college courses, and 
 it cannot be hoped that any detailed method of study, at so 
 early a date, can be more than an experiment and a tempo- 
 rary contribution. But it has been nearly a half-century 
 since Senior conceived a " treatise on Fiction, illustrated 
 by examples," and some ten years since Professor Newcomer 
 wrote (in a Practical Course in English Composition) that 
 fiction would " require a special treatise even for its tech- 
 nical side." Such fulfilment as has been made of these 
 prophecies has been mainly in the field of the short story. 
 The present writer has ventured into the field of the novel, 
 with a sense that the time had come for tillage, even though 
 the crop might be partly of weeds. 
 
 The references in the text and in the bibliography will 
 indicate indebtedness to many works. Crawshaw, Henne- 
 quin, Moulton, and Riemann, in particular, have had a large 
 influence on the general method or the specific analyses of 
 this volume. Professor Perry's valuable study appeared 
 after the plan for this study was matured, and has been 
 read for literary enjoyment rather than for critical con- 
 tribution. 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 For personal encouragement and assistance, the writer 
 is grateful to more friends than can be named here. The 
 completion of the work is due, in no small measure, to 
 the sympathetic attitude of colleagues and pupils at Iowa 
 College ; and especially to the cooperative spirit of Pro- 
 fessor Charles Noble, Dr. John S. Nollen, Dr. Martha 
 Foote Crow, and Mr. DeWitt C. Sprague. Dr. Nollen 
 has given much practical assistance in matters relating to 
 French and German data. His generous service, in many 
 ways, from the conception of the work until the final 
 proof-reading, is acknowledged with pleasure. 
 
 LAWRENCE, KANSAS, 
 September 30, 1905. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 To THE TEACHER 
 
 IT has required a long time for prose fiction to attain a 
 dignified and independent position in the world of criticism. 
 This has been due in part, no doubt, to the frailties of fiction, 
 in part to the ungenerous conservatism of the critics. It 
 is no longer deemed necessary to apologize for fiction itself, 
 but a detailed study of its form is still quite generally pro- 
 posed in an apologetic tone. It is frequently said that the 
 novel is written to be read and enjoyed, not to be dissected. 
 It might be replied that " dissection " is, in some cases, to 
 some minds, a source of great enjoyment ; that there is no 
 necessary antagonism between agreeable reading and ana- 
 lytical study, and that if only the primary human values of 
 things were examined, several of the sciences would dis- 
 appear. Flowers are pleasant to see and smell, and may 
 be associated in one's memory with the bridal day or the 
 new-made grave ; yet the microscopic study of botany is 
 not usually opposed on sentimental grounds. The same 
 person may at one time enter the cathedral for personal 
 worship, at another, for professional examination of its 
 structure, without any sense of conflict between the two 
 interests. There may be person^j^P^^^able.to cem- 
 bine the aesthetic enjoyment of literature with systematic 
 study of its nature, but it may be doubted whether they are 
 the best examples of genuine and normal love of literature. 
 Does not a somewhat systematic approach to fiction seem 
 worth while so long as conflicting opinions like the follow- 
 
 vii 
 
viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 ing are not only possible but representative, in the columns 
 of reputable journals? "This novel has that charm of 
 blended romance and realism, that captivating verisimili- 
 tude, and that nameless power to haunt one with its shame- 
 tinged sorrow and happiness which testify unmistakably of 
 genius." - - " The rankest rot, ethically and artistically, ever 
 published." 
 
 Teachers of literature are accustomed to the complaint 
 that their subject is vague. The recent tendency towards 
 detailed analysis of literature is, from one point of view, an 
 effort to discover how far thife vagueness is due to methods 
 of study, rather than to the nature of the subject. A little 
 examination of the novel shows that it has, in spite of its 
 amorphous quality, certain fixed values of material and of 
 form, which may repay a systematic examination, and are 
 independent of the personal impressions of the reader. 
 The separate consideration of characters, plot, and settings, 
 and the distinction between characters and characterization, 
 are now fairly well established. Cooperative effort might 
 result in greater uniformity of view, without violence to 
 the nature of the novel, or danger to the liberty of the 
 individual teacher. In this volume the aim has been to 
 " keep the eye upon the object." In the matter of sequence 
 and proportion in analysis, there is room for a wide differ- 
 ence of opinion, and exact uniformity is not to be desired. 
 The order of examination in these pages has been carefully 
 considered, but it may prove satisfactory to few, and may 
 be variously altered without destroying the general plan. 
 Examples of other methods of analysis for the novel inde- 
 pendent, yet not without some tendency towards agreement 
 will be found on pages 265-268. 
 
 If there is a science of the novel, this work does not 
 attempt to embody it. It is interesting, however, to com- 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 pare the problems of systematic literary study with similar 
 problems in other fields. In Walker's Political Economy 
 (Briefer Course, page 18), several sections are devoted to 
 "the obstacles which Political Economy encounters." 
 Some of these obstacles, such as the fact that most persons 
 "feel themselves competent, irrespective of study ... to 
 form opinions " on all phases of the subject, and the dif- 
 ficulty of finding a clear, precise terminology, are very 
 familiar to the teacher of literature. 
 
 The question of the right relations of extensive and 
 intensive study is often harassing. A fairly complete 
 analysis of some single novel seems desirable ; but there is 
 no work which represents adequately all the values of the 
 type, and such a study, pursued in a spirit of real interest 
 in details, would require almost an entire course. On the 
 other hand, some of the richest cultural values of the novel 
 are to be gained only by a liberal reading which brings 
 before one a wide area of historical and social interests. 
 The best general method is perhaps a combination of the 
 two kinds of study in a single course. In an historical 
 course, there are some novels which ought to be examined 
 without complete reading, others which may be read 
 entire, but scarcely repay detailed study. The present vol- 
 ume is intended mainly as a guide to the consecutive and 
 extended study of the individual novel, though the analysif 
 could be distributed among several works, in accordance 
 with their specific values. The experience of the writer 
 has been that it is best, for mature students, to attain as 
 great a general familiarity with a work as possible before 
 a systematic study is attempted. This practise may help 
 to dispel the conception that one who has simply read a 
 work of literature has " had it." 
 
 The study of the novel offers an opportunity for a 
 
X INTRODUCTION 
 
 review of the formal rhetorical study of exposition, narra- 
 tion, and description. It may give the mind elasticity and 
 a sense of freedom in considering the relations of these 
 rhetorical types, which are liable to become somewhat 
 artificially viewed in prolonged separate study. Any pre- 
 vious study of the short story ought to be advantageous in 
 the examination of the closely allied, but more complicated, 
 form of the novel. The short story has this advantage, 
 that critical study and practical composition can go hand 
 in hand ; but many detached exercises in novelistic com- 
 position might be profitable, at least for advanced students. 
 The intimate relations of the novel to the drama and the 
 epic are obvious, and suggest a frequent reference to 
 masterpieces already familiar, or to new material. 
 
 In spite of considerable criticism, and even ridicule, the 
 study of comparative literature seems to be making prog- 
 ress in America and in Europe, as a well-defined spirit, 
 aim, and method. In an ideal arrangement, a course in 
 the history of the novel would probably be undertaken 
 from this point of view. It is impossible to gain a satis- 
 factory view of the development of any national fiction 
 without constant reference to the general European devel- 
 opment of fiction. No adequate work in the latter subject 
 exists in English, but the revised editions of Dunlop, with 
 the assistance of various monograph's, will furnish a valu- 
 able background. In the matter of translations, while 
 acquaintance with the originals is always desirable, there 
 is probably less loss through a translation for the novel 
 than for any other type of literature especially for lyric 
 poetry. If a spirit of cooperation exists among the modern 
 language teachers of a school, combined effort can offer 
 some instruction in comparative literature, without offense 
 to the dignity of scholarship. 
 
INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 One reason why the study of the novel has made slow 
 progress, until recent years, is that it could not follow the 
 traditional methods of criticism for the classics. Some 
 classical teachers seem scornful of the study of modern 
 literature, at least in the mother-tongue of the student. 
 These conditions are not entirely discouraging. They 
 may prove a stimulus in the development of a study of 
 literature for its own sake, and in relation to social, ethical, 
 and psychological interests rather than to philology, in its 
 narrower meaning. When the novel is considered as the 
 modern epic, moreover, even Homer and Vergil have a 
 legitimate place in the wide comparative view of fiction ; 
 and Coleridge suggests a tempting study when he writes, 
 " Upon my word, I think the OEdipus Tyrannus, The 
 Alchemist, and Tom Jones the three most perfect plots 
 ever planned" (Table-talk, July 5, 1834). 
 
 An intensive study of any art ought to increase interest 
 in other arts, and to prove a good introduction, episode, or 
 epilogue in a course of general aesthetics. The novel is 
 often considered the most characteristic art-form of the 
 nineteenth century. It offers one an inviting field for the 
 concrete study of many important principles and problems 
 of aesthetics, some of which have been brought into recent 
 prominence because of its large vogue. Like music, fiction 
 has the advantage of offering its masterpieces to communi- 
 ties remote from the great art centers. 
 
 The willing, if feminine, assistance the novel may give 
 to ethics, history, psychology, and sociology ought not to 
 be despised. Such studies as are outlined in Chapters X 
 and XI directly concern the last two subjects, which are 
 also touched at many points in the analysis of the form 
 and matter of the novel itself. The psychology of charac- 
 terization, if it does not yield real scientific data, furnishes 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 an interesting literary comment on the science of the mind. 
 The writer has known an instructor to analyze some of 
 Poe's tales in a course in logic. For such a purpose a 
 technical examination of the methods of motivation would 
 not have come amiss. 
 
 President King, of Oberlin College, makes contact with 
 the complexity of life one of the three or four essentials of 
 a real educational process. If this judgment is accepted, 
 the large educational value of the novel can scarcely be 
 denied. Complex in its origin, development, form, subject, 
 and appeal, it introduces the mind to a world which has to 
 some degree the aspect of a chaos rather than a cosmos, 
 and yet is not without its laws. Fiction, in its ethics 
 and its aesthetics, its exhibition of the individual, of society, 
 and of religion, challenges the student to review his 
 opinions ; to distinguish truth from error, the significant 
 from the insignificant; to search for the fundamental 
 values of art and the essential meaning of experience. 
 A study of the novel brings one face to face with strong 
 and often restless minds, and invites one, by a slow and 
 patient effort, to learn to know himself. 
 
 Never perfect as a form of art, never presenting a per- 
 fect individual or a perfect society, fiction represents the 
 limitations, but also the living qualities, of romantic art, as 
 conceived in a broad contrast to the classical ideal, by 
 Browning : 
 
 To-day's brief passion limits their range; 
 
 It seethes with the morrow for us and more. 
 They are perfect how else ? they shall never change : 
 
 We are faulty why not ? we have time in store. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PREFACE v 
 
 INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 CHAPTER 1 
 EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 
 
 SECTION 
 
 1. Meaning of External Structure I 
 
 2. Significance of External Structure 2 
 
 3. Characteristics of Novelistic Structure 2 
 
 4. The Whole Composition 3 
 
 5. The Title 5 
 
 6. Length of Composition 6 
 
 7. Principal Divisions of a Novel 7 
 
 8. Volume, Part, and Book 8 
 
 9. The Chapter 9 
 
 10. The Paragraph 10 
 
 11. Minor Divisions 12 
 
 12. Prose and Verse __ i^_ 
 
 13. Dramatic and Non-dramatic Form 15 
 
 14. Non-dramatic Form . 16 
 
 15. Dialogic Form in General 17 
 
 1 6. Soliloquy and Monologue 17 
 
 17. Duologue 18 
 
 1 8. Group Conversation (Conversation) 18 
 
 19. Concerted Speech 19 
 
 20. Documentary Form in General 20 
 
 21. Epistolary Form 20 
 
 22. Syntax 22 
 
 23. Vocabulary 25 
 
 24. Phonology 27 
 
 xiii 
 
xiv CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 
 
 SECTION PAGE 
 
 25. Significance of Consecutive Structure 28 
 
 26. Sequence 29 
 
 27. The Principal Masses 30 
 
 28. Sequence of Dramatic and Non-dramatic Masses . . . .31 
 
 29. Beginning, Middle, and End 32 
 
 30. Movement and Situation . 33 
 
 31. Event and Incident . 34 
 
 32. The Scene 36 
 
 33. Episode 4 37 
 
 34. Lines of Interest .38 
 
 35. The Line of Emotion 39 
 
 36. Points .....40 
 
 37. Mass in Momentum ... 42 
 
 38. The Rate of Movement 43 
 
 39. Climax and Foiling 44 
 
 40. Reciprocity 45 
 
 41. Analysis of Simpler Narratives 46 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 PLOT 
 
 42. Meaning of Plot 47 
 
 43. Necessity and Ideality of Narrative Plot 48 
 
 44. Action and Narration 49 
 
 45- Stoi 7 - 5 1 
 
 46. Story and Plot ..........51 
 
 47. The Plot Proper 52 
 
 48. The Single Action 53 
 
 49. Sequence of Simple Narratives 56 
 
 50. The Dramatic Line 57 
 
 51. The Climax 59 
 
 52. The Catastrophe 60 
 
 53. Motivation .....62 
 
 54. Motivating Forces 63 
 
 55. The Narrator. His Point of View 66 
 
 56. Temporal Point of View 67 
 
 57. Spatial Point of View 69 
 
CONTENTS XV 
 
 SECTION PAGE 
 
 58. Character Point of View ........ 7 1 
 
 59. Generalized Statement of Plot ....... 72 
 
 60. Unity of Plot ........... 73 
 
 61. Types of Plot ...... .... 74 
 
 62. The Judgment of Plot ......... 7 6 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 THE SETTINGS 
 
 63. Esthetic Function of Settings ....... 78 
 
 64. General Time Setting ......... 78 
 
 65. Detailed Time Settings ......... 79 
 
 66. General Place Setting ......... Si 
 
 67. Detailed Place Settings ......... 82 
 
 68. Circumstantial Settings ......... 83 
 
 69. Reality, Ideality, and Truth ........ 84 
 
 70. Vague and Exact Settings ........ 85 
 
 71. Natural, Social, and Socialized Settings ...... 86 
 
 72. Author and Dramatis Personse ....... 87 
 
 73. Distribution ........... 88 
 
 74. Further Economy ....... ... 89 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 THE DRAMATIS PERSONS 
 
 75. Composition . ....... 91 
 
 76. Number ............ 92 
 
 77. Chapter Distribution ........ 93 
 
 78. Grouping in General ..... .... 93 
 
 79. Successive Groups .......... 94 
 
 80. Foreground, Middleground, and Background Characters * . .96 
 -* 81. Central Characters .......... 97 
 
 82. Association of Characters ........ 99 
 
 83. Relation to the Author ......... 101 
 
 84. Reality and Ideality ......... 102 
 
 85. Individuals and Types ......... 104 
 
 86. Social Groups .......... . 105 
 
 87. Psychological Groups ......... 107 
 
xvi CONTENTS 
 
 / CHAPTER VI 
 
 ^ CHARACTERIZATION 
 
 SECTION PAGE 
 
 ~-^ 88. Character and Characterization . 109 
 
 ^ 89. Novelistic Characterization . . . . . . .no 
 
 90. Character Unfolding in 
 
 91. Appellation , . , .112 
 
 92. Physiognomy . . . .113 
 
 93. Costume and Physical Environment 114 
 
 94. Pantomime 116 
 
 95. Utterance 117 
 
 96. Physiological Psychology . . . . . . .118 
 
 97. Pure Psychology 120 
 
 98. Identity, Individuality, and Type 121 
 
 99. Character Change 124 
 
 ; 100. Direct and Indirect Characterization 125 
 
 101. General Methods 127 
 
 102. Group Characterization 128 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 SUBJECT-MATTER 
 
 103. Subject-Matter and Form . 130 
 
 104. Extensive and Intensive Subject 131 
 
 105. The Typical and the Individual 131 
 
 106. Exhibition and Interpretation 131 
 
 107. The Subject of the Novel 132 
 
 108. Sociology and History 132 
 
 109. Social Composition 133 
 
 no. Social Life 135 
 
 111. Historical Period 138 
 
 112. Historical Interpretation 139 
 
 113. Individuality 140 
 
 114 The Individual and Society 142 
 
 115. Human Nature 143 
 
 116. Nature in Man . . * 144 
 
 117. External Nature 144 
 
 1 1 8. The Supernatural 145 
 
 119. General Philosophy 147 
 
 120. The Main Theme 148 
 
CONTENTS xvii 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 STYLE 
 
 SECTION PACK 
 
 121. General Conception , .150 
 
 122. Objective and Subjective Aspects . . . . . . .151 
 
 123. Qualities of Style 151 
 
 124. Types of Style ... 152 
 
 125. Value of Style in the Novel .... 152 
 
 126. The Novelistic Type 154 
 
 127. Novelistic Qualities 154 
 
 128. Comprehensiveness 155 
 
 129. Objectivity 156 
 
 130. Concreteness 158 
 
 131. Complexity 160 
 
 132. Secularity 161 
 
 133. Humor 162. 
 
 134. Ideality 163 
 
 135. Force 164 
 
 136. Other Qualities 165 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 
 
 137. Value of the Study 166 
 
 138. The Data for Study 166 
 
 139. The Germ of the Work 167 
 
 140. The Plan 169 
 
 141. The Sources 170 
 
 142. The Time Perspective 173 
 
 143. Technic of the Process 174 
 
 144. Psychology of the Process 176 
 
 145. Collaboration 180 
 
 146. Fragments 180 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 THE SHAPING FORCES 
 
 147. General Conception 181 
 
 148. The Data 182 
 
 149. Individuality of the Author 183 
 
xviii CONTENTS 
 
 SECTION PACK 
 
 150. The Author's Age 184 
 
 151. Sex 185 
 
 152. Personal Episode 186 
 
 153. National and Racial Influences 187 
 
 154. Linguistic Influence 191 
 
 155. Literary Influence . 193 
 
 156. Historical Influence 195 
 
 157. Immediate Social Environment e 197 
 
 158. Human Nature . . 198 
 
 159. The Influence of Nature 199 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 
 
 1 60. Popularity of Fiction 202 
 
 161. The Data , 203 
 
 162. Time Distribution 203 
 
 163. Place Distribution 204 
 
 164. Influence upon Literature 205 
 
 165. Social Groups in General . . . . . . . 207 
 
 1 66. Influence upon Individuals 208 
 
 167. Kind and Degree of Influence 209 
 
 1 68. Perceptual Effect 209 
 
 169. Sensational Effect . . 211 
 
 170. Emotional Effect 212 
 
 171. Conceptual Effect 213 
 
 172. Volitional Effect 214 
 
 173. The Influencing Elements 214 
 
 174. The Causes of Influence 216 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 
 
 175. Nature of the Study 218 
 
 176. The Forms of Discourse 218 
 
 177. Prose and Poetry 219 
 
 178. Prose and Verse 220 
 
 179- The Short Story 221 
 
 180. The Epic 222 
 
 181. Biography .. 224 
 
CONTENTS xix 
 
 SECTION PACE 
 
 182. History * 225 
 
 183. The Essay 226 
 
 184. The Lyric 227 
 
 185. Journalism 229 
 
 186. Other Types of Literature 230 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 COMPARATIVE ESTHETICS 
 
 187. Relation of the Separate Arts 232 
 
 1 88. Classification of the Arts 233 
 
 189. Method of Study 233 
 
 190. The Drama 234 
 
 191. Painting 237 
 
 192. Sculpture 239 
 
 193. Music ... 241 
 
 194. Architecture 243 
 
 195. Landscape Gardening ......... 245 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 GENERAL ESTHETIC INTEREST 
 
 196. ^Esthetic Analysis and Esthetic Theory 247 
 
 197. Nature and Humanity in a Work of Art . 247 
 
 198. Language as External Material ..... 248 
 
 199. The Value of Form ......... 249 
 
 200. Individuality of a Work of Art . 249 
 
 201. Unity General Design . 250 
 
 202. Contrast 252 
 
 203. Proportion 253 
 
 204. The Comic and the Tragic ........ 254 
 
 205. The Beautiful and the Unbeautiful 256 
 
 206. Artistic Truth 257 
 
 207. Artistic Illusion . .258 
 
 208. Theories of Art 260 
 
 209. Theories of the Novel 262 
 
 210. Judgment of a Novel 263 
 
XX CONTENTS 
 
 AITENDIX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Systematic Analysis of a Novel 265 
 
 II. Glossary and Topical References 269 
 
 III. Types of Prose Fiction 279 
 
 IV. Notes on the History of Novelistic Criticism . . . 286 
 V. Bibliography and References 309 
 
 INDEX . 319 
 
THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 
 
 i. Meaning of External Structure. Like all other 
 artists, the novelist communicates with us solely through a 
 sensuous medium an external material. For the novel- 
 ist this medium is language, considered as already pre- 
 pared for him by nature and society, and significant in the 
 study of an individual work only as an individual novelist 
 has given it a particular structure. This medium itself, 
 differing in no very important respects for all the forms 
 of literature, is considered in the chapter on General 
 Esthetic Interest. 
 
 The form given to language in a novel, as observed by 
 eye and ear, whether referring to small details or to the 
 whole composition, may be called, for the sake of clear 
 ness, the "external structure." Primarily, and especially 
 from the aesthetic point of view, the appeal of this 
 structure is to the ear. The complete evaluation of the 
 structural interest of a novel can be given only when it is 
 read aloud. Practically, in most cases, the values of the 
 structure as an arrangement of sounds, reach us through 
 the medium of the eye, and this visible structure comes to 
 have a certain, though relatively slight, aesthetic value in 
 itself. A sonnet is more readily appreciated when it is 
 printed compactly on a single page. 
 
2 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 2. Signiricance of External Structure. The larger units 
 of external structure in a novel have comparatively little 
 aesthetic significance in themselves, as compared with those 
 of the spatial arts. There is no very obvious artistic dif- 
 ference between a novel divided into " parts " and one 
 divided into chapters only ; but these divisions are impor- 
 tant when we interpret them in their relation to the " in- 
 ternal structure." The smaller structural forms, those 
 which the ear distinctly grasps as units the phrase, 
 sentence, paragraph may have a definite aesthetic value 
 in themselves. Elaborate attention to the sound-values 
 of every detail of structure is more characteristic of verse 
 than of prose, and some critics would probably consider it 
 antagonistic to the nature of the novel as a prose form. 
 On the whole, the tendency to develop these values per- 
 sistently is more characteristic of the short story than of 
 longer fictions, and more characteristic of the romance 
 than of the novel. 
 
 3. Characteristics of Novelistic Structure. All the 
 structural forms of the novel are found in other kinds of 
 literature. The novel differs from its literary fellows only 
 by a characteristic combination of structural units, and in 
 some cases, by a special adaptation of them. No form of 
 prose literature, in English at least, has a perfectly definite 
 structure determining the type of the whole composition. 
 In comparison with the sonnet, rondeau, ballade, etc., the 
 novel, the essay, the oration, are all " amorphous." The 
 history of the novel shows no very important development 
 in this respect, though somewhat more careful attention to 
 the treatment of structural units is naturally found in the 
 more modern novelists. 
 
 The novel, in a generic sense including the romance, 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 3 
 
 as written to-day, is fairly determinate in the following 
 respects : 
 
 1. It is written almost entirely in prose. 
 
 2. It contains from fifty thousand to five hundred thou- 
 
 sand words. 
 
 3. It is divided into paragraphs, and the paragraphs 
 
 grouped into one, or usually more than one, kind 
 of higher division. 
 
 4. It has a distinct, separate title or titles, sufficient to 
 
 distinguish it from all other individual works. 
 (Compare some lyrics, called simply "Lines," "A 
 Song," etc. ; histories identified by the author's 
 name, etc.) 
 
 5. It is composed of a significant combination, in alter- 
 
 nation, of dramatic form (quoted speech) and of 
 non-dramatic (unquoted speech). If the entire 
 novel is supposed to be quoted speech, as in the 
 epistolary and other documentary types, there is a 
 secondary dramatic form within this. Specially 
 characteristic of the novel, as distinct from the 
 drama, is the " described dialogue," as contrasted 
 with the "set" or pure dramatic dialogue. 
 
 4. The Whole Composition. The mere determination 
 of the composition is not quite so simple a matter as it 
 might seem. Ordinarily a single novel is taken as a unit 
 for careful study. 
 
 This frequently includes more than the " story " proper the con- 
 tinuous illusion of the plot. It may be introduced by a " dramatic " 
 preface, with an illusion of its own, as in Scott's Old Mortality, Bride 
 of Lammermoor, etc. In the latter work, Chapter I is supposed to be 
 written by Peter Pattieson, is quite separate from the story proper, and 
 contains an interesting and fairly complete little story in itself. A novel 
 
4 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 may end as well as begin with this dramatic addition to the story 
 proper ; as does, for example, The Heart of Midlothian. 
 
 The "single novel" may be a member of a group, 
 which must be examined if one is fully to comprehend 
 the isolated member. A familiar example of the grouping 
 of a number of single compositions into a larger whole is 
 found in the so-called "frame." This form has been most 
 frequently used in the short story, notably in the famous 
 examples of the Decameron, Heptameron, Canterbury 
 Tales, etc., but it is occasionally found in the novel. 
 
 Scott partially carries out the "frame" idea in his Tales of My 
 Landlord. The " frame," in this case, includes several minor charac- 
 ters, as well as the principal ones Jedediah Cleishbotham and Peter 
 Pattieson and a number of interesting incidents and settings. An ex- 
 ample of a long fiction belonging to a larger non-fictive whole is Paul 
 and Virginia, composed as one of Saint-Pierre's u Studies of Nature." 
 This famous idyl can, to say the least, be better understood if one has 
 some acquaintance with the " whole composition," of which it is in a 
 sense a part. One of the most interesting examples of a fictive compo- 
 sition including an expanded part essentially non-fictive is Robinson 
 Crusoe. To most readers, Robinson Crusoe means what Defoe finally 
 considered only the first of three parts of that work. 
 
 In some cases, to give variety and scope to the study, 
 one may take as the unit of analysis, not a single novel, but 
 a group of related novels. These are properly one com- 
 position only when they were so intended by the author 
 himself ; but this is not a rare case in the history of the 
 novel. The degree of unity in such series, in characters, 
 plot, settings, etc., is very various. In regular "duodrama," 
 trilogy, or tetralogy, a very high degree of unity may be 
 found, worthy of close examination. 
 
 One form with less definitely planned unity is that of the simple con- 
 tinuation, frequently suggested by another than the novelist, after the 
 publication of the first part, as in Pamela, Don Quixote, etc. Some- 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 5 
 
 times such continuation has been forced upon the author by a spurious 
 one. Continuation by another than the original author offers interest- 
 ing material for study of the process of composition. 
 
 Larger groups may be called series, or cycles. Their 
 organization is sometimes quite complex, as in what is 
 probably the supreme example, the Comedie Humaine 
 of Balzac. For special purposes still looser groups may 
 be studied together : as a novel and its imitations, for 
 example, Robinson Crusoe and the " Robinsonades " of 
 German fiction ; or a work and burlesques upon it, as 
 Pamela and Joseph Andrews, the romances of chivalry 
 and Don Quixote, Gothic romances and Jane Austen's 
 Northanger Abbey. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF NOVELISTIC GROUPS. Dualogy: Valdes Riverita, 
 Maximina; Goethe Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre and Wanderjahre. 
 Trilogy: Scott Waverley, Guy Mannering, Antiquary (see advertise- 
 ment to last, 1829); Zola Lourdes, Rome, Paris; Sienkiewicz With 
 Fire and Sword, The Deluge, Pan Michael ; d'Annunzio Romances of 
 the Lily ; in some sense the novels of Richardson. Series: Freytag 
 DieAhnen; Zola The Rougon-Macquart novels ; Trollope Chron- 
 icles of Barsetshire. Cycle: Balzac Come'die Humaine; Waverley 
 Novels. (For grouping in Scott's mind, see his own introductions.) 
 
 Even when the composition is a single novel, it may con- 
 tain an intercalated story that is aesthetically quite inde- 
 pendent (Don Quixote, Gil Bias, Tom Jones, Tale of Two 
 Cities, etc.). A unique example of intercalation is the 
 complete drama in Ziegler's Asiatische Banise. 
 
 5. The Title. In the introduction of 1829 to Rob Roy, 
 Scott, speaking of the title, says, "A good name [is] 
 very nearly of as much consequence in literature as in 
 4ife." (Compare Chapter I of Waverley.) In the intro- 
 duction of 1830 to Ivanhoe, he states the theory that a 
 title should conceal the nature of the composition ; yet 
 
6 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 probably the most natural function of a title is to express 
 in some manner the main theme of the novel. It may 
 refer more particularly to characters, settings, or action ; 
 it may be realistic, romantic, impressionistic, etc. A title 
 often has some special significance not apparent on the 
 surface. Note, for example, Joseph Andrews, Sense and 
 Sensibility, Nouvelle HeloYse, TurgeniefF s On the Eve, 
 Comdie Humaine. 
 
 The titles of English sentimental fiction toward the close of the 
 eighteenth century include : Sentimental Tales, The Tears of Sensibil- 
 ity, The Man of Feeling, The Effusions of the Heart, and many others 
 of like nature. Characteristic of nineteenth century realism are such 
 titles as A Modern Instance (Howells), A Common Story (Gontcharoff), 
 One of Life's Slaves (Lie), Life's Little Ironies (Thomas Hardy). 
 
 In form, a title may be single or double ; thematic or 
 analytical ; purely individual, or including a type word 
 or phrase. Of such type words story, novel, romance, ad- 
 ventures, history, life, etc., are common examples. 
 
 Adventures is a common type word in the novel of action, occurring 
 in Smollett frequently, in Robinson Crusoe, Joseph Andrews, Oliver 
 Twist, Kidnapped, etc. History has been common since Painter wrote 
 (preface to The Palace of Pleasure, 1565) of "histories, which, by 
 another term, I call novels." It was specially frequent in the latter part 
 of the eighteenth century ; " secret history " being a somewhat charac- 
 teristic variation. 
 
 An old-fashioned artificial device is the repetition of the title at the 
 end of the novel, used some half-dozen times by Scott, and in Soil und 
 Haben. Titles of the subdivisions of structure are often important. 
 
 6. Length of Composition. Recent criticism has em- 
 phasized the idea that the difference between the modern 
 short story and the novel is not primarily one of length. 
 Still it is true that marked variation in length implies 
 aesthetic difference in the fictions themselves, the process 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 7 
 
 of composition, and the effect on the reader. Silas Mar- 
 ner and War and Peace may both be called novels; 
 but the fact that the former contains about seventy-five 
 thousand words and the latter about seven hundred thou- 
 sand concerns every important aspect of the two works. 
 The mere labor of writing and reading the heroic romances 
 those fictions a tongue haleine is indicative of signifi- 
 cant social conditions during the period of their popularity. 
 Richardson was fully conscious of the great length of his 
 novels, and offers apology or explanations therefor. 
 
 The length of a novel may be given in pages, but the approximate 
 length in words is more convenient for purposes of comparison, espe- 
 cially with compositions in verse. A classification for practical pur- 
 poses may follow some such outline as this : 
 
 Minor Novel. From 50,000 to 125,000 words. Silas Marner, 75,000 ; 
 Scarlet Letter, 70,000. 
 
 Paradise Lost contains about 85,000 words; the Divine Comedy 
 about 100,000. 
 
 Medium Novel 1 25,000 to 250,000 words . Mrs. Radcliife's Romance 
 of the Forest, 130,000; Adam Bede, 200,000. 
 
 Major Novel. 250,000 to 500,000 words. David Copperfield, 
 340,000; Daniel Deronda, 320,000. 
 
 Maximum Novel. More than 500,000 words. War and Peace, 
 700,000; Clarissa Harlowe, 800,000; Madelaine de Scude'ry's Grand 
 Cyrus, 1,800,000. 
 
 The entire Come'die Humaine contains something like 4,000,000 
 words : The Waverley Novels are about the same length. 
 
 7. Principal Divisions of a Novel. In a typical novel 
 these are the chapter and paragraph : in longer fictions, 
 the part, volume, and book are frequently added. The 
 epistolary novel often has no further divisions than the 
 letters themselves, frequently given with separate numbers 
 or headings. 
 
 The narrative quality of Defoe's novels is emphasized by his habitual 
 limitation to the paragraph. Clara Reeve's Old English Baron and 
 
8 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Brooke's Juliet Grenville are other examples of undivided eighteenth 
 century novels. Scott invariably uses the chapter and rarely a higher 
 division, though he is fond of dramatic prefaces, postscripts, etc. 
 Dickens generally has only chapter divisions. 
 
 In one fiction or another nearly every possible method of division is 
 found. Verri's Notti Romane, nights, colloquies ; White's Earl Strong- 
 bow, nights ; Leland's Longsword, sections ; Gogol's Dead Souls, epic 
 cantos ; Sarah Fielding and Jane Collier's The Cry, scenes. 
 
 8. Volume, Part, and Book. When a mere accident of 
 publication, the volume has no artistic significance, but it is 
 often a genuine unit of structure, sometimes with separate 
 title. When both part and book are used, the former is 
 generally the major division. The book is found in the 
 Greek romances, as one of the results of epic influence, 
 and has since been associated with the theory of the novel 
 as the modern epic. Fielding divided all his novels into 
 books, establishing a temporary precedent so strong that 
 the preface 1 to The Cry (1754) refers to "the common 
 divisions of book and chapter/' Mrs. Radcliffe returned 
 to a simple chapter division. There is sometimes a high 
 degree of unity, in these larger divisions, in characters, 
 theme, setting, or action. There may be a distinct dra- 
 matic line. Sometimes there is a more external unity ; as 
 of epistolary structure, Balzac's Deputy for Arcis, or of in- 
 tercalated narrative, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, Book VI. 
 
 Balzac frequently uses parts (A Woman of Thirty, Lost Illusions, etc.), 
 and in general a somewhat complicated division. Parts are found in 
 Zola's Downfall and The Soil, Scarron's Roman Comique, Nouvelle 
 He'loise, George Sand's Le*lia and Indiana, and many other well-known 
 fictions. 
 
 Books are used in Esmond, Corinne, Amadis of Gaul, Wilhelm 
 Meister, Notre Dame de Paris, Hall Caine's The Manxman, Daniel 
 Deronda, Tale of Two Cities, etc. The epic number twelve is found in 
 Gil Bias, Amelia, and Grave's Spiritual Quixote. 
 
 1 Probably written by Miss Fielding. 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 9 
 
 9. The Chapter. While found in other forms of com- 
 position, this is the structural unit most characteristic of 
 the novel. It is used with great freedom, its value depend- 
 ing on relation to the individual work rather than to abstract 
 rhetorical principle. While the chapter bears a certain 
 analogy to the dramatic scene, the number of chapters 
 often greatly exceeds the number of scenes in a well- 
 constructed drama. In length, also, the chapter shows 
 great variation ; but for a given novel there is a certain 
 norm below and above which a true aesthetic quality is 
 lost. The realists, for example Trollope, Howells, Jane 
 Austen, are comparatively regular. The romanticists and 
 the pure humorists are much more capricious. Marked 
 brevity is sometimes a source of humorous effect; occasion- 
 ally a source of tragic effect. 
 
 The unity of a chapter is generally quite distinct. Ex- 
 ternally it may appear in title, motto, or dramatic form. 
 A chapter frequently has a. definite introductory and con/ 
 eluding paragraph, or begins and ends with marked 
 single effects. Trollope occasionally opens a chapter 
 with the same words that conclude the preceding chapter. 
 (Can You Forgive Her? XII and XIII; Framley Parson- 
 age, IX and X.) The first and last chapters of a novel 
 often have some distinctive form. The first chapter in 
 Trollope rarely contains dialogue ; the first chapters of 
 Scott's Tales of My Landlord are first-person narra- 
 tives by " Peter Pattieson." A chapter is naturally more 
 distinctly unified in respect to the characters, settings, 
 action, process of composition and effect than the larger 
 divisions, and less so than the paragraph. In the novel 
 of character the introduction of important new characters 
 usually demands a new chapter; in the novel of action, 
 important incident. 
 
10 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 EXAMPLES 
 
 Number of chapters: Peregrine Pickle, 106; Amelia, 115; Tom 
 Jones, 208; War and Peace, 362. Chapter length: Notre Dame de 
 Paris, i to 40 pages (romanticism) ; Gil Bias, I to 60 (humor). 
 Humorous brevity: Tristram Shandy; Bulwer's Paul Clifford, 27. 
 Tragic brevity: Bulwer's Kenelm Chillingly, VIII, 6; Gald6s' Dona 
 Perfecta, last chapter. 
 
 Mottos are characteristic of the romantic movement, and of ro- 
 mance generally. Scott uses them habitually, perhaps following Mrs. 
 RadclirFe in this respect as in others. See his comment on the 
 practise; Rob Roy, advertisement, The Monastery, Chapter III, and 
 elsewhere. Other famous fictions with chapter mottos are, Vigny's 
 Cinq Mars, Last of the Mohicans, HaufTs Lichtenstein, Kingsiey's 
 Westward Ho ! 
 
 Definite introduction: Ivanhoe, I, 3, 4, 5, etc.; Last of the Mohi- 
 cans, 3, 9, ii, etc. Definite conchision: Ivanhoe, 3, 6, 9, etc. ; Last of 
 the Mohicans, I, 9, 10, etc. Epistolary form (common): Trollope's 
 Can You Forgive Her ? II, 4 ; Bulwer's Kenelm Chillingly, four ex- 
 amples. Semi-soliloquy: Tolstoi's Resurrection, III, 40. Monologue: 
 Adam Bede, 2. Duologue: Last of the Mohicans, 5, 12, 19, 20, 21; 
 Ivanhoe, 6, 15, 16, 20, 21, 28, 29. Conversation: Last of the Mohicans, 
 4; Ivanhoe, 5, 7; Silas Marner, 6. Set dramatic form: Fielding's 
 Jonathan Wild, III, 8. Intercalated reverting narrative: The Resur- 
 rection, I, 2, 37; Adam Bede, 45. Essay: Frequent in Fielding, 
 especially in the first chapters of books ; Notre Dame de Paris, III, 2 ; 
 
 V, 2. 
 
 Chapter groups occur in nearly every novel, sometimes marked 
 definitely in the external structure, as in Stevenson's Black Arrow, 
 " The Good Hope," " The Good Hope Continued," " The Good Hope 
 Concluded"; and in Trollope's Barchester Towers, 'Ullathorne Sports, 
 Act I, Act II, Act III.' Other examples of chapter groups are found 
 in The Virginians, II, 2 to 4, intercalated narrative] Adam Bede, 6 to 
 8, 21 to 26, 27 and 28, episodes ; Tolstoi's Resurrection, II, 12 to 18, 
 reverting narrative reminiscence. 
 
 10. The Paragraph. The paragraph in the novel is 
 more flexible than in most forms of prose, and is one of 
 the elements in the complexity of novelistic structure. It 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE II 
 
 may be differentiated for narrative, descriptive, dramatic, 
 and lyrical service, and these functions change often in the 
 typical novel. The paragraph has undergone great devel- 
 opment in the course of its history. 1 In the early romance 
 it is frequently exceedingly long, and without artistic unity 
 (Boyle's Parthenissa contains one of over fourteen thou- 
 sand words), while in some of the recent short story writers 
 there is an almost abnormal consciousness of paragraph 
 value. In general, the shorter the composition, the more 
 significant the paragraph division. There is great range 
 of length in the typical novel. In Silas Marner the short- 
 est paragraph is a dramatic speech of two words "That's 
 ended," Chapter XX; the longest, a third-person narrative 
 episode of five hundred words in Chapter IV. 
 
 As in real life, careful attention to paragraph structure 
 is not characteristic of conversation, but of artificial written 
 speech, the realistic novel is not inclined to elaborate it 
 in dialogic passages. Its chief technical use, in this par- 
 ticular, is to set off the single speech, the connectives, and 
 the author's comment. In the romance and romantic 
 novel, however, it may be devoted to poetical purpose, 
 even approaching the structure and value of the stanza. 
 Other important functions of the paragraph are generali- 
 zation ; transition from one action or character to another ; 
 characterization ; setting ; motivation ; foreshadowing and 
 preparation ; summary of situation, etc. 
 
 The very short paragraph is often effective for striking dramatic or 
 sensational emphasis. Such usage is characteristic of Hugo. It also 
 aids rapidity and isolation of incident in narrative passages. Various 
 effects of symmetry, monotony, climax, may be gained by the careful 
 construction of a series of paragraphs. Occasionally in compositions 
 
 1 See E. H. Lewis's History of the English Paragraph, 1894. 
 
12 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 d passages of a lyrical character a paragraph is repeated in substance 
 or verbatim, as a sort of leit-motif or refrain. Examples are found in 
 d'Annunzio's Triumph of Death and in Dombey and Son. 
 
 ii. Minor Divisions. The main text of a novel is fre- 
 quently accompanied by one or more of the following 
 accessories : critical or fictitious preface ; dedication ; lists 
 of dramatis personae; annotation; historical document; 
 epilogue, etc. 
 
 The fictitious preface may relate to the author, to the novel itself, 
 or to almost independent incidents and characters. One of its special 
 services is to introduce the illusion of the imaginary manuscript; 
 another to explain the initial circumstances of a voyage imaginaire. 
 A study of the fictitious prefaces of Scott will reveal most of the con- 
 ventions, powers, and limitations of the form. Examples are found in 
 Quentin Durward (9000 words), Rob Roy, Fortunes of Nigel, Peveril 
 of the Peak, Tales of My Landlord, I Promessi Sposi, Henry Esmond, 
 La Nouvelle Hdloi'se, Castle of Otranto, Holberg's Iter Subterraneum. 
 
 Final divisions, like epilogue, etc., are usually brief. They may recur 
 to the fiction of the preface, as in the " peroration " of Old Mortality, 
 or outline the future of the characters and action of the novel, or gen- 
 eralize on the picture of life that has been presented. A definitely 
 stated moral, common in medieval fiction, is rare in modern fiction. 
 One occurs at the close of the Heart of Midlothian, I Promessi Sposi, 
 and the original form of Balzac's Peau de Chagrin. 
 
 Lists of dramatis persona, with some slight characterization, are 
 found in the novels of Richardson and in a few other fictions. Anno- 
 tation of the main narrative by a fictitious character is not an uncom- 
 mon device, and is often an effective means of increasing the illusion 
 of reality. It is used in Old Mortality, Esmond, The Virginians, 
 Stevenson's Master of Ballantrae. Historical document, occasionally 
 found in earlier fiction, may be most conveniently studied in Scott 
 and his school. The novel with a key was prominent in the seven- 
 teenth century (heroic romance ; satire ; political fiction, as in Barclay's 
 Argenis) ; and in the eighteenth century, with its fondness for the 
 " secret history " and intrigues of the aristocracy (for example, Mrs. 
 Hay wood's Memoirs of ... Utopia). 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 13 
 
 12. Prose and Verse. In realistic novels verse enters 
 mainly as a subordinate element, either to aid in charac- 
 terization, or to give color to a particular time or place 
 setting, especially in historical fiction. Many lyrics are 
 found in Scott's romances. Examples of more recent 
 realistic use are found in Balzac's Letters of Two 
 Brides, Sudermann's Frau Sorge, Valera's Comendador 
 Mendoza. The logical connection of the verse with the 
 action and the degree of fusion with the fictive illusion as 
 a whole vary considerably. In the fictions of the romantic 
 movement, at the beginning of the last century, the liberal 
 use of verse is characteristic of the lyrical tendency of the 
 period. The novelist himself was frequently a poet, and 
 instinctively selected a character with poetic gifts for hero 
 or heroine; or his desire to arouse poetic emotion in the 
 reader led to the introduction of verse. 
 
 Mrs. RadclifiVs titles sometimes include the phrase "interspersed 
 with some pieces of poetry. 1 ' Gaston de Blondeville contains a poem 
 of about five hundred lines ; the Mysteries of Udolpho and Romance 
 of the Forest each has some fifteen poems. Other fictions with the 
 romantic use of verse are Werther, Ivanhoe, Madame de StaeTs Corinne, 
 Andersen's Improvisatore, Bulwer's Kenelm Chillingly. 
 
 In the romance of the Middle Ages and the early Re- 
 naissance we find a more distinctly structural value of verse; 
 though there is no literary form in which the structural 
 relations of prose and verse are definite. The nearest 
 approach to such relation is in works like Dante's Vita 
 Nuova, drama of the Shakespearian type, and the pas- 
 toral romance. This last form originated in the classical 
 metrical pastoral, and always retained more or less dis- 
 tinctly a prosimetrical structure ; usually with definite pre- 
 dominance of verse, as in Belleau's Journee de la Bergerie, 
 or of prose, as in Sannazaro's Arcadia and Lodge's Rosa- 
 
14 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 lind. The arrangement is always an alternation of prose 
 and verse. In the romance of chivalry as a distinct type 
 (it is often combined with the pastoral), the verse is in- 
 herited from the metrical romances of chivalry, long or 
 short. Akin to this type is the prosimetrical saga; for 
 example, the Volsunga Saga. Some of the tales of 
 William Morris revived this early structure. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF PROSIMETRICAL STRUCTURE 
 
 Per cent of Verse Per cent of Prose 
 
 Boccaccio's Ameto 15 85 
 
 Sannazaro's Arcadia 28 72 
 
 Sidney's Arcadia 7. 93 
 
 Cervantes' Galatea 38 62 
 
 Morris' House of the Wolfings .15 85 
 
 Rhythmical prose, in sustained passages, is far more 
 characteristic of the short story, the romance, and roman- 
 tic novel, than of the realistic novel. It is usually in- 
 troduced without definite structural distinction, but is 
 occasionally found in more formal manner. Important 
 examples are found in the Renaissance attempts to com- 
 bine the values of poetry and prose, as in Euphuism ; and 
 in the Ossianic movement of the eighteenth century. 1 In 
 serious imitation of epic style it is found in Gogol's Taras 
 Bulba; in burlesque imitation, in Swift's Battle of the 
 Books, and in passages of Fielding and Smollett. 
 
 Mere fragments of rhythmical prose may of course occur in any pas- 
 sage of heightened lyrical expression. 
 
 Bulwer's Rienzi, Book VII, Chapter 7: 
 
 " Thrice blessed name ! Immortal Florentine " (perfect " iambic 
 pentameter"). 
 
 1 See Riemann's Goethes Romantechnik, pp. 145 ff. 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 15 
 
 " I tell thee, Brettone, that this loose Italy has crowns on the hedge 
 that a dexterous hand may carry off at the point of the lance ! " 
 (" anapestic coloring ") . 
 
 13. Dramatic and Non-dramatic Form. All language 
 that is supposed to belong to a character, historical or Ac- 
 tive, other than the author, may be considered " dramatic." 
 The author's own language when fictitious, as in imag- 
 inary dialogue with a character, may also be included. 
 Language supposed to be reproduced with only partial 
 accuracy may be called " semi-dramatic." When dramatic 
 language within dramatic language occurs, as in the dia- 
 logue of epistolary novels, the including form may be 
 distinguished as "primary," the included as "secondary." 
 This arrangement is characteristic of the novel, and 
 one of the elements of complexity in its structure. For 
 convenience, all language presented as spoken may be 
 called " dialogic ; " all presented as written, " document- 
 ary." 
 
 A conscious, sustained alternation of dramatic and non-dramatic form 
 is characteristic of both epic and novel. The difference between the 
 two types, in this particular, consists largely in the less frequent change 
 from one form to the other in the epic, resulting in a much less compli- 
 cated structure. The approximate number of transitions in Beowulf is 
 90 ; in Paradise Lost, 350 ; in so short a fiction as Tolstoi's Master and 
 Man, 625. 
 
 Different novels show very various proportion and dis- 
 tribution between the two forms, indicative of great dif- 
 ferences in the general nature of the compositions. The 
 three tendencies toward emphasis on the dramatic, empha- 
 sis on the non-dramatic, and equivalence of the two may 
 be expressed by the simple formulas : Narrative-DRAMA ; 
 Dramatic-NARRATivE ; Dramatic-Narrative. 
 
16 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Per cent of Per cent of 
 
 Narrative-DRAMA Dramatic Form Non-dramatic 
 
 Theagenes and Chariclea .... 60 40 
 
 Book of Ruth 60 40 
 
 Paradise Lost 60 40 
 
 Dramatic-NARRATiVE 
 
 Bride of Lammermoor 40 60 
 
 Tolstoi's Master and Man . . . 35 65 
 
 Goethe's Wahlverwandtschaften . 35 65 
 
 Silas Marner 25 75 
 
 Defoe's Plague Year 5 95 
 
 (This exemplifies Defoe's strong tendency toward pure narrative. 
 Of course the entire Plague Year is dramatic, as purporting to be 
 written by a fictitious character.) 
 
 Dramatic-Narrative 
 
 Sense and Sensibility .O. . . . 45 55 
 
 14. Non-dramatic Form. In decided subordination to 
 dramatic form, the non-dramatic may precede, accompany, 
 or follow the former. An extended dialogue usually has a 
 definite introduction and conclusion, as well as intercalated 
 comment. In Silas Marner, Chapter VI is introduced by 
 the first paragraph of that chapter and the last of Chapter V. 
 
 In this chapter the longest comment is in paragraphs 17, 29, and 41 
 relatively short passages. The merely mechanical dialogic connec- 
 tives are essential to clearness in complicated dialogue, but are some- 
 times omitted in simple dialogue. Scott writes in Chapter I of the 
 Bride of Lammermoor of the "everlasting 'said he's 'and 'said she's'" 
 of his preceding novels. There are some fifty merely mechanical con- 
 nectives in Chapter VI of Silas Marner ; over thirty of them following 
 the monotonous form, said Mr. Macey," " said the landlord," etc. 
 
 In more independent use, non-dramatic language appears 
 with characteristic structural value, and often with approach 
 to fc set form, for narration of action not directly repre- 
 sented, intercalated narrative, transition from one character, * 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 17 
 
 setting, or action to another, statement of situation, exposi- 
 tion, generalization, aside to reader, lyrical expression, de- 
 scription of settings and characters, etc. 
 
 15. Dialogic Form in General. Dialogue in a generic 
 sense includes soliloquy, monologue, duologue, group con- 
 versation (which may for brevity be called simply conver- 
 sation), and concerted speech. In the novel these forms 
 shade off gradually from the non-dramatic. The speech 
 of a character may be represented so as to give merely the 
 substance of the thought; or in complete quotation, with 
 accompanying comment, etc. Occasionally dialogue is 
 found in "set dramatic form," the names of the speakers 
 placed as in the text of drama. 
 
 Set dramatic form has some special interest in connection with^the 
 technical and theoretical relations of the novel, the drama, and literary 
 dialogues like Ascham's Toxophilus, Walton's Complete Angler, etc. 
 In shorter fictions it is sometimes the chief form, as in Bunyan's Mr. 
 Badman; in the novel it rarely occurs except in brief passages. 
 Examples are found in Pilgrim's Progress, the Holy War, Defoe's 
 Plague Year, Colonel Jacque, and Robinson Crusoe, Fielding's Jona- 
 than Wild, Pamela, etc. Scott introduces it only in the dramatic pref- 
 aces of The Fortunes of Nigel and Peveril of the Peak. 
 
 16. Soliloquy and Monologue. In soliloquy, in a strict 
 sense, the speaker is alone, or supposes himself to be 
 alone ; in monologue he may have any number of listeners. 
 In the novel, extended, formal use of either (sometimes 
 they are given distinct headings, as in Lodge's Rosalind, 
 Sidney's Arcadia, and Lyly's Euphues) is rarely found 
 except in earlier fiction, where it is probably imitative of 
 dramatic and epic usage. Semi-dramatic soliloquy and 
 monologue, on the other hand, are characteristic of the 
 novel at any period. The most common monologue is 
 that which develops in the course of a duologue or con- 
 
1 8 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 versation ; especially in the form of intercalated narrative. 
 Fictions in the /-form are technically monologic through- 
 out, whether supposed to be spoken (dialogic) or written 
 (documentary), but as a matter of convention they fre- 
 quently include as much dialogue, in as distinct a form, 
 as other types. 
 
 17. Duologue. This may be considered the standard 
 dramatic form of the novel. Its predominance is due 
 partly to its importance in actual life ; partly to the influ- 
 ence of drama, epic and didactic dialogue; partly, per- 
 haps, to the relative ease with which it may be written, as 
 compared with conversation. In Silas Marner there are 
 some twenty duologues and only some seven or eight dis- 
 tinct conversations. When the single speeches and the 
 author's comment are given in separate paragraphs, the 
 structure of a duologue appears at a glance. It tends 
 on the one hand to pass into monologue ; on the other 
 to become isometric. The latter structure is sometimes 
 found in early fiction in almost as formal manner as in 
 the stichometric passages of epic, dramatic, and pastoral 
 verse, but it is too artificial for realistic effect. 
 
 The merely mechanical connectives are not so essential in duologue 
 as in conversation. The novelist is free to interrupt the duologue at 
 will by brief or extended comment, but as a member of a trio he may 
 appear more prominent to the reader than as a member of a larger 
 group of speakers. Comment between speeches is of course less emphatic 
 than that which interrupts a speaker. The mechanical structure of 
 Chapter III of Silas Marner is as follows: Dunstan Cass speaks 15 
 times, 66 lines ; Godfrey Cass, 14 times, 54 lines ; the author, 13 times 
 (interrupting a speech 6 times), 64 lines. This duologue is therefore 
 
 decidedly novelistic rather than dramatic. 
 
 I 
 
 1 8. Group Conversation (Conversation). A sustained, 
 realistic conversation of even three speakers is much more 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 19 
 
 difficult to compose than duologue, is a sign of true dra- 
 matic imagination, and a distinguishing mark of great 
 novelistic technic. The complexity of its structure is due 
 chiefly to the great possible variety in sequence and length 
 of speeches, and of connectives and comment. In the 
 simplest form of purely dramatic conversation three 
 speakers with two speeches each there are twenty-four 
 possible sequences. 
 
 In the chief conversational chapter of Silas Marner, Chapter VI, A 
 speaks 10 times, D 10, C 11, D 12, E 4, F 4 a total of 51 speeches by 
 the characters. The author, omitting purely mechanical connectives, 
 speaks 38 times. 
 
 Viewing the entire dramatic speech of a composition as a conversa- 
 tional form, interesting comparison may be made between the epic, 
 drama, and novel. Number of 
 
 single speeches 
 
 Beowulf 45 
 
 Paradise Lost 175 
 
 Master and Man 350 
 
 Silas Marner ....... 530 
 
 The Tempest 650 
 
 19. Concerted Speech. By concerted speech is meant 
 the utterance of the same words by several speakers at 
 once. In the novel, simultaneous utterance of different 
 words must of course be represented in sequence. In set 
 form, this detail is far more characteristic of the drama 
 than the novel, and is possibly a relic of the classical 
 chorus. 
 
 It occurs scores of times in Shakespeare, notably in Coriolanus, and 
 its unnatural use is one of the minor blemishes of Browning's dramatic 
 technic. It is, however, occasionally found in early fiction, probably in 
 direct imitation of the drama. In less formal manner it is found in 
 most novels ; for example, in Ivanhoe, Chapters XI, XIII, XXXIII, 
 XLIV, and in the Last of the Mohicans, Chapter XXIX. 
 
20 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 20. Documentary Form in General. Perhaps the most 
 notable general effect of document is to increase verisimili- 
 tude. The novel itself being an actual document, possibly 
 the imagination more readily accepts fictitious document 
 than fictitious dialogue. Documentary form is found in 
 the earliest novels, the Greek romances, but has in- 
 creased use, with special force and naturalness, since the 
 invention of printing. As a fragment it may appear in 
 very various forms letter, newspaper extract, inscription, 
 legal document, map, musical score, etc., etc. The most 
 important examples of sustained documentary form are the 
 epistolary novel, the diary novel, and the imaginary manu- 
 script. 
 
 Each of these types has some conventional details of structure, as for 
 example the illegible or missing portions of the imaginary manuscript ; 
 the forged or missent letter, etc. In all of them the introduction of 
 formal dialogue is a convention which the reader accepts on faith ; and 
 in general, the documentary illusion is rarely continuous. 
 
 In English fiction, the imaginary manuscript has special place in 
 the latter part of the eighteenth century. See Walpole's Castle of 
 Otranto, Beckford's Vathek, Clara Reeve's Old English Baron, Mrs. 
 Radcliffe's Sicilian Romance and The Italian, etc. Scott is rather 
 fond of it. 
 
 21. Epistolary Form. The significant origin of the 
 " novel of letters " is usually traced to Samuel Richardson, 
 though there was abundant literary use of epistolary form, 
 in fiction and out of it, before Pamela. 1 Richardson him- 
 self was quite conscious of the peculiarities of his method 
 (see his comparison of epistolary and narrative method 
 in the preface to Clarissa, his explanations of the letter- 
 writing passion of Pamela, etc.), and considerable criti- 
 cal discussion of the epistolary form followed his novels 
 
 1 See Jusserand, Roman Anglais, p. 49; and Cross, p. 23. 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 21 
 
 at once. Analysis of epistolary structure may follow the 
 general method given for dialogic structure. The princi- 
 pal structural points in outline are the number, length, 
 and sequence of letters. The technical difficulties of the 
 form are numerous. Neither Pamela nor Clarissa is ab- 
 solutely epistolary in text, and Richardson gives lists of 
 dramatis personae, with some characterization, arguments, 
 etc., outside the text proper. An interesting example of 
 the breakdown of epistolary form is found in Scott's 
 Redgauntlet. 
 
 The chief theoretical forms, often combined in the actual novel, may 
 be formulated as follows : 
 
 1. Letters from A to B. (Compare the monologue.) 
 
 2. Correspondence between A and B. (Compare the duologue.) 
 Examples are Dostoyevsky's Poor Folk, and Balzac's Letters of Two 
 Brides. 
 
 3. Letters from A to B, C, etc. (Epistolary monologue in a sense, 
 but clearly quite different from the oral monologue.) 
 
 4. Letters from B, C, etc., to A. 
 
 5. Correspondence between A and B, A and C, etc. 
 
 6. Real "group-correspondence," in which each member of the 
 group exchanges letters with each of the others. 
 
 The general epistolary structure may be partially represented by 
 a graphic design. In Miss Burney's Evelina the scheme is as follows, 
 A standing for Evelina, B for 
 Mr. Villars, etc.; the figures, 
 for the number of letters sent 
 
 Other examples of epistolary 
 novels are: Goethe's Werther, 
 Foscolo's Jacopo Ortis, Madame 
 de StaeTs Delphine, Valera's 
 Pepita Jimenez. Novels " in a 
 series of letters 11 are specially 
 common in the English fiction of the latter half of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, owing mainly to the influence of Richardson. 
 
22 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 22. Syntax. There is a more or less specialized syntax 
 for descriptive, expository, narrative, argumentative, and 
 lyrical expression. The novel is chiefly characterized by 
 a complex combination of these variations, and specially 
 by contrast between the dramatic and non-dramatic pas- 
 sages, and differentiated syntax for individual characters 
 and character groups. The non-dramatic syntax is partly 
 determined by the type of fiction and the rhetorical nature 
 of the passage, partly by the general influence of the 
 period, the nationality and the individuality of the author. 
 A few details are given here merely as examples of syn- 
 tactical analysis. 
 
 Variations of mood and tense are often significant. Direct inter- 
 rogative and imperative to the reader may serve to enlist his sympathy, 
 otherwise determine his point of view, or to increase the illusion of 
 reality. The historical present is common in spirited narration, espe- 
 cially in romance. A combination of perfect and present tenses is 
 effective in this sentence from George Eliot's Janet's Repentance: 
 " But Mr. Tryan has entered the room, and the strange light . . . 
 makes," etc. The rare interrogative future easily becomes sensational. 
 This sentence is found in Chapter XII of George Eliot's Mr. Gilfil's 
 Love-story (emphasized by being made a paragraph): "Will she 
 crush it under her feet . . . till every trace of those false, cruel features 
 is gone? " There are several examples of imperative to a character in 
 Dombey and Son. 
 
 Somewhat characteristic of the novel are epithetical phrases or typi- 
 cal names for characters, groups, and places : The Last of the Roman 
 Tribunes, Dona Perfecta, The Weaver of Raveloe, Poor Silas, Pretty 
 Nancy, The Mill on the Floss, Old Mortality, The Man of Feeling, 
 The Female Quixote, The English Rogue. Here may be included the 
 various names for the same character in disguise as in Amadis of Gaul, 
 Sidney's Arcadia, Lodge's Rosalind. 
 
 The syntactical qualities of irony, as in Jane Austen ; 
 of satire, as in Rabelais ; of serious imitation, as in Gogol's 
 Taras Bulba ; of burlesque imitation, as in the pseudo-epic 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 23 
 
 style of The Battle of the Books, may all be analyzed into 
 characteristic details. 
 
 Figurative language depends to a considerable extent 
 upon syntax. Expanded figures, especially the more im- 
 aginative figures of personification, apostrophe, and the 
 continuous figurative language of allegory and symbolism, 
 are more characteristic of both short story and romance 
 than of the realistic novel. The romance of chivalry and 
 the heroic romance are characterized by extended figures. 
 When occurring in picaresque fiction and its allies, the 
 figurative language is usually burlesque in spirit. In Silas 
 Marner, as a representative realistic story, the figures, 
 whether those in the dramatic or non-dramatic passages, 
 rarely extend beyond a single sentence, and are most com- 
 monly compressed into a single clause or phrase. They 
 are generally simple similes or metaphors. 
 
 Other details are the dialogic connectives, noticed in Section 14; 
 catalogues and lists of articles like the romances in Don Quixote, 
 the games in Gargantua (Rabelais) ; the argumentative or expository 
 i, 2, 3 order in Bunyan and Defoe. A repeated word or phrase is 
 sometimes found to give somewhat the effect of a leit-motif, as in the 
 repetitions of " black remnant," " bright living thing," " flame," and 
 "vision" in Chapter XII of Silas Marner. 
 
 The dramatic syntax varies with the dialogic, epistolary 
 and other documentary form. In the historical novel, the 
 syntax of special periods is important; in the novel of 
 manners, that of social groups ; in the novel of character, 
 the syntax of the individual and his changing mental states. 
 The control of syntactical details in all these cases is more 
 difficult, and in general more significant, than the mere 
 selection of vocabulary. 
 
 Scott's theory of the shaping of language in historical 
 fiction is given in the dedicatory epistle of Ivanhoe and 
 
24 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 elsewhere. He combines the specialized language of a 
 period and social class with language that " belongs to all 
 ranks and all countries," and to give the general effect of 
 remoteness, even for bygone centuries, finds the language 
 of a few generations past to be sufficient. Thackeray, in 
 Esmond and The Virginians, represents the more modern, 
 more realistic fidelity to the speech of a past period. 
 
 Dialect, while specially characteristic of the nineteenth 
 century, has considerable place in much earlier fiction. 
 In the picaresque and satirical novel of the Renaissance 
 we have abundant reproduction of the "cant" phrases of 
 the thief, the lawyer, doctor, priest, etc. A famous ex- 
 ample of an original introduction of the terms of a special 
 craft is found in the seaman's language of Smollett. 
 
 Simple examples of the use of syntax to individualize characters 
 are found in the third person plural with which Dolly Winthrop refers 
 to the Deity (Silas Marner) ; the parenthetical sentences of Bulwer's 
 Squire Brandon (Paul Clifford), and in Dickens, who frequently uses 
 the "gag" with the effect of caricature. George Meredith is a promi- 
 nent example of a novelist (as Browning is of a dramatist) whose own 
 personal syntactical habits overshadow the utterances of his characters. 1 
 
 One may conveniently note here typographical 'variations for artistic 
 effects. Italics are characteristic of sentimentalism, and are common 
 in Richardson and his followers. They are used in early fiction to 
 distinguish proper names. Bulwer is fond of italics, small capitals, 
 dashes, and exclamation points. Sterne and other humorists use typo- 
 graphical devices for comic effects. 
 
 In the history of the English novel, the syntax of Eu- 
 phuism has perhaps been given the most close analysis. 
 A few examples of characteristic vocabulary and syntax 
 of other well-marked historical types may be suggestive. 
 
 1 For examples of study of the syntactical peculiarities of individual novel- 
 ists, see Brunetiere on Bourget (Roman Naturaliste), Cross on Stevenson, 
 and Professor F. N. Scott's editorial introduction to'Rasselas. 
 
EXTERN KRUCTURE 2$ 
 
 1. Heroic Romance. Its formal phrasing is shown by these chance 
 selections from Boyle's Parthenissa : " unintermitted obligations " ; 
 " passionate conjurations of a meritorious servant " ; " accessional 
 force in so ambitionecj a victory." Its complicated sentence structure 
 may be indicated by the fact that Parthenissa contains sentences of 
 over two hundred and fifty words. 
 
 2. Ossianic figure and Gothic phrasing may be exemplified from 
 James White's Earl Strongbow (1789): "Like the thunder when it 
 smites the stupendous head of Snowdon, or roars amidst the cliffs and 
 woody pinnacles of Plinlimmon " ; "A range of reverend towers . . . 
 enveloped in ivy " ; " It was a mansion sacred to silence and repose " ; 
 " worm-eaten timbers and rusty hinges " ; " dim Gothic window." 
 
 3. The " sentimental school" of the later eighteenth century. 
 From Brooke's Juliet Grenville ; or, the History of the Human Heart : 
 " drowned in tears," "brimming tears"; "flood of tears"; "tears of 
 grateful sensibility" (this same phrase occurs in Catherine Parry's 
 Eden Vale ; compare Morley's introduction to the Man of Feeling, 
 Cassell's National Library) ; " alarming transports " ; " transport of 
 tender endearment " ; " paradisiacal delirium of infantile deliciousness." 
 Compare Section 5. 
 
 23. Vocabulary. So far as the novelist creates words, 
 or selects or modifies them for definite artistic 'purpose, 
 they may be considered structural elements. Considered 
 as narrative, the novel employs the power of words to 
 accelerate, retard, produce suspense, surprise, climax, 
 etc. ; as description, it has been prominent in the selection 
 and determination of a specialized vocabulary for interiors, 
 landscapes, physiognomy, the sensations and emotions of 
 the individual, and the mental states of society. As a 
 general type, it is characterized by range and variety of 
 vocabulary ; contrast of dramatic and non-dramatic words ; 
 combination and differentiation of the vocabularies of 
 individuals and social groups. 
 
 Creative vocabulary has been a special feature of the 
 voyage imaginaire and of allegory. There are abundant 
 
26 THE STUDY pF A NOVEL 
 
 examples in Campanella's City of the Sun, Gulliver, 
 Paltock's Peter Wilkins, Pilgrim's Progress, etc. Dialectic 
 vocabulary has been prominent in picaresque fiction, satire, 
 and the novel of manners. Glossarial explanation, not 
 unknown in Renaissance fiction, expands till for the Waver- 
 ley Novels a glossary of some two thousand words is neces- 
 sary. In general, the novelist has been a radical in the 
 use of words an iconoclast and a neologist. The aesthetic 
 connotation of many such words as Gothic, sensibility, 
 novel, romance, romantic, picturesque, picaresque, hero, soul, 
 etc., has been largely determined by the usage of the 
 novel. 
 
 The mere names in a novel are often suggestive of the general type 
 of the fiction. Compare the names of the characters of White's Earl 
 Strongbow (Gothic historical romance), "Richard Fitzwalter," "Sir 
 Reginald Fitzalan," "O'Carrol of Uriel," etc.; of Boyle's Parthenissa 
 (heroic romance), "Artabanes," "Izadora," 4< Callimachus," etc.; of 
 Ingelo's Bentivolio and Urania (didactic allegory}, "Alethion and 
 Agape," " Theosebes and Urania," " Panaretes and Irene," with those 
 of a picaresque novel, a modern novel of manners, etc. 
 
 A study of special value and wide scope is suggested 
 by the general theory of Stoddard's Evolution of the 
 English Novel the development of interest from the 
 physical to the spiritual. The modern novel shows even 
 \ in its vocabulary a richer aesthetic result in the exploration 
 | and combination of these two interests than any other form 
 Aof prose literature. One may profitably analyze the vocab- 
 'ulary of form, color, movement (the power of visualization 
 is often mentioned as a chief essential of the great fiction- 
 ist), sound, touch, of vague inner sensation, as in swoon, 
 dream, and delirium ; comparing it with the vocabulary of 
 emotion, thought, and volition. In both cases the develop- 
 ment of the exact, concrete word has been remarkable. 
 
EXTERNAL STRUCTURE 27 
 
 24. Phonology. Such structural details as alliteration, 
 assonance, melody, pitch, time, etc., may be included under 
 this term. Rhythm has been briefly noticed in Section 12. 
 Phonetic effect for its own sake is not characteristic of the 
 novel, as it is, to some extent, of the romance and certain 
 types of short story. When the sound-value is emphasized, 
 the values of characterization, action, setting, and thought 
 are liable to become dim. But as a means to a less purely 
 aesthetic end, the novelist explores every power of phonetic 
 combination. In narration the clash of consonants or the 
 swiftness of vowel sequences are important agencies ; in 
 description onomatopoetic effects may be introduced, or 
 general impressions of beauty, ugliness, simplicity, or com- 
 plexity emphasized by an appropriate arrangement of 
 sounds. 
 
 It is in dramatic characterization, perhaps, that the most 
 significant or characteristic use of phonetic resources is 
 found in the novel. One has only to recall the wide 
 variations in the reading aloud of the same dramatic 
 passage by different persons to realize the importance of 
 this point. Alliteration, consonantal friction, etc., may be 
 important indications of the mental condition of a speaker, 
 especially in highly emotional states. 
 
 Compare the degrees and manner in which the novelist determines 
 the details of utterance in these passages from Chapter XIV of George 
 Eliot's Janet's Repentance : 
 
 i. tlt Janet !' The loud jarring voice," etc. 2. ltt Perhaps he would 
 kill her.'" 3. "Til cool your hot spirit for you. I'll teach you to 
 brave me. 1 " 4. " ' Let him. Life was as hideous as death.' " 
 
CHAPTER II 
 CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 
 
 25. Significance of Consecutive Structure. A novel 
 
 may be simply and conveniently considered as a series of 
 parts, each with its own identity, value, and relation to the 
 whole series. The chief significance of this consecutive 
 structure is threefold : it gives, in the main, the order in 
 which the novelist composed, though the original concep- 
 tion may be found in the catastrophe, and there are often 
 other variations ; it is the natural order in which the reader 
 becomes acquainted with the novel ; and it is a very impor- 
 tant aesthetic aspect of the work itself, especially as a nar- 
 rative. As a sequence of divisions shown to the eye, the 
 series is in a sense spatial ; and, though much more definite, 
 if a building is considered as a whole, may be compared 
 with architectural series. As a sequence of sounds, it is 
 essentially temporal; and, though in many respects less 
 definite, may be compared with musical series. These two 
 aspects are exactly those which have been examined under 
 " external structure " ; but a novel also presents a series of 
 images, emotions, and thoughts, belonging to what may be 
 called, for contrast, the "internal structure." 
 
 Except in the scientific and practical sense in which we 
 grasp several elements at once, every detail of sound, 
 imagery, and thought in the entire novel comes to us at 
 some definite point in the series. Ordinarily one does not 
 attempt to " realize " the minute details of either sound or 
 meaning ; though for special purposes a passage may be 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 29 
 
 examined syllable by syllable. It is well to acquire the 
 power to outline the entire structure in a well-proportioned 
 manner, with any given scale to review the same novel, 
 for example, in ten minutes or two hours. Thorough ex- 
 amination of the structure consecutively gives, of course, 
 every point in every topic of study based on the actual 
 text of the novel ; but it is often convenient to have some 
 special topic in mind, such as characters, settings, or sub- 
 ject-matter. 
 
 26. Sequence. In any series we may notice the mere 
 sequence, as in the numerical series i, 2, 3, etc.; or the 
 deeper relative functions of the members of the series, as, 
 that 2 is to 4 as 4 is to 8, etc. In the study of a novel, 
 these two interests are certainly not entirely distinct ; but 
 for purposes of analysis they may be noticed separately, 
 to some extent. 
 
 A novel may be considered as a series of masses com- 
 posed of points. These two terms do not need absolute 
 definition, if their relative values are kept in mind. When 
 a considerable number of points referred to the same inter- 
 est or "topic" are grouped together, the rhetorical term 
 in mass may be used ; when points are scattered, the 
 correlative term, in solution. Novels and novelists differ 
 greatly in their use of these two methods, but in general 
 it may be said : most of the chief matters of interest are 
 found to some extent both in mass and in solution ; the 
 most important, as characterization, dialogue, action, tend 
 to be treated in mass ; the less important, as figures of 
 speech, generalization, asides to the reader, etc., in solution. 
 The " points " of any one interest taken consecutively 
 throughout the composition or a portion of it may be 
 called a line. 
 
30 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 An analysis of paragraphs i and 7 of Chapter II, Silas Marner, not- 
 ing some principal points of interest, without special attention to any 
 one interest, may serve as an example. 
 
 PARAGRAPH i. 
 
 Plot. Generalized situation, social and psychological, of hero. 
 Settings. Place contrast of new and old ; time detail of morning. 
 Characterization. Generalization of hero as a type. 
 Subject-matter. Exile, memory, religious and ecclesiastical life. 
 Comparative Rhetoric. Essay and lyrical qualities. 
 Genetic Criticism. Compare treatment of religious life in Scenes of 
 Clerical Life and Adam Bede. 
 
 PARAGRAPH 7. 
 
 Dramatic Form. " W<?-form " ; quotation of popular opinion. 
 Plot. Situation-movement. Foreshadowing of the robbery. 
 Settings. Place details of cottage ; time night. 
 Characterization. Hero ; Raveloe rustics. 
 Subject-matter. Formation of habit. 
 
 27. The Principal Masses. Masses may be classified or 
 arranged according to their form and function somewhat 
 as follows : i. Those determined by external structure 
 (already noticed in Chapter I). The chapter, or in closer 
 analysis, the paragraph, are the most convenient units for 
 the examination of a novel from any point of view. The 
 sequence of dramatic and non-dramatic form is of large 
 significance. 2. Like any other literary composition, the 
 novel should show a more or less distinct "beginning, 
 middle, and end." 3. Rhetorical form determines masses 
 of description, narration, lyricism, etc. 4. As fiction, the 
 novel may show masses of primary and secondary illu- 
 sion, and some masses in which the illusion is dropped. 
 5. What may be called by distinction " novelistic function " 
 determines masses of characterization, setting, generaliza- 
 tion, etc. 6. The specifically narrative masses include 
 movements, episodes, events, incidents, scenes, and 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 31 
 
 situations. 7. Some masses may be distinct units of 
 subject-matter. 
 
 28. Sequence of Dramatic and Non-dramatic Masses. 
 For the typical novel the most important sequence of these 
 forms is alternation of dialogic and non-dialogic masses. 
 Its importance has been already suggested (Section 13), 
 and the analysis may be made at that point in the study if 
 desired. From its very nature, dialogue is usually found 
 distinctly in mass; and in a well-constructed novel it is 
 fairly evenly distributed. The greatest practical difficul- 
 ties of the analysis are the distinction between primary 
 and secondary dramatic form (see Sections 3 and 13), espe- 
 cially in the epistolary novel ; and the frequent intricate 
 mixture of dramatic and non-dramatic form. 
 
 Some interesting points appear in this somewhat rough outline of 
 the comparatively simple structure of Silas Marner. The numbers are 
 for lines. 
 
 i. Non-dramatic form (semi-dramatic, 40), 325; 2. Mixed form, 
 70; 3. Non-dramatic (semi-drainatic, 20, 30), 425; 4. Mainly DUO- 
 LOGUE, 250 ; 5. Mainly non-dramatic, 600 ; 6. Mainly CONVERSATION, 
 600; 7. Non-dramatic, 75 ; 8. Dramatic, 50 ; 9. Non-dramatic, 100; 
 10. Mainly DUOLOGUE, 200 ; II. Non-dramatic, 150 ; 12. Mainly dra- 
 matic, 125 ; 13. Non-dramatic (some semi-dramatic}, 275 ; 14. Mainly 
 dramatic, 700; 15. Mixed, mainly non-dramatic (Conclusion), 100. 
 
 In a novel of letters, the epistolary sequence and the 
 dialogic may be analyzed separately, or in combination. 
 Omitting a few details, the epistolary sequence of Evelina 
 is as follows : 
 
 (A = Evelina ; B = Mr. Villars ; C = Lady Howard ; D = Miss Mir- 
 van ; E Sir John Belmont. The numbers are for letters.) 
 
 i. Exchange, B and C, 7 ; 2. A to B (3, B to A}, 19; 3. Mixed 
 exchange, A, B, C, D, E, 15 ; 4. A to B (2, B to A), 15 ; 5. A to D, 
 5 ; 6. A to B (3, B to A), 22. 
 
32 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 29. Beginning, Middle, and End. In scarcely any anal- 
 ysis in this chapter will more differences of opinion arise 
 than just at this point. Even when the author marks an 
 "introduction" or "introductory chapter," and a "conclu- 
 sion," or " concluding chapter," these are not always satis- 
 factory divisions. Prologues, dramatic prefaces, epilogues, 
 must also be considered (see Section n). Ordinarily 
 the first chapter or a small group of chapters may be con- 
 sidered as the beginning; the last chapter, or last few 
 chapters, as the end. The beginning usually includes 
 definite masses of initial setting, characterization, situation, 
 and action. Foreshortened narrative giving a summary 
 of the preceding part of the story is specially common. 
 There may be distinct introduction or foreshadowing of 
 theme. Frequently there are masses of initial motivation ; 
 of dialogue or specific incident followed by more general 
 exposition or narrative, or vice versa. The "end" of a 
 novel includes the catastrophe of the plot; frequently a 
 presentation of the chief characters in a situation giving 
 the effect of permanence and finality. In some novels 
 there is considerable suggestion of future " movement." 
 If there is an epilogue, a notable interval of time often 
 precedes it. 
 
 In Silas Marner, study the relative values, as a " beginning," . of 
 Chapter I, Chapters I and II, and these with the first three paragraphs 
 of Chapter III added ; in Pride and Prejudice, Chapter I and Chapters 
 I to III. 
 
 In the beginning of a novel there are two points of 
 special importance : the introduction of the composition, 
 at which point we leave life for literature, and the intro- 
 duction of the illusion, at which point we leave actuality 
 for fiction. These two points may of course coincide, but 
 this is by no means an invariable rule. The entrance to 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 33 
 
 the illusion may be abrupt or by gradual transition. If 
 there are distinct primary and secondary illusions, as in 
 the imaginary manuscript type of fiction, the exact point 
 of introduction to each may be noted. In the conclusion, 
 the two corresponding points are to be examined. The 
 novel is not so likely as the romance or the short story to 
 begin or close with a distinct effect, producing an impres- 
 sion which dominates the entire work. 1 
 
 EXAMPLES OF INITIAL POINTS BEFORE COMPLETE ILLUSION. 
 Generalization: Anna Karenina; Pride and Prejudice. Place Setting 
 (so far as we know entirely or largely real) : Pere Goriot ; Eugdnie 
 Grandet ; House of the Seven Gables ; I Promessi Sposi. Place and 
 Time Settings : La Debacle ; Silas Marner. 
 
 INITIAL POINTS OF ILLUSION. For the imaginary manuscript, see 
 Section 20. General situation, characterization, or early history of hero 
 or heroine: Robinson Crusoe ; Don Quixote; Vathek ; Soil und Haben. 
 Secondary Characters : Frankenstein ; Tom Jones ; Pendennis ; Sense 
 and Sensibility. Specific Incident : Pendennis (slightly generalized) ; 
 Doila Perfecta; Wilhelm Meister; Ivanhoe ; (the last three with quali- 
 ties of "scene"). 
 
 CONCLUDING POINTS. Closing with point distinctly in the illusion. 
 (For conclusion with the title, see Section 5.) Return to imaginary 
 manuscript: Scott's Tales of My Landlord. Specific Situation : Robin- 
 son Crusoe ; Soil und Haben ; I Promessi Sposi ; Anna Karenina ; Silas 
 Marner (dialogic point); Scarlet Letter (impressionistic effect) ; Ivanhoe. 
 Closing with point not entirely in the illusion. Pepita Jime'nez (motto 
 evidently selected by author in propria persona) ; Don Quixote (pur- 
 pose of work). 
 
 30. Movement and Situation. A mass of event, large 
 or small, may be considered a movement, though the term 
 is somewhat more applicable to the larger masses. Move- 
 ments in the direct line of general plot-development may 
 
 1 Poe writes of the " preconceived effect " of the entire composition : " If 
 his very initial sentence tend not to the outbringing of this effect, then [the 
 writer] has failed in his first step." (" Hawthorne's 'Tales.' ") 
 
34 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 be called "centripetal"; others, "centrifugal." In a gen- 
 eral way, the sentence or paragraph is the standard unit 
 of incident; the chapter, of event and scene ; chapter 
 groups, of episode. 
 
 A situation, in a technical sense, is a summary of impor- 
 tant circumstances at any stage of the plot, though items 
 of situation may be given in solution. A situation is of 
 course implied at every stage, which the reader may work 
 out for himself if the novelist does not state it. In general, 
 a novel is an alternation of movements and situations ; the 
 sense of spirited progress depending on the predominance 
 of the former ; the sense of reflective leisure, philosophical 
 breadth, largely on the predominance of the latter. 
 
 31. Event and Incident. By event is here meant a 
 unified mass of action of some scope and distinct signifi- 
 cance in the plot, composed of distinct minor units of 
 action the incidents. Occasionally important incidents 
 are found isolated. 
 
 Every event, in the complete meaning of the term, has 
 a very marked identity, in sequence of incidents, and espe- 
 cially in time and place settings. It is readily distinguished 
 from all other events in the same novel or other novels ; 
 but realism tends more than romance to give highly indi- 
 vidualized details of incident and setting. Important events 
 are likely to have definite introduction and conclusion and 
 a definite time setting; to be preceded and followed by 
 a time interval, and to be given specific motivation. In 
 the sequence of incidents, however, an event may be so 
 typical, whether this be intended by the author or not, as 
 to lose in large part its individual quality. 
 
 The single combat of knights in the romance of chivalry, for example, 
 frequently has about this sequence of incidents : the knights perceive 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 35 
 
 one another, a challenge is given, the shock with spears and unhorsing, 
 the attack with swords, etc. Compare this with the archery contest in 
 Chapter XIII of Ivanhoe, ap event which in outline is still somewhat 
 typical, but has detail enough to individualize it thoroughly : 
 
 Preparation. Announcement, selection of archers, inspection, etc. 
 First Target. Preparation, casting of lots, the shooting, dialogue of 
 John and Robin Hood. Second Target. Change of target, Hubert's 
 shot aim, shot, flight, Robin Hood's shot, dialogue of Hubert and 
 John, Hubert's successful shot, dialogue, Robin's shot. The Wand. 
 Preparation, dialogue, the shot. Finale. Congratulations, dispersion of 
 crowd. 
 
 This event is an excellent example in miniature of dramatic line, and 
 of many details of narrative form. 
 
 Events or incidents may also be generalized, though 
 they are in that case usually given mainly in outline, for 
 obvious reasons. The novelist makes liberal use of gen- 
 eralized events to give the impression of solidity, of accumu- 
 lation of happenings, in little space. Such passages are 
 often introduced by formulas like " he was in the habit of," 
 "every Sunday afternoon," etc. In the next to the last 
 paragraph of Chapter II, Silas Marner, the generalized 
 incident, " But at night," etc., offers striking contrast with 
 the unique "little incident" of the preceding paragraph. 
 
 An incident which, as given, cannot be analyzed, may be 
 called an tiltimate point of incident. Modern realism is 
 inclined to give these points in more detail than the ordi- 
 nary consciousness would note to make them approach 
 the elements of physical, physiological, and psychological 
 reality. In this very manner, however, it may destroy the 
 impression of reality. A more effective realism may be that 
 which coincides as nearly as possible with the degree of 
 detail the average, or at least the non-scientific, conscious- 
 ness would note from a given point of view. Of this kind 
 of realism the passage from Ivanhoe noticed above is a 
 
36 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 fairly good example. If Scott had attempted to note every 
 muscular change in Robin Hood as he shot, he would have 
 been more realistic in one sense, but the effect of reality 
 would probably have been blurred. 
 
 Events may be classified in many ways. One of special 
 significance, and of special value in preparation for study of 
 subject-matter, is that which distinguishes personal experi- 
 ences, domestic, social, professional, natural, supernatural 
 events, etc. Important results depend on the number, 
 distribution, type, and treatment of events. External events 
 and incidents as such are of greatest value in the novel of 
 action : in the novel of character they may sink to a rela- 
 tively unimportant position. 
 
 32. The Scene. A scene may be considered a special- 
 ized treatment of an event, and between the two no exact 
 line need be drawn. Analogy with the drama suggests 
 that essential unity of dramatis personas, unity and con- 
 tinuity of time, elaboration and unity of circumstantial 
 and place settings, and predominance of dialogue are char- 
 acteristic of a completely developed scene. Though either 
 scene or event may be composed of a soliloquy, with its 
 objective environment, the terms apply with more force to 
 masses in which there is obvious and even somewhat com- 
 plicated external activity. Some critics, chiefly those who 
 emphasize its descriptive quality, consider the novel as 
 essentially a series of scenes. While this conception often 
 gives a satisfactory analysis, there are many novels in 
 which fully developed scenes are found only at consider- 
 able intervals. 
 
 In Silas Marner, taking the chapter as a unit, the best examples of 
 developed scenes are in Chapters V, VI, VII, IX, XVIII, XIX, and XX. 
 There are many other minor or fragmentary scenes ; but as a whole, 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 37 
 
 Silas Marner can hardly be considered as composed of a series of 
 scenes, even allowing for the necessary transitions. It does not open 
 with a scene, as the romances of Scott frequently do, or close with & 
 very distinct one. 
 
 33. Episode. This term may be defined as a unified 
 mass composed of a series of events or scenes, with their 
 accompanying situations. In a novel of clear structure 
 the episodes are well-relieved. They may be centripetal or 
 centrifugal (episode in a common secondary sense); pro- 
 gressive or reverting ; may belong to a single action or the 
 whole plot, etc. Episode, being a larger mass, is not likely 
 to be so closely unified in time, place, or characters as a 
 scene, but it may have its own identity in each of these and 
 other particulars. 
 
 Incident, event, and episode are terms that may be 
 taken relatively, in reference to the perspective of the 
 whole composition. In a general history of the United 
 States, the Civil War may be an episode, the battle of 
 Gettysburg an event, Pickett's charge an incident, the 
 death of a single general an ultimate point of incident. 
 But in the analysis of a short story devoted entirely to 
 Pickett's charge, the movement of the army across the 
 plain might be an episode, the death of a single soldier 
 an event, the dropping of his rifle an incident, and "the 
 bayonet struck first " an ultimate point. 
 
 OUTLINE OF THE EPISODES IN SILAS MARNER 
 
 EPISODE I. Life of Silas Marner before the robbery. Chapters I 
 and II. As a whole, in reference to the rest of the narrative, and as 
 treated, a situation. 
 
 1. At Lantern Yard. I. A movement without well-developed scene. 
 
 2. At Raveloe. II. In the main a situation, with somewhat scat- 
 tered incidents, rather than event or scene. 
 
38 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 EPISODE II. The Robbery. Chapters III to X. As a whole a dis- 
 tinct movement. 
 
 1. III-IV. Preparatory movement in two events. 
 
 2. V. Climax of episode. Incident expanded into event. 
 
 3. VI to IX. " Fall " of the episodic line. Chapter VI a centrifu- 
 gal event with scene quality. 
 
 4. X. Transitional to next episode, with somewhat of situation 
 quality. 
 
 EPISODE III. The Coming of Eppie. Chapters XI to XV. Move- 
 ment passing into situation. 
 
 1. XI and XII. Preparatory. XI somewhat centrifugal, and with 
 scene quality ; XII much more distinctly a forward movement. 
 
 2. XIII. Climax of episode and of the Godfrey Cass action. 
 
 3. XIV and XV. " Fall " of the episode ; but with situation quality. 
 
 EPISODE IV. Final relations of Marner, Eppie, and the Casscs. 
 Chapter XVI to Conclusion. Mixed qualities of movement and 
 situation. 
 
 1. XVI to XVIII. Preparatory movement. 
 
 2. XIX. Climax of episode. (Real catastrophe of plot.) 
 
 3. XX. " Fall " of episode. 
 
 4. XXI. Somewhat centrifugal, so far as this single episode is con- 
 cerned. Event. 
 
 5. Conclusion. Catastrophic event, resolving into situation at the 
 end. 
 
 34. Lines of Interest. " Thread of interest " is the more 
 common phrase, but it is frequently used in reference to the 
 narrative interest alone. The consecutive points of charac- 
 terization, subject-matter, and all other important "topics" 
 may also be traced as more or less distinct lines. Some 
 of these perhaps need no further comment than is sug- 
 gested by the analysis of masses and points in this chapter; 
 the important lines of single action are considered in the 
 next chapter. It is convenient to notice here, partly as a 
 representative analysis, partly on account of its special 
 significance in the novel, the " line of emotion." 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 39 
 
 35. The Line of Emotion. In examining this, one may 
 have the author, characters, or reader specially in mind. 
 The fact that the author presents a character moved by 
 fear does not necessarily mean that the author or the reader 
 experiences that emotion. Nor does a mere discussion of 
 emotion, whether by the author or a character, such as one 
 should notice in the study of subject-matter, belong to the 
 line of emotion. For general purposes, this is best traced 
 by observation of the diction showing emotion in the charac- 
 ters or author or calculated to produce it in the reader. 
 The intensity as well as kind of emotion may be noted. 
 Critics who emphasize the emotional element as charac- 
 teristic of the novel, have in mind an unusual degree of 
 emotional stress. The line of intensity may be conceived 
 as related to an imaginary base-line of normal unstressed 
 emotion. 
 
 Practise in minute analysis of emotional sequence is best 
 found in the lyric or short story of emotional type, or in 
 selected passages of a novel. The line of intensity in 
 Silas Marner, Chapter XIII, in which strong feeling is 
 specially predominant, may be diagrammed somewhat as 
 follows. The references to the text also note the kind of 
 emotion, to some extent. 
 
 NORMAL EMOTION 
 
 1. If we drew separate lines for Godfrey and Silas, that for Silas would 
 perhaps be somewhat higher. 2. Company in general: "Easy jol- 
 lity," " enjoyment." 3. "Admired," "very pleasant." 4. "Startling," 
 " trembling," " throb," " terror." 5. Half-breathlessly." 6. Ladies 
 
40 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 in general: "Curious." 7. Eppie : "Half-alarmed." 8. "Terrible 
 effort." 9. "Strong sudden impulse." 10. Mrs. Kimble : "Mild 
 surprise." 11. Doctor Kimble : " Some bitterness." 12. Eppie : 
 " Began to cry." 13. "Felt the cry." 14. Dolly Winthrop :" Much 
 concerned," "compassion." 15. " Suspense," " passionate desire and 
 dread," " sense of duty," "hope of freedom." 16. "Is she dead?" 
 "What sort of woman is she?" 17. Eppie :" Soothed." 18. "Con- 
 flict of regret and joy," etc. 19. " Sharply." 20. " Sense of relief and 
 gladness." 21. Author, and semi-quotation of Godfrey. 
 
 This analysis might be made more detailed or more simple ; but it 
 may serve to indicate a method. The centre of emotional interest is 
 clearly in Godfrey. " Clash of emotion " is to some extent represented 
 in the relations of Godfrey and Silas ; more distinctly in the mind of 
 Godfrey himself. The emotional pitch of the chapter as a whole is 
 lowered by the comparatively mild beginning and conclusion, and by 
 the presence and speech of characters not in very tense emotional 
 state. 
 
 36. Points. A point, in a detailed analysis, will not 
 generally occupy more than a sentence, sometimes only 
 a phrase or word. Points may be noted with reference to 
 every phase of the structure and substance of the novel. 
 Among the more important points that may be called spe- 
 cifically structural are : changes of tense, use of / or we 
 form; asides to the reader; generalizations and typifica- 
 tions ; details of action, settings, characterization and moti- 
 vation ; details to increase illusion ; expectation (preparation, 
 foreshadowing), reminiscence, repetition ; sudden relief of 
 suspense ; surprise, etc. Points of subject-matter include 
 any brief statement of theme or sub-theme, or any detail of 
 the topics studied in Chapter VII. One may also notice 
 points of " genetic criticism " signs of revision or fatigue, 
 etc. ; of " dynamic criticism " - influence of another novel, 
 of nationality, etc. ; and of " kinetic criticism " details 
 which we like or dislike, which appear improbable, which 
 might offend a certain class of readers, etc. 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 41 
 
 Points having peculiar distinctness or force, especially 
 from the reader's point of view, may be called effects* 
 A novel dominated by startling single effects tends to 
 become sensational; a novel without any such effects is 
 rare, and can hardly resemble actual life. The short story 
 is more likely than the novel to affect us as composed of 
 brilliant single points ; the mass quality being sometimes so 
 obscured that we can scarcely see the wood for the trees. 
 
 As an example of analysis some of the principal points 
 in Chapter XII of Silas Marner may be noted. This chap- 
 ter contains many notable effects, including "touches of 
 fantasy," which give it something of the quality of a ro- 
 mantic short story. It is entirely in non-dramatic form, 
 except for the few details noted first. The numbers refer 
 to the paragraphs. 
 
 Dramatic Form. Semi-quotation of Molly and Marner; Eppie's 
 "Mammy." 
 
 Syntax. Repetition of " longing " ; " demon " ; " black remnant " ; 
 "pleaded"; "moment"; "bright living thing"; "gleam"; "tod- 
 dled " ; " flame " ; " vision " ; " Mammy," etc. 
 
 Interrogative; (6) and (8). "To close it but he did not close it." 
 Personification of "demon"; " white- winged messengers." Psycho- 
 logical phrases e.g., " bewilderment of waking"; "supreme imme- 
 diate longing," characteristic of author. 
 
 Appeal in " pretty stagger " ; " primary mystery," etc. 
 
 Vocabulary. Effects of mystery gained by " glimmer " ; " blurred " ; 
 'amazement " ; " marvel " ; " wonderment " ; " awe," etc. ; of fore- 
 shadowing in "listening"; "gazing"; "yearning"; "unrest," etc. 
 " Furze " and " catalepsy " are effects for many readers. Concreteness 
 of " toddled " ; " dangling " ; " gurgling," etc. 
 
 Phonology. Alliteration and vowel melody in " old quiverings . . . 
 over his life." Rapid syllabification, aiding the sense, in " an inexplic- 
 able " to end of sentence. Cadences at close of chapter. 
 
 1 See the analysis of effects in Moulton's Shakespeare as a Dramatic 
 Artist. 
 
42 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Dramatic Irony. " How and when had the child come in ? " 
 
 Point of View. Implied in calling Mrs. Cass, "Molly"; Marner, 
 " Silas." Child's point of view. 
 
 Foreshadowing. Very many points. "Freezing wind"; "She 
 walked always," etc.; (4) as a whole; and (8). 
 
 Preparation. "As if there was gold" is a counterpoint of Chapter 
 XIV, paragraphs 14 and 33, etc. 
 
 Reminiscence* " Her husband would be smiling " (of preceding chap- 
 ter) ; "had its father's hair; " Godfrey has previously been mentioned 
 as a blond. "Opium" is reminiscent of Chapter III, paragraph 23. 
 
 Surprise. Abrupt introduction of Eppie (i), made more emphatic 
 by position at end of paragraph, after matter important and surprising 
 in itself; "suddenly" (5) ; "but he did not see the child" (6). 
 
 Suspense. The chapter abounds with effects. " She would go . . k 
 and disclose herself" momentary anticipation unfulfilled. Consecu- 
 tive suspense and relief in " In another moment ... it was an empty 
 phial." The last clause comes as near being sensational as any in the 
 entire novel. Suspense in (8) falls into distinct masses stages, 
 closed by relief, and marked by " instead of the hard coin," " his little 
 sister," etc. The mass of suspense in (10) is relieved suddenly by last 
 sentence. It does not depend on the reader's ignorance of facts, but 
 on his uncertainty as to how the author will give a new turn to the fact 
 already known, and on the ignorance of Silas. 
 
 Contrast. Of this chapter with the last ; of the time setting New 
 Year's Eve with the tragedy; of tragedy for Molly and blessing for 
 Silas ; in special depression of Silas at the moment when his life is to 
 receive new impulse. 
 
 Special effects of pathos are found throughout in vocabulary, syn- 
 tax, point of view, etc. 
 
 37. Mass in Momentum. By momentum is meant the 
 general effect of increasing value characteristic of any 
 aesthetic series, but particularly distinct in narration. By 
 a loose analogy with physical force, it may be analyzed 
 into the two elements of " mass," considered as the accumu- 
 lation of previous interest at any point; and "velocity," 
 that is, the rapidity with which new interest is accumu- 
 lating at this point. 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 43 
 
 Mass may include all that we consciously or uncon- 
 sciously retain for ourselves, but it is more clearly struc- 
 tural when the novelist summarizes or otherwise recalls the 
 previous interest. The reminiscences of Chapters XVI 
 and XXI in Silas Marner give increased momentum to 
 the new events introduced, as in real life it is often mem- 
 ory that gives peculiar force to present experience. In 
 the third part of Robinson Crusoe, the essay on " Soli- 
 tude " has back of it the whole lonely experience of the 
 hero on the island, which to some extent Defoe recalls. 
 Individual memory is of special value in psychological 
 characterization ; as in Tolstoi's Resurrection. 
 
 Expectation is a convenient term for all suggestion of 
 coming events. The most general expectation of a nar- 
 rative is implied in the simple fact that it is to be read. 
 Preparation may be used for more definite announcement ; 
 anticipation for an introduction of details to be repeated 
 at a later stage ; foreshadowing for vague, impressionistic 
 prophecy of future events. Suspense is a general term to 
 denote that the interest in any of these forms of expecta- 
 tion is raised to especially high pitch. 
 
 Among special ways of producing suspense are announcement of an 
 important meeting of characters, and introduction of characters with 
 concealed identity, particularly when the identity is concealed from the 
 reader or the character himself. Concealed identity, in various forms, 
 plays a considerable part in Sidney's Arcadia, as in many romances of 
 chivalry and pastoral romances ; in Les Mise'rables, Bulwer's Paul 
 Clifford and Kenelm Chillingly. The technical treatment is prob- 
 ably modelled after that of the drama; the "recognition" in catas- 
 trophe, after the classical drama. An interesting example of double 
 "recognition" false and true is found in Dolly Cowslip, in the 
 catastrophe of Smollett's Sir Launcelot Greaves. 
 
 38. The Rate of Movement. The general rate of move- 
 ment the thematic " tempo " may often be given with 
 
44 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 some definiteness for the novel as a whole, but a large part 
 of its aesthetic value depends on changes within the composi- 
 tion. If the novel is " allegro," so to speak, as a whole, it will 
 require a " presto " movement to give much acceleration ; 
 and an "andante" movement will, by comparison, be a 
 retardation. It might be possible to select individual novels 
 or passages as standards of the principal rates of move- 
 ments suggested by the analysis of music. 
 
 Momentum has not been defined as referring merely to 
 the purely narrative interest, a reader may perhaps be 
 more concerned with the accumulation of philosophical 
 ideas, etc., but this is the most common and most natural 
 application. Viewing a novel as a narrative, description, 
 exposition, and often dialogue are retarding elements ; the 
 highest degree of acceleration occurs in narrative passages 
 characterized by rapid sequence of well-relieved incidents. 
 
 Richardson's novels are famous examples of retardation ; Smollett's, 
 as novels of adventure, are marked by notable acceleration. The eleven 
 pages of Chapter XXI of Sir Launcelot Greaves include a marriage, 
 father's rejection of a daughter, persecution of a debtor, imprison- 
 ment, birth and death of a child, formation of the drunkard's habit, 
 development of semi-insanity, social and prison history of a "gay young 
 widow," bankruptcy and imprisonment of another character, and several 
 other distinct incidents. (But in this passage there is little mass in the 
 momentum, for Sir Launcelot is hardly the important character, and the 
 others are entirely episodic.) There is nothing resembling this in 
 Silas Marner. That novel as a whole might perhaps be considered an 
 andante movement. Acceleration is specially noticeable in Chapters 
 XIII, XVIII, and the latter part of Chapter I ; retardation in Chapters 
 VI and XI. 
 
 39. Climax and Foiling. Foiling is represented by the 
 formula, a A, 1 in reference to any two consecutive items of 
 
 1 For a conception of the term and its application, see Moulton's Shake- 
 speare as a Dramatic Artist. 
 
CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE 45 
 
 interest; though, like climax, more generally referred, in 
 the novel, to characters and events. Climax is represented 
 by the formula a A A. In the relations of character, an ex- 
 ample of foiling is found when character A is presented as 
 good, B as better, or the reverse; in the relations of action, 
 when a mysterious event is compared with a more myste- 
 rious, etc. Logically, it requires three points and no more 
 to make a climactic effect, and this triple form is common 
 in fiction, especially romantic fiction. Compare the triple 
 testing of chastity, the three caskets of the Merchant of 
 Venice, and Bedivere with Excalibur in the Idylls of the 
 King. 
 
 Of course there are many degrees of definiteness in foiling and cli- 
 max. Special structural value is found only when the author is conscious 
 of the effect, but the student may discover many examples for himself. 
 In a certain way, Jem Rodney is a foil for Dunstan Cass, but it is doubt- 
 ful if George Eliot thought of the two as so related. In Robinson 
 Crusoe there is climax in the series of disasters to the hero in his early 
 history ; in his gradual conquest of circumstances on the island, and 
 in the later growth of the colony. Each of these series may be out- 
 lined in distinct stages. A good example of romantic character foiling 
 is found in the hero and the monster of Frankenstein great isola- 
 tion and suffering ; greater isolation and suffering. 
 
 Climax of plot, as a definite technical term, is noticed in Section 51. 
 
 40. Reciprocity. Any two points or masses with defi- 
 nite structural interchange of value, so to speak, espe- 
 cially when the values are considered about equal, may 
 be called reciprocal. The terms counterpoint, counter- 
 mass , may also be used. Contrast is the most familiar 
 and perhaps the most significant type of reciprocity. 
 It is naturally most emphatic when the two points 
 are adjacent, and when it passes into detailed antithesis. 
 Victor Hugo often carries his fondness for sharp contrast, 
 observable in every element of the novel, into the details 
 
46 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 of sentence and phrase. Contrast should not be limited to 
 characters, though this is certainly one of its most impor- 
 tant aspects in the novel. Contrast incorporated in the 
 main theme of a novel is suggested by such titles as 
 Master and Man, Cloister and Hearth, Sense and Sensi- 
 bility. 1 Suspense and its " relief " are of course reciprocal. 
 They are often somewhat massed at the beginning or climax 
 of a novel, and at the catastrophe, respectively. 
 
 A marked example of anticipation is found in Janet's Repentance, 
 the closing paragraph of Chapter IX. This item of the narrative is 
 elaborated in its proper place in the first paragraphs of Chapter XXVII, 
 even with essential repetition of a few details " her eyes were worn with 
 grief and watching " ; " in quiet submissive sorrow," etc. What seems 
 to be definite anticipation is not always fulfilled. When Godfrey Cass 
 sees his dead wife in Marner's cottage, " he remembered that last look at 
 his unhappy hated wife so well, that at the end of sixteen years every 
 line in the worn face was present to him when he told the full story of 
 this night." This is so definite that we may naturally expect a corre- 
 sponding passage later, but there is no further mention of this terrible 
 memory of Godfrey. 
 
 41. Analysis of Simpler Narratives. The novel is too 
 long and complex to permit an exhaustive analysis of all 
 the elements of narrative form. For practise in such 
 analysis the short story is more satisfactory. For the 
 examination of mere mechanism, perhaps nothing is better 
 than that barren type in which narrative interest is re- 
 duced to its lowest terms, the genealogy. In the tenth 
 chapter of Genesis, for example, it is easy to distin- 
 guish the beginning, middle, and end ; the episodes ; the 
 points of repetition, retardation, acceleration, etc. Most 
 of the analyses of the present volume could be simply 
 exemplified from Biblical narratives. 
 
 1 Other phases of contrast are noticed in the chapter on General ^Esthetic 
 Interest. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 PLOT 1 
 
 42. Meaning of Plot. Four somewhat different con- 
 ceptions of plot are explained in the glossary. The root 
 idea of them all is that of design of unity fashioned out 
 of complexity of details. This root idea implies a certain 
 subjectivity in all plot ; for design, though it may be given 
 external form, is essentially a product of the mind. It 
 follows that plot analysis is more or less flexible, depending 
 on the particular way in which the artist and the critic 
 see the relation of the details to a central plan. Even so 
 simple a graphic design as this, , the imagination may 
 choose to see primarily as a circle with an inscribed cross, 
 the four quarters of a circle, etc. In more complicated 
 designs it may require some time for an untrained eye to 
 perceive the unity in a given way. This flexibility is very 
 pronounced in the novelistic plot, because the details them- 
 selves are invariably complicated and subjective. In a 
 sense, the critic makes rather than merely discovers the 
 plot. The closer the study, the more familiar any method 
 of analysis, however, the more exact and uniform the 
 results. 
 
 The general conception of plot as unity of design is 
 applicable to all the arts, and is noticed more at length in 
 
 1 The general indebtedness of this chapter to Moulton's method of plot 
 analysis, and to Freytag and his followers, may he acknowledged once for all. 
 Many details will be apparent to any one acquainted with the two critics. 
 
 47 
 
48 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 the chapter on General ./Esthetic Interest. The present 
 chapter considers plot mainly in the first sense of the 
 glossary, as a design of strictly narrative details. 
 
 43. Necessity and Ideality of Narrative Plot In any 
 well-constructed narration, one may affirm the necessity 
 and ideality of plot. When Mr. Tuckerman writes of 
 Morte d'Arthur, "of plot there is none," 1 if he is using 
 the word in the sense just given, his statement is opposed 
 by an analysis of the romance itself. Plot is necessary 
 because of the inevitable tendency of the mind to unify 
 any series of events it considers together ; it is ideal 
 because the imagination, broadly interpreted, is the only 
 mental faculty able to fashion this unity in a satisfactory 
 manner. Though one may grant a certain objective unity 
 in a series of natural events, as in the working of a 
 machine or a process of crystallization, the narrative record 
 of those events, unless a mere unmeaning jumble, is a 
 product of imagination. The great unifying conception 
 of evolution, even if all the facts were found in nature, is 
 essentially imaginative, as science states it for our intel- 
 lectual satisfaction and practical use. 
 
 Especially in any series of social or individual human 
 experiences, the reason demands and the imagination 
 attempts the transformation of a chaos of details into a 
 cosmos of significance, if not of beauty. Plot, in this 
 restricted sense, is common to epic, drama, novel, history, 
 and biography ; and the general method of analysis may 
 be much the same for all. The student of the novel might 
 profit by plot analysis of Carlyle's French Revolution, 
 Hallam's Middle Ages, or Grant's Personal Memoirs. 
 
 Most clearly is plot necessary and ideal in fictitious 
 narrative. However real the main outline of events, or 
 
 1 English Prose Fiction, p. 40. 
 
PLOT 49 
 
 specific events, as in historical fiction ; however typical, 
 as in the novel of manners ; the plot of every novel, as a 
 fusion of details into unity, is a unique product of imagi- \ 
 nation. The most commonplace and conventional novel 
 ever written has at least this interest of distinct identity 
 in imaginative process and result. The old-fashioned 
 critical terms " invention" and " the fable" (see the glos- 
 sary) emphasized this aspect of plot. The fact that 
 plot is imaginative does not necessarily imply, however, 
 that it is emotional or spontaneous. It is in the very 
 process of conscious intellectual shaping of materials to 
 an ideal result that some critics find the main dignity of 
 plot. The novelist as well as the philosopher may call 
 into action the "imaginative reason." Adverse criticism 
 of plot rests largely upon a one-sided interpretation of 
 its meaning. Zola's spirited attack has been abundantly 
 answered, and particularly by the testimony of his own 
 novels. 1 
 
 44. Action and Narration. Action is a general term 
 which includes all the real or fictitious incidents of the 
 plot. It applies more particularly to external events, with 
 definite time and place settings; but in a wider sense to 
 emotions and thoughts, even without definite settings, 
 which belong to the unity of illusion. Most novels contain 
 many passages, especially the generalizations and descrip- 
 tions by the author, which lie outside the action proper. 
 The action includes all the incidents supposed to happen, 
 whether distinctly given or merely implied ; the narra- 
 tion gives some of these fully, some briefly, and omits 
 all record of others. The relation of action to narration 
 
 1 For appreciation of plot, see, for example, Moulton's Shakespeare as 
 a Dramatic Artist, and Santayana's Sense of Beauty ; for adverse criticism, 
 see Zola's Experimental Novel. 
 
50 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 is in part analogous to that between the characters and 
 characterization. 
 
 The life of Napoleon, or the events of the American Civil War, 
 considered as materials for the biographer and historian, are actions; 
 the biography and the history are narrations. The action is clearly a 
 larger and more complex whole than the narrative, to which it alone, 
 in fiction or outside of fiction, gives reality and authority. This dis- 
 tinction applies to many topics in Chapter II, as well as in the present 
 chapter. There is, for example, a situation in the action, and a situation 
 in the narration. In Silas Marner, the action-situation at the close of 
 Chapter IV includes the important incident of Dunstan Cass' death ; 
 but this incident enters the narrated situation only towards the close of 
 the novel. 
 
 In the fluctuating relations of action and narration lie 
 many of the problems of narrative technic. To imagine 
 a story is one thing, to tell it another. The main relations 
 may be called divergence (" foreshortening " when the nar- 
 ration distinctly condenses the action, and divergence in 
 sequence, as in the example just given), convergence ', and 
 coincidence. Parallelism, that is, uniform proportion be- 
 tween action and narration, is practically impossible in a 
 novel, and would at once destroy its artistic value. It is 
 in the larger outlines of plot that divergence becomes most 
 conspicuous and imperative. In details, the narration may 
 approach the fulness of action, real or imagined, but from 
 the scientific point of view there can never be actual 
 coincidence. (Compare Section 31.) The process of selec- 
 tion necessary to fashion an artistic narrative from an 
 action has been emphasized in recent rhetorical study. 
 Some critics find in imaginative selection the primary 
 method and principle of narrative art ; and in a broader 
 field, art in general has been defined as "the suppression 
 of non-essentials." 
 
PLOT 51 
 
 45. Story. As a technical term, story may denote a 
 larger whole of real action from which the plot is drawn. 
 In clear form, story is rare except in historical fiction, but 
 the plots of non-historical novels may always be viewed, 
 by novelist or reader, as ideal episodes of a wider action 
 historically real. The story of Ivanhoe is the history 
 of the racial adjustment of Saxon and Celt in England ; 
 of Quo Vadis, the history of the struggle of early 
 Christianity with paganism. The plot of The Scarlet 
 Letter may be interpreted as an ideal episode in the 
 story of the redemption of the sinner through love, in 
 which the lives of St. Paul, St. Augustine, and many other 
 saints, are historical episodes. 
 
 Various degrees of generalization by author or critic indicate proxi- 
 mate, intermediate, and ultimate stories. The proximate story of 
 Kingsley's Alton Locke is the Chartist movement, the wider story, 
 the general struggle of the laboring classes; the proximate story of 
 Galdds 1 Dona Perfecta is the struggle of medieval ecclesiasticism 
 with modernism in nineteenth century Spain, the wider story, the 
 general history of the clash of religious authority with the liberated 
 intellect. In the introduction of 1831 to The Fortunes of Nigel, Scott 
 suggests, by generalization, a far wider story than the history of the reign 
 of James II : " The most picturesque period of history is that when 
 the ancient rough and wild manners of a barbarous age are just becom- 
 ing innovated upon, and contrasted, by the illumination of increased or 
 revived learning, and the instructions of renewed or reformed religion." 
 
 Unless there is a distinct and noteworthy narrative outline in the 
 story itself, it is usually more satisfactory to consider it merely as 
 background, or as general subject. 
 
 46. Story and Plot. When the story is distinctly con- 
 ceived, it may have its own " dramatic line," with which 
 the plot of the novel may coincide in beginning, climax, or 
 catastrophe. The plot of The Plague Year is emphati- 
 cally historical in that its beginning, rise, climax, fall, and 
 
52 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 catastrophe coincide with those of the actual movement 
 of the pestilence. (Compare Cross, pp. 143, 145, and 
 passim.) Such coincidence is by no means an invariable 
 rule in historical fiction. Both the climax and the catastro- 
 phe of Ivanhoe are in the main purely imaginary, though 
 typically historical. Great historical events, like great his- 
 torical characters, if introduced at all, may sink into the 
 background of the novel. 
 
 Several plots may of course be drawn from the same 
 story. These may be quite independent episodes ; as 
 Galdos' Dona Perfecta, Reade's Cloister and the Hearth, 
 Ebers' Homo Sum, for example, which may all be viewed 
 as episodes in the story of the conflict of ascetic Christian- 
 ity with the secular nature of man. When several plots 
 from the same story have a considerable number of com- 
 mon characters or incidents, they constitute what is tech- 
 nically a " cycle" ; of which famous examples in romance 
 are the Arthurian and Charlemagne cycles of the Middle 
 Ages. 
 
 Story often undergoes considerable modification in details or in 
 general interpretation before the novelist moulds his plot from it. The 
 freedom of Scott in this respect is partly recorded in his introductory 
 matter, and has been abundantly noticed. In details, he transforms a 
 Catholic into a Protestant, and changes the chronological sequence in 
 order to gain increased dramatic effect; in general interpretation, his 
 emphasis upon contrast in certain specific periods is probably due as 
 much to his own imagination as to actual historical conditions. 
 
 47. The Plot Proper. The plot proper of a novel is 
 the design which unifies all the incidents of the narration, 
 in their relation to one another, and to the action. Novel- 
 istic plot may generally be analyzed with profit by two 
 methods, somewhat different, but so closely related that 
 neither has much value without the other. The first 
 
PLOT 53 
 
 method considers plot as composed of single lines of 
 interest, known in the action as " single actions," in the 
 narration as " simple narratives." The second method 
 subordinates these separate lines of interest to the general 
 movement forward in chronological and causal series to a 
 final goal the catastrophe. 
 
 48. The Single Action. A single action is a series 
 of events having a unity and significance of its own if 
 detached from the plot in which it is found. We may 
 imagine it alone frequently as the material for a short 
 story or transferred to another novelistic plot, without 
 loss of essential meaning ; just as we may detach single 
 characters from the network in which they are found, 
 without loss of identity. Kipling's phrase, "but that's 
 another story," technically stated, means, " a single 
 action too independent to be woven into the present 
 plot." 
 
 Flexibility of plot analysis (Section 42) is particularly 
 apparent in the perception of single actions. Some of 
 these actions are dim, others quite distinct. They may have 
 primarily a mere chronological unity, or may have their 
 individual dramatic line, dramatis personae, settings, theme, 
 tone, etc. It is not necessary that they have an inde- 
 pendent origin, or were conceived as distinct by the novel- 
 ist, though these conditions of course emphasize their 
 individuality. The single action should not be understood 
 as primarily the history of a single character, though the 
 two may sometimes be identical. Often it is rather the 
 related history of two or more characters ; sometimes a 
 narrative movement in which the characters are merely 
 the necessary agents of the action. The perception of 
 single actions is often aided by a generalized statement 
 of them. 
 
54 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In Silas Marner one can readily conceive the moral histories of Silas 
 and Godfrey Cass separately, without violence to the actual plot. In 
 typical form, the two actions are about as follows: 
 
 A, a young rural aristocrat, contracts a degrading, clandestine mar- 
 riage of passion. His wife dies, leaving a young child in the hands of 
 people of the laboring class. A is too cowardly to take her himself, 
 mainly on account of a woman of his own class, whom he loves and soon 
 after marries. Later, when the child has developed into a young 
 woman, he desires to adopt her, but she has become attached to her 
 humble friends, and refuses to leave them. This, combined with the 
 fact of their childlessness, is received by A and his wife as a just though 
 painful punishment for his early folly and cowardice. This statement 
 preserves the main outline of the story of Godfrey Cass, and leaves 
 Silas Marner without even numerical identity. 
 
 B, a sensitive laborer, suffers an injustice which isolates him from 
 his own past and from his fellow-men. After years of loneliness, chance 
 brings him a little waif child, and their mutual love softens his nature, 
 reconciles him to his own life, and unites it again to that of his fellows, 
 and to God. In this outline statement, Godfrey Cass, in his turn, 
 becomes a dramatis persona merely implied. 
 
 Of course this is not the actual plot of Silas Marner, but it is the 
 two stories we might have had, and it throws light on the unifying 
 process in the real plot. The history of Eppie cannot be well stated as 
 an independent interest; she is necessary to both actions, and so 
 becomes what Professor Moulton calls a " link personage." 
 
 In Pride and Prejudice, it is impossible to make independent 
 actions of the histories of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, without 
 such violation of the actual plot as obscures rather than illuminates it. 
 
 Theory as to the number of single actions in the typi- 
 cal plot is not altogether lacking. Professor MacClintock 1 
 affirms that there is distinct tendency to fuse three actions 
 together ; and practical analysis will show that this triple 
 resolution is often satisfactory, though further resolution 
 is always possible in a complex plot. As over-analysis 
 results in more obscurity than no analysis at all, it seems 
 best to avoid subtlety in the search for single actions. 
 
 1 Unpublished manuscript. 
 
PLOT 55 
 
 Single actions may be named or described according to 
 their nature and structural value as tragic, comic ; adventure 
 actions, love actions, supernatural actions, etc. ; episodic, 
 persistent, thematic, main (principal), sub-actions, envelop- 
 ing, motivating, etc. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS INTO SINGLE ACTIONS 
 Pride and Prejudice. 
 Enveloping Actions. 
 
 1. Social life in England, in the upper middle classes. 
 
 2. History of the Bennet family and their relatives. 
 Main Actions. 
 
 3. Love story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. (Principal 
 
 action.) 
 
 4. Love story of Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley. 
 
 5. Relations of Wickham to the Bennets and the Darcys. 
 Sub-actions. 
 
 6. Professional and domestic history of Mr. Collins. 
 
 7. Relations of Colonel Fitzwilliam to Elizabeth Bennet. 
 
 (Distinctly episodic.) 
 Last of the Mohicans. 
 
 1 . Enveloping Action. Relations of the French, English, Ameri- 
 
 cans, and Indians. 
 
 2. Main Action. Relations and experiences of Chingachgook, 
 
 Hawkeye. Uncas, and Heyward. (The relation of the 
 first two characters is an episodic action in reference to 
 the Leather-Stocking series.) 
 Sub-actions. 
 
 3. Relations of Magua to the other Indians and the whites. 
 
 4. Career of David Gamut. 
 
 5. Love story of Heyward and the Munro sisters. 
 Quo Vadis. 
 
 Enveloping Actions. 
 
 1. Struggle of early Christianity with Paganism (Greek, Roman, 
 
 barbarian) . 
 
 2. International relations of the Roman Empire. 
 
 3. Events of the reign of Nero. 
 
56 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Main Actions. 
 
 4. Love story of Vinicius and Lygia. (Principal action.) 
 
 5. Love story of Petronius and Eunice. 
 Sub-actions. 
 
 6. Story of Chilo. 
 
 7. Attachment of Ursus to Lygia. 
 
 8. Rivalry of Petronius and Tigellinus. 
 
 49. Sequence of Simple Narratives. The divergence 
 between action and narration is clearly seen whenever the 
 continuity of the former is interrupted in the latter, as 
 almost invariably happens in any plot at all complicated. 
 The modern novelist generally omits the old-fashioned 
 formulas, " we must now leave A and B for a time and 
 follow the fortunes of C and D," etc., but the breaks are 
 still in evidence. Simplicity or complexity of plot-struc- 
 ture depends partly on the mere number of single actions, 
 but more distinctly on their relations in the narrative, of 
 which sequence is an important phase. Certain theoretical 
 forms of sequence may be distinguished. While these are 
 commonly combined in actual plot, one or another may be 
 clearly predominant. 
 
 1. The episodic, J_ _*_ _!_ _1_, etc. 
 
 2. The alternating, J E_ _L J L _L, etc. 
 
 3. The dependent, 
 
 4. The interwoven, 
 
 Of these, the episodic is the simplest, but results in a 
 looseness of plot, usually avoided in part by the persistence 
 of some one simple enveloping or main action. The third 
 method is somewhat confusing, as it compels one to imagine 
 two or more place and time settings and groups of dramatis 
 personae at one time. In double form it is found in all 
 
PLOT 
 
 57 
 
 cases of intercalated narrative ; interesting examples of 
 triple form occur in Euphues and Frankenstein. At 
 one point in the latter romance, the primary place setting 
 is a ship in the northern seas; the secondary, a remote 
 island of Scotland ; the tertiary, the fair lakes of Switzer- 
 land. The typical plot-structure of an artistic novel is 
 based on a combination of the second and fourth formulas. 
 Interweaving is most imperative at climax and catastrophe, 
 ^especially the latter. 
 
 In a well-constructed novel, the chapter is generally a 
 satisfactory unit for examining the sequence of narratives. 
 
 SEQUENCE OF SIMPLE NARRATIVES IN JANET S 
 REPENTANCE 
 
 CHAPTER 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i? 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 26 27 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i, Spiritual history of Janet Dempster; 2, spiritual history of Edgar 
 Tryan ; 3, ecclesiastical relations of Milby to the rest of England. 
 
 SEQUENCE OF SIMPLE NARRATIVES IN SILAS MARNER 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 ii 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 M 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 CON. 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -- 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -- 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i, History of Silas Marner ; 2, history of Godfrey Cass ; 3, social life 
 of Lantern Yard and Raveloe. 
 
 50. The Dramatic Line. The dramatic line is a name 
 for the design of the whole plot-movement as determined 
 by points of special importance called ''turning-points." 
 In a more strict sense it applies only to a movement hav- 
 ing a definite climax about halfway between the initial 
 
58 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 point and the catastrophe. The term "climax" in this 
 technical sense must be distinguished from its general 
 rhetorical use, and specially from a common usage which 
 identifies it with the catastrophe. The movement from the 
 initial point to the climax is called the " rise " ; from the 
 climax to catastrophe, the "fall." The dramatic line, 
 while more characteristic of the drama than the novel, is 
 very easily traced in many novels. Several other points, 
 besides the three mentioned, have been discovered and 
 named by critics of plot " tragic force," " final suspense," 
 "further resolution," etc.; and some of these are often 
 perfectly distinct in a well-constructed novel. The climax 
 and catastrophe are the most significant points, determin- 
 ing, for example, the tragic or comic nature of the plot 
 as a whole. 
 
 DRAMATIC LINE OF SILAS MARNER 
 .2 
 
 i 
 
 
 I. Initial point: the stolen knife, Chapter I. 2. Climax: the 
 coming of Eppie, Chapter XII. 3. Catastrophe: Eppie's resolve 
 to remain with Silas, Chapter XIX. 
 
 DRAMATIC LINE OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 
 
 A' 
 
 v V/ 
 
 i. Initial point: the arrival of Bingley, Chapter I. 2. Climax? 
 Darcy's proposal, Chapter XXXIV. 3. Tragic force: Darcy's 
 letter, Chapter XXXV. 4. Final suspense: Lady dc Bourgh's 
 interference, Chapter LVI. 5. Catastrophe: Elizabeth's engage- 
 ment, Chapter LVI II. 
 
PLOT 59 
 
 51. The Climax. In a novel, the climax is generally 
 somewhat diffused, and it may not always be possible to 
 locate it in a single paragraph or sentence. In some cases 
 it is quite central ; in others, nearer the catastrophe than 
 the initial point the fall of the action being more rapid 
 than the rise. 1 In all novels it is likely to be marked 
 by some striking external event or incident historical 
 often in historical fiction, social in the novel of manners, 
 etc. In fiction in which character is supreme, this external 
 climax is always accompanied by an intellectual or moral 
 crisis in the important characters. In novels of philo- 
 sophical quality, it is frequently emphasized by some gen- 
 eralized reflection, as in Janet's Repentance: "There 
 are moments when, by some strange impulse, we contra- 
 dict our past selves fatal moments, when a fit of passion, 
 like a lava stream, lays low the work of half our lives." 
 (Chapter XIV.) While the entire plot before the climax 
 is in a sense a preparation for it, the immediately preced- 
 ing movement is usually more specifically preparatory, 
 falls into well-marked stages, and is likely to be somewhat 
 accelerated. The ideal climax is one which is definitely 
 common to all the single actions ; but often the separate 
 actions have somewhat divergent climaxes, in which case 
 the closest approach to true " plot-climax " is found in the 
 climax of the principal action. 
 
 EXAMPLES 
 
 In Silas Marner, the whole of Chapter XII is a climax. It includes 
 one of the very few striking external events of the plot, but is even 
 more distinctly an inward experience of the soul. In the immediate 
 event it concerns primarily the Silas Marner action, but in a very clear 
 manner it is a culminating point in both the main actions, and the chief 
 
 1 In the drama, Freytag and Moulton find it, usually, close to the center. 
 
60 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 motivating force of both throughout the further development of the plot. 
 A more specific location might find a climax at the point in which the 
 " counter-play " (see glossary) becomes " play " ; the moment when 
 Silas Marner ceases to be passive under his fate, and begins to mould 
 his own fortunes " Marner stooped to lift it on his knees." 
 
 In Pride and Prejudice, the exact point of climax is again found 
 only in the principal action, but it is obviously a real turning-point for 
 the other main actions. Especially does the tragic force, Darcy's letter, 
 relate causally to the future of Jane and Bingley and Wickham, as well 
 as Elizabeth and Darcy themselves. This climax is a definite external 
 event, striking enough to the two characters immediately concerned, 
 though not so exciting to the reader ; but its deeper quality is clearly 
 psychological it is a distinct crisis in the moral development of both 
 lovers. It may be noted that this climax is curiously near the center 
 of the novel. The tragic force is emphasized by the epistolary form, 
 and followed by one of the few significant soliloquies of the novel 
 " How despicably have I acted," etc. 
 
 52. The Catastrophe. The climax is sometimes very 
 faintly indicated, perhaps omitted altogether; the very 
 nature of artistic narrative demands a more or less em- 
 phatic catastrophe. While art must deviate somewhat 
 from life at this point, and very often degenerates into 
 artificiality, catastrophe has a foundation in actual experi- 
 ence. The statement of certain realistic critics that noth- 
 ing comes to an end outside of fiction, is true only in a 
 limited sense. Scientifically, we may perceive the continu- 
 ity of material and social forces, but our imaginative and 
 moral interpretation of experience locates certain points 
 which are, for our purposes, final. The Emancipation 
 Proclamation may be considered almost the beginning of 
 the " negro problem," in the current sense, but it is not 
 therefore a mistake to consider it as the close of the history 
 of slavery in America. Every death, and, in spite of its 
 hackneyed treatment in the novel, every marriage, is a real 
 catastrophe in the lives of a group of people it concludes 
 
PLOT 6 1 
 
 certain episodes conveniently if not logically viewed as 
 detachable unities of experience. 
 
 Artificiality in novelistic catastrophe takes many forms. 
 Forced pessimism or optimism, whether due to the wilful- 
 ness of the author or his slavery to the reading public, are 
 unfortunately common. An artifice of less ethical signifi- 
 cance is the forced ensemble, whether the characters 
 actually meet, or are assembled merely in the imagination 
 of the novelist. While life shows its own group catastro- 
 phes, it is not so common in ordinary social experience as in 
 fiction to find a single event distinctly final, introductory to 
 a permanent situation, and equally significant for a con- 
 siderable number of people. Frequently the artificiality 
 lies not so much in the mere event of the catastrophe as in 
 the motivation, or the speed with which it is approached. 
 
 Representative types of catastrophic event are separa- 
 tion or reunion of characters ; discovery of mistaken iden- 
 tity; discovery and punishment of crime; marriage, and 
 death. Perhaps the grandest catastrophe ever conceived 
 by human imagination is the judgment day. This has 
 found a place in the religious drama; but even in the 
 broadest, most "epic," of historical romances, the final 
 event rarely reaches such dimensions. The modern real- 
 istic tendency is to find the most significant catastrophe as 
 well as climax, in the moral experience of the individual. 
 Modern imagination cannot unify the moral experiences 
 of the whole human race so easily as did the medieval 
 imagination. 
 
 The novel is generally less hurried than the drama in conclusion as 
 well as beginning. The technical catastrophe is often at some little 
 distance from the final paragraph, as indicated in the diagrams of 
 Section 50. In Silas Marner the author follows the -Shakespearian 
 method of introducing a passage of comparative calm after the more 
 
62 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 intense conclusion of the tragic movement; though in the dramatist 
 such passages are always much more brief than the " Conclusion " of 
 Silas Marner. 
 
 EXAMPLES 
 
 Ivanhoe. The catastrophe includes marriage, conversion (of 
 Rebecca), reconciliation, discovery of identity. 
 
 Last of the Mohicans. The catastrophe is mainly in the external 
 history of the characters ; including death, freedom from captivity, 
 separation of friends. 
 
 Quo Vadis. The historical quality of the plot is emphasized by 
 the epic breadth of events, and the death of Nero and Petronius ; the 
 religious quality by the conversion of Chilo and the death of Peter. 
 
 Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen has here varied the common 
 formula by making the engagements instead of the marriages of the 
 sisters the chief events. The engagement of Elizabeth comes last, 
 emphasizing her predominance in the whole plot. After the real 
 catastrophe, there follow two leisurely chapters giving the final situa- 
 tion with comparatively little movement. 
 
 53. Motivation. This is a technical term to denote the 
 causation of the plot-movement, especially in reference to 
 its conscious artistic management. It is to be distinguished 
 from " motif " and " motive,"- the purpose of a character ; 
 an important but by no means the only type of motivating 
 force. 
 
 Some critics have attempted to distinguish between the 
 dramatic and epic narrative in respect to motivation. Zim- 
 merman writes : 1 " The dramatic imagination falls under the 
 category of causality, the epic only under the presentation 
 form of time " ; including the novel under the epic. This 
 statement does not agree with the practise of the greater 
 novelists or with representative modern theory of novel- 
 istic plot. Walter Scott gives a higher and more accept- 
 
PLOT 63 
 
 able view, though without any statement of aesthetic 
 principle, in this passage : " The most marked distinction 
 between a real and a fictitious narrative [is] that the 
 former, in reference to the remote causes of the events it 
 relates, is obscure, doubtful, and mysterious ; whereas in 
 the latter case, it is a part of the author's duty to afford 
 satisfactory details upon the causes of the separate events 
 he has recorded, and, in a word, to account for everything." 
 
 Scott's last phrase, however, is too strong, as he himself points out 
 elsewhere in reference to Mrs. Radcliffe's catastrophic explanation of 
 her mysteries of plot. yEsthetically considered, the main function of *; 
 motivation is to increase the z^^^iofjjgality, which might be destroyed 
 if every incident were given definite and clear causal explanation ; for 
 life itself is not so simple. When Eppie comes to Silas Marrrer, we 
 know why her mother died, why the baby crept to the cottage, why 
 Silas did not see her at first, etc. ; but in the novel, as it might have 
 been in life, it seems purely a chance coincidence that the mother's 
 death occurs just at that particular furze bush near the weaver's home. 
 Again, there is no special explanation given to account for Eppie and 
 Aaron falling in love so conveniently. 
 
 Structurally, motivation may be given in mass, or in 
 solution ; before, with, or after the effects ; by one contin- 
 uous force, or many, changing forces ; through the plot 
 itself or the characters, or from the outside, as it were. It 
 naturally receives special attention at the main points of 
 the dramatic line. The catastrophe is often an occasion 
 for a general massing of motive forces, either by way of 
 review, or of explanation not previously given. In relation 
 to their results, motive forces may be adequate, insufficient, 
 or excessive. Many effects of tragedy, irony, and carica- 
 ture are obtained by subtle treatment of these relations. 
 
 54. Motivating Forces. The most important influences 
 shaping the plot-movement of a novel are nature, society, 
 
64 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 individual character, the supernatural or superhuman, 
 chance, fate, providence, etc., and, in a sense, the decree 
 of the novelist himself. As in real life, thorough under- 
 standing of events may imply some separate notice of 
 proximate and remote causes. 
 
 Defoe, for example, characteristically combines practical, common- 
 place causes with the more ultimate influence of Providence. In The 
 Plague Year he accepts the view that the pestilence was " a stroke from 
 heaven a messenger of [God's] vengeance"; but adds, "When I 
 am speaking of the Plague as a distemper arising from natural causes, 
 we must consider it as if it was really propagated by natural means," 
 etc. ; distinguishing the relation of the two causes at some length. 
 
 Naturalism, in the full sense of the word, traces all causes 
 back to the one primary cause Nature. Character is de- 
 termined by heredity, animal instinct, natural environ- 
 ment, etc. ; external events war, pestilence, individual 
 birth and death, rise and decline of racial supremacy 
 are links in a continuous causal series governed by Nature. 
 In the novel of manners and allied types of fiction, society 
 is the chief motivating force ; in the psychological novel, 
 the conscious and unconscious forces of the individual 
 predominate; in the religious novel and many types of 
 romance, the supernatural influences are prominent. Mrs. 
 Radcliffe's special method was to introduce apparently 
 supernatural causes, and afterwards explain them as natu- 
 ral, though unusual. 
 
 When a single character of the novel is a primary influ- 
 ence in shaping the events, he is called technically a 
 " motivating character " ; in the traditional phrase, a 
 deus ex machina. If his influence is for the good, he be- 
 comes a " dramatic providence " ; if for the evil, he corre- 
 sponds more or less closely to the typical " villain." The 
 
PLOT 65 
 
 power given to such characters is often so large that the 
 imagination refuses to accept the illusion of reality. Often: 
 the novelist himself appears as a striking dcus or dia- 
 bolus ex macJiina. Reserve, sincerity, dramatic imagi- 1 
 nation, or their opposites, are as distinctly marked in 
 motivation as in any function of the novelist. Arbitrary 
 optimism or pessimism gives a one-sided ethical inter- 
 pretation of the government of human destiny ; pro- 
 nounced realism often traces all results to such petty 
 causes that the beauty, if not the verisimilitude, of the plot 
 is destroyed ; exaggerated romanticism is satisfied only 
 with grand, remote causes which do not correspond with 
 those observed in our own experience. Any one who has 
 written a single short story realizes the persistent and diffi- 
 cult problem of artistic motivation. It is a matter that 
 requires great natural gift or long practise in order that 
 art may conceal art. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF MOTIVATION 
 
 The Plague Year. Another example of the mingling of human with 
 providential causes occurs in explaining why the narrator remained in 
 the plague-stricken city his business demands it ; his servant has 
 abandoned him; but there is, also, specific supernatural guidance by 
 means of the Biblical passage. The cessation of the plague is traced 
 entirely to Providence: "Nothing but the immediate finger of God, 
 nothing but Omnipotent Power, could have done it ! " 
 
 Pride and Prejudice. While the general motivation is largely 
 social, it is distinctly psychological in Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy. 
 They shape their own destinies, and have much influence over others. 
 There is rational, psychological motivation for their love, in contrast 
 with love at first sight in Rosalind and Orlando, Romeo and Juliet, and 
 the unexplained development of love in Eppie and Aaron. Wickham 
 approaches the structural function of a villain. Relatively accidental 
 or trivial causes bring Mr. Bingley to Netherfield House and Elizabeth 
 
66 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 to Pemberley Park. Nature has comparatively small place in the moti- 
 vation of Jane Austen. The rain-storm of Chapter VII is of some 
 importance, and is naturally introduced. 
 
 Silas Marner. The novel is predominantly psychological, and 
 self-motivation has large place in Silas and Godfrey, especially the 
 latter. In both it is distinctly ethical. The novelist approaches the 
 villain in William Dane and Dunstan Cass. Social motivation is 
 specially prominent in the casting of lots and in the influence of public 
 ppinion in Raveloe. A striking substitution of moral, human motiva- 
 tion for natural is found in the character of Eppie. Her development 
 into a sweet, frank nature could hardly be explained by inheritance 
 perhaps is a violation of the scientific law of heredity but is traced 
 to the human environment, the loving interest of Silas and the com- 
 munity. Above all human causes is the dim First Cause ; mysterious, 
 but bringing just punishment for sin, and salvation for the righteous 
 soul that has suffered man's inhumanity to man. 
 
 55. The Narrator. His Point of View. It is clear that 
 there can be no narration without a central narrator who 
 is the real plot-maker. In the novel he may be very much 
 in evidence or remain behind the scenes, but it is never 
 strictly true that "the characters tell their own story." 
 In Pamela, Richardson arranges the letters, not imagined 
 as even collected by any one else, and determines the 
 plot-movement as truly as does Smollett in Roderick 
 Random. The primary narrator is always the author, in 
 propria persona i as a writer, though he may assume to be 
 merely editor or listener, or in other ways introduce sec- 
 ondary (dramatic) narrators between himself and the 
 reader. Even when he enters the action as an important 
 dramatis persona, he is perfectly distinct from all the other 
 characters, in his narrative function. Except in fiction of 
 the I-form, the author is the only one acquainted with all 
 the incidents of the plot. 
 
 The narrator takes some general point of view for the 
 entire action, and specific points of view for every part of 
 
PLOT 67 
 
 it, in reference to time, place, characters, social and ethical 
 philosophy, etc. The unity of a passage or a plot depends 
 largely on the clearness and stability of his position. The 
 novelistic narrator, however, is given great freedom in this 
 respect, which one has only to examine to discover how 
 different the novel is from life. He may hold himself 
 aloof from his characters and action, observing them as a 
 mere spectator or student of life, with miraculous power td 
 move at will through time, space, and the thoughts and 
 feelings of men ; or partially identify himself with his own 
 creation, as an imminent divinity. or alternate between 
 the two positions. Taking " the reader's point of view " 
 is often attempted, but is in a strict sense impossible. 
 
 56. Temporal Point of View. When is the narration 
 recorded in reference to the time bf action ? The modern 
 third-person novel may avoid the appearance of being a 
 document at all, entirely subordinating .the reality of the 
 narrative to the illusion of the action. It is curious to note 
 Jane Austen lapsing for a moment from her famous 
 dramatic objectivity in Pride and Prejudice: "It is not 
 the object of this work to give descriptions of Derby- 
 shire," etc. (Chapter XLII.) In autobiographical fiction 
 (for example, Robinson Crusoe), or in other forms of im- 
 aginary manuscript (for example,' The Castle of Otranto), 
 the fictitious time of writing may be treated artistically 
 as part of the illusion. Autobiographical fiction often has 
 a peculiar warmth of the present, because of the influence 
 of vivifying memory. 
 
 Ordinarily, when we notice the necessary inferences, we 
 see that the narration could not have been begun until the 
 action was complete. All direct anticipation (see Sec- 
 tion 40) interrupts the illusion of an immediate present 
 action. The journal form, and sometimes the epistolary, 
 
68 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 as noted by Richardson in reference to his own works, are 
 technically distinguished as narratives immediately follow- 
 ing or accompanying the action. The action supposed to 
 occur in the future, as in some Utopian fictions, belongs 
 to the impossibilities of romance, and serious effort at 
 illusion of futurity is rarely maintained. It is not uncom- 
 mon to bring the narrative to a present tense coincidence 
 With the action at the catastrophe, perhaps with a peep 
 into the possible future. The historical present is an aid 
 to illusion in brief passages, but if employed too much 
 would be intolerably artificial, and destructive of veri- 
 similitude. 
 
 The events of the stage drama are given in chronological order, 
 though the dramatist freely condenses or omits portions of the action ; 
 but in the novel inversion of chronological order, and a narrative 
 sequence for synchronous actions, are constantly found. An example 
 of such inversion is found at the opening of Silas Marner the in 
 medias res formula ; and' of the narrative sequence in the same novel, 
 Chapters XI and XII. 
 
 A special form of temporal point of view is occasionally found in 
 TCIXOCTKOTTIO, in which the narrator usually episodic reports action 
 while it is occurring. This device is more characteristic of the drama 
 than the novel, and of romance than realism. It is found in Suder- 
 mann's Magda, Ibsen's Pretenders, Hedda Gabler, Tennyson's Harold, 
 etc. A noted example in the romance is Rebecca's report of the fight 
 before the castle of Front-de-Boeuf. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF COMPLEX TEMPORAL POINT OF VIEW 
 
 At the opening of Chapter XVI of Silas Marner, the time point of 
 view is threefold: (i) The novelist is in general considering a period 
 some forty years before her narration, and contrasts the two times by 
 the phrase, "of that time " ; (2) she uses the present tense to increase 
 the illusion of immediacy " is not much changed ; " (3) she recalls 
 the action of sixteen years before, by narrative reminiscence. (There is 
 no sign that the characters are in a mood of memory at this point, or 
 ever fully realize all the changes the author points out.) 
 
PLOT 69 
 
 In James White's Earl Strongbow, the real time of the narrative 
 is 1789 (date of publication) ; the date of the fictitious discovery of the 
 manuscript is 1740 ; of the writing of the manuscript, about 1660 ; of the 
 main action, the period of Henry II, the hero dying in 1177. The last 
 three time points belong to the illusion, and there is definite artistic con- 
 trast between the last two, as in the spirited passage (close of Night 
 Four), " such were the days of chivalry," etc. The hero of this fiction 
 has had an unusually long experience as a ghost about five hundred 
 years. 
 
 57. Spatial Point of View. This is most frequently 
 considered with reference to description of places, objects, 
 and persons, isolated or in scenes ; but it is also significant 
 in pure narrative. It may help to determine whether a 
 given occurrence shall be regarded mainly as of descrip- 
 tive or narrative interest. A battle a mile or two distant 
 from the spectator may naturally be considered as a picture ; 
 but if he is at the battle center (theoretically out of danger), 
 he will be compelled to attend to the neighboring movement, 
 with its complicated and changing incidents. 
 
 In the plot as a whole, the spatial point of view concerns 
 the range, distance, and scale of the visual field, and its 
 general relation to the author's mind. This field may be 
 purely imaginary, typical, or concretely real long-remem- 
 bered, freshly observed, or actually before the author as he 
 writes. Great range is found in the "international novel," 
 and all forms of the novel of travel ; the greatest in romance 
 which leaves the earth itself for more remote regions. The 
 scale of measurement is usually that of ordinary conscious- 
 ness, which permits a wide variety ; but in romance it may 
 undergo transformation, as in Gulliver's Travels, many 
 fairy stories, and some fictions with an animal or object as 
 autobiographer. 
 
 The spatial range of Pride and Prejudice is limited to certain por- 
 tions of England. The scale of measurement is partly indicated by the 
 
70 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 remark of Elizabeth Bennet in Chapter XXXII : " An easy distance 
 you call it? It is nearly fifty miles." In Silas Marner, the hero 
 comes to Raveloe from "distant parts" possibly a hundred miles 
 away from the " unknown region called North'ard." (Among other 
 effects, the railroad has lengthened the everyday measuring rod of the 
 novelist.) In Robinson Crusoe, Defoe's imagination passes over much 
 of the habitable globe ; yet is singularly alert in the topography of the 
 island-home and its immediate environment. 
 
 The spatial point of view necessarily changes frequently 
 for the individual incidents of a novel. It is not a mere 
 matter of setting for an event, but modifies the actual con- 
 tent of incident, consequently its emphasis and its value 
 in the unity of plot. To persons of little imaginative or 
 experiential space range, events which occur at a remote 
 distance are as dim as those of a dream. Scott could not 
 have given the details of Robin Hood's bow-shooting 
 (Section 31) unless he placed himself within a hundred 
 yards or so of the bowman. If the novelist leaves an inci- 
 dent without specific time or place relation, we know 
 that he was not closely identified with it, or does not desire 
 to emphasize it. 
 
 Most of the interior incidents of Silas Marner are located in specific 
 rooms ; but many of those in Pride and Prejudice are not, and some 
 of them have neither specific time nor place setting. In Chapter VI, we 
 do not know when or where [Elizabeth] " mentioned this to Miss 
 Lucas." On the other hand, at least six times in this novel we are 
 looking either at or out of some definite window. 
 
 Whenever characters approach one another or objects, the novelist 
 usually takes some definite position in relation to the line of approach. 
 In Pride and Prejudice, the author approaches Hunsford, Rosings, 
 the Bcnnet home, the Gardiners' London residence, Pemberley House, 
 with Kli/abrth Bennet. In the "Conclusion 11 of Silas Marner, the 
 novelist sees Eppie at a " little distance " ; later sees her approach from 
 the Rainbow group, and finally moves towards the Stone Pits with her. 
 A fully developed and compact "scene" is generally characterized by a 
 greater fixity of spatial position than is here found. 
 
PLOT 71 
 
 58. Character Point of View. In fiction in which the 
 I-form is sustained, unity of plot is greatly aided by the 
 single central narrator ; but often such fiction introduces 
 several other secondary narrators. In genuinely autobio- 
 graphical form, the author is inevitably identified to some 
 extent with the dramatic narrator, if for no other reason 
 than that he is so closely and continuously associated with 
 him. In other forms of fiction, the author often increases 
 the unity by some degree of general identification with a 
 single character, or by identification with different charac- 
 ters in the separate incidents. If a single central character 
 represents, in general outline, the actual or ideal experience 
 of the author as a real individual, as in Pilgrim's Progress, 
 and, to a less extent, Robinson Crusoe, there is a high 
 degree of unity ; but when this identification is much inter- 
 rupted or episodic, as in The Mill on the Floss, David 
 Copperfield, and Anna Kar^nina, the unity may be in- 
 jured rather than aided. 
 
 The identification of the author with a character may be 
 quite external, as in a coincident temporal and spatial point 
 of view ; or much more profound, in coincidence of tem- 
 perament, habits, principles, and ideals. Except in auto- 
 biographical form, such identification is never complete, 
 for no one character knows all that the author knows of 
 the movement of the plot. 
 
 In Pride and Prejudice the author seems to be very closely identi- 
 fied with Elizabeth Bennet, in temperament and principle, if not in 
 experience ; but Elizabeth never knows the details of Miss Bingley's 
 criticism of her, or the personal opinion Miss Austen gives : " If grati- 
 tude and esteem are good foundations of affection, Elizabeth's change 
 of sentiment will be neither improbable or faulty. But if otherwise . . . 
 nothing can be said in her defence." (Chapter XLV1.) This is probably 
 the only passage in which the author actually appears with her heroine, 
 
72 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 as a distinctly different person. In general, Elizabeth knows as much 
 about herself as the novelist knows of her. 
 
 Many effects of dramatic irony depend on this condition, that the 
 author (and the reader) is more omniscient than any single character. 
 In Silas Marner, the hero never knows the whole story of Godfrey's 
 first marriage; Godfrey knows nothing of Marner's Lantern Yard ex- 
 periences. 
 
 59. Generalized Statement of Plot. Study of an indi- 
 vidual plot according to the foregoing analysis may be fol- 
 lowed by a condensed statement of its typical outline, as 
 a basis for classification, judgment, and comparison with 
 other plots. As one moves from more concrete to more 
 abstract statement, the oft-repeated truth that literature 
 contains only a very few typical plot-movements becomes 
 more apparent. Even the most abstract formula, however, 
 should include all that is essential in the outline of the 
 individual plot. A plot correctly analyzed into several 
 actions cannot be adequately stated in the terms of any 
 one action. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF GENERALIZED STATEMENT OF PLOT 
 
 Silas Marner. A statement may easily be made by combining the 
 two main actions as given in Section 48. 
 
 More abstract statement. Converging interests of A and B through 
 the agency of C, which brings merited happiness to A, merited but 
 salutary unhappiness to B. 
 
 Pride and Prejudice. Very abstract statement. Emotional conver- 
 gence of (A, B), (C, D). Divergence through misunderstanding, 
 character weakness of A and B, and deceit of E. Reconvergence of 
 couples and group through discovery of E's villainy, and character 
 reform of A and B. 
 
 Pamela. A young, unprincipled aristocrat attempts to seduce a peas- 
 ant girl in his household employment. Her long-continued virtuous 
 resistance leads to his reform and happy marriage with her. 
 
 More abstract statement. Moral divergence of A and B through A's 
 selfish attempt to ruin B's character. Convergence to happy situation 
 through B's persistent virtue, which reforms A. 
 
PLOT 73 
 
 Dofia Perfecta. Selfishness and mistaken religious zeal in A cause 
 permanent tragic suffering in B (most beloved friend of A) and C (most 
 beloved friend of B). 
 
 60. Unity of Plot. The unity of plot may be discussed 
 in various ways, but it depends mainly on persistent point 
 of view, clear and unbroken motivation, and constant con- 
 vergence of all action toward the catastrophe, which im- 
 plies the omission of all non-essential incidents, and proper 
 emphasis upon those recorded. 
 
 Unified motivation and convergence are strikingly repre- 
 sented, if in a somewhat barren form, by such cumulative 
 actions as " for want of a J3g.il the shoe was lost, for want 
 of a shoe the horse wasijyt," etc. All the essentials of 
 unified plot may be illustrated by a genealogy showing the 
 ancestry of a character A. The point of view might be 
 that of scientific interest in heredity, or of personal interest 
 in A ; the motivation is through the law of heredity ; the 
 main convergence is between the maternal and paternal 
 lines of descent. 
 
 All intercalation, reversion, independent episode, digres- 
 sion, emphasis upon situation, tend to weaken the conver- 
 gence. " Scenes " are less economic than pure events in 
 the technical unity of plot. In Silas Marner the scenes in 
 Chapter VI and Chapter XXI, considering the space given 
 them, may be judged somewhat centrifugal. 
 
 If a plot has been analyzed into single actions, the study of conver- 
 gence may rest mainly upon these, though there may be a convergent 
 movement in a single action. In Janet's Repentance, the interests of 
 Janet and Mr. Tryan approach by these steps: I. Janet is interested 
 in her husband's attack upon Mr. Tryan, and helps prepare the mock 
 program ; 2. The chance meeting ; 3. The confession ; 4. The min- 
 ister's change of residence and sickness ; 5. The avowal of love. 
 
 In the introductions to The Monastery and The Fortunes of 
 Nigel, Scott distinguishes the loose plot-structure of Lesage and 
 
74 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Smollett from the closely unified plot of Fielding. Fielding constructed 
 the novel with a keen dramatic sense, and ample experience in dramatic 
 composition. His important characters are all on the stage at the con- 
 clusion of the action. The autobiographical plot, in general, is prone 
 to frequent introduction of new characters, and abandonment of old 
 ones. An autobiographical novel of a psychological type, however, is 
 strongly unified by persistent point of view the purpose, character, or 
 development of the hero but is often weak in motivation and conver- 
 gence. In Robinson Crusoe there is considerable unity in the social 
 and religious philosophy of the hero, his idealization of contented 
 middle-class position, and his belief in personal providence ; but the 
 unity of both motivation and convergence to catastrophe is rather faint. 
 
 61. Types of Plot. In relation to their characters, plots 
 are either superior, fairly cq^A| or subordinate in value. 
 " Plot-novel " is a name whiS^may be used to indicate 
 the first relation. Stevenson, in the course of his critical 
 defence of romance, emphasized the fact that it is plot 
 rather than characters that allows a free, spontaneous 
 play to the reader's imaginative longings. A rapid and 
 various movement of external incident permits one tem- 
 porarily to lose sight of his own character and problems ; 
 whereas the presence of other well-developed individuals, 
 with their insistent problems, emotions, ideals, and mode 
 of speech, may seem an intrusion and arouse friction. 
 Sometimes in fiction, as in life, one wishes to be alone 
 with his spontaneous dreams and desires. 
 
 In reference to technical structure, plots may be clas- 
 sified as : loose (episodic), closely unified ; simple, complex ; 
 catastrophic, climactic ; plots of movement, of situation, 
 etc. These terms, like most of those used in literary 
 classification, are somewhat theoretical, and not altogether 
 mutually exclusive. 
 
 The distinction between a loose and closely unified plot is suggested 
 in Section 60. In a plot properly called episodic the principal interest 
 
PLOT 75 
 
 must lie in the episodes themselves, considered as independent actions, 
 though there is usually some persistent action connecting them. Many 
 novels in the I-form are episodic, but in a true autobiographical fiction 
 the development of the hero's own character may be more important 
 than his external experience or the people whom he meets. Robinson 
 Crusoe, as a whole, is a good example of an episodic plot ; Gulliver's 
 Travels a still better one, because the central character is less significant. 
 
 A simple plot, in the full sense, is one that can be best 
 stated as a single action. Its abstract scheme is represented 
 in the genealogy giving a single line of descent, and its 
 concrete nature in an autobiographical fiction in which all 
 the incidents are unified l^Mthe life-history of the hero. 
 A complex plot is one best ^plyzed into several persistent 
 single actions of unequal importance. An episodic plot 
 may be complex enough in its several portions, but is 
 always simple in general outline. The complex plot 
 is the usual type in the novel, and the normal one, if 
 complexity is considered an essential quality of novelistic 
 style. Of course there are countless degrees of com- 
 plexity involved in the varying number, relative impor- 
 tance, and arrangement of the single actions. The 
 actions are often naturally grouped into a " main-plot " 
 and a '.' sub-plot." 
 
 All plots have some sort of catastrophe, but the term 
 "catastrophic" maybe specifically applied to those, whether 
 simple or complex, in which this point is of special impor- 
 tance in unifying the whole movement. An episodic plot 
 can never in a true sense be catastrophic. The nature of 
 climactic plot has been indicated in Section 50. From the 
 meaning of the terms, all climactic plots are also cata- 
 strophic. In a plot characterized by movement, the catastro- 
 phe is distinctly remote from the initial point, owing to 
 multiplicity of incident, and often to duration of time. A 
 
76 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 plot of situation devotes itself to studying present condi- 
 tions rather than to changing them. 
 
 As to their dominant type of incident, plots may be 
 classified as : comic, tragic ; historical, ideal ; social, individ- 
 ual ; objective, subjective (psychological), etc. In the 
 novel, as in the drama, a tragic main-plot with a comic 
 sub-plot is much more common than the inverse relation, 
 for reasons of deep aesthetic and moral significance. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF PLOT-TYPES 
 
 Master and Man. Reveals character through plot ; is well unified ; 
 simple; catastrophic; emphasizes movement; tragic; ideal; social- 
 individual ; objective-subjective. 
 
 The Plague Year. A plot-novel; somewhat loose; simple; cli- 
 mactic ; emphasizing situation ; historical ; tragic ; social ; objective. 
 
 Silas Marner. A novel of character; well unified; technically 
 complex ; climactic ; emphasizing situation ; tragic-(comic) ; subjec- 
 tive; psychological- (social). 
 
 Dona Perfecta. Well unified; complex; climactic; emphasizing 
 movement ; tragic ; fair equivalence of character and action, objective 
 and subjective, social and individual qualities. 
 
 Pride and Prejudice. Well unified ; complex ; climactic ; empha- 
 sizing movement ; in broad sense, comic ; with essential balance of 
 objective and subjective, social and individual interest. 
 
 Gulliver's Travels. Subject really predominates over both action 
 and characters; loose; episodic; chiefly situation; ideal; satirical; 
 social ; objective. 
 
 62. The Judgment of Plot. Without a distinct unity 
 of form or of meaning, no judgment upon a plot as a whole 
 could be given. Further than this, no single absolute 
 standard of judgment can be stated. The differences of 
 critical opinion rest upon profound differences of aesthetic 
 and ethical Weltanschauung^ which cannot be forced into 
 agreement. The critics who consider the plot of Tom 
 Jones to be the best in English fiction have a philosophy 
 
PLOT 77 
 
 of life incompatible with that of critics who give first 
 place to Silas Marner or Pride and Prejudice. Neverthe- 
 less, certain representative standards may be distinguished, 
 and it may be affirmed that a good plot must satisfy at least 
 one of these ; that a supremely excellent plot must satisfy 
 several. Some of these standards are primarily technical ; 
 others more immediately and broadly aesthetic or ethical. 
 
 Among the technical standards of frequent application 
 are well-developed dramatic line, rapidity of movement, 
 intensity of interest, simplicity or complexity. The simple 
 plot has a beauty of its own, but seems more characteristic 
 of the short story than the novel. The origin and history 
 of the novel as a species is associated with Gothic art rathei 
 than with Greek. Complexity may be considered advan 
 tageous, if not necessary, for the most complete expres^ 
 sion of design. 
 
 Less technical standards demand : that the movement of 
 the plot be determined by the individuality of the characters ; 
 be representative of a great ethical law, or otherwise of broad 
 and deep human significance ; be characterized throughout 
 by repose, or pass from great moral passion to a logical 
 moral calm ; be optimistic in general tendency ; etc. 
 
 A final judgment of a great plot must rest on a familiar acquaintance 
 with all its materials and form. Probably the main outline should 
 appear at a first reading, and be capable of very condensed state- 
 ment, but the complete significance of details should be practically 
 inexhaustible. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 THE SETTINGS 
 
 63. Esthetic Function of Settings. Every action as a 
 whole, and the incidents which compose it, must occur in 
 some definite environment of time, place, and circumstances; 
 but these accessories may be very variously developed in 
 a narrative. The imagination, in general, takes relatively 
 little delight in the mere outline of an action, and a primary 
 value of the settings is to increase interest to give 
 warmth, concreteness, and individuality to events. The 
 settings of a novel are often of special service in aiding 
 the illusion, as well as in deepening the unity, beauty, and 
 human significance of the fictitious action. 
 
 It may not always be possible to draw a sharp line 
 between an incident and its accessories, but the term 
 " settings" implies subordination to be tested not by mere 
 number of words, but by relative artistic significance. 
 Development of settings beyond this point is a violation of 
 artistic economy. 
 
 In practical criticism, a close study of the environment of an inci- 
 dent aids one to realize and remember the full value of the author's 
 imaginative conception. If Sidney Lanier had ever noted carefully the 
 time setting of the climax in Silas Marner, he could not have written 
 of 'a ray of sunshine striking through the window and illuminating the 
 little one's head. 1 1 
 
 64. General Time Setting. In pure romance, an action 
 may be placed in the future, or in an indeterminate past, 
 
 1 The English Novel, p. 28. 
 78 
 
THE SETTINGS 79 
 
 represented in extreme form by the "once upon a time" of 
 fairy tales. The general time setting of a realistic novel is 
 always in a true sense historical, though historical time 
 may be viewed against a background of biological time, as in 
 many naturalistic novels ; or of eternity, as in some philo- 
 sophical and religious novels. The historical period usually 
 has some special imaginative value for the reader, before 
 he is acquainted with the individual novel ; as in Quatre- 
 Vingt-Treize, The Talisman, and Romola. 
 
 Certain theories of the novel suggest some definite con- 
 ception of the duration of the action, especially as compared 
 with that of the short story and the drama. One impor- 
 tant theory considers the novel as primarily concerned 
 with a single individual life, in its complete development. 
 As the German critic Spielhagen expresses it, the short 
 story normally requires only a " Lebensausschnitt " ; the 
 novel, 'den ganzen Strom des Lebens.' Again, the novel 
 is a description or interpretation of a unified social group, 
 the novel of manners being the typical form. Both these 
 theories indicate an action covering approximately a 
 generation, and many representative novels show their 
 influence clearly. Probably the Renaissance idea that one 
 year was the proper time for an epic action has also had 
 some influence upon the "modern epic." Various as is 
 the duration of action in the novel, the average is distinctly 
 longer than in the drama and short story. Probably there 
 are no important novels limited to the traditional dramatic 
 unity of twenty-four hours found, for example, in The 
 Tempest and Master and Man. 
 
 65. Detailed Time Settings. A general idea of the 
 narrative distribution of time the time perspective in 
 an individual novel may be gained by an examination of 
 the principal terms in the time analysis. Occasionally the 
 
80 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 external divisions are based on uniform periods of time. 
 If comprehensiveness is a characteristic of the novel, one 
 may expect some special consideration of day and night, of 
 each of the four seasons, etc. The single day is the most 
 natural and the most frequent setting for individual scenes 
 or well-unified events. There are distinct traditional back- 
 ground values for the early morning, noon, evening, and 
 night. 
 
 The action of Silas Marner covers about a generation ; but chapter- 
 groups XI to XIII and XVI to XX record the events of single days. 
 Jane Austen uses the single day with more regularity in Pride and 
 Prejudice ; " the next morning " being a frequent formula. 
 
 Romanticism, for obvious reasons, has taken special de- 
 light in the background effects of evening and night. The 
 " sentimental school" associated the evening with reflection, 
 " sensibility " and melancholy of a gentle type ; Gothic 
 romance developed the mystery, the tragic solemnity, and 
 the supernatural atmosphere of the deeper night. Both of 
 these romantic settings are often found in the works of 
 Mrs. Radcliffe and Scott. In Mrs. Radcliffe's Italian, for 
 example, many of the important incidents are given a very 
 artistic evening or night setting. The special values given 
 to these and other portions of the natural day may some- 
 times be treated conventionally, but a little thought shows 
 that they have some real basis in social, psychological, and 
 physiological fact. 
 
 Distinct effects may be gained by sudden changes 
 contraction or expansion in the time perspective. Such 
 effects may be in the service of romantic weirdness, or of 
 realistic humor or pathos. 
 
 The death of Paul Dombey is in pathetic contrast with the bright 
 Sunday afternoon in summer on which it occurs, but Dickens increases 
 the solemnity by association of this particular tragedy with " the old. 
 
THE SETTINGS 8 1 
 
 old fashion ! The fashion that came in with our first garments, and will 
 last unchanged until our race has run its course, and the wide firmament 
 is rolled up like a scroll." 
 
 66. General Place Setting. So far as it follows the 
 traditions of the epic, the novel is characterized by a broad 
 spatial background. This is conspicuous in the romance 
 of chivalry, the picaresque novel, and in the more modern 
 types of " international " fiction. The influence of the drama 
 and of dramatic criticism has probably been in the other 
 direction, but the novel has never submitted to the dramatic 
 unity of place, strictly interpreted, as in the single room 
 settings of Hedda Gabler and Magda. While in the novel 
 devoted to an intensive study of the individual or society 
 spatial range is less significant than in the novel of action, 
 the weight of criticism and of practise indicates the short 
 story as the normal type for purely local fiction. 
 
 Romance inclines to escape the limitations of locality, 
 either by imaginative transformation of real place, or by 
 selection of purely ideal place. It finds a congenial back- 
 ground in Arcadia, Utopia, the stars, the center of the 
 earth, and nameless islands of remote seas. The new 
 world attracted the writers of the Romantic Movement, as 
 the home of the ' natural, elemental man,' or the golden 
 hope of the social dreamer. Modern realism prefers in 
 general the great centers of social complexity the Lon- 
 don of Dickens, the Paris of Balzac, the Madrid of ValdeY 
 La Espuma, etc. Often, however, the intricate life of the 
 capital is emphasized by contrast with the simpler manners 
 and ideas of the provinces ; and in this respect as in others 
 the law of imaginative reaction can be traced. 
 
 Many countries and regions have a more or less determinate value 
 for the imagination. Italy is a conspicuous example. The Italy of 
 
82 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Roman and Catholic tradition, of Renaissance influence, of art, of land- 
 scape, of rich political experience, and of cosmopolitan life, has in one 
 way or another made a special appeal to both romancer and realist. 
 Compare Corinne, Andersen's Improvisatore, Romola, The Last Days 
 of Pompeii, Paul Heyse's stories, Bourgefs Cosmopolis, Quo Vadis, etc. 
 
 67. Detailed Place Settings. These may be conve- 
 niently classified as exteriors (in the main, natural) and 
 interiors (in the main, social). The typical novel com- 
 bines the two, though certain varieties incline to emphasize 
 one or the other. Pastoral romance has its retired valleys, 
 with conventional accessories ; the romance of chivalry its 
 princely palace, its cell of hermit or monk ; Gothic romance 
 its castle, with haunted chamber, gloomy dungeon, and 
 secret passages. Romanticism in general has explored the 
 ideal values of forest, sea, and mountain solitude. Pica- 
 resque fiction has made special use of such settings as the 
 prison, the thieves' den, and the tavern. The novel of 
 manners leads the reader to places of routine domestic 
 and social life, such as homes, offices, theatres, legislative 
 halls, court-rooms, ball-rooms, parks and streets. 
 
 It is mainly within doors that modern society eats, sleeps, marries, 
 visits, worships, and dies. Many fictions include the name of a build- 
 ing in their title, though this is never the most general setting House 
 of the Seven Gables, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Old Curiosity Shop, 
 Castle Rackrent, The Small House at Allington, etc. Such realists as 
 Balzac and Dickens are prolific in detailed description of city quarters, 
 streets, houses, and individualized rooms. In the eighteenth century 
 novels there are frequent scenes in the stagecoach ; nineteenth cen- 
 tury realism finds the railroad train quite as useful, as in Dombey and 
 Son, and Anna Kardnina. 
 
 In detailed landscape settings, Mrs. Radcliffe had a wide influence, 
 through Scott and his school. The landscape of the realists is gener- 
 ally more accurate, if not more artistic, and is more completely human- 
 ized by association with individual or social experience, or by scientific 
 and philosophical interpretation. 
 
THE SETTINGS 83 
 
 68. Circumstantial Settings. The most general circum- 
 stances environing the action of a novel are the permanent 
 conditions of society, nature, and the supernatural. In 
 novels of a philosophical quality, the broader aspects of 
 these conditions are often of great value as background. 
 Novelists of various schools show a tendency towards 
 mysticism, and touch with more or less emphasis such 
 vast conceptions as the struggle for existence, the Ever- 
 lasting No, lacrymce rerum> das ewig Wcibliche, the things 
 that are eternal are unseen, etc. Zola and his school often 
 make the deepest human experiences seem trivial against 
 the majestic background of natural processes. They ring 
 the changes, not always orthodox or hopeful, upon the old 
 question: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him ? " 
 Ethical thinkers like George Eliot find apparently insig- 
 nificant human actions intimately related to sublime moral 
 laws. Bunyan, in his fiction as in his life, almost loses 
 sight of the concrete material facts in the sense of the 
 enveloping spiritual universe. 
 
 In all novels, but notably in historical fiction and in 
 the novel of manners and allied types, the detailed back- 
 ground includes the temporary conditions of a social group, 
 with various emphasis upon political, religious, industrial, 
 and other circumstances. In social realists like Jane 
 Austen and Trollope the elaborated settings rarely extend 
 beyond such data. 
 
 If one chooses to give so subjective a meaning to the 
 term " circumstantial settings," it may include something 
 of the psychological condition of the characters. A mood 
 of memory may serve as background for the present expe- 
 rience ; the emotions of secondary characters may intensify 
 those of the principal characters, or lessen the tension, as 
 in Chapters VI and XIII of Silas Marner. (See Section 35.) 
 
84 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 This last effect, gained through the comic or semi-comic 
 characters of a tragic incident, is common in the novel as 
 well as the drama. 
 
 In details of natural setting, 'weather has a prominent function. 
 Its changing moods may be in ironical contrast with the human expe- 
 riences they accompany, as in the bright sunlight at the death of Paul 
 Dombey ; or in harmony therewith, as in the wild storm that surrounds 
 the death of Molly Cass. The love of nature developed by the modern 
 romantic spirit appears in the frequent moonlight scenes of the senti- 
 mental school, and the fierce Byronic tempests of the Gothic romance 
 of terror. 
 
 Detailed circumstantial settings may include all inanimate objects 
 which have definite artistic relation to the incident. In the catastro- 
 phe of Silas Marner, the furniture given to Silas by Godfrey and the 
 recovered gold upon the table have an important relation to the pur- 
 pose and result of the visit itself. Animals are often significant items 
 of background. The contrast between the domesticated and the wild 
 animals of Robinson Crusoe is interesting. 
 
 69. Reality, Ideality, and Truth. As already implied, 
 the most general settings of all novels are necessarily real. 
 Realism, in theory and in practise, has made much of fidel- 
 ity to fact in details also. This realistic element may be 
 largely for the sake of the subject-matter, or for the sake 
 of verisimilitude; the first purpose often being scientific 
 rather than artistic in spirit. 
 
 Idealization takes many forms selection, recombination, 
 typification, symbolism, etc. Probably no novel exists 
 without a great deal of idealization in the specific settings. 
 Ideality is found in the description of the settings them- 
 selves, and in their relation to the action, as in the familiar 
 pathetic fallacy. 
 
 ^Esthetic criticism, partly in consequence of the pressure 
 of realism, has endeavored to distinguish carefully between 
 fact and truth. Some critics find the highest degree of 
 
THE SETTINGS 85 
 
 truth in fidelity to the typical. Scott objected to the idea 
 that he slavishly copied the individual buildings and land- 
 scapes which served him as models ; there is scarcely any 
 question that he is faithful to the essential qualities of their 
 types. Another conception of artistic truth, even less 
 obedient to the decree of the realist, is that of consistency. 
 Critics have pointed out the remarkable consistency with 
 which Swift uses both the gigantic and the pigmy scale in 
 Gulliver, though the application belongs to the impossi- 
 bilities of romance. 
 
 The novelist is unable to give all the data of any social, historical, or 
 natural environment ; but those he does give may correspond with the 
 facts. In a description of the battle of Gettysburg, it may not be 
 possible to follow the historical weather hour by hour, but it is possible 
 to make the details given consistent with a Pennsylvania July. 
 
 Omission of essential data though it may sometimes be difficult to 
 agree on what is essential will destroy the truth of the description, if 
 not the impression of reality. If it was Booth Tarkington's purpose to 
 give a general view of the life of a Hoosier village in The Gentleman 
 from Indiana, the result is marred by the omission of the ecclesiastical 
 life. Representation of the political life of the city of St. Paul would 
 not be faithful if it omitted the Scandinavian element. 
 
 70. Vague and Exact Settings. There are few novels 
 with a perfectly clear and continuous time perspective, and 
 there is frequently dimness in the spatial perspective. 
 Romance gains many characteristic effects from vagueness 
 of setting. Realism inclines towards exact details ; for the 
 sake of illusion, for purposes of characterization, or as a 
 result of the general habit of close observation and analy- 
 sis. Too much detail in description as in narration (Sec- 
 tion 31) may destroy the impression of reality. 
 
 Phrases such as ' one day,' ' a few weeks afterwards,' etc., are common 
 In most novels. The reader knows neither the day of the week nor of 
 the month on which Eppie is married, in Silas Marner; and the 
 
86 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 dates of both proposals of Darcy, in Pride and Prejudice, though these 
 are respectively climactic and catastrophic events, are left without 
 identification in the calendar. 
 
 The architectural settings of Balzac and the landscapes of Scott are not 
 infrequently so detailed that it is difficult to form a general picture. 
 Great spatial exactness without confusion is found in The Gold-bug, and 
 is characteristic of Poe's general method. The spot where the treasure 
 is found is located with mathematical precision, by the aid of compass, 
 quadrant, exact dimensions, three circles, and two triangles. 
 
 In the time analysis of Master and Man, such details as u moments," 
 " an instant," " several seconds," are characteristic of the psychological 
 intensity of the author, and of the experiences he is relating. 
 
 71. Natural, Social, and Socialized Settings. In paint- 
 ing, there are scenes in which both foreground and back- 
 ground are entirely lacking in human figures. All the 
 natural backgrounds of the novel are necessarily socialized 
 to some extent, by association with human characters and 
 actions. The tendency of the novel is to extend the human 
 significance of environment far beyond this point of mere 
 necessity. Landscape is interpreted in relation to social 
 labor, art, history, or individual experience. Objects large, 
 or small are often partially personified, as are the cathedral 
 of Notre Dame de Paris, the wooden midshipman and the 
 railroad train in Dombey and Son. Animals and super- 
 natural beings are given a more immediate human interest 
 than is characteristic of painting and sculpture. The same 
 tendency appears in the treatment of supernatural places 
 and objects. The inferno of Quevedo's Suefios is even 
 more human than that of the Divine Comedy ; the Holy 
 Grail of Morte d'Arthur is the goal of a human, not an 
 angelic search. 
 
 Psychological use of the time-sense has just been noted. Its social 
 significance in the novel is indicated by the frequent reference to the 
 tcclesiastical and secular calendars. It is not an accident, from the 
 
THE SETTINGS 87 
 
 artistic standpoint, that Paul Dombey dies on Sunday, Kielland's poor 
 waif Elsie on Christmas Eve ; or that Eppie comes to Silas on New 
 Year's Eve. In Pride and Prejudice the sense of time is distinctly 
 social rather than individual. The endeavor of Robinson Crusoe to 
 keep the world's calendar during his exile is one of the many effects of 
 a strong social sense in Defoe and his period. 
 
 72. Author and Dramatis Personae. In the third-person 
 novel the more elaborate settings are commonly given by 
 the author. The generalized views of social environment 
 in Silas Marner belong entirely to George Eliot no char- 
 acter in the novel could originate them. In the novel of 
 dramatic form such descriptions are either eliminated ; or 
 become artificial, unless justified by the situation of the 
 characters. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe's itemized account of his island environment is 
 perhaps justified by the nature and situation of the man. Jane Austen 
 shows her keen dramatic sense by omitting description of the surround- 
 ings in which Darcy becomes engaged to Elizabeth " There was too 
 much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to other objects." 
 
 The pathetic fallacy may have a dramatic value and truth. It is 
 probable that a Carker (Dombey and Son) fleeing from human ven- 
 geance may feel that nature also is his enemy ; that a youthful lover, 
 like the hero of Pepita Jime'nez, may feel that Nature in her springtide 
 mood sympathizes with his own erotic passion. But when Thomas 
 Hardy gives his personal impression that nature is ironically hostile to 
 man's moral ideals, he lyricizes. One learns something about Thomas 
 Hardy, but, very possibly, not much of nature or even of the charac- 
 ters of the novel. 
 
 Except in pure romance, the allegorical, symbolical, and supernatural 
 interpretation of environment is usually more or less dramatized, as in 
 Mrs. Radcliffe, Scott, Hawthorne, and Turgenieff. Often such interpre- 
 tation is a sign of partially morbid condition in the character. The 
 river and boat of Paul Dombey's imagination, and Silas Marner's asso- 
 ciation of Eppie's hair with his lost gold are fragmentary examples. 
 The allegorical element in Robinson Crusoe, whether an afterthought 
 or not, is explained only in the Third Part. 
 
88 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 73. Distribution. In completely developed scenes, the 
 settings usually appear in distinct masses, in part; but 
 their full value is generally realized only by bringing to- 
 gether the points scattered through many chapters. 
 
 Many important points in the setting of Paul Dombey's death (Chap- 
 ter XVI) are given before and after the event itself. From Chapter XV 
 one learns that it occurred on a bright Sunday; from Chapter XIV 
 that it was after the iyth of June : one must get the general picture of 
 the neighborhood, the house, and the room, from several chapters. 
 
 The settings at the principal turning-points of the plot 
 are naturally of special interest. At the beginning, in 
 particular, time and place are often given separate para- 
 graphs. This method of opening a novel may indicate the 
 general realistic emphasis on milieu, as in Balzac. 
 
 Several points regarding the initial, climactic, and catastrophic set- 
 tings of Silas Marner and Pride and Prejudice have already been given. 
 A few others may be added, to show the contrast between the two 
 works. 
 
 SILAS MARNER. Initial. The first two chapters are devoted largely 
 to settings ; the development being from the more general to the more 
 specific. The particular place setting which is to be used in climax 
 and catastrophe the weaver's cottage is introduced very early. 
 Lantern Yard and the Red House are also to appear in later scenes. 
 The emphasis on general social circumstances is greater than in Pride 
 and Prejudice, and is characteristic of the wider social philosophy of 
 George Eliot. The very slight mention of the state of war is probably 
 dramatic the international struggle being less significant to the people 
 of Raveloe than their own local affairs. 
 
 Climactic. This New Year's Eve is highly individualized in the 
 minds of Silas, Godfrey, and Molly, even apart from the specific inci- 
 dent of the climax. The treatment of landscape and the weather is 
 almost symbolical. The interior of the cottage is not only described 
 in considerable detail, but it has permanent meaning in the lives of 
 Silas, Eppie, Godfrey, Dunstan, Mrs. Winthrop, Aaron, Macey it is 
 a unifying setting. 
 
THE SETTINGS 89 
 
 Catastrophic. The Sunday evening is well individualized. In tem- 
 poral, spatial, and circumstantial settings there are definite reminiscences 
 of the climax. 
 
 PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Initial. The action begins at once, with 
 a fairly rapid movement. The omission of detailed settings is charac- 
 teristic of the entire novel. The reader does not know directly the 
 year or season or part of England in which the story opens. 
 
 Climactic. The time is a late hour of an April evening. The state 
 of the weather is only implied. The day has no significance apart 
 from the specific incident. The place setting is the parlor at Hunsford, 
 which has no particular meaning for the reader or the characters. 
 
 Catastrophic. Darcy^s successful proposal occurs on a September 
 morning, in the neighborhood of the Bennet home. That is about all 
 one knows of time and place. The circumstantial setting must be 
 gathered largely from preceding and following chapters. 
 
 74. Further Economy. In general, settings with special 
 artistic quality are either in definite contrast or agreement 
 with their incidents. Sharp contrast is a favorite method 
 with both the romancer and the humorist. 
 
 Hawthorne uses the cheerful morning as a background for tragic 
 death, with striking effect, in The House of the Seven Gables and in 
 Ethan Brand. Humorous contrast between the real setting and its 
 interpretation by a character is well exemplified in Don Quixote, Sir 
 Launcelot Greaves, and in the Roman camp of the Antiquary^ imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 Effects are often gained by a conscious inversion of con- 
 ventional settings. 
 
 " The morning of Friday was as serene and beautiful as if no pleas- 
 ure party had been intended, and that is a rare event, whether in novel- 
 writing or real life." (The Antiquary, Chapter XVII.) 
 
 The action and reaction between settings and characters 
 is a complex matter, and has already been noticed more 
 than once. The character may not only interpret his envi-^ 
 ronment ; he may to no small extent make it, as notably in 
 Robinson Crusoe. Pessimistic realism, however, prefers 
 
 \ 
 
90 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 to portray human nature as the 'slave of circumstances.' 
 In novels of any school, the same details often serve as 
 setting and as motivation. The storm in the Antiquary, 
 Chapter VII, is not only a fine background for the tragic 
 incident, but is the direct cause of it. 
 
 Repetition of specific place settings, with contrasted or 
 similar incidents, is often used with more definite single 
 effects than in the examples given above from Silas 
 Marner. 
 
 The effect is one of tragic pathos in the "let him remember it in 
 that room, years to come ! " of Dombey and Son. (Chapters XVIII 
 and LIX.) Trollope, in Barchester Towers, and Hardy, in A Pair of 
 Blue Eyes, describe, with ironical effect, a heroine wooed by two lovers, 
 at different times, but in exactly the same spot. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 THE DRAMATIS PERSONS 
 
 75. Composition. A list of the dramatis personae, for a 
 drama, epic, or novel, will vary according to the interpreta- 
 tion of the term and the degree of analysis desired. If in 
 the drama, appearance on the stage is the basis of inclu- 
 sion, some persons of considerable importance in the plot 
 will generally be omitted. Claribel and Sycorax, for exam- 
 ple, are both of definite value in the plot-development of 
 The Tempest. In the novel, the frequent use of secondary 
 narrative, as distinct from presented action, introduces 
 many characters who would not appear on the stage in a 
 dramatization. 
 
 In addition to truly individualized characters, a novel al- 
 ways includes many persons with little more than numeri- 
 cal identity whether speaking, present without speech, 
 or given a mere reference. In the remote background 
 are persons merely implied, though some of them may 
 have been clearly conceived by the novelist. In an inten- 
 sive imaginative study, one could scarcely fail to raise some 
 question concerning the mother of Wickham, in Pride and 
 Prejudice; or the father of the hero and the parents of 
 Molly Cass, in Silas Marner. 
 
 The author himself is a dramatis persona if he has an 
 organic^part in the action as a whole, either in propria per- 
 sona, or in a fictitious disguise which preserves his reaJ 
 identity. 
 
 91 
 
Q2 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In fictions of the type of Smollett's Adventures of an Atom, a per- 
 sonified object is technically the central figure of the action. In Notre 
 Dame de Paris, the cathedral itself has been called, imaginatively, the 
 real hero. In many medieval and some modern stories, an animal plays 
 a similar r61e. Supernatural beings and personified abstractions be- 
 come true dramatis persona?, in romance, whenever they have a genuine 
 function as individuals in the unity of the illusion. " Anxiety," in Silas 
 Marner, serves merely in a figure of speech ; but " Despair " is one of 
 the real characters in Pilgrim's Progress. 
 
 76. Number. The absolute number of dramatis per- 
 sonae is of great importance in determining the social area 
 of the novel, and the degree of complexity in its action. 
 The number relative to length of composition affects par- 
 ticularly the rapidity of action, the degree of individualiza- 
 tion, and the reader's sense of sustained intimacy with the 
 characters. In a way, there is decided contrast between 
 the sociological ideal of the novel, demanding an extensive 
 " exhibition " of varied types, and the psychological ideal, 
 intent on profound study of the individual. 
 
 The epic breadth resulting from a large dramatis personae with little 
 individualization is exemplified in The Plague Year and I Promessi 
 Sposi. The former fiction contains about 165 persons with numerical 
 identity, of whom only 16 are given individual names. In the latter 
 work the corresponding numbers are 150 and 33. 
 
 EXAMPLES. (Individualized ch; 
 
 Speaking 
 
 The Gold-bug ....-* 
 
 iracters.) 
 
 Present 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 Reference Total 
 
 3 8 
 
 3 '5 
 
 6 18 
 
 12 28 
 40 78 
 
 30 81 
 30 ^3 
 
 The Ambitious Guest . 
 Master and Man .... 
 Paul and Virginia . . . 
 Silas Marner .... 
 Pride and Prejudice 
 Ivanhoe 
 
 . 6 
 . II 
 
 . 12 
 
 . 28 
 . 26 
 . 52 
 
 For the Waverley Novels, 1 some 1700 characters are enumerated. 
 1 Library edition; Edinburgh, 1853. 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSONS 
 
 93 
 
 The above data, with some others, give roughly a proportion of 30 
 to 40 individuals present in the action, whether speaking or not, to 
 100,000 words. 
 
 77. Chapter Distribution. A table showing the distri- 
 bution of the principal characters according to chapters, if 
 made early in the examination of the novel, is often helpful 
 as a basis for further study of individuals and groups. Such 
 a scheme gives a condensed list of dramatis personae ; the 
 structural iiistory of individuals, in outline ; indicates the 
 consecutive grouping, and serves to recall the general 
 significance of each chapter. 
 
 In the following example only the most important characters are 
 noted. " S " indicates speech ; " P," presence ; " R," reference. 
 
 SILAS MARKER 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 i 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 *7 
 
 18 
 
 iQ 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 Con. 
 
 Silas . 
 
 S 
 
 P 
 
 
 R 
 
 P 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 P 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 P 
 
 Godfrey 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 R 
 
 Eppie . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 R 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 Dun stan 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 Nancy . 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 R 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 R 
 
 P 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 P 
 
 Macey . 
 
 (S) 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 Mrs. Winthrop 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 Wm. Dane . 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 R 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 78. Grouping in General. The method of grouping and 
 the emphasis on the different groups will depend on the 
 individual novel and the particular purpose with which it 
 is studied. Certain groups, of special importance in techni- 
 cal analysis, are determined by the structure itself ; others 
 are defined or suggested by the author's comment; still 
 others may be perceived or fashioned by the critic. 
 
 A group may be a real ensemble, composed of persons 
 assembled in some definite, limited space and time, as in 
 
94 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Chapter VI of Silas Marner. While these conditions do 
 not necessarily imply group-consciousness, they are likely 
 to arouse and intensify it. Such a group may be treated 
 as a spatial picture, with a descriptive interest in its phys- 
 ical form ; or as a moral unity, with the emphasis on social 
 psychology. There is sometimes an imaginative, even 
 symbolical tendency to consider the entire group as one 
 person, as in the treatment of city mobs or armies by such 
 modern novelists as Hugo, Balzac, and Zola. 
 
 Other groups, such as all the whites or all the Indians 
 in The Last of the Mohicans, are based on common 
 qualities rather than common time and place ; and in 
 many cases a clear sense of group-unity may exist only in 
 the mind of author or reader. 
 
 A group may be composed of a definite number of 
 persons (symbolized by G-4, G-5, etc.) or of an indefinite 
 number (G-). Indefinite groups of a large number of 
 persons masses are characteristic of epic quality, and 
 are almost necessary to give a large social background in 
 historical fiction. 
 
 In The Plague Year there are masses of servants, surgeons, aldermen, 
 nurses, refugees, etc. In 1 Promessi Sposi there are more objective, 
 ensemble groups of soldiers, worshippers, the plague-stricken, etc. In 
 very many of the Waverley Novels, indeterminate groups, such as 
 archers, knights, Highlanders, gypsies, crusaders, more significant as 
 masses than as composed of individuals, increase the epic breadth and 
 dignity of the social picture. 
 
 79. Successive Groups. The scheme suggested in Sec- 
 tion 77 will furnish starting-points for a more careful 
 study of the groups in individual episodes, scenes, events, 
 and incidents. On this basis, characters may be described 
 as episodic (semi-episodic) and persistent; the episodic 
 being more accurately noted as initial, central (climactic), 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSONS 95 
 
 final (catastrophic), etc. Even in the loosest types of plot 
 there are nearly always one or more persistent characters. 
 Aside from such unifying persons, in the episodic plot, in 
 autobiographical fictions, and adventure and picaresque 
 forms in general, the group at any stage of the action may 
 be almost independent of the others. In all types of novel, 
 well-marked episodic groups are common. Such groups 
 are especially clear in intercalated narrative; a frequent 
 structural form in most early romance, in Cervantes, Le 
 Sage, Fielding, Smollett and their disciples. The narrator 
 of these intercalations himself is sometimes an episodic 
 character; in closer economy, persistent. 
 
 In Robinson Crusoe, even Friday is only an episodic (central) char- 
 acter. There are quite independent groups in Brazil, Madagascar, 
 Asia, as well as on the island. In Silas Marner, the most important 
 independent groups are found in the initial Lantern Yard episode, and 
 in Chapters VI-VII. None of the characters in these two groups have 
 an important appearance elsewhere, except Macey, a semi-persistent 
 character, and the hero himself. Eppie is a central-final character. In 
 Pride and Prejudice, Colonel Fitzwilliam is one of the few distinctly 
 episodic persons of any importance. He partly determines the general 
 complexion of the group at Hunsford. 
 
 The initial, climactic, and catastrophic groups are obvi- 
 ously of great value in the study of the plot, and they are 
 frequently very clearly defined. They are rarely of exact 
 identity, even in economic plots. In general tendency, 
 climactic groups are psychological, concentrating the atten- 
 tion on a relatively small number of individuals and their 
 inner life ; catastrophic groups are often broader, gather- 
 ing together all the principal characters of the plot, and 
 leaving a general impression of social atmosphere. These 
 tendencies are fairly well exemplified in Silas Marner and 
 Pride and Prejudice. There are many exceptions; some 
 notable tragic effects being gained by leaving the reader 
 
96 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 in the presence of isolated individuality at the close of the 
 plot. 
 
 A somewhat artificial catastrophic ensemble of an old-fashioned type 
 is found in the Sir Roger de Coverley papers. The introduction of new 
 characters near the conclusion may often have a specific aesthetic effect. 
 In the Shakespearian tragedy, this method gives a sense of relief, and 
 suggests the continuous vigor of social life in the face of many indi- 
 vidual calamities. In the last twenty-five pages of The Plague Year, 
 Defoe introduces nine new individuals, but they are not important as 
 individuals the populace of the city of London is the real catastrophic 
 hero. 
 
 80. Foreground, Middleground, and Background Charac- 
 ters. The terms "foreground," "middleground," and 
 " background," borrowed from the spatial art of painting, 
 apply to plot-literature only by way of a somewhat loose an- 
 alogy. A foreground character is one that has relatively a 
 great intensity, complexity, or variety of meaning, and as a 
 result seems most immediately before the reader. There is 
 perhaps no single technical test to determine the position 
 of a character in the general perspective of values. All 
 foreground characters are usually given considerable 
 speech, in the novel; but in Pride and Prejudice, Miss 
 Darcy, without recorded utterance, is far more important 
 than " a young Lucas," or Mrs. Hill, who are incidentally 
 quoted. In a sense, the catastrophe is the foreground of 
 a novel, so far as a single reading is concerned. The con- 
 clusion is the emphatic position, the one with the most 
 warmth, immediacy, as the reader leaves the composition. 
 According to the theory of Poe, the author's conception of 
 a plot should originate with the catastrophe, which should 
 then determine the whole perspective. 
 
 In a painting, the human figures may be concentrated 
 in any one of the three positions, the other two being occu- 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSONS 97 
 
 pied by works of nature or of art. In certain types of so- 
 called short stories, nature, or an abstract idea, or a lyrical 
 mood, rather than a character, may in effect dominate the 
 foreground. In the romance of action, it may be events 
 rather than persons that come nearest to the reader. In 
 the representative novel, the foreground is given to highly 
 individualized characters, the background to groups or to 
 individuals whose significance lies in their group relations. 
 In the distinctively social novel, including some historical 
 fictions, novels of manners, and novels of social psychology, 
 the artist may devote even the foreground to the portrayal 
 of groups. In The Plague Year, though written in a per- 
 sistent first-person form, probably to most readers the 
 mass of London inhabitants is more immediate, complex, 
 and intense than the fictitious writer. 
 
 In all plot-literature, the richness and stability of the 
 illusion depend to a considerable extent on a gradual shad- 
 ing in the value of the characters on a complex variety 
 in the degrees of intimacy established between them and 
 the reader. In our actual experience, of the extended 
 scope which the novel imitates, there are persons of every 
 grade of actuality, from the friend more real than self to 
 the mere nominis umbra. 
 
 In Silas Marner, the hero himself is clearly the chief foreground 
 character ; Godfrey and Eppie being others, though the last is not even 
 suggested until the climactic chapter. Mrs. Winthrop and Nancy are 
 among the middleground figures, while in the remote background 
 are the boys and girls of Raveloe, the factory hands of Lantern Yard, 
 Jinny Gates, the pedler, and many other individuals. 
 
 81. Central Characters. A character or characters may 
 be central mainly as a matter of plot-function, their service 
 being to unify all the incidents of the action ; or central in 
 a deeper psychological or sociological manner, their value 
 
98 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 determining that of all other individuals and groups. Of 
 course the two functions may be combined ; and in either, 
 the degrees of centrality are various. 
 
 Clear examples of a single central character are often found in auto- 
 biographical fictions ; as in Robinson Crusoe, The Vicar of Wakefield, 
 and David Copperfield. In Paul and Virginia, the first-person form 
 serves mainly as an enveloping frame ; in The Plague Year the first- 
 person narrator aids in unifying the rather diffuse incidents of the 
 action, and gives greater force to the individuality of the other 
 characters. The title often suggests a single central character with 
 sufficient accuracy, as in The Man of Feeling, Tom Jones, Euge'nie 
 Grandet; but in other cases, the "hero" in a traditional sense does 
 not appear in the title r61e. In The Antiquary, while Oldenbuck is near 
 the focus of interest, Lovell corresponds more nearly to the conventional 
 hero. A central character may be so conceived and presented that his 
 significance lies rather in typical than in individual qualities. Lermon- 
 toff writes of his Contemporary Hero, ' My hero is the portrait of a 
 generation, not of an individual.' This statement is almost equally 
 true of some of the chief characters of Turgenieff. 
 
 Two central characters may be given approximately the 
 same degree of value by the method of contrast, as in 
 Master and Man or Sense and Sensibility. In the love- 
 story of novelistic or dramatic form, the hero and hero- 
 ine are sometimes of equal value ; sometimes one or 
 the other definitely predominates. In Jane Austen the 
 heroine is always more central than the hero ; and this 
 is clearly the case in As You Like It and Romeo and 
 Juliet. 
 
 In not a few notable fictions, as suggested in the pre- 
 ceding section, a group rather than individuals as such, is in 
 all but a technical sense, the real center of value. All in 
 all, the lovers of I Promessi Sposi are less significant in the 
 mind of author and reader than the masses of ecclesiastical, 
 martial, and municipal figures. Bulwer Lytton's son says 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSON/E 99 
 
 with much truth, the real hero of The Parisians is "the 
 Parisian Society of Imperial and Democratic France." 
 
 82. Association of Characters. Except in autobiographi- 
 cal fiction, the dramatis personae are rarely all acquainted 
 with the chief central character ; still more rarely are they 
 all mutually acquainted. In any case, the various degrees 
 of intimacy are distinct enough to serve as bases for impor- 
 tant groupings. Even prominent characters may be igno- 
 rant of their mutual existence. Silas Marner must always 
 remember William Dane and Dunstan Cass as the two 
 individuals who have most grievously injured him, but 
 these two men pass through life, each absolutely unknown 
 to the other. 
 
 In Pride and Prejudice there is in general a fine interweaving of char- 
 acters, but there are several interesting exceptions. Miss Darcy, for ex- 
 ample, meets none of the Bennets except Elizabeth ; nor in the course of 
 the directly presented action does she meet Wickham, though their 
 relations offer material for a very dramatic interview. In this respect the 
 drama is characteristically more compact than the loose epic-like struc- 
 ture of the novel. Hamlet is on the stage, alive, with all of the indi- 
 vidually named characters except Reynaldo, Francisco, and Fortinbras. 
 Rosalind, however, so far as recorded, never hears of the old servant 
 who is so faithful to her lover. 
 
 The grouping of the dramatis personae as to mutual 
 acquaintance may be tabulated in various ways. In the 
 following arrangement for the chief characters of Silas 
 Marner, each person of any group is at least once pre- 
 sented with each other person of that group. 
 
 I II III IV V 
 
 Silas Silas Silas 
 
 Godfrey Godfrey Godfrey 
 
 Eppie Eppie Eppie 
 
 William Dane The Squire Mrs. Winthrop Dunstan Molly (living) 
 
 Nancy Aaron 
 Macey 
 
100 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 One of the most objective, dramatic, and distinctly struo, 
 tural groupings of the novel is the dialogic. Except in duos 
 and trios exact repetition of any group is uncommon. As 
 in real life, the omission or addition of a single character, 
 even in groups of some size, may essentially change the 
 form and substance of the conversation. 
 
 Duos and trios predominate in The Last of the Mohicans. The 
 following are four of the most important conversational groups. 
 Heyward is present in all; the Indian element colors three of them. 
 Chingachgook, Hawkeye, Heyward, Alice Munro (Chapter XIII) ; 
 Chingachgook, Hawkeye, Heyward, Munro, Uncas (Chapter XVIII) ; 
 David Gamut, Hawkeye, Heyward, Munro (Chapter XXII) ; Heyward, 
 Magua, Cora Munro, Tamemund, Uncas (Chapter XXX). In Ivanhoe 
 the dialogic groups are in general larger and at the same time more 
 compact in their structure than in Cooper. Good examples are found 
 in Chapter XXVII Ambrose, Athelstane, Bois-Guilbert, De Bracy, 
 Front-de-Bceuf, Giles, Wamba ; and Chapter XXXIII Friar Tuck, 
 Isaac, The Prior, Robin Hood, his " lieutenant," " one of the outlaws, 1 ' 
 the band (in concerted speech) . 
 
 Groups of great importance in the study of characteriza- 
 tion and of subject-matter are based on personal influence. 
 Many characters are decidedly either active or passive in 
 the general perspective of the plot. According to Goethe's 
 theory, the hero of a drama is primarily active, the hero of 
 a novel primarily passive. In fiction as in life, great depth 
 and great breadth of influence are rarely combined. The 
 more profound character forces of any individual are limited 
 to a comparatively small circle of dramatis personae, or 
 become more shallow as they reach the outer circles. A 
 character may exist, in fiction, mainly to influence other 
 characters, directly or indirectly, as in the conventional plot- 
 functions of the deus ex mac/iina and dramatic providence. 
 
 William Dane has no life of his own, apart from his relation to Silas 
 Marner, as the novelist presents him. A father or mother may exist, 
 
THE DRAMATIS PEl^GN/E IOI 
 
 artistically, for the sake of influencing 'a/eni'd, (Sec Riemann's treat- 
 ment of the motif 'of " Der Tod des Vaters " ; and compare the opening 
 of Soil und Haben.) 
 
 In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth and Darcy are far more influen- 
 tial than the other pair of lovers. In Silas Marner, so far as mutual 
 influence is concerned, Macey, the Squire, Dunstan, and others are quite 
 outside the compact circle composed of Silas, Godfrey, Nancy, Eppie, 
 and Mrs. Winthrop. On the whole, Silas himself exemplifies quite 
 clearly the theory of Goethe given above, Uj.iK*t Ki ro 
 
 83. Relation to the Author. Modern realistic theory 
 has frequently insisted that the novelist should be abso- 
 lutely impartial, objective, in reference to his characters ; 
 but this is a doctrine very rarely represented in practise. 
 A mind sufficiently interested in individuals to write a novel 
 does not sincerely value all individuals alike ; and the pre- 
 tence to impartiality often produces the impression of a 
 general hostility rather than artistic objectivity. Brune- 
 tiere l distinguishes the realism of French fiction, as repre- 
 sented by Flaubert, with its scorn for the humble lives it 
 portrays, from English realism, as represented by George 
 Eliot, with its profoundly sympathetic attitude toward the 
 same type of character. Even Jane Austen reveals clearly 
 her personal preferences for certain characters of her crea- 
 tion, and personal dislike for others. 
 
 Smollett and other eighteenth century writers found in 
 the novel an opportunity to display personal spite or per- 
 sonal approval of real contemporaries, slightly disguised 
 in the fiction. Newman personally sympathizes with the 
 early Christian converts, in Callista. Literary, national, 
 or racial prejudice often leaves a clear stamp on charac- 
 terization, even in novels of a general realistic quality. The 
 novelist may indicate that he opposes certain literary or 
 
 1 Roman Naturaliste, 1893, P- 2 3 
 
102 "f'HE -STtJDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 social conventions by : presenting characters in a spirit of 
 burlesque or caricature. 
 
 Examples of types so treated are some of the pastoral figures of 
 Sidney's Arcadia, the knight of chivalry in Don Quixote, the prude in 
 Joseph Andrews, the Euphuist in The Monastery. In Soil und Haben, 
 the author shows German prejudice against the Pole and the Jew ; in 
 Westward Ho!, Kingsley reveals English Protestant dislike for the 
 Spanish Jesuit. 
 
 The partial identification of the author with a character 
 has been noticed in Section 58. Sometimes it is the prin- 
 cipal character, as in The Vicar of Wakefield, David Cop- 
 perfield, Pride and Prejudice ; sometimes a less central 
 personality, as in Anna Karenina. A single character may 
 embody not merely the general Weltanschauung of the 
 author, but his more specific temporary problems or epi- 
 sodes of experience ; as in Oroonoko, Werther, The Pirate, 
 Corinne, Newman's Loss and Gain, War and Peace. 
 
 A certain character may intermediate, as expositor or as one of 
 kindred temperament or experience, between the author and the reader. 
 In fictions of specially difficult illusion, particularly in the realm of the 
 supernatural, a character is often found whose chief function is to 
 " rationalize " the improbable. The management of such functions is 
 one of the excellencies in Defoe's technic. Examples are also found 
 in Peter Wilkins, Gulliver's Travels, Frankenstein, and Utopia. 
 In much the same way, the intensity of tragedy may be mediated 
 through a comparatively commonplace and unemotional character. 
 
 Frequently, all the principal characters may be clearly 
 grouped with reference to the main purpose or theme of 
 the novel. 
 
 84. Reality and Ideality. As all artistic characterization 
 is an imaginative process, all the characters of a novel are 
 more or less ideal ; but the degrees of ideality may often 
 be distinct enough to serve as a basis for important group- 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSONA IO3 
 
 ings. "Real" characters, for the present purpose, are those 
 that represent, essentially, specific individuals or groups 
 from actual life, historical or contemporaneous. In the 
 case of contemporary models the reader may not be able 
 to discover the real situation from the internal evidence of 
 the novel. In giving his own method, Scott states a gen- 
 eral practise in modeling from real life : " I have always 
 studied to generalize the portraits, so that they should still 
 seem, on the whole, the productions of fancy, though pos- 
 sessing some resemblance to real individuals." 1 Many 
 novelists have vigorously affirmed that characters supposed 
 by captious readers to be " copied " from existing indi- 
 viduals, were either purely imaginary, or composites studied 
 from several models. 
 
 In historical fiction, in the narrow sense, the grouping 
 of the dramatis personae into historical, semi-historical, 
 (typically historical), and non-historical individuals is always 
 possible and usually illuminative. The nature of historical 
 romance, in one way, and the nature of historical real- 
 ism, in another, determine that the majority of historical 
 individuals elaborately presented should be persons of 
 prominent external activity soldiers, statesmen, and 
 reformers, rather than men of a predominant inner life. 
 Purely imaginary individuals may be historical in type, or 
 may be given an historical quality in the illusion by inti- 
 mate association with well-known real characters. Raphael 
 Hythloday, in Utopia, is a follower of Amerigo Vespucci : 
 among the dramatis personse of Westward Ho ! are a com- 
 panion of Pizarro and a grandson of De Soto. 
 
 Indeterminate groups, except in general outline, must always be 
 largely idealized, for history preserves no record of their individual 
 members, or of their actions in minute detail. 
 
 1 Introduction of 1*27 to Chronicles of the Canfngate. 
 
104 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Different types of historical fiction, with corresponding 
 theories, depend on the distribution of historical, semi-his- 
 torical, and non-historical characters as to foreground, 
 middleground, and background. Compare, for example, 
 the theories and practise of Scott, Vigny, Manzoni, Dumas, 
 and Tolstoi. 
 
 In Ivanhoe, the chief foreground figures are at most only typically 
 historical; King John and King Richard, with the semi-legendary 
 Robin Hood, may perhaps be considered as middleground characters. 
 In Kenilworth, Leicester and Queen Elizabeth; in The Talisman, 
 King Richard, approach the advanced foreground position. In Cinq- 
 Mars, both the Cardinal and the young hero are among the most prom- 
 inent persons. Among the historical characters of I Promessi Sposi 
 are Cardinal Borromeo, Charles II, Richelieu, Philip II, and Wallenstein, 
 but none of these are foreground figures, from a structural point of view. 
 This romance, like many other historical fictions, presents a large num- 
 ber of indeterminate, semi-historical groups in the middleground or 
 background. In Quo Vadis, though Nero, Petronius, Saint Peter, and 
 other historical individuals are prominent, the hero and heroine are both 
 imaginary. 
 
 85. Individuals and Types. Every character, in fic- 
 tion as elsewhere, may be primarily considered as an in- 
 dividual, as representative of larger or smaller groups of 
 human beings, or as an embodiment of an abstract idea. In 
 some novels an initial grouping of dramatis personae on this 
 basis may be of advantage. A deeper study of the matter 
 belongs more properly under characterization. 
 
 Any character dominated by a single quality, habit, or passion tends 
 to become typical. Typification in the direction of caricature is fpund 
 in many novels of a general realistic stamp. Even so sturdy a realist as 
 Trollope introduces characters typically named for example, Mr. 
 Popular Sentiment and Dr. Persistent Anti-Cant following the fashion 
 especially prominent in the Jonsonian comedy of humors, and the 
 eighteenth century English comedy of manners. Such characters, 
 whether named in this manner or not, are notably frequent in Dickens, 
 and in the grea"t humorists' and saftiristS generally.* 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSON/E 10$ 
 
 Allegorical and symbolical characters are appropriate in 
 certain species of romance. They sometimes appear even 
 in the heart of a realistic novel, but tend to weaken or 
 destroy the unity of realistic illusion. The presence of 
 Mignon, the religious teachers, and other allegorical figures 
 in Wilhelm Meister makes it difficult for the average reader 
 to accept the reality of the plot as a whole. The same 
 confusion may result from a combination of realistic char- 
 acters with caricatures, as in Sidney's Arcadia. In The 
 Midsummer Night's Dream there is such intricate inter- 
 weaving of realism, caricature, and symbolism, that the 
 whole effect can be unified only in the realm of the fantastic. 
 
 86. Social Groups. Important in most novels, social 
 grouping of the dramatis personse has a specialized value 
 in many types of fiction the picaresque romance, the 
 pastoral romance, the novel of manners, and the novel of 
 social psychology, for example. The analysis is closely 
 connected with the study of "human life," under subject- 
 matter, but it also has its relations to aesthetic form. In 
 many novels, the guiding principle in social grouping is 
 artistic contrast ; in others there is more delicate shading 
 from group to group. Sharp contrast is characteristic of 
 romanticism ; an intricate interweaving, ceteris paribus, is 
 more realistic. The canon of " epic totality " demands 
 that every generic group of human society be represented. 
 
 For an elaborate technical classification, one must go 
 to the scientific sociologist; but a simple conception of 
 the classes of society is a matter of general culture, and a 
 necessity for any thorough study of plot-literature. Groups 
 may be based upon sex, family relation, social rank, occu- 
 pation, religion, etc. The novel which fully embodies the 
 epic tradition includes characters of several races or nation- 
 alities, with some conscious study of the qualities of these 
 
106 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 massive groups. Balzac as, in some sense, a scientific 
 student of social psychology, arranges the Comedie Hu- 
 maine in such manner as to indicate clearly a rational 
 analysis of society. His modern, secular classification 
 offers an interesting contrast to the groupings of Dante's 
 dramatis personae, made largely on the basis of medieval 
 theology. 
 
 The groups according to sex, like several others, might 
 be considered as either sociological or psychological. 
 In certain types of fiction, the number of individualized 
 men naturally far exceeds that of women. This is true of 
 historical romance, and of novels of action, especially of a 
 martial quality. In novels in which love is a primary 
 matter, and in the novel of manners, the relation may be 
 inverted, or a numerical equality approached. Certain 
 theories of the novel, those which emphasize its function 
 in portraying modern social complexity, and in studying 
 the inner life of the emotions, for instance, have a specific 
 bearing on the matter. Again, the historical relations of 
 men and women as novelists and as novel-readers, might 
 be discussed in this connection. 
 
 In Ivanhoe there are 47 speaking men ; 5 speaking women. (The 
 concerted speeches also are mainly masculine.) In Silas Marner, 
 the corresponding numbers are 20 and 8. Pride and Prejudice, with 
 its ii speaking men and 15 speaking women, illustrates the feminine 
 quality of Miss Austen's experience, her realistic fidelity to that experi- 
 ence, and the tendency of the typical novel of manners. 
 
 In many novels the family relations of the dramatis personae are 
 intricate enough to demand special examination. This may be true 
 of the family saga, or of historical romances, as it is of Shakespeare's 
 English historical plays. Even in Silas Marner, Pride and Prejudice, 
 Anna Kardnina, and other modern fictions of local societies, the reader 
 is not likely to have a complete and clear conception of these relations 
 without careful attention. In extensive studies of Family traits, as in 
 the Rougon Macquart series, the matter is of deeper importance. 
 
THE DRAMATIS PERSONS IO? 
 
 A good example of aesthetic social grouping is found in pastoral 
 fiction. This generally contains well-marked groups of permanent, 
 genuine pastoral characters, contrasted with groups of courtly aristo- 
 crats, pastoral to some degree, for the nonce. Inhere may also be non- 
 pastoral groups ; or a number of pastoral figures in burlesque, as in 
 Sidney's Arcadia and As You Like It. 
 
 87. Psychological Groups. The critic may easily dis- 
 cover in any novel fairly definite groups of dramatis 
 personae based on salient common mental and moral 
 qualities. A conscious elaboration of this analysis on the 
 part of the author belongs mainly to modern fiction, and 
 particularly to the "psychological novel" of the realistic and 
 naturalistic schools. Such groups may be considered in 
 their social aspects, or as psychological, in a more exact 
 sense. In some naturalistic works, in which the psychology 
 rests on physiology, the real interest is biological rather 
 than social, in the ordinary meaning of the word. 
 
 Characters may be grouped according to age, tempera- 
 ment, normal or abnormal condition, types of mentality, 
 etc. Senior gave some very interesting and illuminative 
 discussion of this matter. His classification into 'simple, 
 mixed, and inconsistent ' characters, 1 is worthy of careful 
 study. Another method of analysis might distinguish 
 sensational, emotional, intellectual, moral, and religious 
 natures. Further technical classification may be adapted 
 from sociological or psychological treatises. 
 
 Professor Giddings (Inductive Sociology) gives as " types of dis- 
 position," " aggressive, instigative, domineering, creative " ; as " types 
 of character," " forceful, convivial, austere, rationally conscientious " ; 
 "types of mind," "ideo-motor, ideo-emotional, dogmatic-emotional, 
 critical-intellectual." While this nomenclature has been ridiculed by 
 the layman, it is not without practical suggestive value in the close 
 analysis of the psychological novel. 
 
 1 Essays on Fiction, p. 358 ff. 
 
IOS THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 A most important distinction, in respect to novelistic form 
 as well as subject-matter, is that between static and develop- 
 ing characters. One very significant theory makes the novel 
 preeminently a study of the development of individual 
 character. This idea might serve as a basis for a valuable 
 grouping of all the dramatis personae. In most novels 
 there are many persons who undergo no essential change 
 of nature in the course of the action. 
 
 Characters of very pronounced mental or moral abnormality are 
 usually treated as individuals rather than in groups; but the latter 
 method is not unknown in novels of social psychology. Superstition, 
 fanaticism, the delirium of panic, mob-spirit, the fever of battle, the 
 selfishness or death-like lassitude of populations stricken by pestilence 
 or famine, these are among the most intense forms of social conscious- 
 ness the novelist is called upon to portray. In the domain of individual 
 psychology, Scott made an original study of " double-consciousness " 
 (his own term) in Norna, of The Pirate ; giving medical authority for 
 his conception, long before Zola applied the doctrines of Claude Bernard 
 to the novel. 1 
 
 1 See The Experimental Novel 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 CHARACTERIZATION 
 
 88. Character and Characterization. In a careful an- 
 alysis, one may distinguish the character itself, the reader's 
 conception of it, the author's conception, and his presen- 
 tation. In a broad sense, the last three items belong to 
 characterization ; but in strictly technical meaning, the 
 term applies only to the presentation. 
 
 Unless they represent actual persons, the characters of 
 a novel exist, as individuals, only in the minds of author 
 and reader; though in a figurative sense we call a char- 
 acter " real " when it produces a distinct illusion of reality. 
 Human beings are fashioned by nature, society, their own 
 wills, and, according to orthodox thought, the supernatural : 
 the characters of fiction are fashioned by the artistic imagi- 
 nation. Association with some fictitious beings may cause 
 a more vital experience than association with some real 
 persons ; but a sane mind will not confuse the two forms 
 of experience. Such common statements as that of 
 Ruskin, "To my father ... the characters of Shake- 
 spearian comedy were all familiar personal friends," 1 have 
 great interest, but we recognize their figurative quality at 
 once. The question whether fictitious individuals really 
 exist as types may be suggestive for aesthetics, but seems 
 to belong more properly to metaphysics. 
 
 Even if the novelist reproduces the appearance, speech, 
 
 1 Praeterita : Macugnaga. 
 109 
 
1 10 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 or action of historical individuals in accurate detail, the 
 total effect is imaginary, because of the large fictitious 
 element in the environment. Some novelists have affirmed 
 that a character once intensely conceived by the imagina- 
 tion, seems to assume a volitional life of its own. This 
 fact is important in the study of the aesthetic and psycho- 
 logical aspects of the creative process, but it does not alter 
 the scientific truth that the novelist is really the sole creator 
 of his character. The novelist cannot evade the responsi- 
 bility implied in Lanier's question : 
 
 " What the artist doeth, 
 The Lord knoweth ; 
 Knoweth the artist not ? " l 
 
 89. Novelistic Characterization. Characterization is a 
 process common to ordinary experience, several arts, biog- 
 raphy, history, the lyric, and all forms of plot-literature. 
 It has a fairly distinct mode for the novel, in a peculiar 
 combination of points, if not in any one point. 
 
 No other literary type shows, as a matter of history, a 
 presentation of character in such " Detaildarstcllung"* of 
 environment, physical and social. Yet, in contrast with 
 the stage drama, the novel can at will describe the inner 
 elements of character without any accompanying physical 
 imagery. 
 
 In no other form of art are the relations of direct and 
 indirect characterization so intricate. 
 
 The combination of intensive and extensive study of 
 individual character is most striking in the novel. Psycho- 
 logical analysis, in a strict sense, is more elaborate than in 
 any other type of art. In the lyric, it may possibly be as 
 intense and direct, but it cannot be as prolonged. The 
 
 1 Individuality. 2 Baumgart : Handbuch der Poetik. 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 1 1 
 
 gradual development of character, according to many; 
 critics, is the special function of the novel. 
 
 These characteristics are partially explained by the great length of the 
 novel, its facile interweaving of dramatic and non-dramatic form, and its 
 use of prose. Other characteristics may be readily noted. 
 
 In sculpture and painting there is the medium of a visible image of 
 character ; in the stage drama, the medium of a visible and audible real 
 person. In all forms of literature these sensuous values can only be 
 suggested. 
 
 90. Character Unfolding. The scheme given in Section 
 77 will indicate the first, intermediate, and final appear- 
 ances of important characters, and the general environ- 
 ment of each appearance. The main method of unfolding 
 may be in mass or in solution ; usually there is a distinct 
 combination of both methods. Tendency to mass the chief 
 characterization at the principal turning-points of the plot 
 may be designated as initial, climactic, and catastrophic 
 unfolding. The prevailing method of modern realism is 
 probably cumulative a discovery of character by the 
 gradually increasing momentum of items often trivial 
 enough if taken separately. 
 
 The first and last appearances have a certain inevitable 
 emphasis. Some conventional methods of introducing 
 characters are apparently modeled after the drama and 
 epic. Initial soliloquy in the drama combines the physi- 
 ognomy, pantomime, and speech. This formula is impos- 
 sible in the novel, and the substitution of an initial physical 
 description followed by speech often seems artificial and 
 ineffective. A preliminary introduction may be given in 
 the title, preface, or prologue. Abrupt introduction often 
 produces the effect of romantic, even sensational, surprise, 
 as to some degree in George Eliot's first mention of Eppie. 
 
112 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Riemann l has made a very interesting analysis of Goethe's 
 methods of introducing characters. 
 
 A study of the last appearance the "dismissal" may 
 naturally be connected with the general study of catas- 
 trophe (Section 52). Some characters slip out of the nar- 
 rative so quietly one is scarcely aware of their absence. 
 In general, in the modern novel, important characters are 
 given a definite dismissal, though it may not be quite so 
 formal as in early fiction. The hero and heroine are fre- 
 quently last mentioned as still alive, and perhaps their 
 future is sketched. The novelist often seems as reluctant 
 to leave his favorite characters as the political orator is to 
 close his argument. 
 
 91. Appellation. The names and other designations of 
 a character may be realistic or romantic ; individualizing, 
 or typical of nationality, historical period, occupation, tem- 
 perament, etc. Occasionally usually with romantic con- 
 notation an important character is designated as "the 
 unknown" or "the unnamed." Minor characters are 
 often indicated only by type, after the models of the 
 herald of Greek drama, or the clown, servant, citizen of 
 Shakespearian drama. The title of a novel frequently 
 gives a suggestive appellation for the chief character, 
 as in the Man of Feeling, Last of the Barons, the Wan- 
 dering Jew. In early types of romance there may be 
 repeated epithetical formulas, similar to those in epic 
 poetry. 
 
 Different aspects of the same character may be indicated by different 
 designation. In Jack Wilton, the hero is variously known as "my 
 young lad," " wise young Wilton," " King of the Drunkards," " King 
 of the Pages," etc. A radical change of name, especially in romance, 
 may denote pronounced change in the external or inner history of a 
 
 1 Goethes Romantechnik : Die Einfiihrung der Personen. 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 1 3 
 
 character. The career of Amadis of Gaul is so marked in part : in 
 Euphues, the conversion of a character is emphasized by changing his 
 name from Atheos to Theophilus. 
 
 When these different names are distributed between the author and 
 the dramatis personae, they may have considerable importance in dra- 
 matic characterization. To George Eliot, her hero is generally " Silas " 
 or "poor Silas," even when he is imagined as much older than herself; 
 among the dramatis personre, he is "dad," "old Marner," "the miser," 
 etc. The heroine of Pride and Prejudice is almost invariably " Eliza- 
 beth " to her creator ; but to the other characters she is known as Eli/a, 
 Lizzie, Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and so on. 
 
 92. Physiognomy. The physical appearance may have 
 a pictorial interest for its own sake, or it may be of great 
 service in revealing the mental and moral nature. It is 
 almost entirely through bodily phenomena that we become 
 acquainted with character in real life, and the novelist 
 often makes detailed and effective application of this truth. 
 
 The physiognomy of an individual combines a nearly 
 constant element, including stature, moulding of the fea- 
 tures, color of eyes and hair, etc., with an element always 
 changing according to physical and mental condition. 
 Both elements are frequently given close attention in the 
 novel ; the latter is of particular value in all genuine study 
 of the dynamic relations of soul and body. 
 
 It is comparatively easy to image and remember striking 
 individual details of physiognomy, or general types of 
 figure and face ; the middle ground is much less impres- 
 sive. It is difficult for the average mind to retain a dis- 
 tinct image, even of an intimate friend, for any considerable 
 period, without the aid of actual presence or photographic 
 suggestion. 
 
 Again, the effect of a given bodily appearance depends 
 much on the state of the observer himself. Strong moral 
 idealism may dwell so intently on beauty of character that 
 
114 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 the physical defects which happen to accompany it disap- 
 pear from consciousness. In Pippa Passes, the shoulders 
 of Ottima are at one time fascinatingly beautiful to Sebald ; 
 at another, terribly repulsive. In this sense, the Spense- 
 rian conception that " soul is form and doth the body 
 make " may be a truth of real experience. The spatial point 
 of view also greatly modifies the impression of physical 
 appearance. The first close observation of a face long 
 familiar at a greater distance, is a revelation. Complexion, 
 in particular, has a marvelous increase or decrease of value 
 as the point of view changes. 
 
 In the novel, these and similar "kinetic" aspects of physiognomy 
 affect the author, the reader, and the dramatis personae. They may 
 suggest the great difficulty, and hint at some of the better methods in 
 artistic description of physical personality. In general, it seems better 
 to leave much to the imagination and habit of observation in the reader. 
 A fully itemized description is, in fact, usually one of the least success- 
 ful methods of reaching realistic result. Defoe (in Colonel Jacque) thus 
 defends a brief conventional summary : " It is a subject too surfeiting 
 to entertain people with the beauty of a person they will never see." 
 
 The novel rarely portrays the unclothed human body. This may 
 be a serious limitation, so far as pictorial interest is concerned, but the 
 loss to higher characterization seems trifling. The conventional nude 
 portraits of the Elizabethan sonneteers and Herrick add little to our 
 sense of mental and moral individuality. (Cf. Laokoon, V.) 
 
 93. Costume and Physical Environment. When one 
 sees a friend for the first time in academic or ecclesiastical 
 garb or in military uniform, the effect on one's general 
 conception of the character is often surprisingly strong. 
 Costume has its special values in the novel of manners, the 
 romance of chivalry, historical romance, and other types of 
 fiction. Disdainful criticism of Scott's attention to costume 
 has perhaps underrated the significance of dress in historical 
 and social characterization. But Scott is by no means the 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 1 5 
 
 first to note its value. For familiar reasons, description of 
 costume is very common in Elizabethan literature. 
 
 In Jack Wilton there are several passages of striking and concrete 
 description, in various connotation, like the following : " I had my feather 
 in my cap as big as a flag in the foretop; my French doublet . . . 
 my long stock ... my rapier pendant . . . my cape cloak of black 
 cloth," etc. Defoe perhaps paid little attention to dress in general, but 
 the island costume of Robinson Crusoe is given in significant detail. 
 
 Change of costume sometimes indicates important change of situation 
 or character, though Thoreau's suggestion that new garments should 
 always mean moral renovation is not strictly observed. A familiar 
 detail is the donning of masculine garments by a woman romantic in 
 Lodge's Rosalind; realistic in Defoe's Moll Flanders and Mrs. Chris- 
 tian Davies. 
 
 The photographer and portrait painter recognize the 
 value of physical background in characterization. Such 
 background has an increased value when selected or fash- 
 ioned by the character himself. This and other vital rela- 
 tions of the dramatis personae and the material environment 
 are noticed in Sections 72 and 74. 
 
 Certain traditional relations are found in some special types of fiction. 
 Pastoral figures appear against a background of typical landscape ; the 
 heroine of the novel of manners is painted as the queen of the ballroom 
 or the promenade ; the conventional European appears in a new light sur- 
 rounded by pygmies, giants, or other semi-human figures, in the voyage 
 tmagmaire ; the knight of the romance of chivalry is the shining center 
 of the tournament. 
 
 Of special importance in dramatic characterization is the 
 relation of the single figure to the group. The imaging of 
 Silas Marner among the village boors at the Rainbow, 
 and among the village aristocrats at the Red House, adds 
 greatly to the impression of his character. The fact that 
 he never appears in any considerable group except in 
 
Il6 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 physical as well as mental contrast to his fellows, until the 
 end of the story, symbolizes his moral isolation and is due 
 to the author's instinctive genius or conscious art. 
 
 94. Pantomime. Human beings express their individu- 
 ality as well as typical qualities by weeping, laughter, 
 swoon, blush, gesture, and pose. It is a matter of common 
 note that these means of expression often have a more ele- 
 mental and universal value than speech itself. In many 
 situations absence of customary pantomime is also a reve- 
 lation of character. In artificial society, gesture as well as 
 speech may be used to conceal the real attitude of the 
 spirit. 
 
 Criticism 1 points out that Sterne was one of the first 
 novelists to give extensive and specialized treatment of 
 pantomime; but it had its definite if subordinate place 
 before the great schools of the eighteenth century. 
 
 Nash gives us such concrete touches as these, in Jack Wilton : " One 
 pecked like a crane with his forefinger at every half syllable he brought 
 forth, and nodded with his nose like an old singing man. . . . Another 
 would be sure to wipe his mouth with his handkercher at the end of 
 every full point. And ever when he thought he had cast a figure so 
 curiously, as he dived over head and ears into his auditors' admiration, 
 he would take occasion to stroke up his hair, and twine up his mus- 
 tachios twice or thrice over, while they might have leisure to applaud 
 him." 
 
 The " sentimental school " of the late eighteenth century 
 was fond of sighs, tears, swoonings, and the attitudes of 
 languorous and mysterious melancholy. Professor Mor- 
 ley enumerates the weepings in the Man of Feeling. 2 The 
 pages of the famous Clarissa and the representative 
 
 1 Jusserand, Roman Anglais, p. 64; Masson, p. 153; etc. See the ex- 
 tended study of " Physiognomik und Mimik " in Kiemann. 
 
 2 Introduction to Cassell's National Library edition. 
 
CHARACTERIZATION I r 7 
 
 Juliet Grenville (by Brooke) offer quite as rich opportunity 
 for such statistics. Pantomime has a particular human 
 value in the novel of manners ; in modern naturalism, it 
 inclines to the opposite tendency of animalism. 
 
 95. Utterance. Careful analysis of the speech of a char- 
 acter might note general habits of loquacity or silence, 
 carelessness or accuracy ; the quality and intonation of the 
 voice ; vocabulary and syntax, etc. In the novel, the 
 modulation of the voice can be only slightly indicated by 
 direct means, and the indirect often seem ineffective or 
 unreal. (Compare Sections 22-24.) This is especially 
 true of the singing voice. No refinement of literary de- 
 scription can rival the histrionic art in interpreting the 
 tragic pathos of the songs of Ophelia and Desdemona. 
 
 It is interesting to speculate just what imagery of sound and just 
 what interpretation of character underlie Jane Austen's frequent state- 
 ment that Elizabeth Bennet "cried" her words. Detailed attention to 
 enunciation, in the service of romantic sentimentalism, is found in 
 some of the short stories of Hendrik Conscience. He repeatedly uses 
 such descriptive terms as " unintelligible," " almost inaudible," " mur- 
 mured," " whispered," " scarcely articulate," etc. In several cases he 
 follows the development of the voice from a very low utterance to loud- 
 ness in a single speech. 
 
 In vocabulary and syntax, the limitation of the character 
 by the author himself is often very noticeable. Unreality 
 or falseness is liable to appear in attempts at highly 
 specialized technical, professional, or historical language. 
 Extended and coherent speeches by characters suffering 
 from great pain or great weakness are often improbable 
 to the imagination, even if they are scientifically possible. 
 
 The speech of children is an interesting detail. William and Anne 
 in Browning's Strafford are curiously mature in vocabulary and syntax. 
 Contrast the extended and lifelike talk of Tom and Maggie Tulliver. 
 
Il8 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 The children in Sense and Sensibility are " full of monkey tricks," and 
 express themselves by screams, sobs, pinches, and kicks instead of 
 words. (See Chapter XXI.) 
 
 Propriety, in an untechnical sense, frequently forbids a 
 complete record of the imagined utterance of a character. 
 Profanity and vulgarity have been defended on the princi- 
 ple of dramatic " decorum " since the days of Chaucer, at 
 least ; but the novelist has often hesitated to carry out his 
 theoretical right. The expression of very intense passion, 
 secular or religious, is often perceptibly toned down. Sid- 
 ney records the beautiful prayer of Pamela, and Richard- 
 son displays the most personal and profound religious 
 emotion of Clarissa ; but such frank exhibition of the 
 sacred privacy of passion, though still common, is not in 
 complete accord with the cultural taste of our own time. 
 
 96. Physiological Psychology. In few novels, even of 
 recent date, is the human soul considered as merely the 
 temporary result of chemical and physical forces. Modern 
 materialism, in its complete formula, has not yet proved 
 attractive or feasible for many literary artists. Average 
 criticism of the day rebukes both the tendency of the 
 naturalist to reduce all psychic experiences to physiologi- 
 cal terms; and the tendency of the pure psychologist 
 to study the soul as though it were independent of the 
 body. 
 
 Physiological psychology, broadly interpreted, is not a new element 
 in the novel. The physical and mental characteristics of sexual love 
 are causally related in Daphnis and Chloe and other Greek romances, 
 as they are in corresponding Elizabethan descriptions. In Jack Wilton 
 there are some vigorous strokes to indicate the physical effects of a 
 long-continued spirit of revenge : " My tongue with vain threats is 
 swolen, and waxen too big for my mouth. My eyes have broken their 
 strings with staring and looking ghastly, as I stood devising how to frame 
 or set my countenance when I met thee," etc. 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 19 
 
 A fundamental conception of the sentimental school, in 
 its analysis of "sensibility," was the rapid response of the 
 body to the easily agitated soul. Many of the heroes as well 
 as heroines of the period might have said, with a character 
 of Karamzin, " I am a mere mortal, the slave of sensibil- 
 ity ; " or quoted sympathetically this longer exposition from 
 Brooke's Juliet Grenville: 
 
 " O madam, what kind of a frame is this frame of our mortality ? We 
 die with pain ; we die with pleasure ; we can bear nothing in excess. 
 We turn away from things indifferent . . . and yet, when our sensations 
 rise to a certain pitch, the degree becomes quite insufferable, whatever 
 its nature may be. Imagination, like an executioner of the pitiless In- 
 quisition, keeps his rack ever in readiness ; he stretches us thereon at 
 pleasure, and strains the cords, and we lie panting and expiring beneath 
 the tension." In the same novel, the heroine is one day discovered, at 
 the age of five, with her doll undressed : u The moment that we en- 
 tered, you started, as greatly alarmed ; and your face, neck, and bosom 
 were instantly covered with scarlet, in your dread that the men should 
 see the nakedness of your baby." When such heroines arrive at matur- 
 ity, they prefer drowning to a rescue which demands disrobing. 
 
 Recent naturalism has often become biological or even 
 " animalistic " in its view of the relations of body and soul. 
 It has analyzed the physiological elements of all kinds of 
 sensation, the muscular and nervous aspects of thirst, 
 starvation, mutilation, and the death agony. It has elabo- 
 rated the physiological psychology of " love," degeneracy, 
 religious frenzy, insanity, and many other forms of abnor- 
 mal consciousness., It has described with gusto, also, the 
 merely animal joy of robust, " red-blooded " vitality. Nat- 
 uralism of this type is characteristic of Zola, d'Annunzio, the 
 Goncourt brothers, Dostoyevsky ; in somewhat less degree 
 of Tolstoi, Bjornson, in his later work, and Hardy. It has 
 relatively little place in American fiction. 
 
120 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In George Eliot there are many touches of this kind, but she is 
 never primarily a physiologist. The physical effects of grief are shown 
 in Adam Bede, and the approaching motherhood of Hetty Sorrel is 
 described partly in the spirit of physiological psychology, but with the 
 emphasis clearly on the moral experience. In Silas Marner, the cata- 
 lepsy of the hero is rather obscurely treated, on its physical side ; and 
 the love relations of Eppie and Aaron, Godfrey and Nancy, Godfrey 
 and Molly even, are given a very slight basis in the flesh. 
 
 97. Pure Psychology. The types of character given in 
 Section 87 may suggest deeper study of the individual soul. 
 The consciousness of a character may be considered under 
 such forms as imagination, memory, observation, generaliza- 
 tion, sensation, emotion, volition, etc. Its subject, so to 
 speak, may be the individual himself, sex, age, occupation, 
 nationality, race ; or the wider conceptions suggested by 
 such phrases as "cosmic emotion" and Weltschmerz. 
 
 The consciousness of nationality is very strong in the characters of 
 Westward Ho ! and Soil und Haben ; it is hardly recognizable in the 
 villagers of Silas Marner. Balzac analyzes the specialized conscious- 
 ness of the Parisian in many characters. 
 
 If by religious consciousness one means the sense of the existence 
 of God, it is distinct in Dolly Winthrop, dim and uncertain in Silas 
 Marner ; practically latent in Elizabeth Bennet, and not even suggested 
 in Queen Esther. 
 
 In the direct portrayal of self-consciousness proper, the 
 novel departs widely from life. In actual experience, one 
 can acquire only a vague and fragmentary acquaintance 
 with the inner life of any other being. The novelist may 
 of course transfer his own experience to his character, 
 with such modification as imagination permits ; or he may 
 content himself with the typical. Inference, analogy, 
 generalization, dramatic power, and human sympathy may 
 vastly enlarge his insight into individuality ; but no author 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 2 1 
 
 can solve the mystery of the individual. In the case of 
 historical characters, the novelist may to some extent 
 utilize their own records of experience; but these are 
 imperfect and liable to misinterpretation. He is scien- 
 tific, in a true sense, only when he presents the typical. 
 
 The novelist may explore the region of the " sub-con- 
 scious " ; or the mysteries of child, animal, and supernat- 
 ural consciousness ; but these belong, for the most part, to 
 the odds and ends of characterization. In describing the 
 mental life of supernatural beings, anthropomorphism is 
 inevitable. One may perhaps conceive other forms of 
 thought and feeling than the human, in the abstract ; but 
 if the attempt is made to embody them in the concrete, 
 they tend to be transformed into the familiar shapes of our 
 present " type of consciousness." 
 
 In general, the novel has been occupied with the more 
 intense experiences of the soul ; though realism has given 
 attention to the more ordinary mental history of domestic, 
 professional, and political life. Abnormal psychology may 
 be approached with the romantic craving for the strange 
 and mysterious; or in an ethical spirit, as in Hawthorne ; 
 or in a somewhat scientific spirit, interested in the light 
 thrown on more universal experience, as to some degree in 
 Poe and Balzac. The tendency of such characterization is 
 toward physiological psychology, for obvious reasons. 
 
 98. Identity, Individuality, and Type. The Bertillon 
 and similar methods of identifying criminals emphasize the 
 unique form of every human body. The early novelists 
 made frequent use of such distinguishing details as birth- 
 marks, scars, moles, etc. In fictitious literature, confused 
 physical identity sometimes due to bodily resemblance, 
 as in the Comedy of Errors ; more commonly to disguise 
 by costume may be a rich source of comic or tragic 
 
122 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 effect. Confused moral identity is capable of large ethical 
 and psychological value, as in the Induction to the Taming 
 of the Shrew. 
 
 Double consciousness has been mentioned in Section 87. Compare 
 Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Poe's William Wilson, Aldrich's 
 Queen of Sheba, etc. Triple consciousness, studied at some length in 
 James' Principles of Psychology, has received little or no attention in 
 the novel as yet. 
 
 In physical and moral history each individual is easily 
 identified, if the details are noted. No two individuals can 
 occupy the same place at the same time ; nor do they ever 
 have the same sequence of emotions or thoughts. Every 
 character in all fiction is perfectly distinct from every other, 
 though the distinction may not always merit study. 
 
 Moral individuality, in any important artistic sense, is of 
 course a much deeper matter. Its problem, stated philo- 
 sophically, but in a form applicable to the art of the novel- 
 ist, is given thus in Royce's Conception of Immortality : 
 
 " Individuality is something that we demand of our world, but that, 
 in this present realm of experience, we never find. It is the object of 
 our purposes, but not now of our attainment ; of our intentions, but not 
 of their present fulfilment ; of our will, but not of our sense nor yet of 
 our abstract thought ; of our rational appreciation, but not of our de- 
 scription ; of our love, but not of our verbal confession. We pursue it 
 with the instruments of a thought and of an art that can define only 
 types, and of a form of experience that can show us only instances and 
 generalities. The unique eludes us, yet we remain faithful to the ideal 
 of it, and in spite of sense and of our merely abstract thinking, it be- 
 comes for us the most real thing in the actual world, although for us it 
 is the elusive goal of an infinite quest/ 1 
 
 Many of the methods of characterization noted in the 
 preceding sections may be used either for individualizing 
 or typifying. Certain social and psychological types will 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 23 
 
 be suggested by the previous grouping of the dramatis 
 personae. Excellent examples of fairly pure types are 
 found in the " characters " of Overbury and La Bruyere. 
 Recent study of the development of fiction has given some 
 attention to their influence on the novel. 
 
 Burlesque often throws light on character types. In this and other 
 forms of imitation or conscious contrast, acquaintance with the original 
 conceptions is essential. Don Quixote must be compared with the 
 knights in serious romance of chivalry ; Joseph Andrews with Pamela ; 
 Jacopo Ortis with Werther; Marianne Dashwood with such heroines 
 as the one noted in Section 96. Occasionally serious and burlesque 
 treatment of the same type occur in a single composition ; for example, 
 the pastoral type in As You Like It, and Sidney's Arcadia. A character 
 at first quite original for fiction often tends to pass rapidly into conven- 
 tional type, like the fierce hero of Jane Eyre, or the sceptical sufferer in 
 Robert Elsmere. 
 
 Specific knowledge of history is of course necessary to 
 understand fully many of the character types in fiction. It 
 is impossible to interpret Turgenieff and other modern 
 Russian novelists rightly without some acquaintance with 
 Russian social movements. Carlyle's Chartism may be of 
 value in the study of Kingsley's Yeast and Alton Locke. 
 
 Single characters often represent quite distinctly several 
 minor and major types. Silas Marner is a type of the 
 English weavers of his period ; of all human beings morally 
 exiled by the treachery of their fellows ; of all souls experi- 
 encing a tragic separation between their present and their 
 past. 
 
 The general value of allegorical and symbolical charac- 
 ters was suggested in Section 85. The allegorical interest 
 may be very vague, as in Robinson Crusoe ; more definite, 
 as in Wilhelm Meister; or approaching " isomorphic " 
 value, as in Pilgrim's Progress. Double allegory, after 
 
124 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 the fashion of the Faery Queen, seems quite rare in prose 
 fiction. 
 
 99. Character Change. Lotze's clear and simple state- 
 ment that " the slow shaping of character is the problem 
 of the novel," l suggests a vast field of historical, technical, 
 and theoretical interest. Character change, in some form, 
 is found in nearly all extended fictions, but in early works 
 it is often too rapid, or too crude in motivation to be a 
 genuine study of the " problem." The sudden transforma- 
 tions in the characters of Romeo, Proteus, Bertram, and 
 Ferdinand are due in part, no doubt, to the limitations of 
 the drama ; but the novel prior to Richardson offers many 
 analogous examples. There is some study of gradual devel- 
 opment of character, however, in Euphues, Rosalind, and 
 Jack Wilton. That Defoe takes no low rank in this respect 
 is proved by reference to Colonel Jacque and Moll Flanders, 
 as well as Robinson Crusoe. 
 
 Character development may be conceived as mainly an 
 unfolding of original tendency, often with distinct emphasis 
 upon heredity ; or as the result of natural or social envi- 
 ronment, the influence of the supernatural, or the will 
 of the character himself. The last process is given the 
 general term " characterization " by Giddings, 2 and its prin- 
 cipal methods are designated as " persistence, accommo- 
 dation, self-denial, and self-control." The development of 
 a character is generally greatly modified not only by reac- 
 tion upon the traditions, habits, and will of social groups, 
 but by relations to other individuals. The influence of 
 individual upon individual can be more extensively and 
 more intensively studied in the novel than in any other 
 form of art ; and more concretely than in sociology. 
 
 1 Outlines of /Esthetics ; translated by Ladd. 
 
 2 Inductive Sociology. 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 1 25 
 
 Character development may follow many lines that of 
 general culture, as in Wilhelm Meister and the educational 
 novel; of emotional power; of artistic genius; of public 
 influence, theological belief, etc. The study which appeals 
 most strongly to many novelists is that of moral develop- 
 ment, upward or downward. Bunyan's Mr. Badman gives, 
 in the limited space of a short novel, a very original por- 
 trayal of downward movement. Defoe studied both dete- 
 rioration and improvement. It has often been noted that 
 novelists seem to prefer the development of the bad rather 
 than the good as a subject for careful analysis. It is not 
 difficult to give some reasons for this, based on the nature 
 of art ; and perhaps some based on ethical and psychologi- 
 cal interests. For one thing, progress downward more often 
 shows a symmetrical movement than progress upward. 
 
 100. Direct and Indirect Characterization. The most 
 direct manner in which a character appears before the 
 reader is in his speech, actions, and thoughts. His physi- 
 cal presence can be suggested only by the author's descrip- 
 tion, or the effect on other dramatis personae. Soliloquy, 
 in the set form found in early fiction, is now practically 
 obsolete ; but in modified form it is often perfectly natural 
 to the character, and it serves a unique and valuable func- 
 tion in characterization. Self-characterization, whether in 
 soliloquy or elsewhere, is in a sense less direct than uncon- 
 scious revelation of character. 
 
 The analyses and opinions of the author introduce a 
 third party between the character and the reader, though 
 with very various degrees of intrusion. " Dramatic objec- 
 tivity " may be violated even in the description of physiog- 
 nomy. The novelist's approval, hostility, or apology in 
 reference to moral qualities are more important offences 
 against that critical canon. 
 
126 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In John Brent, the author, Theodore Winthrop, gives two paragraphs 
 to his heroine's nose, expressing the opinion that the other facial fea- 
 tures are "only tributary to the nose, standing royally in the midst, and 
 with dignity presiding over its wayward realm." He is an anarchist, 
 however, in respect to a certain type of nasal sovereign : " Positive 
 aquiline noses should be cut off. They are ugly ; they are immoral ; 
 they are sensual." 
 
 George Eliot is quite a sinner in the matter of apology, and seems to 
 fear that the reader may identify author with characters. In Adam 
 Bede, for example, she reminds us that Adam "had the blood of the 
 peasant," and gives a satirical analysis of Hetty's character for the 
 " philosophical reader." 
 
 On this matter in general compare Sections 58 and 83. 
 
 In a strictly dramatic novel, the most important indirect 
 characterization is by means of the dramatis personae. 
 Theoretically complete survey of any character would 
 include the opinions or unconscious attitude of friend and 
 foe, child and adult, animal and God. In practise, com- 
 pleteness yields to artistic selection, but each point of view 
 has its own peculiar value. A man often has a new con- 
 ception of his own character in the presence of children or 
 animals not always pleasing to self-conceit. In real life, 
 the supposed opinion of God is often an important element 
 in self-characterization, and in a man's judgment of his 
 fellows. Except in a limited way, the novelist usually 
 gives this opinion only as it appears in the minds of the 
 dramatis personae. 
 
 The fact that any characterization of B by A may clearly reveal the 
 nature of A as well as B is often utilized with much dramatic effect in 
 the novel. 
 
 The children of Jane Austen are introduced largely to indicate the 
 character of adults; those of George Eliot frequently have a more 
 independent value, but Eppie, as a child, exists mainly to enrich the 
 characterization of Silas and Godfrey, and focus it. 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 127 
 
 101. General Methods. Some methods of characteriza- 
 tion are based on literary conventions; others on the 
 inherent nature of character study. Such formulas as 
 "indescribable," "not to be analyzed," "a paradox," etc., 
 may be the sincere expression of genius ; or may result 
 from incapacity or slovenly talent. The character cast 
 mainly into the mould of a " dominant passion," largely an 
 eighteenth century conception, but imitated in such studies 
 as Pere Goriot and Quasimodo, is frequently of literary 
 rather than vital quality. Vague or light impression of 
 character may be quite legitimate in romance aiming to 
 liberate rather than discipline the reader's imagination, or 
 to place the aesthetic emphasis upon plot. 
 
 In real life, a satisfactory view of individual character is 
 usually a combination of analysis and synthesis. Speaking 
 of over-analysis in artistic characterization, Veron 1 says : 
 " We want a mental stimulus, not a treatise on anatomy." 
 Right relations between analysis and synthesis can be 
 attained only by dramatic power, psychological instinct, 
 and human sympathy. 
 
 " Hedging," " foil," climax, contrast, and similar methods 
 are effective and based on reality, though often used with 
 much artificiality. Contrast in particular, whether studied 
 in the individual or in a wider area, is an almost indispen- 
 sable resource ; but when realistic, is rarely complete or 
 carried out into antithetical detail. The economic treat- 
 ment is suggested by Royce : 2 
 
 "The consciousness of likeness and of difference help each other; 
 and theiefore in a measure it is true that the more we get of one of 
 them, before our knowledge, the more we get of the other. So they 
 decline altogether to be known separately." 
 
 1 Esthetics. 2 Conception of Immortality, 
 
128 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 The principle of inference is of wide application, and 
 one constantly employed in the finer effects of characteri- 
 zation. 
 
 In the relations of soul and body, it is comparatively immaterial to 
 the novelist whether one trembles because he is afraid, according to the 
 old psychology, or is afraid because he trembles, according to Professor 
 James' hypothesis. In either case the traditional inferences from the 
 physical phenomena are correct for practical purposes of character study. 
 
 Many important differences between the presentation of 
 character in the novel and in real life are apparent. In 
 the novel the entire history of a character unfolds before 
 us in a few hours. Our later intimacy may extend over 
 many years, and our conception may undergo great trans- 
 formation, but the character itself presents no new data. 
 In real life association with human beings involves our 
 influence upon them. The characters of a novel have 
 influenced real persons in countless ways, one famous 
 example is found in the suicides that followed Werther, 
 but there is no possible influence in the opposite direction. 
 In the novel, again, every character is interpreted in rela- 
 tion to a certain fixed number of persons, events, places, 
 times, emotions, and ideas, and no others; that is, it 
 appears in a plot a type of unity which has no exact 
 model in life itself. 
 
 These and similar facts have important effects on the 
 problem of characterization in the novel. Among other 
 results is possibly that of a necessary exaggeration, if the 
 character is to appear in a perspective resembling that of 
 our experience. 
 
 102. Group Characterization. In the group, there is 
 always a possible interest in the group itself, and in the 
 individuals composing it. In some ways these two in- 
 
CHARACTERIZATION 129 
 
 terests are antagonistic ; in some ways complementary. 
 Without some distinction of individuals, a group which we 
 can neither actually see nor hear, tends to become a mere 
 abstraction. Partial individualization, not obscuring the 
 group, is found in the Shakespearian formula, " first citi- 
 zen," etc. Concerted speech, mentioned in Section 19, is 
 an artificial method of unifying the mental and moral 
 characteristics of the group. 
 
 Considered as a unit, a group may be characterized in 
 many respects like an individual ; but it tends to become 
 typical, it rarely appears more than a few times with ab- 
 solute identity, and it does not often embody any elaborate 
 study of mental or moral development. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 SUBJECT-MATTER 
 
 103. Subject-Matter and Form. In the entire novel, 
 and in its separate passages, the main interest of the 
 author or the critic may be concentrated upon either of 
 these elements, or it may be concerned with their intimate, 
 complex relations. In every type of literature, all the 
 subject-matter is given linguistic form. ' In the novel, if a 
 subject is considered for its service to the plot, its relation 
 to the illusion, one is concerned with novelistic form ; when 
 the emphasis is laid on thought for its own sake, one 
 studies thematic values which are essentially the same in 
 all forms of art. The ideal relation, for most critics, is 
 found only when a significant subject is "bodied forth" 
 in an appropriate and significant form. 
 
 The subject landscape, when introduced simply as a background for 
 incident, has primarily a formal value ; when made a topic of conversa- 
 tion by the characters, its value may be partly formal, partly thematic ; 
 when discussed for its own sake, in the author's comment, the value may 
 be almost purely thematic. In the novel of pure dramatic structure, 
 every subject is, in the first instance, formal subordinate to the char- 
 acters and the situation. 
 
 In the short story and the romance, the interest in form is often more 
 complete and continuous than in the novel. The terms " tale " and 
 " story " suggest the predominance of form ; the terms " study, 11 " pur- 
 pose-novel, 11 etc., imply a larger attention to subject-matter for its own 
 sake. Allegory and symbolism, at their best, attain a rich harmony of 
 the two interests. Examine the relations of subject and form in semi- 
 novelistic works, such as the philosophical dialogue of Plato and his 
 imitators, the " letter-essay, 11 Toxophilus, The Complete Angler, etc. 
 
 130 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 1 3 1 
 
 104. Extensive and Intensive Subject. The novelist, 
 to some extent, must choose between the consideration of 
 a large variety of subjects, and the detailed study of a more 
 limited field. He may choose gladly, instinctively, or with a 
 sense of artistic renunciation. He may attempt to combine 
 an extensive survey in general with an intensive treatment 
 of specific subjects ; but a novel is not often of equal value 
 as a "large diffused picture" of life (Smollett) and as a 
 profound study of a concentrated theme. This distinction 
 may be kept in mind throughout the present chapter. 
 
 105. The Typical and the Individual. Typification is 
 an important method of enlarging the scope of a novel 
 without losing the force of an intensive treatment. Any 
 " section of life " may be interpreted in such manner as to 
 bring out the values of an historical period, of the general 
 organization of society, or of human experience as a whole ; 
 as a robin may be studied as representative of the thrushes, 
 of all bird-life, or of the vertebrates. This typical quality 
 may be clearly expressed by the novelist, or it may be 
 merely suggested to the reader. It may be found in all the 
 elements of the novel in setting, conversation, motiva- 
 tion, as well as in incident and character. 
 
 1 06. Exhibition and Interpretation. The selection of 
 certain data rather than others, the proportion of emphasis 
 upon those chosen, and the moulding of them into the 
 unity of a plot, give a real interpretation of life in every 
 novel. Beyond this inevitable " criticism of life " the 
 novelist may be as silent as possible, or he may consider 
 his direct interpretation as equally important with the pic- 
 ture itself. 
 
 The various " isms " of the schools may be compared from this point 
 of view. A frank statement of impressionism, as offering an array of 
 human phenomena without any attempt to explain their real meaning, 
 
132 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 is quoted from Thomas Hardy, on page 303. The chief value of the 
 philosophical novel is in its effort to give some unified explanation of all 
 the material it brings together. Note the opinions of Masson and 
 Scherer quoted in Section 119, and Lotze's definition of art, in Section 
 208. 
 
 107. The Subject of the Novel. Probably few critics 
 would oppose the idea that the principal subject of every 
 true novel is humanity, in one or more of its infinite 
 aspects ; and this in a sense which really distinguishes the 
 novel from most if not all other forms of art. All art is 
 an expression of the humanity of the artist himself, but the 
 novelist always, in large measure, discovers his humanity 
 by observation of the life of other men. 
 
 The question, just what aspect of this vast subject is the 
 true field of the novel, cannot be so easily answered. Two 
 theories which can be clearly distinguished consider, re- 
 spectively, the life of society and the life of the individual 
 to be the essential theme of the novel. These two views are 
 not necessarily antagonistic, and in every great novel there 
 is matter enough on both themes to repay separate study. 
 
 The following outline of analysis must be treated flexibly, and 
 adapted to the needs of a concrete study. For more systematic analy- 
 sis of specific phases of subject-matter, reference must be made to the 
 underlying sciences of sociology, psychology, history, and ethics. 
 
 1 08. Sociology and History. The novel does not con- 
 sider humanity in the abstract, as a scientific Genus Homo, 
 or a dramatic Everyman ; but as it appears in some limited 
 social and historical relations. The sociological interest 
 concerns those forms of social organization and life that 
 are comparatively permanent ; the historical interest takes 
 account of the conditions belonging to a particular period 
 and locality. 1 Both of these interests are important in 
 
 1 See Giddings, p. 8. 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 133 
 
 every representative novel, but now one predominates, now 
 the other. It might be said that the artistic imagination 
 inclines toward the transitory phases of human experience, 
 toward the contrasts and shadings which history continu- 
 ally affords ; and that the scientific mind finds a deeper sat- 
 isfaction in examining the permanent elements in social life. 
 
 In the Comddie Humaine, the inclusive scheme is historical the 
 primary aim being to picture the French society of a limited epoch ; 
 but there is a very rich exhibition of general social relations. In Anna 
 Kardnina, the sociological study seems more significant than the purely 
 historical ; while in the novels of Turgenieff, the temporary conditions 
 of Russian life are brought more decidedly into the foreground, ficott's 
 interest is often historical in the main ; While George Eliot is always 
 deeply interested in the permanent aspects of society, even when she 
 studies historical variations in some detail. 
 
 109. Social Composition. The importance of social 
 composition in the novel is partly indicated by the list of 
 types given in the appendix. In the representative social 
 novel there is much interpretation as well as exhibition of 
 the organization of social groups. While comprehensive- 
 ness requires some attention to all the chief types of social 
 groups, many of the characteristics of man as a " socius " 
 may be studied in any one group ; the family, for in- 
 stance, may be viewed as a kind of social microcosm. 
 Many of the great European novels, however, are interna- 
 tional in scope of subject. 
 
 The Family. The root idea of the family may be found 
 in the relations of man and wife, or of parents and children. 
 
 A comprehensive survey of family organization is found in Anna 
 Kardnina. This novel exhibits the relation of master and servants, 
 husband and wife, man and mistress, sister and brother, parents and 
 children, etc. Its principal limitation, in this theme, is that most of the 
 family life shown is in the aristocratic circles of society. 
 
134 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Other novels with important exhibition or interpretation of the family 
 group are Utopia, Amelia, The Vicar of Wakefield, Pride and Prejudice, 
 and The Mill on the Floss. 
 
 The Community. Aside from the common types of rural 
 village and city quarter, the novel may picture the social 
 groups of the prison, hospital, barracks, camp, factory, 
 business house, etc. 
 
 Compare the studies of a great business house its esprit de corps, 
 discipline, ranking of members, etc. in Soil und Haben and Dombey 
 and Son. Contrast the romantic view of a cathedral community in 
 Notre Dame de Paris with the realistic view in Barchester Towers. 
 Hospital life appears in La Debacle, under military conditions, in time 
 of war ; and in I Promessi Sposi, under municipal conditions, in time 
 of pestilence. 
 
 Social Caste. The very term caste denotes a group 
 that is defined by its relations to other groups. In the 
 processes by which a class emerges from the general social 
 composition, or is reabsorbed in it, in the comedy or 
 tragedy of class rivalry, and in the movements of an 
 individual from class to class, the novel of manners, and 
 the novel of social psychology find a rich field. 
 
 Fielding warns the novelist that " a true knowledge of the world is 
 gained only by conversation, and the manners of every rank must be 
 seen in order to be known." (Tom Jones, XIV, I.) He finds that 
 many English writers fail in describing the upper classes, because of 
 ignorance of the subject a criticism frequently made of Dickens. In 
 recent realism, a similar failure is often apparent in the picture of the 
 lower classes. To one who is an actual member of a given trade or 
 profession, familiar in daily life with its labor, traditions, language, and 
 ideals, the descriptions of it in the novel often seem curiously unreal. 
 
 Nationality and Race. The unity of a national group 
 may be considered in its physical, linguistic, industrial, or 
 religious aspects, as well as in the purely political. A 
 comprehensive view of any great nation must include some 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 1 3 5 
 
 picture of different races. One of the largest social sub- 
 jects in the novel is the composition of empire, whether 
 conceived in a semi-scientific spirit, or exhibited as a moral 
 unity, its elements fused together, perhaps in a period of 
 special stress, by 
 
 " The prayer of many a race and creed, and clime. 1 ' 
 
 Note the types of fiction listed in the appendix, for examples of dif- 
 ferent treatment of this subject. Among series of novels in which 
 nationality is an important theme, are the Waverley Novels, the 
 Come'die Humaine, and Gald6s' Episodios Nacionales the ' epic of 
 modern Spain. 1 
 
 Cycle of Civilization. Common interests in religion, 
 commerce, diplomacy, science, or general cultural con- 
 ditions, may fashion a considerable number of separate 
 political units into a larger whole, full of dramatic interest 
 and problematic quality. In all such extensive groups 
 there are discordant elements, and abundant material for 
 artistic contrast and shading. 
 
 In modern European civilization, Russia and Turkey are not com- 
 pletely assimilated to the dominant tone of society ; and the entrance 
 of the Orient into the sisterhood of western nations offers an inter- 
 esting spectacle. The gypsy, the Jew, the negro, and the Indian have 
 given picturesque material to many novels. 
 
 no. Social Life. The relation of the mere organiza- 
 tion of society to its rich variety of mental and moral life, 
 might be compared with the relation of artistic structure 
 to style, or the relation of anatomy to the personality of 
 the body. 
 
 Domestic Life. A study of this subject may include 
 the ideals of privacy and hospitality, the emotional har- 
 mony of the family, the attachment to home for its own 
 sake, etc. Interpretation often takes the form of a con- 
 trast of the domestic ideal with the ideal of other types 
 
136 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 of social life, as in The Cloister and The Hearth, and 
 ~ Middleman: h ; or with the ideal of individual life, as in 
 Pilgrim's Progress. In both Silas Marner and Robinson 
 Crusoe there is a detailed picture of domestic life without 
 marriage. 
 
 Industrial Life. Agricultural labor has been a subject 
 in the novel from the beginning, though the early treat- 
 ment was usually idealized in a high degree. The differ- 
 ence between the rural industry in Daphnis and Chloe and 
 in La Terre is conspicuous, whether viewed from the social 
 or the artistic point of view. 
 
 Early romance gives a picture of life in which labor in 
 general has a very subordinate place. Modern realism 
 has explored the world of humble labor, has sympathized 
 with its weariness and suffering, and not rarely has found 
 in it the most essential elements of human experience. 
 
 Deloney's Jack of Newbury may be mentioned as an Elizabethan 
 fiction which gives both an extensive and an intensive study of a special 
 industrial class the weavers of England. In the eighteenth century 
 there was a sturdy revolt against the artificiality of pastoral imagination, 
 and an increasing sense of the value of real labor as an artistic subject. 
 It is interesting to note, in the field of epic poetry, that the hero 
 of Thomson's Castle of Indolence is no romantic representative of 
 chivalry, but a modern Knight of Arts and Industry. 
 
 Political Life. Satire on contemporary political con- 
 ditions, and plans for an ideal political life, are common in 
 the fiction of the Renaissance. In the main, the novelist 
 has been a liberal in politics, in both his dream and his 
 practical attitude. Recent realism has given attention to 
 the routine of political life, to its corruption, its relations 
 to religion, and to general society. Often the descriptions 
 of the novelist are based on considerable personal 
 experience. 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 1 37 
 
 The romanticists were allied with the political reforms of their time, 
 and Victor Hugo's famous statement is a representative one: "Le 
 romantisme, tant de fois mal ddfini, n ? est. . . . que le libe'ralisme en lit- 
 tdrature. ... La libertd dans Part, la libertd dans la socie'te', voila le 
 double but auquel doivent tendre d'un meme pas tous les esprits con- 
 sdquents et logiques." (Preface to Hernani, 1830.) Hugo himself, and 
 several Russian novelists of the last century, suffered some form of polit- 
 ical punishment for the expression of a liberal political creed. 
 
 Religious Life. This subject may be considered from 
 an ecclesiastical, historical, ethical, or artistic point of 
 view. In its deeper aspects, it is often associated with the 
 individual rather than with social groups. The novelist 
 has usually been a champion of human nature, of a secular 
 ideal, as contrasted with any narrow type of religious ideal. 
 (Compare Section 132.) 
 
 Since the Renaissance, the novelist has had constantly 
 before him the spectacle of a divided Christendom, a sub- 
 divided protestantism, an academic or aesthetic classical 
 paganism, and, environing all, the superstition or irreligion 
 of untutored human nature, whether in the Indian or the 
 diplomat. In the last century, the development of a new 
 type of scientific agnosticism, and the conscious separation 
 of the ethical element in religion from its historical and 
 supernatural associations, have offered comparatively new 
 themes to the novel. 
 
 Hawthorne's interest in Puritanism is ethical rather than purely 
 religious. Mrs. RadclifiVs Italian, and The Castle of Otranto, represent 
 the artistic introduction of Catholic life, characteristic of the romantic 
 movement. In Rob Roy, it is the historical and dramatic interest that 
 mainly appeals to Scott. Compare the attitude toward Catholic faith in 
 Manzoni, Newman, and Fogazzaro. The struggle of medieval religion 
 with the modern secular spirit, in a country where the former is particu- 
 larly strong, is studied in La Espuma, Dona Perfecta, Pepita Jimdnez, 
 and La Fe\ 
 
138 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Cultural Life in General. The novel gives one a more 
 extensive picture of social culture than any other form of 
 art. Its medium of expression, language, and its chief 
 structural form, dialogue, must always suggest some 
 special type of cultural life. Art, travel, and education are 
 among the social phenomena which distinguish one state 
 of culture from another. Each of these subjects is a major 
 theme in one or another kind of fiction. The interpreta- 
 tion of culture by the novelist often has a touch of irony, 
 for the imagination sees manners in their relative values, 
 in which there is always a suggestion of comedy. 
 
 in. Historical Period. Every novel is historical, in so 
 far as it pictures the life characteristic of a particular period. 
 In a narrower sense, a novel is historical when the author 
 lays conscious stress upon such life, even if it belongs to 
 his own time. Spielhagen defines the historical novel in 
 a third and more common sense, as one portraying a time 
 "auf welche dieses Licht [der Erinnerung der jetzigen 
 Generation] nicht mehr vollkraftig fallt." 1 
 
 A given period may be selected for genuine historical 
 purposes, or for the sake of its ethical, sociological, or 
 artistic value. If it is chosen simply as an artistic back- 
 ground, the novel cannot be considered truly historical. 
 In Gothic romance, the middle ages are often selected 
 because of their picturesque quality and their remoteness 
 from the prose of contemporary life. The first centuries 
 of the Christian church made a definite religious appeal to 
 Newman ; in Ebers' Homo Sum, their interest is partly 
 historical, partly artistic. 
 
 Even in the true historical novel, the material is not all 
 equally characteristic of the period. Some of the details 
 are usually fully historical ; others are typically historical ; 
 
 1 Technik des Romans; Das Gebiet des Romans. 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 1 39 
 
 and others are not characteristic of any special period, or 
 are even out of keeping with the particular period in ques- 
 tion. The main historical value may be found in the char- 
 acters, incidents, settings, language; or in the dominant 
 mental and moral tone. Thackeray's eighteenth century 
 novels are wonderful successes in this last respect. 
 
 The exact period is not always easily stated, for a small section of 
 history may be viewed as representative of a much larger area. Of 
 about 1500 novels mentioned in Baker's Guide, the historical distribu- 
 tion is as follows : 
 
 Ante-Christian period ... 40 1500 to 1600 185 
 
 A.D., i to 700 85 1600 to 1700 315 
 
 700 to 1400 130 1700 to 1800 420 
 
 1400 to 1500 80 1800 to 1850 235 
 
 The distribution of Scott's historical survey as given in the Library 
 Edition of the Waverley Novels, may be summarized as follows : 
 
 1000 to 1400 5 1600 to 1700 8 
 
 1400 to 1500 3 1700 to 1750 7 
 
 1500 to 1600 4 1750 to 1800 8 
 
 112. Historical Interpretation. The reader's sense of 
 the particular nature of a period may be gained through 
 an extensive array of characteristic details, by an intensive 
 study of striking features, or by some general formula. 
 To over-emphasize the peculiarities of an epoch, however, 
 is to destroy a true historical quality ; for underneath all 
 the transformations of society lie a common human nature, 
 and practically uniform types of social organization. 
 
 The author's interpretation will depend on the degree 
 to which historical imagination has been developed in his 
 generation, as well as on his personal power to re-create 
 the past. It will vary according to the nearness and the 
 familiarity of the historical field he selects. The backward 
 
140 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 glance of George Eliot at the catastrophe of Silas Marner 
 covered only some thirty years; but for the present-day 
 reader, nearly a half century more intervenes, and George 
 Eliot herself is an historical figure. 
 
 An interesting pamphlet might be made of the views of history by 
 different novelists. Discussion of the relation of history to fiction is 
 almost as old as fiction itself. Several of Scott's ideas have already 
 been noticed. Vigny's preface to Cinq-Mars is an important contribu- 
 tion. Mdrimee wrote, in the preface to the Chronique du Regne de 
 Charles IX, " I don't care for anything in history except anecdotes." 
 (Gilbert.) Dumas declared that Lamartine had " elevated history 
 almost to the dignity of the novel." (Ibid.) See also the quotations 
 from Hugo and Brunetiere, in the history of novelistic criticism, in the 
 appendix. 
 
 113. Individuality. In one aspect, the life of the indi- 
 vidual is a series of external phenomena, which the novelist 
 may observe as he observes the manners of society. Some 
 of the phases of that external life are sex, age, health and 
 disease, social success and failure, repose and activity, 
 isolation and companionship. 
 
 In the matter of age, the novel has laid stress upon 
 the central portions of life. Infancy and early childhood 
 have received more attention in recent educational psychol- 
 ogy than in the novel ; and old age has rarely been a major 
 subject in extended fiction. 
 
 Baldwin's Dictionary of Philosophy gives this tribute to the study of 
 adolescence in the novel : " The storm and stress periods of Goethe 
 and John Stuart Mill, of Tolstoi and Marie Bashkirtseff, no less than 
 the masterly delineations of George Eliot's Gwendolen Harleth and 
 Maggie Tulliver, form a valuable and suggestive contribution to the 
 psychology of adolescence." (Article on Adolescence.) The maturing 
 of the individual is not a new subject of the last century. It is forcibly 
 presented in Daphnis and Chloe, and in Paul and Virginia, in connec- 
 tion with first love. 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 141 
 
 In the inner life of the individual the novel finds a field 
 particularly adapted to its own powers. Lyric poetry may 
 be a strong rival in some respects, but in elaborate and 
 varied study of the development and experiences of moral 
 individuality, the novel has no successful competitor, unless 
 it be such poetry as Browning's Inn Album, Red Cotton 
 Night-Cap Country, Sordello, etc., which is itself novelistic. 
 Browning's formula in the dedication of Sordello, "my 
 stress lay on the incidents in the development of a soul : 
 little else is worth study," does not cover the entire scope 
 of the novel, but it is applicable to very many of the great- 
 est novels. Brunetiere says that " the novel is nothing if 
 not psychological." 
 
 The inner life may be viewed as simple or complex, as a 
 chaos or a cosmos, as temporary or eternal, as a revelation 
 or an unintelligible mystery, as having value in itself or 
 only in its relations to society. Elements in its composition 
 are memory, sensation, emotion, thought, and volition ; 
 among its episodes are those of special activity and of 
 languor, of the domination of single passions, of faith and 
 doubt, of self-reliance and humble submission. Some lives, 
 especially in the short story, are interpreted through some 
 single moral experience. This is the conception of many 
 love-stories ; but modern realism often considers experi- 
 ence as a continuous " stream of consciousness," in 
 which no quiet pool or wild cataract can be viewed as 
 final. 
 
 The episodes of mental and moral life may be less 
 easily examined than those of the outer history. In inter- 
 pretation of other individuals the novelist is liable to the 
 " psychologist's fallacy " of transferring his own experience 
 to his character. A clear image of the physical person- 
 ality and its activities helps to overcome this tendency. 
 
142 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 The life of the sensations is exhibited with marked emphasis in 
 Frankenstein, in a semi-scientific spirit. The word sensation itself 
 occurs some thirty times ; and the experiences of hunger, thirst, bodily 
 fatigue and pain, and consciousness of organic disturbance, are all 
 impressed upon the reader. 
 
 The conception that the emotional life is the true field 
 of the novel has not disappeared, but it is no longer held 
 with the old dogmatism ; and the emotion of love, in par- 
 ticular, is now viewed as only one of many aspects of 
 spiritual history the novelist is free to study. 
 
 Compare the quotations from Novalis and Madame de Stael, in the 
 history of novelistic criticism, in the appendix. In Silas Marner, love, 
 as a sexual passion, is less important than other phases of love and 
 other emotions. In many recent novels, the emotional struggle between 
 faith and doubt is a central theme. There are notable studies of this 
 subject in Anna Kardnina, Children of the Soil, and ValdeY La Fd. 
 Memory often has a large place in romantic psychology, especially in 
 the sentimental school. The reflective side of life is best exhibited in 
 the philosophical novel, as in Rasselas and Wilhelm Meister. 
 
 114. The Individual and Society. The relation of these 
 two forces may be interpreted as a natural harmony, an 
 unceasing conflict, or a necessary compromise. Not a few 
 novelists have been strong advocates for the rights of the 
 individual, not only against social conventions, but even 
 against moral law, as society has conceived it. The moral 
 isolation of the individual who rebels against the social will 
 is a frequent tragic theme, and the comedy of petty resist- 
 ance to social demand has been largely exhibited in fiction. 
 The moral isolation of all deep individual life, even when 
 it craves sympathy from its fellows, is a less common 
 theme. The lovers in a novel usually arrive at a fairly 
 complete understanding, as compared with those described 
 in Browning's Two in The Campagna : 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 143 
 
 "Just when I seemed about to learn ! 
 
 Where is the thread now ? Off again I 
 The old trick ! Only I discern 
 
 Infinite passion, and the pain 
 Of finite hearts that yearn." 
 
 The profound religious solitude of Levin, in Anna Kardnina, in refer- 
 ence to his wife, recalls the autobiographical confessions of the author. 
 Such a theme belongs mainly to nineteenth century fiction, but The 
 Princess of Cleves describes the emotional isolation of a husband and 
 wife, who are in complete mutual confidence and respect. In Robinson 
 Crusoe, it is interesting to note the large measure of social quality in the 
 mental life of the hero during his long period of physical solitude. Yet 
 in its way, this novel is a real and deep study of the " solitude of the 
 soul." 
 
 115. Human Nature. Humanity in its totality never 
 appears as a subject in art, unless in symbolical treatment, 
 which is alien to the spirit of the novel. Through the 
 imagery of limited social and historical conditions, all the 
 great novels exhibit and interpret the enduring elements of 
 human nature. In the first chapter of Tom Jones, Field- 
 ing tells the reader that the sole dish of the feast is to be 
 Human Nature ; but he adds that there is little danger 
 that an author will " be able to exhaust so extensive a 
 subject." 
 
 Comprehensiveness requires that the good and the bad, 
 the dignified and the trivial, the pleasant and the repulsive 
 qualities of our common nature be exhibited ; but usually 
 there is some central conception which serves as a guide in 
 interpretation. In most cases, such a conception is ethical 
 rather than purely artistic or scientific. Man may be 
 viewed as inherently bad, or warped from his natural 
 goodness by the force of unkind circumstances. Many 
 novelists delight to show human nature throwing off the 
 disguises under which society has endeavored to hide it. 
 
144 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 \J Often such broad qualities as restlessness, lack of self- 
 knowledge, or ironical divergence between ideal and 
 practise, are dominant notes in the conception. 
 
 116. Nature in Man. By nature, in this connection, is 
 meant a combination of qualities found in man, but asso- 
 ciated with his animal life, rather than with his humanity 
 proper, or with his supposed divinity. Nature, so inter- 
 preted, may appear in heredity, instinct, health or disease, 
 buoyancy or depression of spirits, and in the lower passions. 
 It may be exhibited in the individual or in social groups. 
 It is not identical with ferocity, for there is an animal 
 repose, temporary gentleness, which is often in striking 
 contrast to the restlessness of the intellectual life, and the 
 agonies of the saint's aspiration. The interpretation of 
 man as a child of nature may be optimistic or pessimistic. 
 Nature may be viewed as a force to be gladly accepted, as 
 the normal guide of life, or as the arch-enemy of the 
 rational and the religious ideal. 
 
 From Daphnis and Chloe to Pepita Jimenez, natural instinct has 
 often been approved by the novelist, as more authoritative than any prin- 
 ciple of self-denial. Since the Renaissance, the naturalism of Greek 
 culture, or even the uncultivated naturalism of the savage, has often 
 been considered more attractive than any form of asceticism. Within 
 the church itself, such conceptions as that of " muscular Christianity * 
 have offered a protest against the medieval praise of bodily morti- 
 fication. 
 
 Goethe's Wahlverwandtschaften is one of the famous novels in which 
 naturalistic philosophy is applied to the passion of love. On the other 
 hand, in George Eliot, a principal cause of moral mistake and crime is 
 the weak indulgence of natural instinct. Pater's Marius the Epicurean 
 is a notable exposition of the refined animalism of ancient philosophy. 
 
 117. External Nature. Some exhibition of natural 
 environment is essential to the illusion of an expanded 
 novel, for there is no representative individual or social 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 145 
 
 group whose life history is not partially determined by 
 such environment The human body itself is an object in 
 nature, and to a large extent the human mind is occupied 
 in observing, utilizing, and interpreting natural phenomena. 
 Language is constantly referring the reader, directly or 
 indirectly, to external nature. 
 
 In relation to man's moral life, nature may be considered 
 as helpful, hostile, or ironically indifferent. In one of 
 Matthew Arnold's sonnets, the idea of a moral companion- 
 ship with nature is treated with scorn : 
 
 " Man must begin, know this, where Nature ends ; 
 Nature and man can never be fast friends. 
 Fool, if thou canst not pass her, rest her slave." 
 
 To the novelist, as to the lyric poet, and to the essayist 
 Emerson, nature has often appeared as something illusive, 
 unresponsive, hindering rather than helping man's search 
 for reality and truth. 
 
 Important specific subjects in the novel are climate, animal life, and 
 landscape. The early forms of romance had their own types of land- 
 scape, in the main artificial and without basis in careful observation. 
 Artificial also, to a large degree, was the eighteenth century interest in 
 landscape gardening ; represented in the Spectator, though this journal 
 gave some foretaste of the romantic return to nature. The Gothic and 
 the sentimental schools developed new phases of the subject. In Sense 
 and Sensibility, Marianne says " admiration of landscape scenery is 
 become a mere jargon," and Edward adds, "I like a fine prospect, but 
 not on picturesque principles. I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted 
 trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight, and flourish- 
 ing," etc. (Chapter XVIII). This is presumably the sentiment of the 
 author. Mrs. Radcliffe was one of the early novelists to develop a treat- 
 ment of landscape in detail ; and since Scott prose fiction has elaborated 
 every phase of the subject, often beyond the point of plot-economy. 
 
 118. The Supernatural. In the novel, the supernatural 
 may be introduced in the structural values of character, 
 
146 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 background, motivation, or subject of conversation. It is 
 never a main theme in the realistic novel. 
 
 The lighter phases of mythology may be viewed as quite 
 remote from the serious consideration of theology. Fairies, 
 demons, ghosts, are usually treated in a fanciful rather 
 than deeply imaginative manner, in late fiction. The 
 Supreme Being, whether conceived as a personal God, or 
 as fate, force, or chance, cannot be considered by a true 
 artistic spirit, except in a reverent manner. 
 
 The life of man after death is a conception of deep 
 human interest, at least in so far as it affects the activities 
 and the thought of this life, and is therefore not alien to 
 the spirit of the novel. 
 
 The European novelist ought not to complain of lack of 
 variety in this subject of the supernatural. He is familiar 
 with the mythology of classical antiquity ; he finds ample 
 treatment of Gothic mythology in art ; he inherits the 
 ideas of Christian supernaturalism, and he may easily 
 explore the kindred ideas of uncivilized races. 
 
 Classical and Gothic mythology have appeared in prose fiction in 
 both a serious and a fanciful treatment, as they did in Shakespeare. 
 The modern novel has rarely if ever reembodied the primitive Germanic 
 religious ideas with the majesty or dramatic power of the Wagnerian 
 opera. A curious tribute to the occasional practical atheism of the 
 novel is quoted from a Comtist, in reference to The Princess of Cleves, 
 in an introduction to that fiction by Anatole France. 
 
 The treatment of the supernatural is often entirely 
 dramatic, the views belonging to the dramatis personae and 
 not to the author; the virtual subject being therefore man. 
 
 In Silas Marner, the theology of the characters is essentially different, 
 even in terms, from that of the novelist. It is only the characters who 
 refer to the Supreme Being as God, or Providence ; to George Eliot, the 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 147 
 
 idea is better expressed by such phrases as The Invisible, The Unseen 
 Love, etc. 
 
 For a discussion of the theology of modern English novelists, see 
 the volume by S. Law Wilson. 
 
 119. General Philosophy. The interpretation in a novel 
 may give a philosophy of separate subjects of society, his- 
 tory, nature, etc. or it may give a more general view of the 
 meaning underlying all these aspects of experience. Such 
 interpretation may be the real purpose of a novel, or it 
 may be incidental, perhaps unconscious. It may be in 
 solution, completely embodied in the warp and woof of the 
 illusion, or appear as outside exposition, in occasional com- 
 ment or in extended generalization. Consistency may per- 
 haps be expected from the author, but disagreement among 
 the dramatis personae may be a sign of true dramatic power 
 in the writer. 
 
 Masson writes : " In short, the measure of the value of 
 any fiction, ultimately and on the whole, is the worth of 
 the speculation, the philosophy, on which it rests, and which 
 has entered into the conception of it.' 7 (Page 33.) This 
 may seem to be a characteristic English emphasis ; but it 
 is in harmony with the view of at least one great French 
 critic. Edmond Scherer says that " philosophy is the real 
 final desideratum in a novel." 
 
 In practical analysis, the philosophy of a novel may be examined by 
 a comparison of all the stated or implied minor generalizations ; or by 
 finding the largest generalizations and following them out into details. 
 
 EXAMPLES AND STUDIES 
 
 In Voltaire 1 s Candide, compare the presentation of pessimism by 
 persiflage and by serious argument; by concrete example and by 
 .speculative idea ; negatively and positively. Compare the philosophy 
 in general with that of Rasselas. 
 
148 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In Wilhelm Meister, unify into a general philosophy the interpretations 
 of art, travel, culture, education, love, and religion. 
 
 Sense and Sensibility. The philosophy is mainly social. It is found 
 in solution, no single paragraph being entirely given to generalization. 
 Compare and unify the following views, and relate them to similar utter- 
 ances in the other works of the author : " Unlike people in general, she 
 proportioned [her words] to the number of her ideas " ; " an apparent 
 composure of mind, which in being the result ... of serious reflection, 
 must eventually lead her to contentment and cheerfulness " ; " almost 
 all labored under one or other of these disqualifications for being agree- 
 able want of sense, either natural or improved want of elegance 
 want of spirits or want of temper ; " " Lucy does not want sense, 
 and that is the foundation on which everything good may be built." 
 
 In Robinson Crusoe, there is considerable social and religious philos- 
 ophy, in solution, in the first two parts. Note the interpretation of 
 middle-class social position, of Providence, reason, industry, religious 
 toleration, etc. Compare this with the more expanded and direct 
 exposition of the third part. 
 
 In Ivanhoe, the philosophy is mainly historical. Compare the gen- 
 eralizations in the first five paragraphs ; in the first paragraphs of Chap- 
 ter VII ; in Chapter XIV, on the character of King John ; in Chapter 
 XXIII, on the manners and morals of the period. 
 
 In Silas Marner, the ethical and psychological facts of life are looked 
 at in a large way. The longest direct generalization is on religious 
 trust. Note also paragraphs in Chapters I, II, III, IX, and XVII. 
 
 N / 120. The Main Theme. Some rhetoricians have said 
 that the central theme was more obscure in narration than 
 in any other type of literary structure. It is often difficult 
 to give it a clear statement in the novel^ because it is so 
 thoroughly wrought into the general fiber of the action 
 and characterization. It is frequently obscure in romance, 
 but generally more clear in the short story. Sometimes it 
 is found in a motto, preface, moral, or epilogue. The main 
 theme may be more closely identified with the plot or with 
 the characters, with a single character or a group. It is 
 likely to be apparent at the principal turning-points of the 
 
SUBJECT-MATTER 149 
 
 plot, especially at the climax and catastrophe. In some 
 works of art, the central idea is virtually technical in spirit, 
 but in the novel it is usually on a broader basis, being 
 ethical, social, historical, or psychological in spirit. It may 
 be identical with the original germ, or define itself as the 
 process of composition proceeds. 
 
 A theme, like a plot, may be stated in various degrees 
 of abstraction ; and it is usually helpful to consider it in 
 direct relation to the individual work, and in comparison 
 with other works in which it is of similar value. 
 
 In Robinson Crusoe, the main theme may perhaps be stated as the 
 conquest of the individual over circumstances, through the power of 
 reason, patience, and reliance on Providence. 
 
 In Soil und Haben, the theme, stated concretely, is the moral excel- 
 lence of the German commercial character ; more abstractly, the moral 
 excellence of German national character ; still more abstractly (perhaps 
 beyond the conscious purpose of the author), the superiority of sane, 
 well-regulated life over the life of passion and capricious emotion. 
 
 In Wilhelm Meister, the education and self-culture of the individual, 
 through social experience and reflection, is one conception of the main 
 theme. In Romola, the contrast between self-indulgence and self- 
 renunciation, as moral habits, is at least a very important theme. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 STYLE 
 
 121. General Conception. For present purposes, three 
 of the numerous shades in the meaning of style may be 
 noted : 
 
 (1) The whole causal relation of the qualities in an 
 artistic structure to the mind of the artist the objective- 
 subjective bond. It is clear that in this sense every work 
 of art has style. 
 
 (2) Adequacy of expression. This is substantially the 
 idea in Spencer's principle of " economy," and is one com- 
 mon conception of a " good style." It does not necessarily 
 imply beauty or rarity of expression, for the mind expressed 
 may lack these qualities. 
 
 In this sense, style is of high excellence in Boccaccio, Cervantes, 
 Rabelais, Defoe, and Jane Austen ; less successful in Scott, Balzac, 
 Tolstoi, and Zola. It is often unattained in George Meredith, because 
 he fails to convey his ideas to the average reader, or to distinguish the 
 language of his characters from his own, as he apparently attempts 
 to do. 
 
 (3) Conscious adaptation of means to purpose. This 
 conscious control of the medium of expression may be 
 highly intellectual, critical, associated with the labor limes, 
 or more spontaneous. It is most naturally and most 
 severely tested in details, as commonly implied in the 
 phrase, "a great stylist." 
 
 In this sense, Goethe, Manzoni, Hugo, Flaubert, and Stevenson are 
 eminent stylists. 
 
 150 
 
STYLE 151 
 
 122. Objective and Subjective Aspects. The fully objec- 
 tive aspects of style appear directly in the external struc- 
 ture, and are readily distinguished from the author's 
 intention and the reader's interpretation. 
 
 The differences between vowel melody and consonantal friction, the 
 interrogative and the imperative sentence, or iambic and anapestic 
 rhythm, are external, and may be examined without reference to their 
 shade of meaning. (Compare the structural details noticed in Sections 
 8, 9, 19, 23-24, 2,^ passim in Chapter I.) Only when this meaning is 
 considered, does one pass into the study of style, properly speaking. 
 
 The frequency of such words as " fortune," " good-breeding," " gen- 
 tleman, 1 ' " manners," etc., in Jane Austen, suggests elegance as a quality 
 of her own mind. Defoe's itemized lists of articles, and his numerical 
 division of expository passages indicate concreteness in his observation 
 and thought. The elaborate divisions of the Come'die Humaine 
 paragraph, set dramatic speech, all kinds of document, part and book 
 are evidences of complexity in Balzac's own nature. 
 
 (See the footnote, page 24.) 
 
 But language is the most subjective of all artistic medi- 
 ums, except possibly musical sound, and it is convenient 
 to give a wider meaning to objectivity. Whatever values 
 are determined by a general social consent, as distinguished 
 from the individual interpretation of writer or reader, may 
 be considered as at least semi-objective. 
 
 In the sentence, " She's a very pretty, nice girl, isn't she, Nancy?" 
 the simplicity is fully objective clearly marked in vocabulary and 
 syntax ; the degree of pathos depends on the reader's power of memory 
 and imaginative association, with reference to the whole plot. In the 
 sentence, " All I say is, it's a lovely carkiss," the humor in the mispro- 
 nounced word and the unusual phrase appeals to the majority of 
 readers, as it did to the author. (Examples from Silas Marner, 
 Chapters XX and VI.) 
 
 123. Qualities of Style. The above analysis suggests 
 that the qualities most clearly stylistic are such as have 
 both objective and subjective significance. Ductility can 
 
152 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 be predicated only of matter, timidity, only of the mind ; 
 complexity and concreteness may appear both in the mate- 
 rial structure and in the mental attitude. 
 
 This distinction is blurred by the common application to the mind, 
 in a figurative sense, of qualities such as weight, color, and smoothness, 
 which refer in a literal sense only to matter. The analysis here in 
 question is a practical one, without attention to psychological subtlety. 
 
 For ordinary purposes, any quality of mind may be called stylistic 
 when it is revealed by the objective structure. Introspection is dis- 
 covered in George Eliot by such words as " memory," " consciousness," 
 " self-questioning," and " rumination " ; though language itself, viewed 
 as audible sound, is not introspective. 
 
 124. Types of Style. A fairly determinate combination 
 of qualities, characteristic of a certain source, kind, or 
 medium of expression, may be called a type. Types may 
 be based on forms of art e.g. architectural, literary; on 
 kinds of literature e.g. novelistic, epic; on rhetorical 
 form e.g. descriptive, narrative ; on schools or periods 
 in artistic history e.g. pseudo-classical ; on nationality, 
 race, or individuality. 
 
 Style is the immediate expression of an individual mind, 
 but the individual is always modified by the thought and 
 feeling of social groups, and is representative of human 
 nature in general. Some critics incline to limit the study 
 of style to the first of these values, but the wider view 
 appeals to those interested in the social meaning of art. 
 
 Some types of style having particular association, in various degrees, 
 with the history of fiction, are the Euphuistic, picaresque, Rabelaisian, 
 heroic, and naturalistic. Such broad types as the last, and the senti- 
 mental, pastoral, romantic, and realistic, may be studied with sole 
 reference to the novel, but they are really general aesthetic types, and 
 are often more profitably examined as such. 
 
 125. Value of Style in the Novel. Style in the first 
 sense given in Section 121 is worth careful study in any 
 
STYLE 153 
 
 great or widely representative novel; in the other and 
 narrower meanings, style is a very variable value in fic- 
 tion. On the whole, the novel has not been characterized 
 by such adequacy or conscious control in the details of 
 expression, as the drama, epic, or short story. The length 
 of the novel and its amorphous nature are somewhat 
 antagonistic to perfect, sustained correspondence of lan- 
 guage with delicate shades of thought and feeling. Such 
 intensive ideals of style, aesthetic or psychological, as those 
 of Poe or Professor Raleigh, 1 require the short story rather 
 than the novel for satisfactory embodiment. The frequent 
 mention of the laborious apprenticeship of Maupassant and 
 the strenuous efforts of Stevenson, possibly indicates the 
 rarity of such stylistic conscience in the field of fiction. 
 The value of style varies greatly in different national 
 literatures, as well as in individuals. In the main, French 
 and Italian fiction are of more eminent excellence, in this 
 respect, than English or German. 
 
 The numerous inconsistences in Cervantes, Rabelais, and Scott are 
 well-known. If Robinson Crusoe was really intended to be allegorical, 
 Defoe has not clearly impressed this idea upon the reader of the first 
 and second parts. Balzac, Flaubert, and Zola do not adequately carry 
 out in practise their ideals of realism. 
 
 In longer works, a frequent cause of imperfect style is radical change 
 of plan or extended interval during the course of composition. Com- 
 pare Don Quixote, Gil Bias, Joseph Andrews, Waverley, and Wilhelm 
 Meister. Spielhagen traces the tangled structure of Middlemarch 
 largely to the change of conception after the novel was begun, and 
 emphasizes the necessity and difficulty of keeping a single point of 
 view throughout a work. 2 
 
 Among novels in which style is of exceptional importance are Atala, 
 .Taras Bulba, La Peau de Chagrin, II Trionfo della Morte. Perhaps 
 d' Annunzio is the greatest living stylist in the domain of the novel. 
 
 1 See his monograph on Style. 
 
 * Technik des Romans ; Der Held im Roman. 
 
154 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 126. The Novelistic Type. The novel has always had 
 aesthetic enemies who have denied it any distinctive style ; 
 and its friends have not always offered a spirited defense. 
 For something like a century, however, serious criticism 
 has given the novel its own peculiar and respectable place 
 among literary types. According to Lanson, it became 
 a grand genre 1 in the early part of the last century. 
 
 The novel is sometimes considered as essentially de- 
 scriptive, sometimes as mainly narrative, and again as a 
 characteristic combination of descriptive and narrative 
 styles. Some of the best German and French critics 
 approach it as a species of the generic " epic " type. 
 
 Artand calls Ivanhoe " la veritable e'pope'e du moyen age," 2 and an 
 anonymous romanticist adds that "since Homer, the epic has been 
 given only three new forms, one by Dante, one by Ariosto, one by 
 Scott." 8 Compare Spielhagen : " Der historische und der moderne 
 Romane sind die beiden Erben des alten Epos ; " 4 other passages in 
 the same work, and in German aesthetics and poetics generally. 
 
 Many critics have defined the novel by comparison and 
 contrast with the drama ; and others note the frequent 
 inclusion of the lyrical spirit. (See the glossary, under 
 "lyrical.") 
 
 In a liberal interpretation of style, Clarissa might be analyzed as an 
 example of the dramatic type ; I Promessi Sposi, of the descriptive ; 
 Robinson Crusoe, of the narrative ; and Atala, of the lyrical. 
 
 127. Novelistic Qualities. Each important kind of 
 novel has some fairly determinate qualities of its own ; 
 as for example, elegance in the heroic romance, simplesse 
 in pastoral romance, weirdness in Gothic romance, and 
 democracy in the picaresque novel. 
 
 1 See the glossary. 2 Maigron, p. 150. 8 Ibid., p. 152. 
 
 4 Technik des Romans; Finder oder Erfinder. 
 
STYLE 155 
 
 In the following sections, no attention can be paid to these distinc- 
 tions, or to the fascinating study of style in the individual novel. The 
 aim is to examine such qualities as are historically found in the novel 
 as a generic type, or are emphasized in important theories of the novel. 
 The analysis may perhaps be suggestive of further study and more 
 satisfactory statement of results. 
 
 128. Comprehensiveness. According to Spielhagen, 
 "ist der epische Stoff unendlich," 1 and the novelist 
 should give the reader the " moglichst vollkommene Ueber- 
 sicht der Breite und Weite des Menschenlebens. " 2 Breadth 
 of view is to be found in the plot, characters, settings, and 
 generalizations. The Shakespearian drama is in some 
 respects not so all-inclusive as many of the great novels 
 of Europe. 
 
 Balzac includes almost every variety of document in the Come'die 
 Humaine ; Shakespeare is in the main limited to the epistolary form. 
 The dramatist gives a very restricted view of Christian thought, of 
 democratic ideals, and of the daily life of the common people. In the 
 last point, compare Fielding, or any picaresque novel ; in the matter of 
 religion, compare Wilhelm Meister, Robinson Crusoe, ValdeV La Fd, 
 Quo Vadis, or Callista. 
 
 The opposite quality of concentration is characteristic 
 of the lyric, and, to a great extent, of the short story. One 
 might turn to the latter as Wordsworth turned to the 
 sonnet, weary of the " weight of too much liberty ; " but 
 the amorphous freedom of the novel, though sometimes 
 offensive to creative or critical ideals, has, for centuries, 
 proved attractive to many minds desiring an expansive 
 mental outlook. 
 
 The novelist himself is usually extremely broad in 
 interests, ideals, and experience. As a class, novelists 
 have been men of the world, travelers, wide readers and 
 
 1 Technik des Romans; Das Gebiet des Romans. 
 
 2 Ibid. ; Novelle oder Roman. Compare his frequent use of " Totalitat." 
 
156 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 students, philosophers in spirit if not in accomplishment. 
 To no small extent the novel has resisted the modern 
 tendency toward specialization in science, art, and life 
 itself. The pure specialist would not and could not write 
 a great representative novel. 
 
 Balzac was interested in law, medicine, theology, music, journalism, 
 and politics. Examine the outer and inner history of Cervantes, Rabe- 
 lais, Fielding, Thackeray, and Tolstoi. Goethe is one of the most com- 
 prehensive minds of his century, and his novels are a logical part of 
 his self-expression. The women novelists of eminence Maria Edge- 
 worth, Madame de Stae'l, George Sand, George Eliot have been among 
 the most advanced minds of their time. 
 
 In breadth of knowledge and speculation, the philoso- 
 pher doubtless bears away the palm from the novelist. 
 Bacon, Humboldt, Lotze, Spencer, have no rivals in fiction, 
 so measured. Large knowledge of mathematics or of 
 natural science is rare in the novelists. On the other 
 hand, the novelist may often claim a wider experience 
 in personal emotion and passion, a broader domain of 
 natural and social imagery; and his world is always a 
 combination of observed and created data. 
 
 129. Objectivity. All style has a certain objectivity, as 
 noted in Section 122, but in a special sense this quality 
 is characteristic of the " epic " imagination, and of an 
 ideal of the novel which influences much theory and 
 practise. 
 
 The social sense in the novelist and the social element 
 in the novel itself, are related to this quality. Compara- 
 tively few great novels were written from purely lyrical 
 impulse from the mere craving for self-expression. The 
 sense of an audience has been strong in the history of 
 fiction, whether directly expressed, as in the phrase " gen- 
 tle reader" (centuries old), or implied in choice of subject 
 
STYLE 157 
 
 and treatment. In all novels the influence of the social 
 consciousness, in respect to time, place, character, man- 
 ners, and ideas, is incalculable. In personal life, the 
 representative novelist has been a considerable figure in 
 society. 
 
 Observation is another phase of the objective quality, 
 as it appears in the novel. Realism is concerned, for re- 
 ality is distinguished from unreality largely by the test of 
 objective value. 
 
 A sketch of the history of this quality in English fiction 
 might be interesting. The following are fragmentary 
 data. Impersonality is the dominant note from Morte 
 d' Arthur, with its epic tradition, to the middle of the 
 eighteenth century. In neither Euphues, Rosalind, nor 
 Jack Wilton does the author appear in propria persona. 
 Defoe has a remarkable power of close observation and 
 description, and of " self -estrangement " in narrative. Few 
 of the experiences recorded in Colonel Jacque, The Plague 
 Year, or Robinson Crusoe were part of his personal his- 
 tory. Richardson chose a form which naturally required 
 dramatic objectivity. Jane Austen is in many ways more 
 impersonal than Shakespeare, with whom she has been 
 compared. (As interesting exceptions, compare the transi- 
 tional sentence, "/ come now," etc., in Chapter XXXVI 
 of Sense and Sensibility, with the example noted in 
 Section 56.) 
 
 The influence of Fielding, Smollett, and Sterne was 
 largely in the opposite direction. The romanticists are 
 habitually lyrical, coloring their whole view of life by 
 personal experience, and the moods of their individual 
 temperaments. The realistic reaction has produced a 
 new phase of objectivity, more determined and conscious 
 than any that preceded. 
 
158 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Spielhagen lays frequent stress upon objectivity as an ideal. Com- 
 pare the essay on Objektivitat im Roman (Vermischte Schriften), and 
 numerous passages in the Technik des Romans. " Das Gesetz der 
 Objektivitat. Sie ist fur ihn [the novelist] das strikteste Gesetz." It 
 is not so important for the novelist, " dass die Welt ihn begreift, als 
 dass er die Welt begreift." A consistent objectivity is not easily at- 
 tained, in our introspective age, but the artist " strebt durchaus nach 
 Totalitat des Weltbildes." It is an insult to the reader to explain the 
 characters to him. (Compare Section 100.) 
 
 Verga is perhaps the greatest recent representative of realistic theory 
 and practise in Italy. Note the remarkable third paragraph of L 'Amante 
 di Gramigna: "Intanto io credo che il trionfo del romanzo ... si 
 raggiungera allorche I 1 affinita e la coesione di ogni sua parte sara cosi 
 completa che il processo della creazione rimarra un mistero, come lo 
 svolgersi delle passioni umane ; e che 1' armonia delle sue forme sara 
 cosi perfetta, la sincerita della sua realta cosi evidente, il suo modo e 
 la sua ragione di essere cosi necessarie, che la mano dell' artista rimarra 
 assolutamente invisible, e il romanzo avra Timpronta delP avvenimento 
 reale, e I 1 opera d' arte sembrera essersi fatta da s2, aver maturate ed 
 esser s6rta spontanea come un fatto naturale, senza serbare alcun punto 
 di contatto col suo autore," etc. 
 
 The above doctrine comes into apparent conflict with 
 impressionistic theory, represented in Henry James' defini- 
 tion of the novel as " a personal impression of life ; " 1 but 
 even in this conception it is an impression of life that is 
 desired, not an introspective view of the world within the 
 artist's mind. 
 
 130. Concreteness The novelist aims to produce an 
 
 illusion of life by means of "solidity of specification" 2 
 in vocabulary, characters, dialogue, settings, events, and 
 ideas. When he explores the territory of modern sociol- 
 ogy, psychology, or history, he finds himself in a region 
 of almost oppressive detail. It is partly this attention to 
 minute detail that suggests the satirical view of the novel 
 
 1 Art of Fiction. 2 Ibid. 
 
STYLE 159 
 
 as essentially feminine, or, as one critic states it, " gossip 
 ethcrealized." 1 
 
 The opposite quality of vagueness may be studied in the 
 ballad and the lyric. Classicism, with its preference for 
 type over individual, has never aided much in the develop- 
 ment of the novel. A mind primarily interested in the 
 abstract values of experience would not enter the field of 
 the novel with zest, or much probability of success. Emer- 
 son moves habitually from the concrete toward the abstract. 
 Bacon, in the Wisdom of the Ancients, changes semi- 
 novelistic material into anti-novelistic. Balzac "bodies 
 forth " his general ideas of life in what is perhaps the 
 greatest exhibition of individualized detail in the history 
 of art. (The detail of a great cathedral is immeasurable, 
 but much of it is typical.) 
 
 In vocabulary, an interesting comparison may be made between 
 Bacon's essay on Youth and Age, and the treatment of the same theme 
 in Silas Marner. 
 
 Bacon has many such expressions as settled business ; conduct and 
 manage of actions; consideration of means and degrees; powers of 
 understanding; virtues of the will and affections, etc. 
 
 In Silas Marner there are more than a score of expressions referring 
 to Eppie in which the adjectives "little," "small," or " tiny" are used 
 little one; like a small mouse; little naked foot; deep little puss; 
 etc. Note also the concreteness of many other phrases : a small 
 boy without shoes or stockings ; blond dimpled girl of eighteen ; face 
 now bordered by gray hairs ; a voice that quavered a good deal ; feeble 
 old man of fourscore and six ; simple old fellow, etc. 
 
 In characterization, compare the heroine of an Elizabethan sonnet 
 sequence with any novelistic heroine. In Astrophel and Stella, Stella 
 is not directly quoted at all, is described almost entirely in conven- 
 tional manner, and appears in only some half-dozen specific incidents 
 or settings. 
 
 Spielhagen expresses the relation between comprehensiveness and 
 
 1 Dallas : The Gay Science. 
 
160 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 concreteness as a " Widerspruch zwischen dem epischen Mittel der 
 konkreten Darstellung und dem unausrottbaren Zuge der epischen 
 Phantasie in das ... Grenzenlose." 1 
 
 131. Complexity. The novelist cannot lose himself 
 entirely in the outer world, like the scientist, or in the 
 realm of personal feeling, like the lyric poet. He must 
 combine these two regions of experience as best he may. 
 In novelistic form, the problem of synchronization, the 
 frequent changes from dramatic to non-dramatic structure, 
 and from the specific to the general, are among the com- 
 plicating elements. The hero of a representative novel is 
 more complex in character and experience than the average 
 hero of ballad or epic. In historical fiction, the twofold 
 consciousness of the present and the past is often 
 highly complex. Other aspects of this quality have been 
 suggested in the preceding chapters. 
 
 The great novelists have generally been individuals of 
 pronounced complexity, in nature or experience. This 
 seems particularly true of some of the Russian novelists 
 Gogol, Dostoyevsky, and Tolstoi among them. The man 
 of entirely "simple life" may possibly be a reader of 
 novels, but it is difficult to imagine him as an habitual 
 novel-writer. 
 
 The novel has flourished most in periods of complex 
 social life, when antagonistic currents of thought were 
 meeting, giving rise to social, ethical, and aesthetic prob- 
 lems. The origin of the form was in the sophism of 
 Greek decadence ; its second birth coincides with the 
 conflict of Renaissance and medieval spirit; its develop- 
 ment in the eighteenth century is related to the battles 
 of pseudo-classicism with romanticism, scepticism with a 
 
 1 Technik des Romans; Der Held im Roman. 
 
STYLE l6l 
 
 revival of faith, and monarchism with democracy; its 
 full fruition is associated with the complicated mental and 
 social life of our own era. In fact, the specific function 
 of the novel, according to many critics, is the portrayal, 
 possibly to some extent the solution, of the complexity of 
 modern experience, material and moral. 
 
 g* has been characteristic of more than one school of 
 novelists, but rarely if ever a true simplicity Pastoralism, as before 
 suggested, offers a good example of this distinction. 
 
 132. Secularity. If one considers the religious ten- 
 dency in its extreme form of asceticism, the secularity of 
 the novel is readily perceived. The priest is an important 
 character in fictions as various as Robinson Crusoe, Mrs. 
 Radcliffe's Italian, Romola, Barchester Towers, and Quo 
 Vadis, but the authors' interest in him is not mainly 
 religious, and he appears in a secular environment. The 
 language of intensely religious life may be introduced, but 
 it does not give dominant tone to any great novel. Even 
 in the "religious novel," the secularity becomes clearly 
 defined if comparison is made with such works as the 
 Apocalypse, Saint Augustine's Confessions, or the Imita- 
 tion of Christ. The Biblical fictions of Ruth and Esther 
 are surprisingly non-religious in tone ; the latter, so far as 
 direct evidence is given, being practically atheistic. 
 
 Both the cosmopolitanism and the nationalism of the 
 novel are quite independent of ecclesiastical interest. 
 The catholicity of fiction is that of general culture, or of 
 modern democracy; its patriotism is political, historical, 
 social, or aesthetic, rarely religious in any definite sense. 
 When the novelist has given an extended consideration to 
 the church, he has usually expressed little satisfaction in 
 
 1 See Matthew Arnold: On Translating Homer; Last Words. 
 
162 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 its concrete conditions, and has often been antagonistic to 
 its fundamental principles and purposes. This statement 
 does not imply that the novel is anti-religious, though this 
 is of course true in isolated cases. 
 
 The general secularity of the great novelists as individuals and of 
 the chief periods of novelistic activity requires no discussion. Spiel- 
 hagen gives a vigorous summary of the whole matter: the novelist 
 occupies a position "auf dieser unserer Erde, der festgegrlindeten, 
 dauernden, die nicht eine Vorstufe des Himmels odcr der Holle ist, 
 sondern der Grund und Urgrund, aus dem unsere Leiden und Freuden 
 quellen, das Rhodus, auf dem wir tanzen miissen, es tanze sich gut oder 
 schlecht." * 
 
 133. Humor. This quality is perhaps logically de- 
 duced from objectivity plus comprehensiveness. The 
 tragic depends largely on concentrated intensity, and 
 subjective attitude toward life. It is hardly possible for 
 a normal mind to conceive the general course of society 
 as entirely tragicparicl personal tragedy becomes less em- 
 phatic by contact with broad impersonal interests. The 
 existence of morbidly tragic fiction may be explained by 
 temporary social or individual conditions, rather than the 
 essential nature of the novel. Many of the great novelists 
 have been masters of humor, and few of them have lacked 
 a decided alloy of the quality. 
 
 In the novelistic structure, the looseness of form, the 
 trivial details in dialogue, settings, and incident, the great 
 variety of interests and of aesthetic values, are causes or 
 results of humor. A sharp separation of the tragic and 
 comic is less frequent than in eighteenth century drama, 
 and the interweaving of the two is generally less formal 
 than in Shakespearian drama. Humor is often essential 
 to the production of realistic illusion, and an important 
 
 1 Technik des Romans; DasGebiet des Romans. 
 
STYLE 163 
 
 agent in unifying the entire plan of a novel. It may 
 appear in the characters themselves ; or, as in Fielding 
 and Thackeray, largely in the author's personal attitude. 
 
 The modes of humor, in a generic sense, may vary from 
 caricature, through wit, satire, and irony, to a general 
 sanity of view. Its relations to pathos have been fre- 
 quently studied in criticism. 
 
 Caricature is common in Smollett and his disciple Dickens ; wit is 
 characteristic of Lyly and George Meredith ; satire, of a savage type at 
 times, may be studied in Swift and Gogol; irony is characteristic of 
 Fielding, Jane Austen, and Thackeray; sanity of view is well repre- 
 sented in Trollope and Howells, among the realists, and in Scott, among 
 the romanticists. The humor that is akin to pathos is familiar in Cer- 
 vantes, Sterne, and Goldsmith. 
 
 vi34. Ideality. All artistic narrative must be imagina- 
 tive to an appreciable degree, but the novel is ideal 
 primarily because it is fictitious narrative. 'Pure observa- 
 tion or logical induction from observation could never 
 produce any novel : there must be strong persistent 
 momentum toward the creation of character and incident 
 in order to fashion a worthy novel. Genius is the first 
 divinity in Fielding's invocation. (Tom Jones ; XIII, i.) 
 
 ,On the other hand, even in the wildest romance, the 
 foundations are in reality, and the relations of the imagi- 
 native to the real offer a fascinating study in every fiction. 
 Idealization assumes many forms selection or re-combi- 
 nation of real data ; creation of ideal individuals modeled 
 upon real types ; allegory, symbolism, etc. Ideality may 
 be studied in every element of the novel, from the single 
 effect to the plan as a whole. Perhaps the plot is the 
 most satisfactory basis for a single general test of the 
 imaginative power. (Compare Section 43.) 
 
1 64 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In Silas Marner, the coming of Eppie is a more imaginative type of 
 incident than the conversation at the Rainbow. Probably nowhere 
 else in fiction, and so far as the author knew, never in real experience, 
 had a waif child come from its dead mother to a lonely workman. A 
 group of country laborers conversing at the village inn, on the contrary, 
 is a common scene in life and in art. Of course this episode is highly 
 imaginative in details of individual character and speech. 
 
 In Robinson Crusoe, the footprint on the sand is probably a unique 
 single eifect ; and the detailed picture of Robinson's homemaking is 
 remote from anything Defoe had observed or read. The general con- 
 ception of a man left alone for years on an island far from civilization 
 was given to Defoe by another writer. 
 
 In Ivanhoe, the tournament, the castle siege, and the life of Robin 
 Hood's band, in their general idea, are not proof of great imagination 
 in the author. Of the visit of Richard to Friar Tuck, Scott himself 
 says, " The general tone of the story belongs to all ranks and all coun- 
 tries " ; * and he refers to his own particular model. 
 
 The distinction between imagination and fancy was 
 elaborated by Coleridge and his contemporaries. 2 Of the 
 two, imagination is the main expressive quality in all great 
 novels, but the fanciful may serve as a decorative element, 
 and add much to the total interest. 
 
 In Silas Marner, the description of Eppie's wedding dress, the picture 
 of Nancy on horseback, and the dialogic form of Godfrey's argument 
 with Anxiety might be called fanciful. There is comparatively little 
 fancy in Jane Austen, but much in The Castle of Otranto. The charac- 
 ters of The Gold-bug are mainly imaginative, but some of the incidents 
 are fanciful. To many readers, much of the figurative language of 
 George Meredith shows the caprice of pure fancy. 
 
 135. Force. Objectively, this quality may appear in 
 nature, man, or the supernatural ; revealing itself either in 
 activity or in endurance. Respecting rhetorical form, it is 
 apparent in rapidity of narration, vigor of description, and 
 
 1 Introduction of 1830. 
 
 a See Professor Cook's edition of Leigh Hunt's What is Poetry ? 
 
STYLE 165 
 
 intensity of lyrical feeling. In spite of Goethe's theory 
 of a passive hero for the novel (see Section 82), there 
 are many examples of notable activity. The actions of a 
 dramatic hero may reveal a greater intensity, but range 
 and duration of achievement are other elements to be 
 examined. 
 
 Hamlet breaks a woman's heart, awes his mother, escapes from 
 pirates, and kills his enemies. Robinson Crusoe makes a fortune, 
 destroys wild beasts, domesticates others, forms many new acquaint- 
 ances, travels in three continents, founds a miniature state, converts 
 savages, and saves his own soul. He is in most respects much more 
 a master of circumstances than Hamlet, Macbeth, or Othello. 
 
 In the novelist himself, force is necessary for the large 
 plan of a work, and still more for the laborious execution. 
 A weak or impatient mind could not complete a long and 
 complicated novel ; much less such extended series as the 
 Waverley Novels or the Comddie Humaine. In many 
 novelists moral force appears also in antagonism to social 
 evils and in ideals of social reform, or in earnest devotion 
 to high conceptions of art. 
 
 136. Other Qualities. Many other qualities may be 
 desirable in the novel for example, elegance and clear- 
 ness without being essential to its type. Figures of 
 speech may be studied, as in other forms of literature, but 
 they seem to have less characteristic significance for the 
 novel than for the epic and lyric. 
 
 In all dramatic structure, propriety is obviously an essen- 
 tial quality. Comment on its violation, in both epistolary 
 and dialogic form, has been previously given. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 
 
 137. Value of the Study. Some critics give little atten- 
 tion to the process by which a work of art comes into 
 existence ; others consider this one of the most important 
 matters in the study of an art, even for those who do not 
 practise it. As a typical process, the composition of novels 
 throws light on the general nature of artistic creation, and 
 is a fascinating phase of the imaginative effort of the 
 mind, in its entirety. In an individual novel, many struc- 
 tural details cannot be understood fully, and the examina 
 tion of style cannot be satisfactory, without some knowledge 
 of the evolution of that particular novel. 
 
 Critics who are also novelists Scott, Spielhagen, 1 an<i 
 Zola, for example and all critics with deep psychologi- 
 cal interest naturally incline to emphasize the creative 
 process. 
 
 138. The Data for Study. External data are to be 
 found in prefaces, letters, and other biographical and auto- 
 biographical records. The internal data are often less 
 tangible, and close scrutiny may be required before a true 
 interpretation can be given. Evidences of alteration of 
 plan, rapid or labored writing, inspiration or fatigue, and 
 detailed revision, however, are sometimes quite apparent. 
 
 1 See his essay, Finder oder Erfinder, in the Technik des Romans. This 
 essay suggests that aesthetics has not given sufficient attention to the process 
 of composition; and it discusses several of the topics noticed in the present 
 chapter. 
 
 1 66 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 167 
 
 For a thorough study, one would naturally select a novel 
 that represents an extended process, of which a fairly full 
 history is accessible. For practical method, the student 
 may examine the internal evidence, and then compare it 
 with the external, or vice versa. He may follow, so far as 
 possible, the actual process of the author, or endeavor to 
 trace the evolution of the novel backward from the com- 
 pleted form to the original starting-point. 
 
 Many novelists, especially in recent years, have given the student 
 confidential knowledge of their methods. Much valuable material is 
 to be found in the autobiographical writings of Goethe, Scott, George 
 Eliot, Trollope, and Stevenson. See also the bibliography, under 
 Besant, Cody, Henry James, Frank Norris, and W. E. Norris. 
 
 139. The Germ of the Work. The original conception 
 of a novel may be small or large, vague or definite, subjec- 
 tive or objective. It may be still dominant in the com- 
 pleted work ; but the process of composition is so complex 
 that the first idea is often greatly transformed, and scarcely 
 discoverable by internal evidence. It may be possible to 
 state clearly whether the novel began with character, set- 
 ting, incident, or theme. The " plot-germ," in a technical 
 sense, is not necessarily the original point in the design as 
 a whole. Again, the first impulse may be awakened by 
 literature, personal experience, present or past, or by 
 observation. 
 
 In the novel, as contrasted with the short story and 
 particularly with the lyric, the typical origin would seem 
 to be in some real sense, objective. A pure lyric often 
 originates in a vague subjective mood, emotional or even 
 sensational according to Wordsworthian formula, in the 
 " spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings." The ideal 
 origin of a song is perhaps a mood of purely rhythmical 
 
1 68 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 impulse, without definite content of any kind. Some 
 weight of intellectual substance and some outline of con- 
 scious design generally accompany the first conception of 
 a novel. The romance may often resemble the lyric. 
 
 Theory and practise do not always agree, but both 
 should be studied. Brunetiere 1 believes that a novel 
 should begin from an insistent internal idea, and the 
 materials in which to embody the idea should be found 
 later. In more detail, he gives three desirable origins for 
 a novel a story to tell ; a character seen ; a psychologi- 
 cal analysis. 2 Poe's idea that a composition should origi- 
 nate in the catastrophe may doubtless be exemplified 
 from the novel, but seems more generally applicable to 
 the short story. (Compare Section 80.) The germinal 
 idea of a sonnet is often found in the last lines. 
 
 The origin of Waverley is given by Scott, in the preface of 1829: 
 "My early recollections of the Highland scenery and customs made so 
 favorable an impression in the . . . i Lady of the Lake,' that I was in- 
 duced to attempt something of the same kind in prose. I was acquainted 
 with many of the old warriors of 1745 and it occurred to me that the 
 ancient traditions and high spirit of a people, who, living in a civilized 
 age and country, retained so strong a tincture of manners belonging to 
 an early period of society, would afford a subject favorable for romance." 
 The origin of many of the other Waverley Novels is given in Scott's 
 various introductory comments. 
 
 George Eliot gives the origin of Silas Marner in a letter to Black- 
 wood, February 24, 1861 : "It came to me quite suddenly as a sort of 
 legendary tale, suggested by my recollection of having once, in early 
 childhood, seen a linen-weaver with a bag on his back." This seems 
 like a lyrical germ, and it is interesting to note the author's tendency 
 toward a metrical version of the story. The germ of Adam Bede is given 
 in the journal entry for November 16, 1858. Romola originated in the 
 visit to Florence, in 1860. (For the history of these and other novels 
 see Cross' Life.) 
 
 1 Roman Naturaliste, p. 122. x Ibid., p. 115. 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 169 
 
 Fielding began Joseph Andrews as a parody on Pamela. Serious or 
 satirical imitation of other fictions is a typical origin for the novel. 
 Pepita Jimenez was suggested by a reading of the Spanish mystics of 
 the seventeenth century. The Castle of Otranto originated in a dream. 
 Frankenstein was a deliberately planned ghost story, due to a social 
 " group-impulse. 11 Werthermzy be considered as originally a kind of 
 lyrical confession. D'Azeglio's Ettorre Fieramosca was suggested from 
 a painting by the author. Compare some of the poems of D. G. Ros- 
 setti. The practical impulse which produced Rasselas was Johnson's 
 purpose to pay his mother's debts and funeral expenses. 
 
 140. The Plan. The completed plan of a novel in- 
 cludes all the relations of dramatis persona?, plot, settings, 
 and subject-matter, the shaping of the language, and the 
 method of external division. For a lyric, the entire plan 
 may spring into being almost instantaneously. After some 
 practise in sonnet-writing, the outline of a whole sonnet, 
 and a distinct thought, image, or shade of feeling for each 
 structural division, may appear together. In the novel, 
 this is practically impossible. While a general plan for 
 the whole work may often be coincident with the germinal 
 idea, many of the details must wait until the actual process 
 of execution has determined them. Nor is it probable that 
 many novelists have made out even a complete general plan 
 before beginning to write, as Rossetti is said to have done, 
 in prose, for the House of Life. 1 Often the first general 
 design undergoes great changes after the novel is partly 
 written. 
 
 Scott's introductory matter furnishes many examples of general 
 design. He seems to have had a fairly definite plan for most of the 
 single novels, and for small groups, but never a completely unifying 
 plan for the Waverley Novels as a series. The general design of The 
 Monastery was " to conjoin two characters in that bustling and con- 
 tentious age, who, thrown into situations which gave them different 
 
 1 Spielhagen notices this matter ; Technik des Romans, p. 30. 
 
170 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 views on the subject of the Reformation, should, with tihe same sincer- 
 ity and purity of intention, dedicate.dhemselves, the one to the support 
 of the sinking fabric of the Catholic Church, the other to the establish- 
 ment of the Reformed doctrines." |(Introduction of 1830.) This ele- 
 ment of conscious contrast is conspicuous in Scott's original plans. (For 
 alteration of first designs, see Introductions to Guy Mannering, 1829, 
 and Redgauntlet, 1832.) 
 
 George Eliot first thought of making Adam Bede one of the Scenes 
 of Clerical Life. She afterwards "began to think of blending this 
 [story of the executed woman] and some other recollections of my aunt 
 in one story, with some points in my father's early life and character. 
 The problem of construction that remained was to make the unhappy 
 girl one of the chief dramatis personae, and ;connect her with the hero 
 . . . the scene in the prison being, of course, the climax towards which 
 I worked." Dorothy Brooke was the original heroine of Middlemarch, 
 which was first called " Miss Brooke." The Mill on the Floss began 
 publication as " Sister Maggie." 
 
 One of the largest designs in the history of fiction is found in the 
 Comedie Humaine. An extended exposition of it is given in the preface 
 to the Peau de Chagrin, 1842. 
 
 The general plan of Pepita Jimenez was a " representation of this 
 divine ardor [religious mysticism] brought face to face with an earthly 
 love and worsted by it." (See Gosse's introduction to English trans- 
 lation.) So stated, the design is not an uncommon one. The original 
 plan which resulted in Taras Bulba was to write histories of Little 
 Russia and the Middle Ages. (Waliszewski.) Silas Marner was begun 
 without definite plan for its length, and Ettorre Fieramosca, without idea 
 how it would end. 
 
 141. The Sources. The materials for a novel maybe 
 mainly in the mind of the novelist when the original plan 
 is made, or they may be sought for afterwards. The im- 
 mediate sources are always closely related to the personal- 
 ity of the author; the ultimate sources are social, and may 
 be very difficult to trace. 
 
 In most novels there is an intricate mingling of the more 
 subjective and the more objective materials. Romance 
 may be largely subjective, but for the novel proper, the 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 171 
 
 canon of objectivity (see Section 129) demands extended 
 observation of the outer world. Subjective material may 
 belong to recent experience, or to remote memory ; but 
 memory allowed to dominate could not produce a repre- 
 sentative novel Few great novels could be adequately 
 described as "emotion recollected in tranquillity." The 
 creative element is always essential, and may be con- 
 sidered as belonging to the subjective material. 
 
 Observation takes many forms. The source of much 
 material for the novel is in literature itself in biography, 
 history, essay, novel, and drama. 
 
 George Eliot gained a part of the Jewish material for Daniel 
 Deronda, and some of her knowledge of inundations for The Mill on 
 the Floss, by vigorous search of libraries. While Scott's theory of his- 
 torical composition was that a period already familiar to the novelist 
 should be chosen, he apologizes for the errors in Anne of Geierstein on 
 the ground that he was away from his library. (Introduction of 1831.) 
 The fcource of the main theme of Ivanhoe the contrast of Celt and 
 Saxon was in an obscure drama, Logan's Runnimede. The novel- 
 ization of dramas has been much less common than the opposite 
 process. 1 
 
 Consultation with other persons has been a source of 
 material in many novels. 
 
 Scott observed and questioned many representatives of an earlier 
 generation, for legendary matter and local manners. Gogol consulted 
 his mother for peasant material, and Pushkin was indebted to his old 
 serf nurse for national songs and traditions. George Eliot sought pro- 
 fessional advice regarding the legal element in Felix Holt. 
 
 Travel, whether for general purposes or for the sake of 
 an individual novel, has long been a common method of 
 obtaining materials. 
 
 1 Professor C. F. McClumpha gives an extended comparison of Greene's 
 Alcida and Lyly's Love's Metamorphosis, on which it was founded, in The 
 Minnesota Magazine for October, 1899. 
 
172 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Browning's life of George Eliot mentions her visits to Cambridge, 
 Oxford, and Florence as yielding new fabric for novelistic weaving. 
 Scott records that his trip around the coast of Scotland, in 1814, was 
 for the purpose of gathering data for the Lord of the Isles, with a view 
 to prose fiction also. (Introduction to The Pirate, 1832.) 
 
 That method of observation which takes the form of 
 very exact intellectual attention to details reportage is 
 condemned by more than one critic. 
 
 Brunetiere writes : l " L'observation devient moins large a mesure 
 qu'elle devient plus exacte, plus precise, plus microscopique et, par con- 
 sequent, a mesure, s'e'loigne da vantage de la nature meme et de la ve'riteV' 
 Lanson comments on the note-taking habits of the Goncourt brothers 
 and Daudet. Scott in general followed an older method the method 
 which produced the Duddon River sonnets of Wordsworth "It was 
 not the purpose of the author to present a landscape copied from nature, 
 but a piece of composition, in which a real scene, with which he is already 
 familiar, had afforded him some leading outlines." (Introduction to 
 The Monastery, 1830. Compare Section 84.) 
 
 Many writers agree that the principal characters of a 
 novel are often modeled after real persons, but many also 
 insist that the ultimate portrait should bear slight resem- 
 blance to the original. Novelists have frequently com- 
 plained of the too curious attempt of readers to trace back 
 the artistic result to the real source. 
 
 As early as 1754, Sarah Fielding vigorously objected to this habit, 
 and, a century later, Spielhagen criticized the same false tendency. 
 Scott and Hawthorne received rebukes from persons connected with the 
 real models for certain idealized characters or places. Probably the 
 novelist is sometimes at fault, especially in the eighteenth century, when 
 " secret histories " and caricature of contemporaries were so common. 
 
 Among famous characters based to some degree on real models, out- 
 side of historical fiction, are Robinson Crusoe, Pamela, Amelia, The 
 Vicar of Wakefield, Meg Merrilies, Jeanie Deans, and Dinah Morris. 
 
 1 Roman Naturaliste, p. 129. 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 173 
 
 142. The Time Perspective. Poe's theory for the ideal 
 short story, based on his general lyrical conception of art, 
 was that it should be written at a single sitting. The 
 novel more often has the contrasted interest of a prolonged 
 process. Probably few of the world's greatest novels have 
 occupied less than a year, from original plan to publica- 
 tion. Literature does not demand a difficult physical 
 execution, and it cannot rival the dignity of dramaturgy, 
 painting, or sculpture in this respect. Even the time 
 given to the Come'die Humaine sinks into insignificance, 
 compared with that required for the construction of 
 great cathedrals. 
 
 The rate of composition varies not only for individual 
 novelists, but for individual novels and passages. George 
 Eliot wrote the eighth chapter of Amos Barton at a sitting, 
 but at Dresden she produced little more than eight hun- 
 dred words a day on Adam Bede. There may possibly 
 be danger that too much time spent on a single work may 
 destroy the subtle unity of emotional tone ; but on the other 
 hand, a long process of thought may strengthen the 
 intellectual unity of structure. Scott defends rapid com- 
 position : 
 
 " The best authors in all countries have been the most voluminous. 
 . . . The works and passages in which I have succeeded, have uni- 
 formly been written with the greatest rapidity ; . . . the parts in which I 
 have come feebly off, were by much the more labored." (Introductory 
 Epistle, Fortunes of Nigel.) 
 
 The testimony of the author himself is not always final authority. 
 Beckford records of Vathek : " It took me three days and two nights of 
 hard labor. I never took my clothes off the whole time." But Gar- 
 nett, in the introduction to his edition of Vathek, shows that the actual 
 time, including the revisions, was a matter of years instead of days. 
 
174 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 EXAMPLES 
 
 Adam Bede: story told by author's aunt, about 1840; retold to 
 Lewes, and he suggests it is good material for fiction, December, 1856 ; 
 writing begun, October 22, 1857 ; Chapter XIII finished, February 28, 
 1858 ; Vol. I finished in March ; Vol. II begun about the middle of 
 April ; Chapter XVIII completed, May 15 ; Chapter XX, May 26 ; the 
 fight " came to me as a necessity," May 30 ; Chapter XXI, June 10 ; 
 Chapter XXV, July 7 ; Vol. II finished, September 7 ; Chapter LII 
 finished, October 29 ; work finished, November 16 ; published (de- 
 layed on account of Bulwer's What will He do with It ?), February, 
 1859. Silas Marner : original conception, November, 1860; sixty 
 pages, November 28 ; 230 pages, February 15, 1861 ; finished March 10. 
 
 Wilhelm Meister Lehrjahre : planned in 1775; begun and Book I 
 finished, 1777 ; Books II and III, 1782 ; Book IV, 1783 ; Book V, 1784 ; 
 Book VI, 1785; some work done, 1786; finished and published, after 
 interval of no work, 1796. Wanderjahre: short stories written or 
 collected, 1794; work finished and published, after some years of labor, 
 1829. 
 
 Rasselas : the evenings and nights of a single week. Castle of 
 Otranto: about two months. Pamela : three months. Robinson Cru- 
 soe: April, 1719 to August, 1720 (planned long before). Gulliver: 
 "probable that the composition extended over a good many years" 
 (Gosse). Don Quixote : many years. Waverley : begun and a third 
 of first volume written, 1805; laid aside; last two volumes written in 
 three weeks, 1814. Gil Bias : 1715 to 1735. 
 
 143. Technic of the Process. Many of the great novel- 
 ists from early times have had a lively interest in the 
 technic of their art, but recently there has been unusual 
 emphasis laid on the necessity of technical mastery. 
 Such statements as the following are not exceptional : 1 
 
 Walter Besant : " For every art there is the corresponding science 
 which may be taught." Cody : " This foolish dictum . . . that < the best 
 writers believe that the art of fiction cannot be taught or analyzed.' " 
 Frank Norris : " Even a defective system is at any rate, in fiction 
 better than none." 
 
 1 These quotations arc from works listed in the bibliography. 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 175 
 
 With the idea of technic is associated the idea of labor. 
 Many novelists and critics would agree in the main with 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, that the " dignity of a work of art 
 depends on the amount and quality of mental labor em- 
 ployed in its production," 1 etc. 
 
 Balzac, Trollope, Spielhagen, and Howells are all exponents of the 
 doctrine of labor, both in their theory and their practise. Trollope 
 affirms, " there is no way of writing well, and also of writing easily." a 
 Spielhagen says the germinal idea of a composition may be the gift of 
 the gods, but after that, the rule is " diligence, diligence, diligence." 3 
 
 The labor of the novelist, roughly stated, consists in 
 planning, executing, and revising. The relations of these 
 three processes, in sequence and in amount, vary of course 
 with every novel. In general, it is probable that the 
 execution consumes more time than the other two tasks. 
 The fact that there is no artistic physical process may be 
 considered either an advantage or a disadvantage. 
 
 Spielhagen traces four steps in the composition of a 
 novel. 4 
 
 The attention to technical details is often larger than the average 
 reader might suppose. Richardson was fully conscious of the problems 
 of epistolary form. Scott gave thoughtful consideration to such matters 
 as titles, mottos, an$ dialogic connectives.) George Eliot was well 
 aware of the " two plots " in Middlemarch. The treatment of the chapter 
 as a perfectly distinct unit is carefully analyzed by Frank Norris. This 
 last critic agrees substantially with Poe, in a general formula for the 
 technical process " in a phrase one could resume the whole system of 
 fiction-mechanics preparation of effect." 
 
 The search for the mot propre on the part of certain French realistic 
 " artists " is an exacting one. Manzoni spent considerable time in im- 
 proving the dialect of I Promessi Sposi. The extensive revisions of 
 
 1 Opening of Fourth Discourse. 
 
 2 Barchester Towers, Vol I, Chapter XXX. 
 
 8 Technik des Romans, pp. 25, 33. * Ibid., p. 29. 
 
176 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Balzac after "copy" was sent in, were a terror to the printers. Scott 
 gave relatively little labor to revision. (See his general introduction to 
 the Waverley Novels, 1829.) 
 
 The method of publication may be worthy of note in many cases. 
 For some interesting details, see Cross 1 Life of George Eliot. Among 
 long and notable fictions first appearing as periodical serials, are Anna 
 Kardnina and War and Peace. 
 
 Other literary undertakings are frequently on hand while a novel is 
 being written. George Eliot writes of Silas Marner as " thrusting itself 
 between me and the other book [Romola] I was meditating." 
 
 The practical phases of mechanical method the time chosen for 
 writing, the physical environment preferred, the use of stimulants, the 
 preparation of copy, etc. have their interest, and may at times be 
 worth examination, in connection with the psychology of composition. 
 
 144. Psychology of the Process. The writing of a novel 
 may always be viewed as an artificial process, to some 
 degree, and it may involve considerable change of con- 
 sciousness in the author. Robiati 1 distinguishes the 
 " artistic personality " from the " human." It is said that 
 professional humorists are often sedate or even melan- 
 choly persons when free from literary pressure; and 
 Mackenzie, the author of one of the most lacrimose of 
 English fictions, was known as a cheerfully social being 
 in private life. 
 
 Some critics find in this transformation of the writer's 
 mind a tendency toward the abnormal, or even the patho- 
 logical. Nordau, in Degeneration, includes several novel- 
 ists among his studies of literary degenerates. Rousseau 
 had a theory that the novel in general was the product of 
 degenerate conditions, and Carlyle at times held with more 
 or less seriousness the idea that silence was an eminent 
 characteristic of perfect sanity. 
 
 In such authors as Swift, Gogol, Maupassant, and Nietzsche, the 
 question merges into the larger one of the general relations of genius 
 
 1 II Romanzo Contemporaneo in Italia. 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 177 
 
 and insanity. There are many less tragic examples of abnormal con- 
 dition associated with literary labor. Scott was seriously affected by 
 the excitement and fatigue of composition. Beckford states that the 
 labor on Vathek made him " very sick." Cross, in his Life of George 
 Eliot, speaks of Romola as " ploughing into " the author, and her own 
 summary is, " I began it a young woman I finished it an old woman." 
 In spirit if not in letter, some of the greater novelists might describe 
 their masterpiece as 
 
 " . . . il poema sacro, 
 Al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra, 
 Si che m' ha fatto per piu anni macro." l 
 
 Even the " cielo," broadly interpreted, is not always inappropriate to 
 the novelist. Flaubert's "art was his religion." (Lanson; Gilbert.) 
 Of the failure to combine the secular duty with the religious aspiration, 
 George Eliot speaks bitterly, in Silly Novels by Lady Novelists : " as 
 a general rule, the ability of a lady novelist to describe actual life and 
 her fellow-men is in inverse proportion to her confident eloquence 
 about God and the other world, and the means by which she usually 
 chooses to conduct you to true ideas of the invisible is a totally false 
 picture of the visible." 
 
 During composition, a novelist may be conscious of his 
 material, form, or purpose ; of the reader or of himself. He 
 may concentrate his mind on one of these interests as a 
 central point, or wander unsteadily from one to another. 
 Completely developed realistic theory allows the author 
 scarcely a standing-place, in his private personality. He 
 must either lose himself in his characters and plot, or hold 
 aloof from them, as impartial philosopher or pure " artist." 
 These views of the relation of a novelist to his work sug- 
 gest an interesting comparison with theories of histrionic 
 art. 
 
 The following notes may indicate the vast variety of 
 data which could easily be collected on the matter of the 
 author's center of consciousness (compare Section 129): 
 
 1 Paradise, XXV, opening lines. 
 
178 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Compare the use of the word " puppet " for the dramatis personae, 
 with the statement that to Balzac his characters were " more real than 
 persons of flesh and blood." 
 
 Scherer gives as the essence of George Eliot's method, "artistic 
 inspiration, rapid work, and sense of compulsion." The last element 
 is often mentioned as an essential in true artistic creation. Novelists 
 also note that the unexpected is to be expected. 
 
 Zola's theory of plot-composition as a kind of scientific experiment. 
 
 According to Spielhagen, the novelist should work in an atmosphere 
 of "ruhige Objektivitat." 
 
 Scott testified that he "repeatedly laid down . . . future work to 
 scale, divided it into volumes and chapters," etc., but that when the 
 creative fever developed, he abandoned conscious plan for spontaneous 
 imagination. 
 
 Gilbert: 1 " Le grand dogme du rdalisme c'est Pimpersonnalitd " 
 (p. 161). "L'art pour Tart" is discussed in Gilbert (pp. 122, 162), 
 and Lanson 1 (p. 998). 
 
 George Eliot is severe on those novelists who embody personal 
 experience in their work, without great transformation. (Lady Nov- 
 elists.) 
 
 Cody: 1 " Self-consciousness during writing is most dangerous. No 
 better way of escaping it than by a rigorous course of self-conscious 
 preparation " (p. 40) . 
 
 Frank Norris : r " The moment, however, that the writer becomes 
 really and vitally interested in his purpose, his novel fails." But if the 
 purpose is part of the general philosophy of the novelist, it is not easily 
 escaped. Gilbert notes that the theme of Madame Bovary is almost an 
 idee fixe " toujours la disproportion entre le reve et Pexistence." 
 
 Trollope criticizes the Radcliflfian habit of mystification, and gives 
 his own doctrine, " that the author and the reader should move along 
 together in full confidence with each other." (Barchester Towers, Vol. 
 I, Chapter 15.) 
 
 The preceding paragraphs consider composition mainly 
 from a statical point of view. It is much more complex 
 when viewed as a continual though irregular development. 
 It is doubtless impossible for any one not a novelist to 
 
 1 Reference is to works listed in the bibliography. 
 
THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION 179 
 
 realize this aspect of composition adequately. Theoreti- 
 cally, some important phases of development are new con- 
 ception or observation, selection, contraction, expansion, 
 verification, movement from the concrete to the general 
 and vice versa, analysis and synthesis. The largest func- 
 tion of synthesis is to unify the entire plan of the novel. 
 The introduction of every new element modifies the value 
 of all that precedes, and partially determines all that fol- 
 lows. 
 
 Rejection of much material is imperative. Only a small part of what 
 is conceived or imagined is embodied in the novel. In the words of 
 Walter Besant, " thousands of scenes which belong to the story never 
 get outside the writer's brain." (Compare Section 44.) 
 
 Expansion may appear in simple enlargement of plan, or in increased 
 seriousness of purpose. In writing Joseph Andrews, Fielding largely 
 outgrew his original idea of parody. In Don Quixote, " Cervantes set 
 out to write a comic short story, and the design grew under his hand 
 until at length it included a whole Human Comedy." (Fitzmaurice- 
 Kelly.) 
 
 In genuine artistic composition, there is probably marked 
 development of illusion. Yet the process may be compli- 
 cated throughout by changes from imaginative warmth to 
 cold-blooded critical scrutiny and verification. In histori- 
 cal fiction, there is the special problem of subordinating 
 the contemporaneous sense to the historical imagination. 
 To the layman, illusion seems more imperative in some 
 elements than in others. It is difficult to conceive success- 
 ful conversation written without a lively sense of its reality, 
 but a fairly good description of character or landscape might 
 be achieved simply by force of will. 
 
 The psychology of composition is so closely connected 
 with style that it may often be advisable to combine the 
 two into one topic of study. 
 
180 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 145. Collaboration. 1 In the usual sense of the word, 
 collaboration is less common in the novel than in the 
 drama. Any form of plot-literature, however, is better 
 adapted for cooperation than the lyric, in which the unity 
 is so personal and emotional. Literature does not offer 
 the spectacle of a combination of artists, one producing the 
 mental plan, others undertaking the physical execution, as 
 in dramaturgy, architecture, and orchestral music. 
 
 Examples of novelistic collaboration occur in some works of Steven- 
 son, in the Erckmann-Chatrian partnership, and in the frequent prac- 
 tise of Dumas pere. 
 
 Collaboration in the form of consultation, or in the unin- 
 vited assistance of individuals or the public, is not uncom- 
 mon. (Compare Section 141.) The publisher often has 
 some influence on the composition of a novel. Occasion- 
 ally the reading public has influenced alteration of titles 
 or catastrophes. 
 
 Pushkin suggested subjects and titles to Gogol. Of Dead Souls the 
 author says : " Pushkin was its inspiration ; and to him I owe the idea 
 and plan." All the copy was submitted to him. 2 Goethe undertook 
 the Wanderjahre upon the advice of Schiller. Oroonoko is said to have 
 been suggested by Charles the Second. George Eliot records the 
 influence of Lewes' advice, sometimes in considerable detail. 
 
 146. Fragments. The study of a fragment, whether it 
 is a continuous part of the text, or composed of discon- 
 nected portions, or mere notes, has special interest in rela- 
 tion to the process of composition. Stevenson left some 
 interesting fragments, and Hawthorne's Dolliver Romance 
 and Septimius Felton make valuable studies of this kind. 
 Note also, Dead Souls, Edwin Drood, and Pausanias. 
 
 1 See the essay by Brander Matthews, The Art and Mystery of Collaboration, 
 in The Historical Novel ; and Walter Besant's article in The New Review. 
 
 2 Turner, p. 162 ff. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE SHAPING FORCES 
 
 147. General Conception. Purely aesthetic criticism may 
 perhaps neglect the causes that produce a novel, ex- 
 cept the individuality of the author, but to historical and 
 sociological criticism these are very important interests. 
 While it is impossible to attain complete scientific analysis, 
 it is always possible to reach some definite results, and 
 speculation as to probable influences at least develops an 
 intimacy with the novel and the environment in which 
 it appeared. In many cases specific lines of influence may 
 be traced, as in the imitation of incident, character, or 
 style in one novel from another ; but often one must rest 
 satisfied with more vague conception of large moral and 
 social forces, moulding the general spirit of a work. The 
 influences most readily perceived are not always the most 
 significant. 
 
 The immediate cause of every novel is the author as an 
 individual, through whom all other forces operate, modified 
 by his character and art. The more remote causes include 
 national and racial spirit, the Zeitgeist, and human nature 
 in general. The author is not necessarily conscious of the 
 chief influences shaping his novel, whether they belong 
 within his own individuality or outside it. Often, however, 
 he is fully aware of them, either allowing them complete 
 sway, or vainly striving^to escape them. A reaction against 
 a force is one form of the effect of that force, and examina- 
 
 181 
 
1 82 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 tion of literary revolt affords good opportunity for a study 
 of this principle. Few of the early realists, for example, 
 escaped a considerable influence, in this manner, from the 
 romantic movement. 
 
 The modern Russian novelists seem at times to have an almost morbid 
 sense of nationality and race. American novelists are aware of the 
 national quality in certain types of humor, and in materialistic tendency. 
 It is possible that the moral hate of injustice, the vvilfulness, and the 
 temperamental melancholy in Thomas Hardy are more racial than he 
 himself recognizes. Probably the critics of the present day see more 
 clearly than the authors saw, the influence of early evangelical belief 
 on George Eliot, and of Puritan inheritance on Hawthorne. 
 
 148. The Data. The present study involves a com- 
 parison of the content and form of a novel with the nature 
 of the forces known or supposed to influence it. The 
 greater the intimacy with the novel, the greater probability 
 of correct tracing of influences, provided that too minute 
 analysis does not destroy general impressions of moral and 
 mental tone. On the other hand, the deeper the acquaint- 
 ance with the shaping forces, as they operate in all do- 
 mains, the greater the probability of discovering their effect 
 on an individual novel. Familiarity with the process of 
 composition, and with the author's outer and inner history 
 is clearly requisite. Often the author's own testimony 
 yields direct evidence of influences not otherwise easily 
 detected. The histories of fiction record innumerable ex- 
 amples of the specific influence of one novel or school 
 of novelists on another. Criticism often points out the 
 exact source of details in character, incident, motivation, 
 syntax, rhythm, and vocabulary. Some definite formulas 
 of inheritance have long been established for the greater 
 novels of Europe, but in few cases has the study been 
 exhaustive. There may be a fresher interest, at times, 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 183 
 
 in the examination of a novel whose lineage is still prob- 
 lematic. 
 
 As suggested in the preceding section, one outside the immediate 
 field of a given influence may sometimes note its working more clearly 
 than one within that field. The student may do well to consult Eng- 
 lish criticism for the French quality in Balzac, French criticism for the 
 Russian element in Gogol, etc. But there is also a particular interest 
 in tracing the effect on the novel, of forces which are daily moulding 
 one's own ideas and emotions. 
 
 149. Individuality of the Author. In comparison with 
 a lyric, a novel usually embodies the general, persistent 
 temperament, character, and philosophy of the author. 
 These influences are perhaps seen most clearly in generic 
 type of subject and in major modes of treatment the 
 specific themes and the details of form may change with 
 the passing years. Capacity for large generalization, im- 
 aginative power, optimistic or pessimistic tendency, sanity 
 or morbidity, misanthropy or warm human sympathy, in- 
 tellectual or emotional emphasis, and similar characteristics, 
 if not innate, are generally well determined by the time a 
 great novel is produced. These qualities of character have 
 intimate relation to temperament, and temperament under- 
 goes no radical change during a lifetime. A great novel 
 is rarely written before an accumulation of experience so 
 large that little less than a catastrophe can essentially alter 
 its complexion ; or before the method of reaction upon 
 experience is well established. 
 
 Sterne was personally melancholy, abstracted, nervous, "indulging 
 in tears as a habitual luxury 1 ' (Masson). The essential unity of Tol- 
 stoi's character can be traced throughout his writings. Great as are 
 the differences between Werther and Wilhelm Meister, both reveal the 
 artistic temperament, the apostle of culture, and the devotee of intel- 
 lectual calm. Newman became a Catholic in middle life, and his novels 
 were written after that change of position ; but throughout life he was 
 
1 84 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 deeply religious, conservative, speculative, and gifted with unusual his- 
 torical imagination, reverence, and analytical power. The sensitive, 
 impressionable nature of George Eliot, her profound ethical quality, her 
 pessimism, are far deeper than any difference between orthodox belief 
 and positivism. 
 
 The following are examples of individuality in formal details 
 whether permanent or episodic in the author: Fogazzaro, use of the 
 leit-motif (Robiati) ; Hugo, use of the rhetorical short paragraph (see 
 also Hennequin) ; George Eliot, semi-quotation ; Bunyan, numeri- 
 cal division of expository passages (in Defoe also, perhaps from Bun- 
 yan's influence) ; Fielding, interruption of long episodic narrative by 
 exciting incident in main narrative. See also the footnote, p. 24. 
 
 150. The Author's Age. A great lyric may be written 
 at an advanced age, but the lyric-writing habit has rarely 
 been formed, with successful result, after youthful years. 
 Few of the great novels have been the work of men or 
 women under twenty-five, and in not a few cases successful 
 novel-writing began in middle life. 
 
 If the recent advice of an American medical expert had been fore- 
 seen and adopted, the world would have lost some of the masterpieces 
 of fiction. Goethe wrote fiction from 25 to 79; Hugo, from 21 to 75 ; 
 Dickens, from 22 to his death at 58. George Eliot began at 38 ; Rich- 
 ardson at 51 ; Balzac began at about 20, achieved success at 30, and 
 continued till his death at 51. 
 
 The development of technical mastery in the course 
 of a long career is to be distinguished from the general 
 maturing of character ; with which, however, it is associ- 
 ated. The changes produced by age can be studied in 
 Werther and Wilhelm Meister. Some types of romance, 
 as well as the short story, are more akin to the lyric than to 
 the novel, and offer abundant opportunity to examine the 
 influence of youth in prose fiction. 
 
 The following arrangement of data is suggestive : Pickwick was 
 written at 24 ; Castle Rackrent, 35 ; Eugenie Grandet, 35 ; Vanity 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 185 
 
 Fair, 36 ; David Copperfield, 37 ; Vicar of Wakefield, 38 ; Soil und 
 Haben, 39 ; I Promessi Sposi, 40 ; Tom Jones, 42 ; Waverley, 43 ; 
 Tristram Shandy, 46-54 ; La Nouvelle Hdloise, 44-48 ; Cloister and 
 Hearth, 46 ; Anna Kardnina, 47 ; Pilgrim's Progress, 50 ; Middlemarch, 
 51; Robinson Crusoe, 58; Don Quixote, 58-68; Clarissa, 60; Les 
 Mise'rables, 60 ; Wilhelm Meister, 28-79. 
 
 151. Sex. It has been said that true genius partakes 
 somewhat of the qualities of both sexes, or in a man- 
 ner transcends sex. The novel, however, is hardly the 
 best form of expression to exemplify these tendencies. 
 Its intense humanity, its complex exhibition of emotion, 
 thought, manners, relations of the individual to society 
 and to nature, are continually inviting the author to reveal 
 the sex point of view. Perhaps the greater novelists are 
 less conscious of sex than of nationality and humanity ; 
 while a conscious attempt to escape the emphasis of sex 
 is characteristic of talent rather than genius, and cannot 
 be entirely successful. 
 
 Richardson is an eminent example of feminine quality in man ; while 
 his critical enemy Fielding seems anxious to fortify the masculine posi- 
 tion. Fielding's disciple, Thackeray, is also consciously hostile toward 
 the effeminate. In the ideal of " muscular Christianity, 1 ' partly a reac- 
 tion from the asceticism of the Oxford Movement, the masculine note 
 is prominent. Some of George Eliot's early reviewers conceived her 
 as a man, but more penetrating criticism discovered the characteristics 
 of the woman. 
 
 It is often said that woman is especially fitted for the 
 novelist's function, by her power of minute observation, 
 strong sense of satire, her interest in love, and tendency 
 toward a personal and emotional view of life. Whether 
 these are considered as advantageous, or truly novelistic, 
 will depend on one's theory of the novel. Some of the 
 qualities of novelistic style given in Chapter VIII belong, 
 in the layman's psychology, to the masculine mind. In 
 
1 86 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 the general history of the novel, the main lines of develop- 
 ment, both in subject and form, have been initiated by 
 men ; though later modifications of importance have been 
 made by women. 
 
 Certain types of fiction are more natural to woman than others. She 
 has attained great success in the novel of manners, " domestic satire," 
 and in some kinds of psychological analysis. In historical romance, her 
 tendency is to modernize and subjectify individual character and social 
 tone. Few of the greater Utopian, political, or allegorical fictions have 
 been written by woman, and she has probably produced no masterpiece 
 in the recent symbolistic movement. 
 
 The romance of chivalry, pastoral romance, and the picaresque novel 
 were organized and mainly developed by men. Their era, however, 
 was before a general entrance of woman into prose literature. The 
 initiative value of The Princess of Cleves, Jane Austen's novels, and Jane 
 Eyre is large. In English fiction, Walpole is credited with the creation 
 of Gothic romance, though Mrs. Radcliffe and Mrs. Shelley produced 
 more perfect specimens. Historical romance, of the general type of 
 Scott, is traced back to Leland, though Miss Reeve's Old English 
 Baron came long before Waverley. On the other hand, the origin of 
 the "humanitarian novel" is attributed to Mrs. Behn, of the "society 
 novel" to Miss Burney, and of the "international novel" to Miss 
 Edgeworth. (Cross.) Women novelists have often exerted strong 
 influence upon their brothers, a familiar example being found in Scott's 
 indebtedness to Mrs. Radcliffe and Miss Edgeworth. 
 
 152. Personal Episode. The author's temporary con- 
 dition, as related to the concrete process of composition, 
 has been noticed in Chapter IX. Looked at in a larger 
 way, the lives of most novelists show distinct psychological 
 episodes, based on physical, artistic, or ethical conditions, 
 which have appreciable influence on their works. An im- 
 portant change in mental attitude may be unconscious, or 
 it may be due to deliberate purpose. It may coincide with 
 outward changes in domestic and social environment, or be 
 more purely an inward experience. There are episodes 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 187 
 
 of health, disease, convalescence, of faith and doubt, of 
 expansion and contraction, for the individual as well as for 
 social groups. In some cases one can discover a kind of 
 irregular rhythm in the moral life, akin to the alternation of 
 romantic and realistic impulse. 
 
 The major episodes may often be identified with the 
 " manners " of an author. These may be distinguished 
 by choice of subject, dominant interest, or stylistic and 
 structural method. 
 
 Lanson l distinguishes the four manners of George Sand as follows : 
 (i) lyrical and rebellious spirit, interest in love; (2) more objective 
 quality, socialistic, the religion of humanity ; (3) rustic painting, pro- 
 duction of the masterpieces of the genre idyllique in French fiction ; 
 (4) period of the grandmother tales, the public treated like a child. 
 Brander Matthews gives a clear summary of the development of manners 
 in Scott. Scott himself notes the deliberate change of manner in St. 
 Ronan's Well ; a change which was severely criticized, and brought 
 forth the judgment that the great wizard had "written himself out." 
 
 In the central part of the nineteenth century, a common 
 phenomenon in fiction is decided change from romantic 
 to realistic faith at times an almost violent reaction, and 
 frequently accompanied by critical attack on the old prin- 
 ciples, and defense of the new. This transfer of allegiance 
 is marked in Gogol, Galdos, and Bjornson. In the later 
 years of the century, somewhat similar changes are ad- 
 vance from realism to naturalism ; or reaction from realism 
 to idealism, in the form of historical romance, contem- 
 porary character studies, or symbolism. Occasional epi- 
 sodic return to romanticism on the part of the habitual 
 realist is the rule rather than the exception. 
 
 153. National and Racial Influences. Criticism recog- 
 nizes the difference between the racial and the national 
 
 ^.982. 
 
1 88 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 epic, and this distinction may be applied to the novel. In 
 general tendency, however, the epic is more racial, the 
 novel more national. The era of the true epic was before 
 the modern nation and the modern sense of nationality 
 were fully developed. Racial influence in literature may 
 be considered deeper than national influence more emo- 
 tional, physical, lying nearer the "elemental man" but 
 for that reason, generally less conscious. 
 
 The history of the novel shows no national " schools " 
 comparable in compactness and uniformity with the 
 schools of painting. Yet there have been groups of 
 writers approaching the unity of a national school; for 
 example, the Italian novelists of the Renaissance, the 
 eighteenth century English realists, and the Russian socio- 
 logical novelists of the last century. In the individual 
 novelist, national consciousness has often been pronounced ; 
 appearing in enthusiastic patriotism, antagonism to other 
 nations, or the spirit of reform. 
 
 Comparison of critical estimates of national character 
 furnishes a natural basis for the study of national influence. 
 A few examples may be given, with suggestions of appli- 
 cation to individual novels : 
 
 English: "Energy with honesty" (Matthew Arnold) ; "void of the 
 sentiment of the beautiful . . . more apt for the sentiment of the true " 
 (Taine) ; practical efficiency (Emerson). Robinson Crusoe, Middle- 
 march, or Barchester Towers. 
 
 French: Lucidity and strong social sense (Brunetiere) ; < the English 
 novel lives by character, the French by situation' (Garnett). La 
 Princesse de Cleves, Cinq-Mars, Candide. 
 
 German : " Steadiness with honesty . . . the idea of science govern- 
 ing all departments of human activity" (Matthew Arnold) ; 'the 
 material, awkward, rather coarse Germanic point of view German 
 exactness' (John Van Dyke) ; "a breed absorbed in detail and minute 
 observation" (Fitzmaurice-Kelly). Soil und Haben. 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 189 
 
 Italian : ' What is not refined is not Italian . . . love of perfect form 
 and artistic finish ' (Garnett) ; " preferring . . . the sensuous to the 
 ideal " (Symonds) ; " la spontaneita del genio greco-latino si rebella ad 
 un lavoro minuzioso di analisi, esigenti profondi studii e larghe cogni- 
 zioni. . . . Uno dei caratteri piu generali e piu salienti del mondo 
 latino odierno e la smania di vivere, di godere" (Robiati). II Trionfo 
 della Morte. 
 
 Russian : " Tolstoi is essentially a Russian writer, sharing the gen- 
 eral mental quality of his country, of which one characteristic feature 
 consists in the inability to bring its beliefs and feelings into harmony " 
 (Waliszewski) ; "the heroes of our most remarkable poems and 
 romances one and all suffer from the same malady, the incapacity of 
 recognizing any aim in life, any worthy motive for activity " (Dobro- 
 louboff, quoted in Turner). Anna Karenina, Smoke, Dead Souls. 
 
 Spanish : " On the one hand empty honor, careless cruelty, be- 
 sotted superstition, administrative corruption, and on the other sobriety, 
 uncomplaining industry and cheerful courage" (Matthews) ; "no lit- 
 erature has so completely a national character " (F. Schlegel) ; " essen- 
 tially chivalric " (Sismondi) ; " complete synthesis of gravity of matter 
 and gayety of manner " (Coventry Patmore) . Don Quixote, Pepita 
 Jimenez. 
 
 There are few great novels which do not show the in- 
 fluence of more than one nationality. The history of 
 fiction is largely a study of international relations. For 
 European fiction in general, there have been periods of 
 Italian, Spanish, French, and English supremacy. The 
 spirit of the novel could say with Browne, in the Religio 
 Medici, " all places, all airs, make unto me one country." 
 Some degree of cosmopolitan influence belongs to the 
 essential nature of certain types of fiction pastoral and 
 Utopian romance, the romance of chivalry, and the mod- 
 ern "international novel" being examples. A kind of 
 pseudo-cosmopolitan spirit has been criticized in recent 
 years, and contrasted with the truth of fidelity to national 
 ideals, and with the picturesque reality of local color. 
 
190 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 A study of great historical and political interest is found in the na- 
 tional modification of general European aesthetic movements. Pseudo- 
 classicism was essentially French, but it underwent local variation in 
 England, Russia, and Scandinavia. Romanticism was an essentially 
 Germanic movement, and while it exerted great influence in Russia and 
 Italy, it was not fully at home in those countries. Karamzin was a 
 disciple or imitator of Richardson, Sterne, and Rousseau, but "the 
 romantic element in [Russian] literature was of necessity borrowed, 
 and could not be self-created " (Turner). Foscolo imitated Werther, 
 and Manzoni imitated Scott, but " the romantic school is at variance 
 with all [Italian] literary traditions and . . . canons of taste" (Garnett). 
 Garnett suggests that the lack of Gothic architecture in Italy may be 
 a cause of anti-romantic quality in the literature. 
 
 The influence of race, like that of nationality, varies 
 with industrial, political, and religious conditions. Race 
 consciousness is probably deeper in some races than in 
 others. In modern fiction it seems particularly strong in 
 the Slav, the Jew, and the Scandinavian. Recent politi- 
 cal and commercial movements have developed a new 
 type of Anglo-Saxon race spirit, which has its record in 
 fiction. In these large social fields, as well as in the indi- 
 vidual life, " consciousness of kind " is often aroused or 
 intensified by antagonism to another kind. 
 
 Race consciousness is clearly defined in Gogol, Tolstoi, Sienkiewicz, 
 Bjornson, and Zangwill. In Balzac it seems almost entirely obscured by 
 the national. 
 
 Complex intermingling of the two forms of influence 
 is abundantly exemplified in fiction. In America there 
 is a general sense of the triumph of political unity over 
 racial diversity. Continuity of race under very differ- 
 ent political conditions may be studied by comparing the 
 early Greek romances with the modern, the sagas with the 
 Weird Tales of Jonas Lie, the novels of " Old Spain " with 
 those of Spanish-American countries. 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 191 
 
 Many novelists have been influenced by foreign residence. Compare 
 the native and the Parisian influences in Kielland, Turgenieff, and 
 Henry James. The mixture of European and African blood in Dumas 
 and in Pushkin invites the curious scientific student to investigate the 
 twofold influence in their fiction. 
 
 154. Linguistic Influence. The general nature of lan- 
 guage modifies the expression of the novelist, limiting it in 
 some directions and expanding it in others. As a thinker, 
 the novelist meets the same difficulty as essayist or phi- 
 losopher in finding language forms for complete and exact 
 embodiment of general ideas ; as an artist, his descriptive 
 imagery, his narration, his dialogue are inevitably moulded 
 by the linguistic medium. The imperfect plastic quality 
 of language calls for great labor or great genius in the 
 representation of delicate shades of emotional experience, 
 individual or social, contemporaneous or historical. 
 
 This influence is more marked in connection with spe- 
 cialized forms of language. Some scholars find the lan- 
 guage to be the essential bond of national unity ; dialect 
 is an inviting but at the same time a resisting medium ; 
 the distinctions between literary and colloquial language, 
 academic and uncultured, courtly and plebeian, are readily 
 traced in the fiction of Europe. 
 
 Theoretically, the ideal language for the novel proper 
 may be characterized as modern, without too much tradi- 
 tional influence, complex in its sources, flexible in adapting 
 new elements, possessed of a prose form free from melodic 
 and rhythmical emphasis, highly specialized for different 
 social groups and mental tones, and already tempered for 
 the novel by master hands. The qualities adapted to the 
 short story and the romance are somewhat different 
 
 These conditions are not met with equal success by the present 
 languages of Europe. Greek is perhaps too reminiscent of the classical 
 
192 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 period, and has not yet known the transforming power of a great novelist : 
 Italian is too traditional, too conscious of Latin inheritance and of 
 Dante, too desirous of formal perfection ; 1 Spanish and French proba- 
 bly show too much influence from academic authority. German and 
 English possibly " American English " in particular seem, in theory, 
 to be among the most novelistic of the great living tongues of the 
 Occident. 
 
 In any form of plot-literature, more values can be pre- 
 served in translation than is possible in lyric poetry. The 
 large objective picture of manners, the external relations 
 of the dramatis personae, the outline of plot-structure, etc., 
 may be transferred from one language to another without 
 great loss ; but lyric grace, the atmosphere of mental moods, 
 the connotation of dramatic speech, and the harmonies of 
 language are entirely altered in translation. From the 
 reader's point of view, that language is most novelistic 
 which is most familiar and most habitually associated with 
 his daily experience. 
 
 It is said that English translations of French translations of Russian 
 novels are very remote from the linguistic atmosphere of the original. 
 It would be difficult to conceive d' Annunzio writing in English, or 
 Fielding in Italian. Criticism has suggested that George Eliot would 
 have found German a better medium than English for her philo- 
 sophical ideas. Latin, historically if not inherently, is one of the least 
 novelistic of languages. If northern Europe had rested satisfied with 
 Utopia, the Iter Subterraneum, and Argenis, there would have been 
 little hope for Robinson Crusoe, Wilhelm Meister, or Dead Souls. 
 Even the influence of Latin on other languages may injure realistic 
 illusion, as in the heroic romance, and in Rasselas. 
 
 1 D' Annunzio, in the preface to II Trionfo della Morte, while recognizing 
 the inadequate expressive power of the modern Italian novelist, defends the 
 language itself: "dico che la lingua italiana non ha nulla da invidiare e nulla 
 da chiedere in prestito ad alcun' altra lingua europea non pur nella rappre- 
 sentazione di tutto il moderno mondo esteriore ma in quella degli ' stati d' ammo ' 
 piu complicati e piu rari in cui analista si sia mai compiaciuto da che la scienza 
 della psiche umana e in onore." 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 193 
 
 155. Literary Influence. Though the novel, in its best 
 examples, is modeled in large measure directly from life, 
 its general development has been influenced by most of 
 the other types of literature, and there are few individual 
 masterpieces in which both remote and immediate literary 
 influence may not be profitably studied. A grouping of 
 these types arranged approximately according to increas- 
 ing degree of influence upon the Stoffgeschichte and 
 Formgcschichte of the novel, might appear somewhat as 
 follows : 
 
 (1) The lyric, the ballad, satirical, descriptive, and pas- 
 toral poetry. The medieval ballad literature is causally 
 related to the romance of chivalry and the prose saga ; the 
 revival of ballad spirit, and the development of a school of 
 landscape poetry in the eighteenth century are intimately 
 associated with the romantic movement in prose fiction ; 
 the relations of verse pastoral to pastoral romance are 
 readily traced. 
 
 (2) Philosophy, science, criticism, the essay. The scien- 
 tific spirit is not only influential on the realism and natural- 
 ism of the nineteenth century, but is clearly represented in 
 the voyage imaginaire of the Renaissance, as in The New 
 Atlantis and Cyrano de Bergerac's Etats et Empire de la 
 Lune, and in the reactionary views in Gulliver. The politi- 
 cal philosophy of Plato had direct influence on Utopian 
 fiction, and that of Rousseau on the " revolutionary novel," 
 as in Caleb Williams. Positivism guided the ethical spirit 
 of George Eliot, and materialism of a later date, with evo- 
 lutionary doctrine, have almost created as well as controlled 
 the school of Zola. By way of reaction, idealism, even 
 mysticism, are now having their turn. ^Esthetic criticism 
 in general, and criticism of the epic, drama, and novel in 
 particular, have always exerted considerable influence. 
 
194 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 The Renaissance theories of epic poetry were partially followed in 
 heroic romance, and had a definite place in the conception of the novel 
 held by Fielding and his contemporaries. ./Esthetic theory largely 
 shaped the pastoral romance, and all later embodiments of the " art for 
 art's sake " doctrine. See also the prefaces of Bulwer Lytton for appli- 
 cation of broad aesthetic principle to the novel. 
 
 (3) The spirit and method of journalism have had a general influ- 
 ence on much modern fiction, and are the immediate ancestors of the 
 roman feuilleton and the novel of "reportage" 
 
 (4) The relations of the drama and the novel are noticed in the 
 chapter on Comparative Esthetics. The Sir Roger de Coverley papers 
 may be considered as transitional from the " character " to the complete 
 novel. 
 
 (5) The short story of the Renaissance type has fur- 
 nished the novel with many situations and germs of plot ; 
 the short story of the last century has probably aided the 
 development of unity, clear structure, and finished style in 
 the novel. Romance has influenced the novel by way of 
 reaction, and every type of novel has had its dynamic rela- 
 tions to all its contemporaries and successors. Religious 
 literature, including the Bible, has been a shaping force in 
 early " spiritual romance," and in didactic allegory. 
 
 The reading of the early church fathers probably suggested Callista 
 to Newman. D 1 Annunzio urges that in order to improve their style the 
 Italian psychologists " debbono ricercare gli asceti, i casuisti, i volgariz- 
 zatori di sermoni, di omelie e di soliloquii." x 
 
 See also the note on Pepita Jimenez in Section 139. 
 
 Particularly concrete study of the relation of cause and 
 effect is possible in the case of direct imitation, as in parody 
 and burlesque. 
 
 Compare the romance of chivalry with Don Quixote; the heroic 
 romance with the pseudo-heroic Female Quixote ; and the parodies of 
 Thackeray with their original models. 
 
 1 Preface to II Trionfo della Morte. 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 195 
 
 An important influence is often exerted after a long 
 period, either directly or through a series of intermediary 
 works. 
 
 Tristram Shandy is greatly indebted to the Anatomy of Melancholy. 
 Fielding was a master of Thackeray. Greek romance is one ances- 
 tor of heroic romance. Don Quixote was a general model for Dead 
 Souls. The following long line of inheritance is given in Matthews's 
 Historical Novel : Lazarillo and Guzman, Lesage, Smollett. Dickens, 
 Bret Harte, Kipling. Another interesting chain given in the same 
 work, though not long in time, is, Turgenieff, Henry James, Bourget, 
 d' Annunzio. A sequence little suspected by the casual reader is the 
 Adelphi of Terence, Shadwell's Squire of Alsatia, The Fortunes of 
 Nigel. 
 
 156. Historical Influence. While all forms of human 
 expression are influenced by the Zeitgeist, Robiati calls the 
 novel "the form of art which most resembles the time 
 in which it is produced." An earlier and more cautious 
 writer l considers it as " perhaps the most complete expres- 
 sion of the moral and social state of an epoch and a coun- 
 try." Every great movement in the history of fiction, 
 though modified by race and nationality, is one phase of a 
 general cultural episode in modern civilization. 
 
 The rationalism and pseudo-classicism of the eighteenth century ap- 
 pear in essentially the same manner in the fiction of Russia, Scandina- 
 via, and Holland, as in the major literatures of the period. Royce, in The 
 Spirit of Modern Philosophy, associates the idealistic philosophy of 
 Germany with its literature of the romantic movement ; and Gates, in his 
 editorial essay on Newman, discusses the relations of the Oxford Move- 
 ment to the spirit of romanticism. (Compare Section 1 66.) Realism, 
 democracy, and the scientific spirit are characteristic of the nineteenth 
 century from Iceland to Greece, and from Japan to Chili. There are 
 common elements, due to historical conditions, in the Catholicism of 
 Manzoni, Newman, Fogazzaro, and Sienkiewicz. 
 
 1 De Lomenie : Revue des Deux Mondes, December, 1857. (Maigron.) 
 
196 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 The general method of conceiving an historical episode 
 belongs to social psychology, the identification of particular 
 periods belongs to history ; but a few points may be noted 
 here, as having a direct bearing on the study of fiction. 
 
 An epoch may be characterized by a single condensed 
 formula. Carlyle summarized the age of Hume and Vol- 
 taire as "the century of scepticism." Garnett affirms that 
 in all countries the present time is "an age of literary 
 anarchy." Such brilliant critical formulas are often ex- 
 tremely helpful, but in mature study they are associated 
 with more extensive criticism, and with patient inductive 
 analysis of the literature itself. It may be confusing at 
 first to attempt to unify the various critical conceptions of 
 the romantic movement, and its various artistic expressions 
 in fiction, but such a process has finally a rich reward. 
 
 Some periods are more easily unified than others ; but all 
 may be viewed as transitional, in all appear the phenomena 
 of current and undercurrent, of reminiscence and fore- 
 shadowing. In poetical language, 
 
 "... each age is a dream that is dying, 
 Or one that is coming to birth." l 
 
 The simplest studies of historical influence are found 
 in fiction representative of the complete, unvexed mastery 
 of clearly defined ideas ; but there is deeper human inter- 
 est in works revealing a movement in faint process of 
 formation or of unconscious decline, or works in which two 
 distinct forces rise into conflict or agree on cooperation. 
 
 The rationalism of the eighteenth century is found, in comparatively 
 pure form, in Defoe; its cynical scepticism in Swift. The Castle of 
 Otranto, while considered the original Gothic romance in English fiction, 
 b still plainly under the influence of pseudo-classicism. Fielding is 
 
 1 O'Shaughnessy. 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 197 
 
 a pronounced realist, but he is influenced by reaction from Richardson. 
 In Smollett there are traces of Gothic imagination, interpreted in both 
 serious and burlesque spirit. The realism of Jane Austen is consciously 
 hostile to the sentimental novel. Scott is not free from the eighteenth 
 century manner. In historical fiction, it is interesting to compare the 
 influence of the period in which the novelist imagines with that of the 
 time in which he lives. Some transformation of the historical into 
 the contemporary is inevitable, though not always as clear and conscious 
 as it is in the Idylls of the King. 
 
 The foliage and blossoms of the historical growth may 
 be political, religious, or artistic ; but the psychological 
 roots are deeper than all such distinctions, and are often 
 difficult to discover. The general philosophical attitude of 
 a period, and its dominant form of social organization 
 always influence its fiction, but not always in simple and 
 direct manner. The Zeitgeist may mould the outline of 
 plot, the grouping of characters, and other obvious elements 
 of structure ; or it may be traced only in the emotional tone 
 and the stylistic quality of the work as a whole. 
 
 The identification of very limited periods is usually a task for the 
 specialist. As one's acquaintance with general history and with the 
 history of fiction deepens, it may be possible to discern the special note 
 of a single generation or even a single decade. The climactic vogue of 
 English sentimentalism probably endured for little more than a genera- 
 tion. In another field, Professor Felix Schelling marks the last decade 
 of the sixteenth century as the " time of the sonnet." l 
 
 157. Immediate Social Environment. A novelist is 
 probably always influenced during composition by the 
 social environment in which he has lived or is living. 
 This fact may be most apparent when such environment 
 is directly studied in a novel, or is consciously selected for 
 the sake of artistic stimulus. Individual novels show the 
 special influences of domestic, industrial, or professional 
 
 1 Elizabethan Lyrics. 
 
198 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 conditions, of city or country residence, of the court or the 
 frontier, of social prestige or exile. 
 
 The influence of immediate social environment is particularly clear 
 in Jane Austen. Note also the effect of domestic life on George Eliot ; 
 
 of political ostracism on Bunyan, Defoe, Pushkin, and Hugo ; of 
 court life on The Princess of Cleves ; of country residence on Hardy ; 
 
 of intimate acquaintance with both the aristocracy and the peasantry 
 on Tolstoi ; of Abbotsford and Edinburgh on Scott ; of London 
 on Fielding and Dickens ; of Madrid society on La Espuma ; of 
 club-life on Sir Roger de Coverley ; of legal environment on Fielding 
 and Scott ; of medical environment on Smollett ; of ecclesiastical 
 environment on Charles Kingsley, Newman, and Trollope; of the 
 free social life of the West on Hamlin Garland. 
 
 158. Human Nature. Every artist is a unique indi- 
 vidual, and at the same time representative of limited 
 areas of national, racial, and historical conditions; he is 
 never an " Everyman " or a " Humanum Genus." Yet, in 
 the belief of many critics, the more deeply he is influenced 
 by human nature in general, the greater is his artistic sig- 
 nificance. The idea of a direct supernatural influence 
 upon the artist has little weight at present. 
 
 In subject and in form, most novels embody some of the 
 familiar conceptions of human nature found in poetry, 
 sociology, or ethics. Among the creative forces in fiction, 
 are love of story ; craving for emotion, for self-expression, 
 and for sympathy ; practical or speculative interest in the 
 relations of body and soul, and in man's destiny ; rebellion 
 against the irrational element in life, sense of illusion, and 
 eager search for reality. 
 
 In some novels of social reform, one could imagine the Lancelot 
 reader exclaiming, 
 
 "... What name hast thou 
 That ridest here so blindly and so hard ?" 
 
 and the Pelleas author crying in answer, 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 199 
 
 " I have no name ... a scourge am I, 
 To lash the treasons of the Table Round." 
 
 Trace in the novel the conceptions of humanity in Matthew Arnold's 
 poem, " A wanderer is man from his birth " ; in Pope's Essay on Man ; 
 in Hamlet's " what a piece of work is man," etc. ; in Amphibian, aud 
 many other poems of Browning. 
 
 There is scarcely a great novel that does not illustrate the concep- 
 tion, "man is the political animal." Biological ideas of man's place in 
 the universe of life are influential upon the naturalists. 
 
 The scope of a novel is great enough to represent a 
 great variety of persistent human impulses. The single 
 lyric often records a transitory and exceptional exultation 
 of soul or depression of physical vitality ; a painting may 
 express a passion for nature, a dream of the supernatural, 
 or an aesthetic delight in human beauty, of a quality not 
 to be called universal. 
 
 Contrast the lyrical, pictorial feeling, characteristic of Elizabethan 
 poetry, in Lodge's lines, 
 
 " Her cheeks are like the blushing cloud 
 That beautifies Aurora's face, . . . 
 
 Her lips are like two budded roses 
 Whom ranks of lilies neighbor nigh," 
 
 with George Eliot's novelistic appeal to "all who love human faces 
 best for what they tell of human experience." 
 
 The medium of expression in literature language 
 is more inherently and profoundly human than that of 
 any other art ; and in some respects the special language 
 of the novel is more human than that of other forms of 
 literature. 
 
 159. The Influence of Nature. In a real if somewhat 
 vague sense, the novel may be viewed as ultimately a prod- 
 uct of natural forces ; as one phase of the general mani- 
 
200 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 festation of life. One important critical application of 
 this view is found in the idea of the Evolution des genres. 
 This idea partly guided Taine in his History of English 
 Literature, and has since been clarified and developed. 1 
 A few points respecting the comparison of the novel with 
 a biological species may be noted : 
 
 (i) The biological phenomena of struggle for existence, 
 survival of the fittest, hybrid forms, individual variation, 
 etc., find easy analogies in the history of fiction. (2) At- 
 tempts at a scientific classification of fiction seem arbi- 
 trary, compared with the classifications of botany and 
 zoology. In the novel there are few if any types with 
 characteristics fixed and organic enough to determine a sat- 
 isfactory classification of individual works. The difference 
 between a hermit-thrush and a meadow-lark is stable, 
 objective, and determines at once the systematic position 
 of individual birds. The difference between a pastoral 
 romance and a picaresque novel is distinct enough in 
 theory, but there is no law forbidding a combination of 
 both types in a single work. (3) The novel itself is not 
 a form of life, and has reproductive power only through 
 agencies totally unlike itself. (4) The processes of nature 
 which fashion, modify, perpetuate, or destroy species are 
 mainly unconscious. This law has a certain analogy in 
 fiction, if one considers society ; but the will of the indi- 
 vidual artist is a most significant factor. Human agency 
 may of course considerably modify natural species, within 
 a limited area. (5) The entire evolution of the novel covers 
 an insignificant period, compared with the duration of 
 biological evolution. (6) The phenomena of local habitat 
 have partial, but only partial, analogies in the field of fiction. 
 
 1 Its specific application to the novel is briefly discussed in Stoddard's 
 introduction. 
 
THE SHAPING FORCES 2OI 
 
 In national literatures and in single novels, the influence 
 of external nature is often apparent. Individual languages 
 are modified by climatic and topographical environment. 
 Russian fiction seems influenced by the vastness of the 
 plains ; Scandinavian fiction by majesty of mountains and 
 beauty of fiords ; American fiction by primitive landscape 
 and nerve-stimulating climate. 
 
 Mrs. Shelley was clearly moved by the scenery of Switzerland while 
 composing Frankenstein. Oscar Browning notes that the climate of 
 England depressed George Eliot, and thinks she would have been 
 happier if she had lived more abroad. In the preface to Dombey and 
 Son, Dickens gives this evidence of the intimate association of natural 
 environment with the creative imagination: "at this day ... I yet 
 confusedly imagine Captain Cuttle as secluding himself from Mrs. 
 MacStinger among the mountains of Switzerland. Similarly, when I 
 am reminded ... of what it was that the waves were always saying, 
 I wander in my fancy for a whole winter night about the streets of 
 Paris ... as I really did, with a heavy heart, on the night when my 
 little friend and I parted company forever." 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 
 
 1 60. Popularity of Fiction. Few extended discussions 
 of fiction fail to emphasize the importance, from either the 
 aesthetic or the ethical point of view, of its wide popularity. 
 This popularity has been variously developed in different 
 regions, has shifted from type to type, and has known pe- 
 riods of critical hostility ; but on the whole, its endurance 
 for centuries is a notable fact of literary history. 
 
 The conditions of the later nineteenth century need no illustration. 
 The following are representative testimonies of an earlier period. 
 Defoe wrote in the preface of Moll Flanders, " The world is so taken up 
 of late with Novels and Romances, that it will be hard for a private 
 history to be taken for genuine." In 1773, a writer in the Gentle- 
 man's Magazine speaks of " this novel-writing age." That magazine 
 lists about 140 novels for the decade 1770-1780, 40 being noted for the 
 single year 1771. Miss Reeve wrote in 1785 of 'the press groaning be- 
 neath the weight of Novels,' so numerous that they had become a "pub- 
 lic evil." In 1810, an editor of Richardson declared, "those who are 
 most important in the ranks of civilized life, read scarcely anything else" 
 but novels. 
 
 Popularity does not necessarily mean a real and deep 
 influence. Some critics believe that the novel reveals the 
 existing mental condition of its readers, rather than alters 
 it. Even if this were the complete truth, a study of the 
 vogue of a novel would throw light on social attitude ; but 
 in many cases it seems that a novel is, for practical pur- 
 poses, a new influence in society. 
 
 202 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 203 
 
 Coleridge declares that u all the evil achieved by Hobbes, and the 
 whole School of Materialists will appear inconsiderable, if it be com- 
 pared with the mischief effected and occasioned by the sentimental 
 Philosophy of Sterne and his numerous imitators." i 
 
 161. The Data. Bibliographical facts furnish a practi 
 cal basis for the examination of the vogue of a novel. 
 Comparison of critical opinions, imitations, parodies, dram- 
 atizations, etc., serves to indicate the effect upon different 
 historical periods and social groups. Biographical docu- 
 ments record the reception of a novel by famous individ- 
 uals. The private opinions of the common reader and 
 his circle of acquaintance may be reviewed in a critical 
 spirit, with allowance for the personal equation. These 
 are all external data. After they are collected and ex- 
 amined, one may return to the novel itself, for a more care- 
 ful study of the probable causes of influence. 
 
 For a merely statistical basis of comparison, it might be well to estab- 
 lish certain norms of circulation. The following data of editions and 
 sales are illustrative. 
 
 Editions: Silas Marner (1861), seventh, 1861 ; Adam Bede (1859), 
 seventh, 1859, tenth, 1862 ; Sidney's Arcadia (1590), ten in fifty 
 years; Soil und Haben (1855), fifty-fourth, 1901; Frau Sorge 
 (1887), fifty-fourth. 1900 ; Ekkehard (1862), one-hundred and seventy- 
 seventh, 1900. Sales: Adam Bede, 16,000 in 1859 ; Soil und Haben, 
 100,000 by 1887; in 1892, La Ddbacle, 110,000; L'Assommoir, 
 124.000; Nana, 166,000; Uncle Tom's Cabin (in book form, 1852), 
 1,000,000 in England, 150,000 in America, first year. " The sale of 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin is the most marvelous literary phenomenon that the 
 world has witnessed." (Senior.) 
 
 162. Time Distribution. The essential elements of 
 appeal in a novel may be as old as human nature. Some 
 of the elements of novelistic form plot, fictitious dia- 
 logue, character grouping, etc. are perhaps older than 
 
 1 Aids to Reflection; On Sensibility. 
 
204 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 written language. Specific situations, plot-outlines and 
 character-types are often of great antiquity. If separate 
 types of fiction are narrowly defined, there are several 
 which have all the historical interest of extinct species. 
 
 The romance of chivalry, roughly speaking, had a vogue of some two 
 centuries. Pastoral romance arose in the decadent period of Greek 
 literature, was revived in the Renaissance, and practically disappeared 
 as a type in the seventeenth century. The heroic romance became a 
 well-defined form in the seventeenth century : its death-throes, in the 
 next century, are described in an interesting manner in Miss Reeve's 
 Progress of Romance. 
 
 By the " lifetime " of an individual work, one may mean 
 general popularity, vital significance, as distinguished from 
 mere historical interest, for the select few, or enduring rep- 
 utation. In the careful study of a famous novel, it might 
 be worth while to trace its history somewhat systemati- 
 cally; noting, for example, the circulation or influence for 
 the first year, the first decade, then for each succeeding 
 generation. A temporary revival of interest is a com- 
 mon phenomenon, in the history of both species and indi- 
 vidual works. 
 
 163. Place Distribution. All the great novels have been 
 international, not only in reputation, but in literary influ- 
 ence. Spielhagen considers that the exposition of a na- 
 tional life to the people of other nations is one of the 
 distinguishing functions of the modern novel. 1 
 
 It is not to be expected that the reception of a novel 
 abroad will coincide with that at home. When the differ- 
 ences are striking, a study of their social and political causes 
 makes an interesting part of the critical task. 
 
 Compare the treatment of Cooper, Julian Hawthorne, and Theodore 
 Winthrop in Nicholas American Literature, with that by American 
 
 1 Technik des Romans; Das Gebiet des Romans. 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 205 
 
 critics. " The popular literature of America is English, and the popu- 
 lar literature of England is American." (Senior.) Edmond Scherer 
 wrote of George Eliot, in 1885, "the very name of this writer ... is 
 hardly known among ourselves, and arouses neither memory nor inter- 
 est." Reich names Kemeny as probably a greater Hungarian novelist 
 than Jokai. 
 
 The data of translation give a convenient if imperfect 
 basis for judging of the foreign popularity of a novel. 
 
 Of Robinson Crusoe, there were 60 known imitations and parodies in 
 Germany before 1770. Werther was honored by 14 English transla- 
 tions, to 1854; 19 French, to 1865; 8 Italian, to 185755 Spanish, to 
 1876; and has been rendered into Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, 
 Swedish, etc. In 1877, I Promessi Sposi had known 116 Italian edi- 
 tions; and had been translated 17 times into German, 19 into French, 
 10 into English, 3 into Spanish, and at least once into Dutch, Hunga- 
 rian, Russian, Swedish, etc. 
 
 164. Influence upon Literature. No single novel has 
 attained the position of an Iliad or a Hamlet in the world 
 of literature, or been accepted by the literary academies 
 as a standard of excellence perhaps Don Quixote ap- 
 proaches such position as closely as any prose fiction ; 
 but innumerable novels have exerted an important in- 
 fluence upon literature, either directly or indirectly. The 
 novelist has often had an effective hand in the establish- 
 ment or destruction of literary fashions. He has often 
 found strong disciples, or weak imitators; or has met a 
 spirited reactionary movement, of which burlesque is one 
 easily perceived phase. 
 
 The effect of a novel upon other works of prose fiction 
 is one of the most important and readily traced lines of 
 influence. There are certain great European novels, rela- 
 tively few in number, which are recognized as the ances- 
 tors of the vast majority of lesser novels. Intimate 
 acquaintance with these parent fictions is a long step 
 
206 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 toward a real understanding of the history of European 
 fiction. Of course all these novels are themselves de- 
 scendants as well as ancestors, but they may be considered 
 as founding new branches of the family. 
 
 Among such works are The Decameron, Amadis of Gaul, Monte- 
 mayor's Diana, Don Quixote, Lazarillo de Tormes, Clarissa, Werther, 
 Waverley, and Poe's short stories. 
 
 For a single national literature, Russian fiction, on account of its 
 comparative compactness and unity, is a good field in which to study 
 the influence of novelist upon novelist. See, for example, Turner and 
 Merejkowski for the dynamic relations of Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, 
 Turgenieff, and Tolstoi. 
 
 The development of the novel has had a large influence 
 upon literary criticism. Many of the problems of technical 
 analysis, of the relations of art to science and morals, etc., 
 in current criticism, have been modified if not introduced 
 by the vogue of prose fiction. In fact, one occasionally 
 hears the complaint that some recent writers seem to mean, 
 by the criticism of literature, the criticism of fiction. 
 
 Wilhelm Meister influenced the critical theory of Friedrich Schlegel. 
 George Eliot seems to have been an important factor in determining 
 the general critical position of Edmond Scherer. Zola's works have 
 shaped the discussion of realism to an almost abnormal degree. One 
 is sometimes in danger of forgetting that realism is as old as literature, 
 and that it is found in other arts than literature. 
 
 Many eminent novelists have themselves been critics of some note 
 among them, Goethe, Thackeray, Hugo, Spielhagen, Poe, and Tolstoi. 
 The novelists, as a class, have been liberal readers of works of fiction. 
 
 The novel has not only affected popular conceptions of 
 history, but, as represented by the Scott school, has had 
 an appreciable influence upon historical writing. Carlyle 
 gave some severe criticism of the Waverley Novels, but 
 he praised their general effect upon the interpretation of 
 history. 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 2O? 
 
 165. Social Groups in General. Under ordinary condi- 
 tions, a novel reaches one individual at a time, and the 
 phenomenon of a compact social group won to a " social 
 consent " by its influence is less common than in the case 
 of architecture, music, oratory, or the drama. 
 
 So far as it is possible to arrive at a " determination des 
 categories d admiral eurs " (Hennequin), the data may 
 throw light upon an individual novel, and upon certain 
 social groups. Preferences in the reading of fiction may 
 show the unconscious nature of the reader, his real emo- 
 tional and aesthetic self, which lies below the social being 
 the world knows. Of Giddings' " types of mind " (see 
 Section 87), the fourth is doubtless less easily influenced 
 by fiction than the others; but when it does respond to the 
 appeal of a novel, the response is deserving of careful 
 study. Many persons of critical intellect, however, still 
 take the novel with little seriousness as compared with 
 other forms of art. The real students of the novel make 
 a small class in any reading community. 
 
 The novel has probably had a very slight influence upon 
 general philosophy ; but now and then fragments of the 
 interpretation of life by the novelist may have penetrated 
 the sanctum sanctorum of the philosophers. 
 
 Coleridge notes the manner in which the conception of " love " 
 passed from the sentimental novelists to Buffon, other French natural- 
 ists, and into Swedish and English philosophy. 1 
 
 The influence of fiction upon the young and upon women 
 has often been discussed. In early days, many novels and 
 romances were written mainly for these social classes ; but 
 the modern realist has claimed the right to win an audi- 
 ence of mature men. 
 
 Aids to Reflection ; On Sensibility. 
 
208 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 The relation of fiction to the young was a frequent topic in late 
 eighteenth century criticism. At the same time, there was a movement 
 aiming to produce a better class of fictions for youthful readers. 
 
 Note the references to women readers in Euphues, The Spectator, 
 The Rape of the Lock, Pamela, the dramas of Sheridan, etc. Rightly 
 or wrongly, it is affirmed that woman is more likely than man to be in- 
 fluenced by fiction ; more ready to be moved by her likes and dislikes. 
 Nordau traces the worship of the military officer, among the women of 
 Germany, to fiction ; and declares that 'the Parisienne is completely 
 the work of the French journalists and novelists.' l 
 
 1 66. Influence upon Individuals. A novel is likely to 
 interest the individual reader, to please or offend him in 
 a marked degree, because it brings him face to face with 
 other strong individuals, with social groups to which his 
 imagination must adjust itself, and with a more or less 
 positive interpretation of the life he himself knows, in 
 outline if not in detail. 
 
 While the novel is not characteristically written for the 
 "fit audience, though few," most of the great minds of 
 Europe, at all interested in art, have left some record of 
 their impressions of this or that famous novel. Ben Jon- 
 son requests every man in his audience to "exercise his 
 own judgment, and not censure by contagion." 2 The fear 
 of a critical " contagion " may sometimes drive an inde- 
 pendent mind into fantastic revolt against the popular 
 judgment ; but the candid opinion of a single honest thinker 
 is worth weighing, even in the criticism of a novel. It is 
 part of that entire body of mental experiences in which the 
 individual novel is a real element. 
 
 Gray's comments upon The Castle of Otranto and upon Ossian 
 make interesting reading. Samuel Johnson was a passionate lover of 
 romance, in spite of his didactic criticism of it ; and he attributed his 
 
 1 Paradoxes : The Natural History of Love ; The Import of Fiction. 
 
 2 Induction to Bartholomew Fair. 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 209 
 
 failure to settle in a regular profession to its influence. (Quoted in 
 Boswell, from Bishop Percy.) Burns' fondness for The Man of Feel- 
 ing throws some light upon that novel, upon Burns, and upon the 
 social psychology of his time. Wesley thought that The Fool of Quality 
 was " one of the most beautiful pictures that ever was drawn in the 
 world." Examine the comment on fiction by St. Augustine, Coleridge, 
 Goethe, Cardinal Newman, Ruskin, and Tolstoi. 
 
 167. Kind and Degree of Influence. These will depend, 
 in part, upon the reader's intimacy with the individual 
 work. There seems to be no valid reason why a truly 
 great novel should not be studied as carefully as a great 
 drama or epic ; but such study is rare, and the full effect 
 of the novel is not often realized. For complete criticism, 
 a work of fiction should be accepted as a part of real 
 personal experience, emotional and imaginative ; and also 
 examined intellectually, as a part of the world outside of 
 one's personality. 
 
 To the ordinary mind, the evidences of labor and of 
 technical mastery are more noticeable in painting or archi- 
 tecture than in literature. Again, some alertness of the 
 senses is required before one can comprehend the real 
 meaning of a spatial work of art. The physical sense of 
 weariness may be related to the impression of architectural 
 sublimity ; the crescendos and diminuendos of the or- 
 chestra challenge the mental activity of the listener. In 
 the novel, one may gain a certain comprehension of the 
 work in a comparatively passive attitude of mind. There 
 is nothing objective to stir and stimulate attention. Yet 
 the full evaluation of a novel is to be reached only by a 
 genuine and persistent effort. Like all other real values, 
 this also must be purchased by an expenditure of life itself. 
 
 1 68. Perceptual Effect. No two readers ever receive 
 exactly the same impressions from the sensuous imagery 
 
210 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 of a novel. In this respect, as in others, Julian Haw 
 thorne's statement that it takes two to make a novel, the 
 author and the reader, can be readily understood. Just 
 how far the reader should attempt to reexperience the 
 sensuous values the author has observed or imagined, is 
 a matter for general aesthetic theory, or for private opinion. 
 It will task the average reader to follow the author closely 
 into details ; on the other hand, there is no law forbidding 
 one to see and hear with more acute senses than those 
 of the novelist. While there may at times be danger of 
 the trees obscuring the forest, it is sometimes the single 
 tree, even the single branch, twig, leaf, that one wishes 
 to see. 
 
 The senses to which most immediate and persistent 
 appeal is made in the novel are those of sight and sound. 
 The visual imagery includes the appearance of the charac- 
 ters, singly and in groups, and the masses and details of 
 the spatial background. Riemann gives a definition of 
 the " pantomimischer Roman " i.e., one in which more is 
 seen than heard. l 
 
 Resolving the descriptions in the Conclusion of Silas Marner into 
 "ultimate points" of visual imagery, one will find some thirty details. 
 These vary in scope from the pink sprigs on Eppie's dress and the 
 " dash of gold on a lilv," to the vision of the wedding procession and 
 the Rainbow group, as wholes. 
 
 A study rather common at the present time is that of the color 
 imagery of poetry. The contrasts, in this respect, between pseudo- 
 classicism, romanticism, and realism, could be traced in prose fiction 
 also. 
 
 In the domain of sound, the essential appeal of the 
 novel is in the utterance of the dramatis personae ; though 
 there is often a great variety of sounds in nature, and in 
 
 1 p. 232. 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 211 
 
 the occupations of social life. The voice of a character 
 can be more completely realized by reading his speeches 
 aloud. 
 
 Frankenstein has a well-defined imagery of sound. Note the use 
 of such terms as crack, roar, shriek, gurgling, groan, howling, thunder 
 of the ground sea. 
 
 Compare the last sections of Chapter I, and Section 95. 
 
 The imagery, if it may so be called, of touch and smell, can be 
 studied to advantage in modern naturalism and symbolism in Zola, 
 Tolstoi, d'Annunzio, and van Eeden, for example. Vathek, with its 
 rich Orientalism, also makes a noteworthy appeal to these senses, con- 
 sidering its early date. 
 
 169. Sensational Effect. In the present connection, 
 sensation may be denned as emotion associated with con- 
 sciousness of related physical condition. The novel may 
 arouse sensations by direct description, or by subtle sugges- 
 tion to the imagination or memory of the reader. It cannot 
 picture their visible effects, as can painting or the stage 
 drama; but it can go into very minute analysis of their 
 nature, and their relations to the individual and his envi- 
 ronment it can make them appear in the "warmth" of 
 concrete experience. 
 
 Sensation would seem to be not only a legitimate but 
 a necessary effect, if the canon of comprehensiveness 
 is applied to the influence as well as the subject of a 
 novel. The " sensational novel," in the usual meaning, is 
 one in which this phase of experience is emphasized be- 
 yond its true proportion, inadequately motived, or given 
 a morbid tendency. Sensational effect is common in both 
 romantic and naturalistic schools. It is often of a languor- 
 ous and melancholy type in the sentimental novel, and 
 of a more active and intense type in Gothic romance. 
 Many realists inherit the romantic craving for sensation, 
 
212 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 and some are even inclined to find it the essence of per- 
 sonal experience. 
 
 In the preface of Frankenstein, Mrs. Shelley gives this frank testi- 
 mony of the Gothic romancer : " Oh if I could only . . . frighten my 
 reader as I myself had been frightened that night ! . . . I have found 
 it ! What terrified me will terrify others ; and I need only describe 
 the specter which had haunted my midnight pillow." 
 
 170. Emotional Effect. Probably no other form of art 
 can compete with the novel in the sum total of emotional 
 appeal. The short story, the lyric, the drama, and music, 
 may each excel in this or that particular ; but for a com- 
 bination of variety, intensity, concreteness, reality, of ex- 
 hibition and interpretation, of sustained rhythms of excite- 
 ment and repose, the novel is the best medium. It is 
 perhaps this fact of opportunity that has suggested 
 the theory that the study of emotion is the true function 
 of the novel. 
 
 The reader may enter by mere imagination into the emo- 
 tions of the dramatis personae or the author ; or he may be 
 moved more directly by situations and sentiments which 
 touch his own emotional experience, present or past. It 
 is doubtful if the novel ever arouses strong emotions 
 entirely unknown to the reader before. 
 
 One may follow the "line of emotion" for the reader, 
 as for the dramatis personae ; and also study the general 
 result at the conclusion. Strong dominant emotions may 
 be aroused, or a sequence of minor ones ; the effect may be 
 one of stability or of rapid transition, of harmony or dis- 
 cord, of sympathy or antagonism toward a character, 
 the author, or life in general. 
 
 The Aristotelian doctrine of catharsis may be discussed 
 with reference to the novel as well as the drama. The 
 ethical question whether the emotional energy the reader 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 213 
 
 spends upon fictitious characters weakens his emotional 
 power in real life is relevant in this connection. Some 
 critics affirm that the novel performs a special service to 
 the present age, in that it allows the reader a free, natural, 
 healthful flow of feeling, which, according to current 
 standards of social taste, must be repressed in real life. 
 
 Criticism attempts to distinguish between emotional 
 effects which are truly aesthetic, and those which are not. 
 To the first class belong delight in the technical mastery 
 of the artist, the sense of ' difficulty overcome,' imaginative 
 pleasure in the picture of life, whether it be joyful or sad, 
 etc. ; to the second class, all emotions associated with the 
 personal experiences, antipathies and sympathies of the 
 individual reader. The properly aesthetic emotions do not 
 lead to any external activity ; they never become real pas- 
 sions. This distinction may aid one in the analysis of 
 effects, but in many cases it seems a rather arbitrary and 
 sterile antithesis. 
 
 171. Conceptual Effect. The reader who is concerned 
 only with the story element of a novel will not give much 
 attention to the facts and ideas it contains, as independent 
 values. Compare, however, the opinions quoted in Section 
 119. In a well-unified novel, even the most abstract ideas 
 are part of the general artistic plan, and the story itself 
 cannot be completely realized without an understanding 
 of their relation to characters and events. 
 
 Most novels give a certain amount of information new 
 to the reader, and a certain number of ideas, either new in 
 themselves or their relations, or calling for a fresh effort 
 at clear conception. 
 
 The analysis given in the chapter on Subject-matter 
 may serve as a guide to an intensive study of conceptual 
 effects. 
 
214 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 172. Volitional Effect. Whether considered important 
 for its artistic value or not, the novel has often influenced 
 the will and the active life of individuals and social groups. 
 It has fostered the " will to believe," and the will to doubt ; 
 the spirit of submission to social law, and the spirit of rebel- 
 lion ; the resolution to live more deeply, and the purpose 
 to escape the problematic experiences of life so far as pos- 
 sible. One may readily admit that it is not always, perhaps 
 not usually, the fictions that are greatest as works of art 
 which have had the most emphatic effect upon the actions 
 of men ; but such effect could hardly be omitted in a gen- 
 eral study of the novel. Again, such effect may or may 
 not have been intended by the author ; and criticism does 
 not necessarily lay the full burden of responsibility for 
 evil result upon him, or grant to him the undivided laurel 
 wreath for noble result. 
 
 Werther was the immediate occasion, at least, of many suicides. 
 Religious restlessness and scepticism have doubtless been increased by 
 many modern realistic novels. On the other hand, the novelists have 
 had a share in bringing about a revival of religious reverence in the last 
 few decades. Scott thought that many " hitherto indifferent upon the 
 subject, have been induced to read Scottish history, from the allusions 
 to it" in the Waverley Novels. (Introduction to The Bride of Lam- 
 mermoor, 1829.) The influence of Turgenieff and Mrs. Stowe upon 
 the emancipation movement of the last century is a matter of general 
 knowledge ; as is the effect of Dickens' fiction upon certain social re- 
 forms. Occasionally a definite institution is partially the result of a 
 novel. All Sorts and Conditions of Men was a strong influence in the 
 establishment of The People's Palace in London. 
 
 173. The Influencing Elements. To appreciate a novel 
 correctly, it is doubtless necessary to feel its total effect as 
 a unified work ; but in many cases, separate elements have 
 very separate effects. That which appeals to one reader 
 may offend another ; that which moves us at one time may 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 21$ 
 
 prove cold and ineffective at another. According to Bru- 
 netiere, it is as important that one should know why one 
 likes or dislikes, in literature, as that one should like or 
 dislike correctly. 
 
 The professional critic, or the professional novelist, may 
 be too much inclined to emphasize the technical excellence 
 or defect of a work ; but no adequate judgment of a novel 
 can be made without some knowledge of technic. At the 
 present time, the layman can easily acquire a reasonable 
 equipment for this purpose. If the American reader is 
 still likely to neglect the values of form in a novel, it is not 
 too late to quote Lanier's opinion, given some twenty years 
 ago: "How strange, then, the furtive apprehension of 
 danger lying behind too much knowledge of form, too much 
 technic, which one is amazed to find prevailing in our own 
 country." 1 
 
 Every judgment on the higher values of a novel, on its 
 human experiences and philosophy of life, is a self-judg- 
 ment of the critic. Absolute refusal to receive an influence 
 may indicate as marked a weakness as too great readiness 
 of assent to the novelist's appeal. 
 
 Publishers give testimony that the title exerts a strong influence 
 over the average reader ; at least before he knows a work. Robin- 
 son Crusoe, Gulliver, and Don Quixote are familiar examples of 
 fictions which have a very different effect upon the juvenile and upon 
 the mature reader. Robinson Crusoe appeals to the boy as a stirring 
 tale of adventure ; to the critic, a primary interest lies in the marvelous 
 verisimilitude, and the method of attaining it ; to the reflective mind, 
 the philosophical views of society, industry, and religion are of great 
 historical value. In Gulliver, the political and social satire, the bitter 
 misanthropy, escape the young reader. In Don Quixote, the humor 
 reaches the majority of readers ; the depth of pathos is fully felt only by 
 a minority. 
 
 1 The English Novel, p. 30. 
 
216 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Scott's comment on the reception of the Waverley Novels gives 
 many examples of the effect of separate elements. He defends, on 
 ethical grounds, the catastrophe of Ivanhoe, which was attacked by 
 the critics. He recognized the failure of Sir Piercie Shafton, in The 
 Monastery, and repeatedly refers to the poor effect of the White Lady 
 in the same romance. The success of Mary, in The Abbott, led him 
 to attempt Elizabeth, in Kenilworth. 
 
 174. The Causes of Influence. A study of causes may 
 easily lead one into difficulties, in literary criticism, as in 
 history, ethics, or biology. As plant-growth may be said 
 to depend upon the seed, the soil, and atmospheric condi- 
 tions; the influence of a novel depends upon the novel, the 
 reader, and the social conditions. Perhaps the analogy is 
 not exact, but it may be suggestive. In the case of con- 
 temporaneous effect, the author and reader are often under 
 the same general social influences, for which the novel is 
 simply a distributing point. 
 
 The novel has this advantage over legal documents and 
 perhaps over religious creeds, as a test of real character, 
 that it often reaches the sub-conscious self, catches the 
 reader unawares, so to speak. The unconscious optimism 
 of a man who believes himself a pessimist may be shown 
 by his choice of fiction. A reader who nominally accepts 
 a creed of renunciation of the fleshly appetites may crave 
 the sensationalism of debased passions, and find it in the 
 novel. In the individual or in social groups this uncon- 
 scious or covert self may later show itself in a more public 
 manner. The taste for sentimental literature in the middle 
 of the eighteenth century might have foreshadowed, to the 
 acute critic, the upheavals of the French Revolution period. 
 Often a mental craving, revealed in literary taste, is at first 
 semi-humorous, but later deepens into very serious aspects. 
 It is a long way from The Castle of Otranto to Frank- 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL 2 1/ 
 
 enstein, but a careful analysis of the social causes which 
 made the former a literary success will aid the critic in 
 understanding the latter. 
 
 In the spontaneous likes and dislikes of literary taste, 
 the critic finds a good field in which to study what the 
 sociologist calls " organic sympathy and antipathy." 
 
 Methods of publication and reviewing are among the atmospheric 
 conditions of the novel-plant. Even in the eighteenth century the 
 reviewers were recognized as a powerful, and often a malign, influence 
 upon popular opinion. Scott explains the relative failure of The 
 Monastery by reference to social conditions ; and traces the success of 
 Quentin Dunvard in France to French acquaintance with its histori- 
 cal allusions. Senior gives an itemized explanation of the popularity 
 of Uncle Tom's Cabin, for England and New England separately; 
 the causes he notes varying from the " moral coloring " of the novel to 
 the lack of international copyright. 
 
 To the private reader, the circumstances under which a 
 given novel first became familiar may be forever associated 
 with the novel itself, as the circumstances of composition 
 may remain in the memory of the author (see Section 1 59). 
 To many individuals, certain novels, not necessarily very 
 important in themselves, will always be clearly remem- 
 bered, because they entered into episodes of deep personal 
 joy or sorrow. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 
 
 175. Nature of the Study. After the study of an indi 
 vidual novel, in itself, and in relation to the forces which 
 shape it and the effects produced by it, the field of interest 
 may be broadened by a comparison of the novel with other 
 kinds of literature. Many points of this kind have already 
 been given, but in an isolated and incidental manner. 
 
 By comparative rhetoric is here understood the com- 
 parative study of the " forms of discourse," and of the 
 recognized types of literature. Such a study might be 
 considered specially appropriate with reference to the 
 novel, because of the complex, composite nature of that 
 type. 
 
 In a detailed analysis, separate examination might be made of the 
 historical, technical, and theoretical relations of the novel to each of the 
 other literary types. It may be sufficient for the present purpose to 
 indicate some of the principal features of the study, in outline. 
 
 176. The Forms of Discourse. Professor Gummere 
 defines the drama as ' an epic whole composed of lyric 
 parts.' A novel might often be characterized as a narra- 
 tive frame with descriptive filling ; but some novels could 
 be better viewed as descriptive wholes with narrative parts. 
 No single formula of this kind will correspond accurately 
 to all the variations actually found in fiction. 
 
 Exposition, in the general rhetorical sense, is an essential 
 
 218 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 2 19 
 
 element in every novel ; and it may be the dominant type 
 of structure, as in the philosophical novel, and in some his- 
 torical novels the real aim being to explain some idea or 
 some state of society. In the purpose novel, the inclusive 
 scheme may be argumentative. 
 
 A distinction between the forms of discourse which serve 
 respectively as a means and as an end may sometimes be 
 helpful. Narration, for example, in the novel as in the 
 sermon, may be merely the agent of an expository purpose 
 or of a lyrical impulse. 
 
 177. Prose and Poetry. In systematic German criticism, 
 the novel is usually considered as belonging to poetics, 
 and it is discussed in close connection with the drama, the 
 epic, and the lyric. English rhetoric has more commonly 
 associated it with the other forms of prose literature. The 
 typical novel is neither entirely prosaic nor entirely poetic, 
 but is perhaps the best existing example of a literary form 
 which combines these two qualities. 
 
 The criticism of the romantic movement suggested the 
 phrase " science and poetry " as denoting a more accurate 
 contrast than "prose and poetry." Some students have 
 seen in the novel an unusual opportunity to harmonize the 
 modern interest in science with the permanent human in- 
 terest in poetry. Purely scientific value must remain sub- 
 ordinate in the novel, as now understood; for science 
 yearns for the abstract formulas of metaphysics and math- 
 ematics, while concreteness has been named as one of the 
 stylistic qualities of the novel. It would offend the laws 
 of mental economy to call a novel into existence for the 
 sake of a scientific exposition. A cathedral may illustrate 
 certain laws of physics, chemistry, and geology, but it would 
 not be reasonable to build cathedrals mainly for the sake 
 of such illustration. 
 
220 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In an individual novel, study the application of the conceptions of 
 poetry found in the Defenses of Sidney and Shelley, and in the preface 
 of the Lyrical Ballads. Compare the statement of the relations of poetry 
 and science in the last, with that of Lanier : "And now if we pass 
 one step farther and consider what would happen if the true scientific 
 activity and the true poetic activity should engage themselves upon one 
 and the same set of facts ? We arrive at the novel." l 
 
 178. Prose and Verse. The elementary relations of 
 prose, poetry, and verse may be simply arranged thus : 
 
 SUBSTANCE. FORM. 
 
 (1) Prose Prose 
 
 (2) Prose Verse 
 
 (3) Poetry Prose 
 
 (4) Poetry Verse 
 
 Examples of these four relations can easily be recalled 
 by the student of literature. The only one that may be 
 considered, in most cases, to be abnormal, is the second. 
 It is chiefly because the novel carries so great a weight of 
 prose substance that prose form seems to be its natural 
 medium. In more detail, these are among the character- 
 istics of the novel which point to the necessity or pro- 
 priety of prose structure: (i) its great length; (2) the 
 variety and frequency of its structural transitions, as from 
 dialogic to non-dialogic form ; (3) its desire to use docu- 
 ment or speech actually historical, or seemingly so, in form 
 as well as in substance ; (4) its historical and aesthetic as- 
 sociation with other types of prose ; in this connection it 
 might be said that just because the novel is so closely 
 allied with the epic, a different external medium is desirable, 
 to give it greater individuality ; (5) its modern quality, 
 and its appeal to an audience for which prose is in general 
 more attractive than verse. Most of the stylistic qualities 
 
 1 The English Novel, p. 10. 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 221 
 
 of the novel given in Chapter VIII have at least a decided 
 tincture of prosaic value. 
 
 Compare the prose short story with such realistic verse as the tales 
 of Crabbe, and many of the dramatic monologues of Browning. The 
 " novel in verse " has never shown a very rich development, but it has 
 a field of its own, and is valuable for purposes of comparison. Many of 
 the long narrative poems of Browning are very closely akin to the real- 
 istic novel in spirit, and to a large extent in method. Study also the 
 novelistic elements in Lalla Rookh, Aurora Leigh, The Princess, 
 Amours de Voyage, and The Angel in the House. Pushkin's Eugene 
 Onegin is a famous example of this type in Russian fiction. 
 
 For a brief discussion of prosimetrical structure, see 
 Section 12. 
 
 179. The Short Story. The novelist has often served 
 an apprenticeship as a short story writer, or has carried 
 on the two branches of the art together. If he confines 
 himself to the longer form, his work may yet show the 
 influence of the masters in the sister type. In very many 
 early novels and romances, short stories are included, inde- 
 pendent in artistic value, and sometimes independent in 
 origin. Except in this manner, the great English novel- 
 ists of the mid-eighteenth century Richardson, Fielding, 
 Smollett produced very little in the field of the short 
 story. 
 
 In some respects the relation of the short story to the 
 novel is similar to that of the ballad to the epic, and an 
 interesting study might be made by tracing out the analogy 
 in detail. Kindred analogies between a lesser and a greater 
 type might perhaps be discovered in architecture, painting, 
 and music. 
 
 Among the single clues to the nature of the short story, 
 as compared with the novel, criticism suggests its artifi- 
 ciality its greater isolation in relation to the total experi- 
 
222 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 ence of life ; and its more pronounced unity. The unity 
 may be found not only in the subject and structure of the 
 fiction itself, but in the process of composition, the shap- 
 ing forces, and particularly in the impression upon the 
 reader. Because it is less like life than the novel, the 
 short story may approach more nearly the perfection of 
 art, and may be judged somewhat more severely. The de- 
 velopment of the prose poem, and of all very short, highly 
 finished fictions, has created a standard of excellence in 
 detail quite alien to the history of the novel. Sharp, sus- 
 tained antithesis, extreme repression, and dominant sym- 
 bolism, are among the methods better adapted to the 
 briefer form. A review of the qualities of style given in 
 Chapter VIII will show that several of them are not char- 
 acteristic of the short story, and that one or two of them 
 are even opposed to its normal tendency. 
 
 Study the technic and spirit of Adam Bede, with reference to the 
 Scenes of Clerical Life. Compare the same types of incident, charac- 
 ter, and settings, as they appear in the two forms of fiction. Write in 
 outline or in full text, short stories based on well-marked episodes of a 
 novel, such as the Lantern Yard history, the coming of Eppie, and the 
 visit of Godfrey and Nancy to the cottage, in Silas Marner. Compare 
 the results, in artistic meaning, with the original passages. Condense 
 an entire novel into a short story, and note the aesthetic gain and loss. 
 Give a critical explanation of the reasons why such genuine short 
 stories as The Gold-bug, The Ambitious Guest, and Ethan Brand, can- 
 not be transformed into novels. 
 
 180. The Epic. The better histories of prose fiction 
 give extended discussion of its historical relations to epic 
 poetry. Every individual novel is in one way or another 
 an example of these relations. Up to the nineteenth cen- 
 tury, the novel was very frequently modeled after the epic, 
 as a matter of conscious artistic method. This is notably 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 223 
 
 true in respect to the Greek romances, the romances of 
 chivalry, and the heroic romances. Fielding's conception 
 of the novel was based largely upon its correspondence 
 with the epic, though he also noted the contrasts. During 
 the nineteenth century, a conscious critical distinction be- 
 tween the epic and the novel has aided in defining the 
 exact position of the latter. In extreme form, such dis- 
 tinction marks what is almost an antagonism between the 
 two types, if by epic is understood the original, primitive 
 heroic poem. 
 
 Few writers have produced both great epic poems and 
 great novels, of pure types. The epic poet since the 
 Renaissance has usually been academic and traditional; 
 while the representative novelist has often been exactly 
 the opposite. Scott is probably one of the best examples, 
 in later times, of a high degree of power in both types of 
 literature ; though his narrative poems are not epic in the 
 fullest sense. 
 
 In technic, many of the differences between the two 
 forms are due to the fact that one uses prose, the other 
 verse. A comparison of dialogue, settings, characteriza- 
 tion, motivation, etc., in a representative epic and a repre- 
 sentative novel, will throw light upon the kind of technical 
 mastery demanded of the novelist. The difference in sub- 
 ject-matter in the themes of love, the supernatural, and 
 the martial, for example leads also to differences in 
 form. Many such epic motifs as the invocation of the 
 muses, the catalogue of forces, the monologue of a martial 
 leader, and the combat with a monster, have no direct anal- 
 ogies in the novel. In many novels, however, these and 
 similar motifs, as well as epic similes and other stylistic de- 
 tails, are imitated, either seriously or in a spirit of burlesque. 
 
 The theoretical comparison of the two types includes 
 
224 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 such topics as individual and social authorship ; simplicity 
 and complexity in the treatment of social life ; the inter- 
 mingling of the tragic and the comic, of the fictitious and 
 the historical; familiarity and novelty of subject; rela- 
 tive values of plot and characters ; the appeal to cultured 
 and to popular audiences, etc. In some of these matters, 
 the resemblance of the two types is clear; in others, their 
 separate nature and function are more apparent. 
 
 Compare the burlesque of epic formulas in Don Quixote, The Rape 
 of the Lock, The Battle of the Books, and in Fielding and Smollett. 
 Trace the possible influences from the modern novel upon the Idylls of 
 the King. Distinguish the epic and the novelistic elements in Sordello, 
 The Ring and the Book, and other long narrative poems of Browning. 
 Compare Taras Bulba and Dead Souls, both of which are supposed 
 to be particularly epic in spirit. Compare the treatment of the crusades 
 in The Talisman, and in Jerusalem Delivered. Outline an epic poem 
 based upon Ivanhoe, The Last of the Mohicans, or War and Peace. 
 
 181. Biography. The general development of modern 
 biographical writing in not a few particulars resembles that 
 of the modern novel. The attitudes of romanticism and of 
 realism towards the individual life appear in essentially 
 the same manner in the real and in the fictitious biog- 
 raphy. Froude's life of Carlyle shows the nature of 
 nineteenth century realism, interpreting the life of a strong 
 man, as clearly as any novel of the ethical school. 
 
 Many novelists have been authors of biography or auto- 
 biography, and their methods in these types can be com- 
 pared in some detail with their novelistic methods. Bunyan, 
 Rousseau, Goethe, Newman, Tolstoi, and many other famous 
 men have left some interpretation of their own lives in both 
 the autobiography and the novel. 
 
 In technic, it is obvious that the biography offers many 
 problems similar to those of the novel ; and one can imagine 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 22$ 
 
 a novelist learning much from a diligent study of the 
 masters of the other type of literature. In theory, the 
 novel has often been considered as essentially a fictitious 
 biography. The word "life," as applied to the hero, has 
 been common in the titles of novels for a long period. 
 
 Goethe announced a certain theory of biographical interpretation 
 in his Dichtung und Wahrheit, and Defoe stated much the same idea 
 in the preface of Colonel Jacque : " neither is it of the least moment 
 to inquire whether the Colonel hath told his own story true or not ; if 
 he has made it a History or Parable, it will be equally useful," etc. 
 
 From the reader's point of view the fictitious hero of a 
 novel may appear more real, more vitally connected with 
 the reader's experience, than 'the hero of a biography, 
 however important in the world of actual history. As to 
 ethical effects, the resolution against prejudice, the enlarge- 
 ment of sympathy, the sense of human isolation or fellow- 
 ship, may be aroused quite as deeply by contact with a 
 character existing only in the imagination as with one that 
 actually sinned and repented. 
 
 Compare the treatment of famous historical characters in biography 
 and in fiction. In many cases, the popular conception, which is some- 
 times the true one also, has been created largely by the interpretation of 
 the novelist. Assuming that Silas Marner was a real individual, recast 
 the novel into the form of a biography. 
 
 182. History. At the present time, there is an effort 
 to construct history in the spirit of exact science. So far 
 as this effort succeeds, history passes altogether from the 
 domain of literature proper ; but in the past, and to a large 
 extent in the present, history belongs among the types of 
 artistic narrative. 
 
 The development of the historical sense, and the trans- 
 fer of emphasis from the ecclesiastical to the secular, are 
 
226 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 among the interesting points in which history may be com- 
 pared with the novel. Many novelists have done good 
 work in the other field ; and Karamzin, recognized as one 
 of the founders of historical writing in Russia, adapted to 
 history the general method of interpretation of human 
 experience which he first used in fiction. 
 
 Much of the preceding analysis of this volume may be 
 applied to any history which is at the same time an artistic 
 narrative. In a comparison with the novel, one may note 
 as items of more than technical significance, the problems 
 of relative emphasis upon events and persons, upon indi- 
 viduals and social groups ; the continuous, pressing demand 
 for selective process; the proportion between exhibition 
 and interpretation ; the possible interpretation of history in 
 terms of biology or theology ; and the methods of attaining 
 illusion. 
 
 The theory of the novel has often allied it with history. Fielding 
 writes in Tom Jones (IX, i), "as we have good authority for all our 
 characters, no less indeed than the vast authentic doomsday book of 
 nature, . . . our labors have sufficient title to the name of history." 
 This entire chapter is well worth reading, and comparing with simi- 
 lar passages of the same author. It is a curious fact that Defoe's 
 Plague Year is not only often classified with history in the libraries, 
 but has led to a spirited dispute among critics whether it is really to be 
 considered as in any sense a novel. Sidney's famous discussion of his- 
 tory and philosophy, in their relations to poetry, may be applied, with- 
 out essential change, to the criticism of the novel. 
 
 183. The Essay. The essay, as commonly understood 
 at present, originated in the awakened intellect of the 
 Renaissance, and has stood for the wide variety of inter- 
 ests of the modern secular mind. In this respect, and in 
 its lack of definite form, it resembles the novel. Many 
 individual essays could be better compared with the short 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 227 
 
 story, in that they give an isolated, intensive view of an 
 episodic subject. 
 
 One can easily recall eminent novelists who have been 
 successful in the essay ; but probably the typical essayist 
 is too abstract in thought to cultivate so concrete a form 
 of literature as the novel. The essay, as essay, does not 
 aim at any illusion for its principal effect, though it may 
 employ illusion as a means. It may, like the short story, 
 be primarily the expression of a mood, or an endeavor to 
 create a definite emotional or moral attitude in the reader. 
 The border line between the essay and the novel is crossed, 
 so far as form is concerned, by essays written in dialogic, 
 epistolary, or narrative form, and by novels in which the ex- 
 pository comment really dominates the composition. The 
 essay value of the author's comment, in brief passages or 
 in complete chapters of a novel, is often quite apparent. 
 
 184. The Lyric. The kinship of romance and of cer- 
 tain types of short story to the lyric has been mentioned 
 several times in the preceding pages. Pastoral romance, 
 as represented by Sannazaro's Arcadia, is not only largely 
 composed of verse, but is to a great extent an expression 
 of the lyrical episodes of the author's experience. In 
 important respects, the lyric is almost the exact antithesis 
 of the novel proper. In England, the modern novel arose 
 in a period when lyric poetry was at a very low ebb ; and 
 the lyrical schools of the romantic movement, and of pre- 
 Raphaelitism produced little that is significant in prose 
 fiction. It is not difficult to mention individual great 
 novelists who have written great lyric poetry ; but this con- 
 dition may be considered somewhat exceptional, and in 
 most cases it is easy to make clear distinction between the 
 lyrical and the novelistic talent of an author, either in 
 period of production or in artistic quality. 
 
228 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Hugo and Pushkin may be counted among the great lyrists, but their 
 prose fiction, in the main, does not belong with the novel proper. 
 Thackeray, George Eliot, George Meredith, and Thomas Hardy are all 
 lyric poets of some accomplishment, but can hardly be recognized as 
 among the great masters. Blake, Burns, Keats, Shelley, Heine, Ros- 
 setti the pure lyrists wrote nothing of great value in prose fiction. 
 
 A lyric may incidentally have many of the elements of 
 novelistic form, dialogue, realistic settings, sharply de- 
 fined incident, etc., but these elements do not belong 
 to the real nature of a lyric. It may use dialect, but usu- 
 ally becomes less lyrical thereby. The dramatic lyric, 
 such as Browning loved to write, has much in common 
 with the prose character study, but it is just so far removed 
 from the nature of pure song. 
 
 A lyric cannot be fairly judged by the same ethical 
 standards as the novel. Scepticism, morbidity, misan- 
 thropy, have very different values, recorded in a lyric of 
 transitory mood, and embodied in a novel which summa- 
 rizes the habitual attitude of the author. Again, a song 
 without any considerable ethical content might be worthy 
 of our admiration, whereas a long novel without deep 
 moral meaning might be severely condemned. 
 
 In the study of an individual novel, one may note the 
 traces of lyrical attitude in the original impulse, and in 
 the process of composition ; the passages of lyrical quality 
 in the final text ; and the lyrical effects upon the reader. 
 The incorporation of actual lyrics in a prose fiction has 
 been briefly noticed in Section 12. 
 
 In Silas Marner, select "lyrical germs" or motifs which could be 
 developed into a dirge, a pastoral song, a wedding hymn, a love sonnet, 
 etc. Study a few lyrics in which the narrative element is sufficient to 
 suggest a short story. Compare realistic lyrics, such as Rossetti's 
 Jenny, Tennyson's In the Children's Hospital, and Browning's La 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 229 
 
 Saisiaz, with realistic prose fiction, in the details of substance and 
 form. 
 
 See the glossary, under " lyrical." 
 
 185. Journalism. The historical associations of jour- 
 nalism with the novel are quite intimate, and have con- 
 tinued for two centuries. From the Sir Roger de Coverley 
 papers until the present time, the practise of publishing 
 prose fictions in periodicals has been common. Not only 
 The Spectator, but The Idler, The Rambler, and Gold- 
 smith's semi-journalistic Citizen of the World, all contain 
 much that is novelistic in subject; and make use of 
 such novelistic forms as the imaginary character, the 
 "feigned letter," dialogue, allegorical story, etc. The 
 book-reviewer was early recognized as an important power 
 in modifying the popularity of fiction in general, and of 
 individual works. Much of the best criticism of fiction, as 
 well as most of the worst, has appeared in periodicals. A 
 considerable number of novelists have been journalists, 
 and have carried the spirit and method of journalism into 
 the field of their art. 
 
 In spirit, journalism resembles the realistic novel in its 
 modernness, its social quality, its democracy, and its 
 secularity. A critic who vigorously attacked or defended 
 the one form of literature would logically take much the 
 same attitude toward the other. Both have been severely 
 criticized by the academic, classical mind, on aesthetic 
 grounds ; and by the puritanic mind, on ethical grounds. 
 
 Thoreau's advice to 'read not the times but the eternities,' would 
 forbid one to loiter with the vast majority of popular novels. These 
 words of his, with reference to the newspaper, are even more directly 
 anti-novelistic : "If you are acquainted with the principle, what do 
 you care for a myriad instances and applications ? To a philosopher 
 all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old 
 
230 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 women over their tea." 1 Compare Carlyle's interpretation of journal- 
 ism as serving one function of the church in modern society : " A preach- 
 ing friar settles himself in every village, and builds a pulpit, which he 
 calls Newspaper," '* etc. 
 
 186. Other Types of Literature. Among other literary 
 types with which a novel may be compared, with some 
 special fitness, are the "character," the letter, and the 
 sermon. 
 
 The treatment of individual life in the character is too 
 typical, too isolated, to resemble closely that of the novel ; 
 but character-writing made its contribution to the historical 
 development of the novel, and might still serve as a kind 
 of preliminary exercise for the novelist. A series of char- 
 acters, such as those of Earle's Microcosmography, may 
 make considerable approach to the novel, by way of stud- 
 ied contrasts, sketches of social groups, and description of 
 place settings. 
 
 The historical relation of letter-writing to the rise of the 
 novel in the eighteenth century is clear ; and there are 
 many similar technical points in the two forms. In a 
 series of real letters, one may note, in much the same 
 manner as in history or biography, the proportion of em- 
 phasis upon incident and character, upon the individual 
 and his social environment, upon exhibition and inter- 
 pretation, etc. 
 
 Outline the transformation of a dialogic and narrative novel into 
 epistolary structure. Compare the amount of novelistic material in 
 some of the famous series of real letters, such as the correspondence 
 of Goethe and Schiller, of Carlyle and Emerson, of Mrs. Montagu, 
 Horace Walpole, or Chesterfield. 
 
 The purpose novel sometimes approaches very near to 
 the nature of a sermon. It is often said that journalism 
 
 1 Walden ; What I lived for. a Sartor Resartus ; Organic Filaments. 
 
COMPARATIVE RHETORIC 231 
 
 and fiction have become substitutes for the sermon in 
 modern society. Compare the statement of Carlyle in the 
 preceding section. The number of recent novels with 
 titles based on a biblical text may be worthy of notice. 
 
 A sermonistic quality might be expected in the novels of Sterne, 
 Kingsley, and Newman. For one thing, a thinker accustomed to ad- 
 dress a living audience might be presumed to have an unusually clear 
 consciousness of his reading public, when he turns to literature as a 
 means of communication. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 COMPARATIVE AESTHETICS 
 
 187. Relation of the Separate Arts. When art in gen- 
 eral is examined in comparison with science, or life, or 
 nature, the differences between the separate arts may 
 appear of little moment. On the other hand, when any 
 single art is studied intensively for a long period, its indi- 
 vidual peculiarities may at times appear more important 
 than its family resemblance to the other arts. The arts 
 differ more in body, in form, than in spirit. It is clear 
 that they have very diverse modes of appeal to the senses ; 
 but the intellectual and moral messages they bring often 
 have a remarkable unity. The technical student of any 
 art is likely to emphasize its peculiarities of material and 
 process of execution, with too little attention to its more 
 general artistic values. On the contrary, some critics, 
 whose interest is mainly historical or ethical, may almost 
 lose sight of those physical characteristics which distinguish 
 each art from its fellows. 
 
 Among the arts there are small sub-groups with special bonds of 
 technical, theoretical, or historical union. Note, for example, the inti- 
 mate relations of music and the drama, of architecture and sculpture. In 
 some respects, the novel and the drama may be viewed as composing 
 such a group. 
 
 As a subject for poetic treatment, the relation of the arts is a com- 
 mon theme in Browning. Among other references one may recall the 
 ideas of Jules, in Pippa Passes, and of Aprile, in Paracelsus ; and the 
 career of Sordello, and of Cleon. The same conception at work in 
 
 232 
 
COMPARATIVE /ESTHETICS 233 
 
 the practise and theory of a real artist, is familiar in Browning's famous 
 contemporary, Wagner. 
 
 1 88. Classification of the Arts. The following simple 
 examples are given merely by way of illustration. More 
 elaborate classifications can readily be found in text-books 
 of aesthetics. 
 
 I. i. Presentative arts: architecture; music; land- 
 scape gardening. 
 2. Representative arts : painting ; sculpture ; 
 
 drama ; poetry. 
 II. 1 i. Plastic arts: architecture; sculpture; painting. 
 
 2. Tonic arts : music ; song ; poetry. 
 
 3. Mimical arts : dance; meloplastik ; drama. 
 III. 2 i. Arts of sound : poetry ; music ; dancing. 
 
 2. Arts of sight: sculpture; painting; architecture. 
 
 Such classifications give one a general view of the aesthetic 
 relations of the novel ; which is, of course, included under 
 poetry. 
 
 189. Method of Study. The analysis of the novel in 
 the preceding pages, in its larger outlines, may be applied 
 to any work of art. The topics of such analysis may be 
 summarized thus : external material ; external structure ; 
 internal structure ; subject-matter ; style ; the process of 
 composition ; the shaping forces ; the effects produced. 
 The novel could be compared, in all these points, 'seriatim, 
 with each of the other kinds of art. If one wishes to lay 
 the emphasis more strongly upon the types of art, as sepa- 
 rate wholes of interest, it may be best to follow other 
 
 1 Zeising : ^sthetische Forschungen. 
 
 2 Veron : Esthetics. The somewhat curious classification of dancing is 
 explained on p. 29. 
 
234 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 methods of study. One form of simpler comparison might 
 note, in a general way, the historical, technical, and theo- 
 retical relations. 
 
 In the present volume, the individual novel is supposed to be the 
 central subject of inquiry, and abstract theory to be subordinate to 
 acquaintance with an actual concrete work. The study could be made 
 most specific by comparison of an individual novel with an individual 
 work in each of the other arts. 
 
 190. The Drama. The drama is essentially a composite 
 art, based on the cooperation of play-writing, dramaturgy, 
 and histrionics. Its text, considered purely as poetry, may 
 be compared with the novel in the same general manner 
 as was suggested for the epic in the preceding chapter. 
 
 Any analysis of the relations of the drama proper and the novel may 
 be modified for the various forms of music drama. The recent devel- 
 opment of a new form of " melodrama," offers some very interesting 
 points to the student of any type of plot-literature. 
 
 The historical relations of the drama and the novel have 
 been intimate throughout Europe. In many respects the 
 two arts have aided one another, and have satisfied much 
 the same emotional cravings, in both the artist and his 
 public. The sources of a dramatic text have very com- 
 monly been found in other forms of literature ; and since 
 the Renaissance, the novel has been one of the favorite 
 forms. To some extent, however, as is the case with the 
 novel and the epic, the novel and the drama may be con- 
 sidered as rivals. 
 
 Among the famous novelists who have done notable work in the 
 drama, are Goethe, Manzoni, Hugo, and Tolstoi. Fielding is a particu- 
 larly interesting example. Considered by some critics as the very 
 greatest of English novelists, he is also one of the chief figures in the 
 English dramatic history of his century. 
 
 The list of well-known novels which have been dramatized would 
 
COMPARATIVE AESTHETICS 235 
 
 be very extensive. Scott and Dickens have had abundant representa- 
 tion upon the stage, and Rousseau, Balzac, Dostoyevsky, and Zola have 
 been honored in like manner, if not in like degree. 
 
 Seiiora Pardo Bazan gives the great vogue of the drama in Spain 
 as an important cause of the retardation of the novel in that country. 
 Professor Raleigh mentions more than one historical situation, in Eng- 
 land, in which the one art has thrived at the expense of the other. 
 
 The criticism of the novel, in general and in many 
 details, has been based upon the previously developed 
 criticism of the drama. Many technical terms and analy- 
 ses familiar in the criticism of fiction have been borrowed 
 from the other field. A glance at the list of types in the 
 appendix will indicate the great extent to which the classi- 
 fication of fiction illustrates this fact. Hostility to the 
 novel on aesthetic grounds has not always implied hostility 
 to the drama, but in general ethical attacks upon art, the 
 two forms have frequently been condemned for substan- 
 tially the same reasons. 
 
 The technical differences between the novel and the 
 drama have often been reviewed in recent criticism. In 
 exactness of structure and finish of detail, the drama has 
 obvious advantages. It is marked by immediacy in its 
 costumes, scenery, and stage properties ; its spoken lan- 
 guage, its living human bodies. The actor shares with the 
 orator the privilege and the responsibility of using his own 
 body as in a strict sense his primary artistic material. The 
 effects, at least upon the unimaginative mind, are for these 
 reasons likely to be very sharply defined ; but there may 
 be danger of emphasizing the material at the expense of 
 the moral. 
 
 Again, every stage presentation of a dramatic text gives 
 it a new interpretation, and produces almost an independ- 
 ent work of art. This interpretation introduces a group 
 
236 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 of artists between the writer and the audience, whereas 
 the novelist comes into one's presence unaided and 
 unhindered. There is one Shylock in Shakespeare's poem, 
 another for the individual reader of the play, and another 
 for the playgoer who sees Sir Henry Irving's " creation " 
 of the character. 
 
 The novel is much more free than the drama in the 
 treatment of vague settings, physiognomy, gesture, and 
 speech ; in flexible transitions in time, place, incident, and 
 rate of movement ; in the introduction of animal and child 
 life, and the supernatural; in thematic discussion, and 
 direct interpretation of the author. 
 
 The " dramatic " element may be found in painting, 
 music, and sculpture, though drama is the art in which it 
 is most adequately presented. An idea of the dramatic 
 is gained by combining such ideas as intensity, activity, 
 causal series, struggle, and physical presence. It is inter- 
 esting to select and study the chief dramatic qualities of a 
 great novel, and to note to what degree and in what man- 
 ner it is a potential drama. The scenes d faire (see the 
 glossary) of a novel are not necessarily those of a drama 
 following the same general plan. 
 
 Among the most dramatic situations of Silas Marner, are the draw- 
 ing of the lots, the quarrel of the brothers, Eppie at the New Year's 
 party, and the visit of Nancy and Godfrey to Silas. Analyze the dra- 
 matic quality of these and other scenes according to the suggestions 
 just given. Among situations which a dramatist might very possibly 
 have inserted are meetings between Molly (living) and Godfrey, and 
 Molly and Nancy. 
 
 An attempt to dramatize this novel brings into prominence such dif- 
 ficulties as these : the child life of Eppie ; the considerable amount 
 of author's comment ; the reveries of characters, hardly capable of being 
 expressed in dramatic language ; the animal life ; the long intervals and 
 other irregularities in time perspective. 
 
COMPARATIVE /ESTHETICS 237 
 
 191. Painting. In painting, the value of pure form 
 may be the chief interest for many artists and many critics ; 
 but to the mind of the average man, the subject-matter, the 
 power of painting to express substantial ideas, emotions, 
 and incidents, are at least of equal importance. If a paint- 
 ing is considered for its purely formal value, the compari- 
 son with the short story is closer than that with the novel. 
 The external material of painting is less significant than 
 that of any other art. 
 
 Schasler gives this suggestive, though perhaps somewhat theoretical, 
 parallelism between painting and poetry 1 : 
 
 PAINTING POETRY 
 
 Subjective : landscape ; lyric. 
 
 Objective : genre ; epic. 
 
 Subjective-objective : historical ; dramatic. 
 
 This tabulation suggests the old questions of the legitimacy of literary 
 painting, and of pictorial literature ; and touches that general compari- 
 son of plastic art and literature considered in Lessing's Laokoon. 
 
 Both painting and the novel may represent individuals 
 and groups, animals, inanimate objects, landscapes, inte- 
 riors, historical or fictitious incidents, etc. Painting must 
 describe all these subjects through the medium of concrete 
 and condensed visible imagery, without outside comment. 
 This fact may lead to an emphasis on the typical, and a 
 tendency toward the symbolical. The two arts differ in 
 subject-matter in this respect : the novel is always centered 
 in humanity, whereas a painting may be devoted to nature, 
 either animate or inanimate. Details such as tapestry, 
 architectural ruins, animal groups, etc., which must be 
 entirely episodic in the novel, may be the subject of whole 
 compositions in the other art. Many phases of social life 
 
 1 System der Kunste. 
 
238 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 martial, domestic, ecclesiastical are treated in such 
 kindred manner in the two arts as to invite a comparative 
 study. Any romance of chivalry, pastoral romance, or 
 novel of domestic life may be compared with individual 
 paintings concerned with the same subjects. The battle- 
 field, to cite one specific theme, has been represented in 
 art principally by fiction and by painting. 
 
 Even the single painting, but in a clearer manner, a series of paintings, 
 such as Hogarth's Marriage a la Mode, may introduce a decided narra- 
 tive element, and approximate the interest of plot proper. Painting has 
 frequently taken its subjects from fictitious literature, and interesting 
 studies may be made by comparison of literary narratives with series 
 of paintings illustrating them. For example, compare Abbey's Holy 
 Grail pictures in the Boston Public Library with Tennyson's epic. 
 
 In theory, the novel and painting both introduce the 
 question of artistic illusion, its purpose and the methods 
 of attaining it ; the question of form versus expression of 
 subject ; and the relation of art to morals. (See the quo- 
 tation from Henry James in the notes on novelistic criti- 
 cism, in the appendix.) While classicism and romanticism 
 may both be examined comparatively in the two arts, 
 it is in connection with realism and impressionism that 
 recent criticism has made the most fruitful comparisons. 
 
 While no novel could be adequately represented by a 
 single painting, every novel contains many details which 
 could be given with equal force, often with more adequacy, 
 through the other art. 
 
 In Silas Marner, outline a single painting which would be the best 
 possible pictorial representation of the entire composition. Suggest 
 any probable changes of emphasis upon persons, incidents, landscapes, 
 interiors, etc., if the novelist had also been a painter. 
 
 Among small details which have a certain purely pictorial quality, 
 notice the tankards and the smoky atmosphere at the Rainbow ; the 
 gleam of the fire upon Eppie's hair ; the mist in which Dunstan ap- 
 
COMPARATIVE AESTHETICS 239 
 
 preached the cottage ; the texture of the disturbed sand on the floor 
 of the cottage, and of a piece of linen in the process of weaving ; the 
 dresses at the New Year's party. In the elements of light and color, 
 a novel may be compared with painting, not only in details, but in gen- 
 eral effects upon the reader. Fragmentary pictorial values in Silas 
 Marner are the autumnal colors of the foliage ; the bright turf contrasted 
 with dark cones ; the shadows lengthening under the hedgerows ; the 
 ash-fretted screen ; the dark-blue cotton gown of Eppie, setting off her 
 white throat, etc. The general color scheme of this novel may be said, 
 perhaps not too fancifully, to be somewhat sombre, in keeping with the 
 dominant emotional tone. 
 
 As portraits of types of character, consider the subjects of the pedlar ; 
 the country doctor ; the Squire; the horse-trader; the miser; the sis- 
 ters ; the childless, etc. For scenes of a larger scope, consider the puss 
 and the pup; the Rainbow group; theological discussion of peasants ; 
 Christmas in the village church ; the peasants' wedding ; Molly's 
 death ; Eppie by the pond ; learning to smoke. The author herself 
 suggests one scene for a painter. It is interesting to remember that 
 the novel originated in what might be called a pictorial memory. 
 
 192. Sculpture. Historically viewed, sculpture differs 
 from the novel in that it was a highly developed art dur- 
 ing the classical period. Its best examples have perhaps 
 always been "classical" in a broad sense; and what is 
 classical is to some extent anti-novelistic. It is with the 
 epic rather than with the novel that one might best asso- 
 ciate sculpture, in an aesthetic comparison. The intimate 
 historical associations of sculpture with architecture have 
 no exact analogies in the relations of the novel to any 
 other art. 
 
 In this art, the external material is often of great beauty 
 and rarity, considered in itself. It is often little known in 
 the ordinary practical uses of life ; in this respect offering 
 a striking contrast to language. The externality of form 
 in sculpture is very pronounced, and is the element which 
 is often the most impressive to the average spectator. 
 
240 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Certain languages may be called sculpturesque, in a figu- 
 rative sense, but these languages (Latin clearly being 
 one) are not the ones most responsive to the art of the 
 novelist. 
 
 Sculpture may characterize the individual and the 
 group, may represent a simple incident, and, in a series of 
 compositions, may approach very closely to a plot-interest. 
 It is clearly anti-novelistic in reference to the qualities of 
 complexity and comprehensiveness ; and it cannot rival 
 the flexibility of the novel in the delicate shadings of emo- 
 tion, incident, or description of place. Even more than 
 painting, though for similar reasons, sculpture shows a 
 tendency toward the typical and the symbolical. 
 
 The choiceness of the materials used in sculpture, com- 
 bined with the necessity for a masterly physical process 
 of execution, may suggest that a subject ought logically 
 to be dignified and of large permanent significance to 
 deserve the epithet " sculpturesque." In addition to these 
 qualities, the sculpturesque implies calmness, objectivity, 
 perfection of form, simplicity of outline, and a high de- 
 gree of intellectual interest. The rigid repression of non- 
 essentials is necessary. Sculpture may be said to reproduce 
 life sub specie ceternitatis the eternity of material form 
 at least ; whereas the novel lives to a large extent by vir- 
 tue of its treatment of the' concrete and transitory. Some 
 short stories may be called sculpturesque in their entirety ; 
 in a novel, this quality must be episodic, though it need 
 not be accidental. 
 
 In Silas Marner, there are several passages which have a consider- 
 able sculpturesque quality, according to the analysis just given. Note, 
 for example, the comparative simplicity, self-repression, and intellectual 
 calm of Chapter XIX. As subjects for actual treatment in sculpture 
 one might suggest : Wildfire dying ; the old violinist ; Godfrey and 
 
COMPARATIVE /ESTHETICS 24! 
 
 his spaniel ; the doctor looking at dead Molly ; and " Memory " (Nancy 
 in reverie). Godfrey, because of his fine form, might be especially 
 attractive to the portrait-sculptor. 
 
 193. Music. As in the novel, from the present-day 
 point of view, the greatest development in this art has 
 been mainly since the Renaissance, and even to a large 
 degree since the beginning of the eighteenth century. 
 Unlike the novel, the progress of music has been associ- 
 ated with increasing perfection of mechanical agencies 
 of expression. Another point in common with the novel 
 is the democracy of music, its wide-spread popularity, 
 which results in a certain tendency to lower its standards 
 among the masses. 
 
 In the general history of art, the romantic movement 
 has special relations to music ; while realism, so prominent 
 in painting, has comparatively scant embodiment in pure 
 music. The works of Chopin, Mendelssohn, and Bee- 
 thoven may be compared in many important respects 
 with the fictions of Manzoni, Hugo, and Pushkin. The 
 relations of morality to art, the contrast between the eccle- 
 siastical and the secular service of art, are other topics 
 which have much in common in the histories of music 
 and of the novel. 
 
 The external material of music is not only closely re- 
 lated to that of the novel, but is in part actually identical 
 with it. This fact opens up a very inviting field of techni- 
 cal criticism. The sciences which most directly concern 
 this material in the two arts, are both branches of acous- 
 tics; but the science of music may or must approach 
 more closely to an exact mathematical basis than philology. 
 
 Music resembles the novel in that it is composed of 
 details arranged in a temporal series. This fact makes 
 possible a comparison of many such points as preparation, 
 
242 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 reminiscence, mass, episode, cadence, introduction, conclu- 
 sion, etc., in the two arts. In orchestral or chorus music, 
 the interweaving of separable elements resembles the 
 corresponding composition of plot. The analysis of a 
 sonata or a symphony might be helpful to the stu- 
 dent of formal structure in the novel. The "line of 
 emotion" for a novel, as given in Section 35, could often 
 be very closely followed in musical interpretation. In 
 general, the entire structure of a great musical composition 
 will bear more rigid analytical investigation than that of 
 a novel. Instrumental music cannot narrate, but it has 
 the power to furnish a significant accompaniment to a 
 literary narration, or to suggest itself a series of the prin- 
 cipal incidents already familiar in a literary composition. 
 
 Though the term "descriptive" is found in musical 
 criticism, it has not the same application as in fiction. 
 The general mental and emotional elements of a situation 
 can be suggested by music, but it cannot reproduce the 
 exact details of place or time settings. Music can give 
 the general atmosphere of the seasons, of morning and 
 of evening, but it could not represent with any accuracy 
 the historical period of Ivanhoe, or the particular evening 
 of Molly Cass' death. 
 
 Compare the aesthetic interpretation of Delirium, Sadness of Soul, 
 Consolation, in Mendelssohn's Songs without Words, with the inter- 
 pretation of similar themes in a novel. 
 
 The terms " dramatic " and " lyrical " are also found in 
 musical criticism. In its way, music can characterize indi- 
 viduals, the seven ages of man, or the life of social groups. 
 
 Compare the presentation of the Scandinavian peasant in the music of 
 Grieg with the corresponding literary descriptions of Bjornson, Lie, and 
 Kieliand. The national characteristics of the Pole appear in the music 
 of Chopin as well as in the conscious literary analysis of Sienkiewicz. 
 
COMPARATIVE /ESTHETICS 243 
 
 It is with the lyrical element of fiction that music in 
 general has the most obvious kinship ; and this fact once 
 more places the short story and the romance in a separate 
 category from the novel. Music stands unrivalled in its 
 power to suggest the vague, the supernatural, etc., and to 
 produce all the effects of sudden and delicate emotional 
 transition. 
 
 As in the drama, so in a musical performance by others 
 than the composer, there is an artist intervening between 
 the original artist and the audience; and the physical 
 process of execution is visibly and immediately before the 
 audience. 
 
 A question of special interest, which may be taken as 
 representative of a large class of questions concerning the 
 musical type of style, is the capacity of musical art to 
 express the comic. 
 
 In Silas Marner, suggest the themes and the general tone of child 
 songs for Eppie, and of instrumental accompaniment for Aaron. The 
 general style of the music in the Lantern Yard church service is quite 
 clearly indicated in the text. Among the musical themes toward which 
 certain episodes of the novel point, are, the spirit of the spring and of 
 the autumn ; moods of memory, longing, and love ; the marriage of 
 peasants ; labor at the loom ; the solitary Christmas ; an old-fashioned 
 country New Year's dance; an evening at the village inn; and the 
 death of the opium eater. 
 
 194. Architecture. The historical relations of classical, 
 Gothic, Renaissance, and revived Gothic architecture, have 
 definite analogies in the field of fiction. In both arts, the 
 transition from ecclesiastical to secular influences, the 
 shifting of emphasis from a common church to individual 
 nationalities, has much the same general outline. Doubt- 
 less national schools have been much more determinate in 
 the more material art. One could hardly imagine Ruskin 
 
244 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 making a plea for an English school of fiction, with such 
 a detailed program as he suggested for a school of archi- 
 tecture. It was in those countries which had a rich Gothic 
 architecture that the romantic movement was most naturally 
 developed. (Compare Garnett's statement, given in Sec- 
 tion 153.) The Gothic elements in architecture and in 
 fiction were in one manner or another connected in the 
 minds of Horace Walpole, Goethe, Scott, Mrs. Radcliffe, 
 and Hugo. 
 
 In external materials, architecture varies more than any 
 other art. In part, it uses rare and precious materials, 
 associated mainly with artistic service ; in part, materials 
 as common and as intimately associated with practical daily 
 life as language. In materials and in structure, architec- 
 ture is the most objective of the arts. The average mind 
 is at once impressed by the mere physical presence 
 length, height, mass of a great building; and these 
 characteristics are also of essential artistic meaning. The 
 labor of construction, and the comparative permanence of 
 works of architecture, are facts which make the lamp of 
 memory shine more clearly in its domain than in that 
 of fiction. The processes of material decay, addition, and 
 restoration have no analogies in the novel. 
 
 The relation of part to whole is very different in a build- 
 ing and in a novel. In the former, there are many details 
 which have less artistic meaning, separately considered, 
 than the single words in a work of fiction. Yet it is in 
 unity of structure that the two arts may be most readily 
 compared. The best plots in the novel have a marked 
 architectural quality. When the mind grasps the general 
 design of a cathedral, the effect ceases to be sensuous and 
 becomes one of the best examples of calm, free, intellect- 
 ual mastery over the senses to be found in any form of art. 
 
COMPARATIVE ESTHETICS 245 
 
 In all that concerns the warmth of concrete individual 
 experience, the trivial affairs of the common heart, archi- 
 tecture can offer no successful rivalry to the novel. It 
 cannot readily be associated with the emotional history of 
 an individual artist, as every novel can be. So far as 
 architecture serves practical purposes as a shelter from the 
 elements, and a center for community interests, it is con- 
 nected with social life, however, in a more real manner 
 than the novel is. 
 
 In any novel of ethical quality, Ruskin's interpretation of the lights 
 and shadows of architecture can be applied. In an imaginative view, 
 the note of aspiration in Silas Marner is Gothic, the sceptical element 
 belongs to the Renaissance. This novel is hardly simple enough in 
 general structure to be classical ; not sensuous enough to be Oriental. 
 There is of course pronounced contrast between the lights and shadows 
 of human experience. The constant presence of the -author's personal- 
 ity is an important non-architectural quality. There is too much of her 
 feminine and personal view, too little of the social, the national, or 
 racial, for the spirit of architecture. 
 
 195. Landscape Gardening. The Catholic spirit of the 
 middle ages was inclined to consider nature as under the 
 curse of human sin, and given over to the devil. The art 
 of landscape gardening, in modern Europe, is one of the 
 innumerable results of the Renaissance spirit. At first it 
 seems to have been decidedly aristocratic in tendency, as 
 appears in the essay of Bacon on Gardens, and in similar 
 essays by later writers. In the verse of the Restoration 
 period, the parks of London are associated largely with 
 the sovereign rather than with the citizens. Later, the 
 progress of democracy may be followed in this art in a 
 line causally related to the corresponding line in the history 
 of fiction. The schools of pseudo-classic, romantic, and 
 realistic taste are all represented in landscape gardening. 
 
246 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Addison, for example, shows in this respect, as in many 
 others, an interesting combination of pseudo-classicism with 
 a foreshadowing of Gothic taste. 
 
 The external materials of this art are natural in a more 
 complete sense than is true of any other art. Landscape 
 gardening, from one point of view, might be called the 
 most real of all the arts ; and in connection with real- 
 ism, the idealization of nature, and especially with natural- 
 ism, a comparison with the novel offers some quite tangible 
 points. In subject-matter, it would be very difficult to give 
 any specific theme for a work of landscape gardening, 
 which could be in any definite way compared with themes 
 in the other arts. 
 
 There are some analogies, interesting to the fancy at least, in the 
 relations of miniature compositions to life-size in this art and in prose 
 fiction. The small, perfectly kept city square might be compared 
 in a number of respects with the short story ; while such great master- 
 pieces of the art as Lincoln Park, Central Park, and Hyde Park, or still 
 more clearly the entire unified system of parks in a great modern city, 
 might be quite closely compared with the full-length novel, in some very 
 important if very broad qualities of style. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 GENERAL ESTHETIC INTEREST 
 
 196. Esthetic Analysis and Esthetic Theory. If, with- 
 out any a priori theory of what art is or should be, an in- 
 ductive, comparative study is made of works of art, certain 
 common elements are discovered in all of them. It may be 
 that no one of these elements, or even the combination of 
 them, will entirely distinguish an artistic work from a non- 
 artistic ; but a careful study of them may keep the student 
 from wandering too far from facts in his later theorizing. 
 
 In the present volume, the intention has been to follow, in the main, 
 the method of such an inductive study. A summary of some of the 
 principal points of analysis has been given in Section 189. In this chap- 
 ter, the movement is, in a general way, from such analysis toward a more 
 free, and perhaps a more suggestive, glance at aesthetic theory. 
 
 197. Nature and Humanity in a Work of Art. Art may 
 be briefly and broadly characterized as the modification of 
 nature by man. 
 
 Nature appears in every work of art, first, in a direct 
 manner, in the sensuous material which the artist uses as a 
 medium ; second, in a more remote manner, in the mental 
 substance and form for the artist takes his ideas largely 
 from nature, and arranges them in forms, particularly those 
 of space and time, which are in a real sense given to man 
 by nature. 
 
 The humanity of a work of art appears always in the 
 personality of the artist and the personality of the recipient ; 
 often, and in the novel always, in the subject-matter. 
 
 247 
 
248 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 198. Language as External Material. Considering 
 language as an artistic medium, one may study its an- 
 tiquity, beauty, rarity, flexibility, etc., in itself, or in compari- 
 son with the other mediums of art. It has already been 
 noticed that language is in such constant use in practical 
 life that the average mind finds it somewhat difficult to 
 acquire a keen sense of its qualities as an artistic material. 
 This fact might be considered as an advantage or a disad- 
 vantage for the novelist. To the realistic novelist, it has a 
 certain clear advantage. 
 
 No sensuous material can ever be perfectly satisfactory 
 as a medium through which to express all the nature of an 
 artistic soul. This fact recalls the various technical and 
 moral attitudes of the artist toward his material. He may 
 be vexed at its limitations, and attempt in a rebellious 
 spirit to transcend them ; or he may take delight in calm 
 obedience to the will of nature, as it appears in marble, 
 paint, or language. He may fail to acquire complete un- 
 derstanding of his medium ; or he may become so absorbed 
 in it as almost to forget that ideas and ideals may be 
 expressed by means of its service. 
 
 Some degree of special interest in language would naturally prove 
 helpful in the study of a novel. One with a limited color sense would 
 hardly make the most successful student of painting ; one indifferent to 
 variations of tone would not undertake serious criticism of music as an 
 art. 
 
 It is mainly the facts and theories immediately related to the external 
 mediums of art which give rise to physiological aesthetics. 1 The physio- 
 logical view of art seems to require less emphasis in literature than in 
 the non-literary arts, because language itself is only in part to be con- 
 sidered as a sensuous medium. 
 
 1 For special attention to this phase of aesthetic interest see, for example, 
 Grant Allen's Physiological Esthetics, N.Y., 1877; and Veron. 
 
GENERAL AESTHETIC INTEREST 
 
 The arts may be ranked according to the materiality of 
 the mediums they employ. On this basis, Hegel arranged 
 the scale of the fine arts thus : architecture, sculpture, 
 painting, music, poetry. 1 In one important respect, there- 
 fore, this philosopher gives a very high place to the novel 
 (if considered as poetry) ; though the judgment might not 
 have much weight with an anti-Hegelian. 
 
 199. The Value of Form. Form is an elemental fact in 
 nature, and in large part artistic form is a more or less 
 direct imitation of natural form. In a more inevitable 
 manner, form is an essential element in all art, as defined 
 in Section 197 ; the main human modification of nature 
 being in the form and not in the composition of the 
 material. 
 
 The student cannot escape the presence of form, how- 
 ever much he is inclined to under-estimate it ; nor can he 
 escape the fact that it is mainly in this form external 
 and internal that the humanity and the significant indi- 
 viduality of a work of art inhere. His theory may make 
 form less important than matter, but his analysis must 
 invariably turn and return to the development of raw mate- 
 rial into expressive shape. (Compare the first conception 
 of style, in Section 121.) 
 
 In the novel, form is of emphatic value, because even 
 the external material has almost no artistic meaning con- 
 sidered purely as a natural product, and reveals the shap- 
 ing mind of the artist in all its continuous and intricate 
 details. 
 
 200. Individuality of a Work of Art. The simple fact 
 that a work of art is given a material embodiment is suffi- 
 
 1 See Weber's History of Philosophy, English translation, p. 524 ff. 
 
2$0 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 cient to give it a physical individuality for no two por- 
 tions of matter can occupy the same place at the same 
 time. Such individuality, however, belongs to works of 
 nature as well as to works of art, and guarantees nothing 
 more than such numerical identity as is found in every 
 grain of sand. In works of art made by machinery, also, 
 two pieces may be alike so far as the eye can detect ; and 
 of exactly equal artistic value, so far as the imagination 
 can discover. It is human mind or human hands which 
 give noblest form to a composition, and it is practically 
 impossible for the mind to think twice in exactly the same 
 manner ; or for the hands to repeat their execution 
 exactly, in a true expression of mind. 
 
 The last fact does not prove that every novel has a note- 
 worthy value of beauty or moral stimulus ; but it does 
 indicate that every novel is an unmistakably individual 
 work from the strictly historical, social, and psychological 
 points of view. There are no real duplicates in the history 
 of fiction ; for there are no two novels with the same 
 arrangement of words. 
 
 201. Unity General Design. Unity may be viewed 
 as a characteristic of external nature, or as an ideal of the 
 human mind. In either case it extends beyond the boun- 
 daries of art ; but in art there is an unusual opportunity to 
 conceive and attain a satisfactory form of unity. Even 
 without definite purpose of the artist, and apart from all 
 theory as to what art should be, a significant degree of 
 unity is found in every work of art, through a necessity 
 of the artistic process. 
 
 In some works, a more satisfying unity may be found in certain 
 details than in the composition as a whole. In the novel, examine the 
 unity of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters ; of single incidents and 
 single characters. 
 
GENERAL ESTHETIC INTEREST 251 
 
 Examples of well-unified chapters were given in Chapter I. In Silas 
 Marner, unity of character is perhaps best represented in some of the 
 minor dramatis personae Mrs. Winthrop and Macey, for example. 
 The marriage of Eppie is one of the most thoroughly unified events of 
 the novel. Make a study comparing these and similar details with the 
 details of a musical composition, a painting, and a cathedral. 
 
 It is in the general design that the most severe test of 
 unity is found. In the novel this design is a larger value 
 than plot, in the narrow sense of unified action. Whether 
 it include details outside the illusion or not, is a matter 
 of definition ; but it is clear that in an important sense, 
 every word in the novel belongs to a single composition. 
 (Compare Sections 4 and 29.) A high standard of unity 
 demands that all the author's comment, dramatic or non- 
 dramatic, brief or extended, should have clear and vital 
 relation intellectual, imaginative, or emotional to the 
 general design of the work. 
 
 Unity may be examined with reference to the author, 
 the work itself, or the effect upon the reader. The short 
 story is often very well-unified in the last particular. (See 
 the glossary, under '''impression.") In the work itself, 
 the central unity may be found in incident, character 
 (compare Smollett's definition of a novel, in the notes on 
 novelistic criticism), or character group, setting, theme, or 
 style ; or it may be impossible to locate it in any one 
 element. The novel proper is more likely to emphasize 
 character, in this function ; the romance often centralizes 
 in incident ; the short story is very variable. 
 
 Again, unity may be viewed as physical, intellectual, or 
 moral. Physical unity is only indirectly represented in the 
 novel ; and can be best examined in the spatial arts. In- 
 tellectual unity belongs most clearly to a true philosophical 
 interpretation, either in the author or the reader. Moral 
 
252 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 unity, found in a free and fearless soul, that remembers 
 the maxim, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of 
 little minds," would be considered almost the supreme 
 excellence of a novel by some ethical critics. 
 
 Unity may be called simple or complex, in reference to 
 the amount and variety of material unified ; and in art 
 each of these types of unity has its peculiar interest. A 
 very simple unity is studied to better advantage in the 
 plastic arts or in the short story than in the novel. The 
 unity of a novel, when attained, is comparable with that 
 of a large scientific, historical, or philosophical generali- 
 zation. 
 
 In connection with the last point, one may note as ten- 
 dencies which endanger a satisfactory form of unity : the 
 failure to exhibit a complexity sufficient to make the unifi- 
 cation of it a real artistic achievement, a victory of imagina- 
 tion or character over the confusion of mere phenomena ; 
 the opposite error of accumulating more material than can 
 be given vital unity ; and the assumption of a superficial 
 unity, that cannot endure careful investigation. 
 
 202. Contrast. As with unity, contrast may be con- 
 sidered as an element in the nature of things, or in the 
 nature of the mind (compare Section 101, Royce); but in 
 art there is special opportunity to express it in significant 
 and attractive forms. Contrast is so easily conceived that 
 the chief danger is often that of over-use of its resources. 
 This opportunity and this danger are probably more 
 obvious in the short story and the romance than in the 
 novel proper ; yet because contrast is so important a fact 
 in life itself, it must have a considerable place in extended 
 realistic fiction. 
 
 In the novel, contrast may be found within the limits of 
 
GENERAL AESTHETIC INTEREST 253 
 
 a single element, as in a paradoxical character ; or in the 
 relations of two elements, as in contrast of incident and 
 setting, of theme and character, etc. It may appear in the 
 consecutive structure, in small or large units ; or be em- 
 bodied in more complex manner in the warp and woof of the 
 " internal structure." Contrast in the novel cannot have 
 that direct appeal to the senses which it may have in the 
 spatial arts, and it is likely for that reason to be more 
 intellectual or more moral in immediate quality. Again, 
 the novel must study contrast as it appears in concrete 
 incidents, persons, and places, warm with human associa- 
 tion ; and cannot make that direct appeal to the intellectual 
 interest in abstract contrast, possible in music or archi- 
 tecture. 
 
 In plot-analysis, two large phases of contrast have 
 already been noted that between the rise and the fall 
 of the action, and that between play and counter-play. 
 
 In Silas Marner, an example of a broad contrast, which can be carried 
 out into considerable detail, is found in the relations of Lantern Yard 
 and Raveloe. Note the two congregations, the two churches, the two 
 pastors, the two life-episodes in the hero himself, etc. Contrast in the 
 life of Lantern Yard itself is found between the picture in the early part 
 of the novel, and that of the visit in Chapter XXI. The general con- 
 trast between the joyous and the sad in this novel has already been 
 compared with the lights and shadows of architecture. (Section 194.) 
 
 203. Proportion. Of this quality, once more, fiction can- 
 not give so direct and sensuous evidence as the spatial arts ; 
 but the general principle of proportion can be traced in a 
 well-constructed novel, with the result of increased aesthetic 
 delight. In music and the spatial arts, repetition, audible 
 and visible, respectively, is a means of bringing out the 
 value of proportion which is much less definitely used in 
 the novel. 
 
254 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 A certain degree of artistic proportion may sometimes 
 be found in the alternation of dialogic and non-dialogic 
 form. (See Section 28.) Often, in the novel, better 
 examples of proportion are found in the relation of small 
 parts to a large part, than in the relation of parts to the 
 whole composition. In a well-constructed episode there is 
 often a satisfactory proportion between the incidents and 
 the event, and between events and episode. In any scene 
 which would be called finely artistic, there is a true dis- 
 tribution of values between the characters, the action and 
 the settings. In the novel as a whole, common sense or 
 moral sense may demand a reasonable proportion between 
 mass and artistic meaning, between exhibition and inter- 
 pretation, and between the tragic and the comic. 
 
 As an example from Silas Marner, study the value of proportion in 
 the relation of the Lantern Yard and the Raveloe life in number ot 
 incidents and characters, in space given to exhibition and interpreta- 
 tion, in the massing at important turning points, etc. 
 
 204. The Comic and the Tragic. An initial idea of 
 these qualities may be gained by a suggestive contrast of 
 their characteristics. The following analysis may not 
 prove very accurate, but it leads the way to an examina- 
 tion of the contrast in concrete examples. It is not to be 
 assumed that any one item is sufficient to distinguish the 
 two qualities, but a combination of several may be a fairly 
 accurate test. 
 
 THE COMIC THE TRAGIC 
 
 (1) The social. The individual. 
 
 (2) The pleasurable. The painful. 
 
 (3) The normal. The abnormal. 
 
 (4) The intelligible. The unintelligible. 
 
 These characteristics may be examined in the experience 
 of life itself, as well as in art. In both life and art, among 
 
GENERAL /ESTHETIC INTEREST 255 
 
 common conceptions of tragic condition are social ostra- 
 cism (compare the treatment of exile in the epic and the 
 drama), disease, insanity, crime, sin, and death. 
 
 Pseudo-madness is a favorite motif through which to suggest the 
 tragic without fully entering its domain, as in The Comedy of Errors. 
 Temporary madness may also be introduced with comic effect, as in 
 A Midsummer Night's Dream. Compare the treatment of madness in 
 Don Quixote and in Sir Launcelot Greaves. Smollett had the power 
 and the tendency to treat insanity both in a spirit of Gothic horror, and 
 in a spirit of Shakespearian burlesque. 
 
 Compare the treatment of death in the beginning of Sense and 
 Sensibility and in Silas Marner. In the former example, death is 
 scarcely tragic, because it is considered as a normal event, and looked 
 at from a social point of view the view of comparatively happy living 
 persons, who dominate the interest of the author and the reader. The 
 responses of Miss Austen and George Eliot to Queen Gertrude's 
 truism, 
 
 " Thou know'st 'tis common ; all that lives must die, 
 Passing through nature to eternity," 
 
 are curiously unlike. Very famous tragic conceptions of death are 
 found in Werther and in Clarissa. Analyze the manner in which Rich- 
 ardson gives to the death of his heroine an unusually tragic effect. 
 
 Any element of the comic or the tragic may be noted 
 in the physical, mental, or moral world. Each world has 
 its own comic and tragic aspects, and a combination of 
 these aspects, or a contrast between them, offers a rich 
 opportunity to the artist. Moral tragedy is sure to be 
 found in all the greatest novels, in some form or other ; 
 but the treatment of what might be called intellectual 
 tragedy the tragedy of the thinker is a specially 
 favorite motif with many modern writers. 
 
 The comic or the tragic may be found in either character or inci- 
 dent ; and even the settings incline in the one direction or the other, by 
 way of association. Other analyses may follow the contrast into the 
 human and the superhuman, and into the exhibition and interpretation. 
 
256 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 In connection with plot, a very important phase of the 
 relation of the comic to the tragic is found in movements 
 from one to the other. There are some situations without 
 apparent tendency in either direction in equilibrium ; 
 but most important situations tend decidedly in one direc- 
 tion or the other. The four main movements are, (i) from 
 the comic to the more comic ; (2) from the comic to the 
 tragic 5(3) from the tragic to the more tragic ; and (4) from 
 the tragic to the comic. These four movements are not of 
 equal frequency in plot-formation, or of equal value for 
 artistic effect. They may be traced not only in the plot 
 as a whole, but in single actions, in episodes, single events, 
 etc. The "avoidance" of comic or tragic result when it 
 seems inevitable, produces some striking effects. A point 
 or situation of "final suspense," suggesting possible tragedy 
 or possible comedy, before a catastrophe of opposite char- 
 acter, is found in perhaps the majority of well-formed plots. 
 
 205. The Beautiful and the Unbeautiful. The novel 
 cannot rival several of the other arts in the presentation 
 of absolute beauty. If the analysis of novelistic style in 
 Chapter VIII was correct, the novel is not by nature de- 
 voted to the purely beautiful. One must turn to painting, 
 music, sculpture, or lyric poetry for the embodiment of 
 untroubled beauty ; and the short story is better adapted 
 to its expression than is the novel. 
 
 The unbeautiful in a work of art may be justified or 
 explained in various ways, of which these are among 
 the more important : it may be introduced for the sake of 
 increasing the effect of the beautiful ; or for the sake of 
 truth, conceived as a nobler reality than beauty ; or it may 
 be allowed because it is presented with so much imagina- 
 tion the ideal rather than the beautiful being considered 
 
GENERAL /ESTHETIC INTEREST 257 
 
 the supreme test of art. (See Moulton's study of Richard 
 Third as the " ideal villain.") Struggle is commonly sup- 
 posed to be an important element of the dramatic, and the 
 great novels are usually characterized by a large dramatic 
 element. Note the bearing on this conception of the fol- 
 lowing statement of a philosopher : " When we regard 
 morality as involving a struggle of the will, it can scarcely 
 impress us as beautiful." l 
 
 As in the other analyses of this chapter, the beautiful and the un- 
 beautiful may be traced in details, or in the whole work ; in characters, 
 sentiments, or incidents ; in the physical, mental, or moral domain. 
 
 Akin to the beautiful, if not considered as phases of it, are the sub- 
 lime, the picturesque, the graceful, etc. Related to the conception of 
 the unbeautiful in somewhat the same manner, are caricature and the 
 grotesque. 
 
 206. Artistic Truth. Truth may be conceived as fidelity 
 to something outside the mind of the author fidelity to 
 individual facts ; to the typical elements in those facts ; to 
 the goal toward which life seems to be moving, or to the 
 purpose which seems to direct it. Another view of truth 
 in art, more subjective, locates it in the mind of the artist. 
 It may then take the form of faithful record of his im- 
 pressions of the outer world ; or the form of perfect alle- 
 giance to the ideal of his own inner world. In either of 
 these views, artistic truth is substantially equivalent to 
 sincerity. These various conceptions are obviously con- 
 nected in part with some of the familiar " isms " in fiction. 
 
 The large scope of the novel offers abundant opportunity 
 for violation of truth, as in life itself it is more difficult to 
 speak truth through a long career of various circumstances 
 than through the commonplace events of an average day. 
 In the difficulties due to the large array of miscellaneous 
 
 1 Mackenzie : Manual of Ethics ; 3d ed. p. 30. 
 
258 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 data which he reviews, to the effort of attaining verisimili- 
 tude and unity of thought, the novelist is often tempted 
 from the straight and narrow way, when the disciple of a 
 simpler form of art might escape the danger. 
 
 Truth is sometimes spoken of as either negative or posi- 
 tive. Reticence may give a false impression, and then 
 arises the question, how far is the artist to be blamed for 
 the erroneous result ? It has been previously noticed that 
 the biblical Book of Esther is, so far as the text is con- 
 cerned, absolutely atheistic, in a negative way ; but this 
 fact does not imply that the work contains any positive 
 atheism, or that the author was aware that he might pro- 
 duce a non-religious impression. Perhaps the artist cannot 
 be placed upon the witness-stand to give " The truth, the 
 whole truth, and nothing but the truth," so help him God ; 
 though to the great artists, the situation is fully as serious 
 as that of a court of justice. 
 
 Sidney's Defense attempts to answer the old complaint that poetry 
 is a lie. He declares, " Now for the poet, he nothing affirmeth, and 
 therefore never lieth. " This statement may be in some respects no 
 more than sophism ; but in another view, it seems to note clearly an 
 important fact in the nature of artistic fiction. 
 
 207. Artistic Illusion. The artist finds, to a certain de- 
 gree, a model for the aesthetic effects of illusion in nature 
 herself. No one who has admired the marvelous mirages 
 of seacoast or lakeshore could fail to see, imaginatively, 
 the resemblance between them and the dream-pictures of 
 human fancy. The student of psychology could make 
 an interesting comparison between the development and 
 effects of artistic illusion, and those of insanity, hallucina- 
 tion, and kindred forms of morbid mental condition. 
 
 In the reception of art, " conviction" of the imagination is one mat- 
 ter ; of the judgment, another. Probably a few weak minds here and 
 
GENERAL /ESTHETIC INTEREST 259 
 
 there have been insanely convinced of the reality of fiction. The degrees 
 between such insanity and cold-blooded refusal to enter the illusion an 
 artist has prepared, make an interesting scale, and raise some delicate 
 points in the theory of aesthetic interpretation. 
 
 In a complete and constant value, illusion is found only 
 in the representative arts ; but it has a minor occasional 
 function in architecture and music. To the layman, its 
 values seem to be most clearly shown in painting and in 
 the drama. 
 
 In painting, a curious if not strictly legitimate example of the shading 
 from reality to illusion is found in the cyclorama with its real objects 
 in the foreground. Compare the combinations of painting or sculpture 
 with a background of real landscape. 
 
 Illusion is produced by means of an arrangement of real 
 materials, and it often happens that these materials inter- 
 fere with the illusion. For a simple example, if in a novel 
 a medieval character should use the scientific language of 
 the nineteenth century, it is not probable the scientific 
 reader would " believe" in the reality of that character 
 though he might choose to be deceived, for the sake of 
 aesthetic delight. Except in the purely dramatic novel, a 
 continuous illusion is rarely attempted ; and in few novels 
 of any form is it attained with complete success. A distinc- 
 tion could be made between narrative illusion the imagi- 
 native conviction that the events related have happened ; 
 and dramatic illusion the corresponding belief that those 
 events are happening in the present time. 
 
 A discussion of the methods of producing illusion would be in large 
 part a review of recent studies of realism. Professor Moulton's analysis 
 of the methods of " rationalization " and " derationalization " in relation 
 to the drama, ought to prove helpful to the student of the novel. 
 
 There is perhaps no English novelist in whom artistic illusion of a 
 realistic type can be examined with more profit than in Defoe, and no 
 
260 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 better novel for this purpose than The Plague Year. Compare these two 
 statements regarding that work : "It is fictitious throughout " (Cross, 
 page 29) ; " Now Defoe's work is not?a fiction, nor is it based upon 
 fiction ; and great injustice is done to his memory so to represent it. 1 ' 
 (Introductory Observations, Brayley's edition, 1882.) 
 
 208. Theories of Art. A comparison of representative 
 theories shows that some of them keep quite close to the 
 nature of art as analyzed in Section 189; and that 
 others seem to arise without particular reference to such 
 nature, possibly in violation of it. 
 
 A few broad and familiar conceptions of art readily 
 applicable to the novel may be given, in a very condensed 
 statement. 
 
 1. Art is an imitation of nature ; as accurate as possible. 
 (Aristotelian, realistic conception.) 
 
 2. Art transcends nature ; is a human escape from its 
 ugliness, complexity, transitory quality, etc. (Platonic, 
 idealistic conception.) 
 
 3. Art is an expression of the individuality of the artist. 
 (Lyrical, impressionistic conception.) 
 
 4. Art is a specialized (emotional, moral) means of 
 communication between man and man. (Sociological 
 conception.) 
 
 In the study of an individual novel, the question is, 
 which of these conceptions does the novel best embody ? 
 and which of them, if any, did the novelist have in 
 mind ? 
 
 As an inductive study, it would be interesting to compare 
 a considerable number of conceptions of art by eminent 
 critics, and reduce them, so far as possible, to common 
 terms. The non-scientific student might find greater pleas- 
 ure in applying to the novel the conceptions of thinkers 
 whom he recognized as personal masters. 
 
GENERAL ESTHETIC INTEREST 261 
 
 The following application of specific ideas of art to Silas 
 Marner is merely illustrative : 
 
 . " In Art, the paramount appeal is to the Emotions its purpose be- 
 ing pleasure. 11 (G. H. Lewes.) The main appeal of the hero, in his 
 character and his history, and of most of the other characters, is largely 
 to the emotions ; but " pleasure " would need a rather broad definition 
 to be considered as the real purpose of this novel. Such definition, 
 however, is very common in aesthetic criticism. 
 
 "Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one man consciously, 
 by means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has 
 lived through, and that other people are infected by these feelings and 
 also experience them." (Tolstoi.) George Eliot lived through emo- 
 tions similar to those of her hero, in her personal moral history ; the 
 feelings of some of the other characters she experienced only in the 
 imagination. Is this second form of emotional experience outside of 
 Tolstois conception ? Silas Marner has been a literary success, only 
 in part a popular success ; so that it only partially satisfies the last 
 requirement of Tolstoi. 
 
 " All the great arts have for their object either the support or exalta- 
 tion of human life, usually both." (Ruskin.) In Silas Marner, 
 support is given to human life by the spectacle of patience under suffer- 
 ing ; and by the exhibition of rational, moral law governing the individ- 
 ual and social life. There is a certain exaltation of human life in the 
 beauty and fearless fidelity of Eppie, and in the happiness which 
 radiates from her ; but on the whole, in this novel and in her other 
 works, George Eliot is inclined to look upon life as a matter of noble 
 endurance rather than of brilliant victory. 
 
 "Art must make obvious . . . the structure of the actual world, the 
 forms of its connection, and the absolute value and significance of these 
 forms." (Lotze.) It is clear that this idea of art calls for interpreta- 
 tion as well as exhibition. It demands some philosophical power in the 
 artist, and George Eliot has this beyond the majority of novelists. 
 Among forms of connection of the actual world which Silas Marner 
 interprets, are the bonds of the family, the relations of the church to 
 the individual life, of one generation to the following ones, etc. The 
 absolute value and significance of the family, for example, are clearly not 
 found in mere sensual happiness, but in the moral development of its 
 members. 
 
262 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 209. Theories of the Novel. Many conceptions of what 
 the novel is or should be are essentially conceptions of 
 what all art is or should be, and embody the ideas just 
 examined, or similar ones. Other theories endeavor to 
 distinguish the novel from other forms of art, and belong 
 under comparative aesthetics. Narrowing the field still 
 more, are those theories which define the novel in relation 
 to other forms of literature. (Comparative rhetoric.) 
 
 Artists differ so much in the combination of creative and critical 
 interest, it may well be that some of the masterpieces of fiction were 
 produced without much attention to theory ; but, on the whole, the 
 novelist has had the critical temper, and it is usually possible to discover 
 what theory preceded, accompanied, or followed the creation of a great 
 novel, in the mind of the author. 
 
 The following brief summary of some important general 
 conceptions of the novel is in part a review of previous state- 
 ments. Each of these conceptions should be compared with 
 the theories of art given in the preceding section. Other 
 ideas about the general nature of the novel will be found 
 in the glossary, under "novel," and in the notes on the 
 history of novelistic criticism. 
 
 1. The novel is not in a strict sense a determinate form 
 of art it has no " style " of its own but is a mixture of 
 various genres , or a type still in the process of becoming. 
 It obeys no "laws," and obedience to laws is a necessary 
 sign of a true form of art. 
 
 2. The above view is antagonistic ; but the same facts 
 may be accepted with a favorable interpretation. The 
 novel is the most comprehensive form of representative 
 art that man has discovered ; and the most flexible in add- 
 ing interpretation to exhibition. It is the true universal 
 art ; and, in an ideal sense, the true composite art. 
 
GENERAL ESTHETIC INTEREST 263 
 
 3. The novel is an artistic response to the demands of 
 modern individualism. 
 
 (a) With reference to the author, the novel allows a 
 more extended interpretation of experience, a more com- 
 plete expression of ideals, a more adequate imagination of 
 a satisfying life-history, than any other form of art. 
 
 (b) With reference to the novel itself, the main subject 
 is the individual life (especially the slow development of 
 character under complex circumstances). 
 
 (c) With reference to the reader, individuality is satis- 
 fied in much the same general manner as in the author. 
 
 4. The novel is sociological. It excels every other form 
 of art in its power to represent social life, in response to 
 social conditions, and in its appeal to the social sense. 
 There are many sub-varieties of this conception ; based in 
 part on different ideas as to just what " section of life " 
 should be represented, and in just what manner. 
 
 210. Judgment of a Novel. Many persons consider that 
 ability to enjoy a work of art is more desirable than ability 
 to give a correct judgment of it. This view is specially 
 frequent in reference to the novel. Another idea draws 
 a somewhat sharp line between an inductive analysis of 
 a work of art, pursued in a scientific spirit, and the old- 
 fashioned criticism by means of preconceived standards. 1 
 
 In the present volume, the endeavor has been to accept, in consider- 
 able measure, the scientific spirit. All of the preceding study, if one 
 wishes, may be considered as simply a preparation for higher ends 
 either of pleasure or of aesthetic judgment. To examine these ends 
 systematically, so far as systematic treatment might be desired, would 
 require another volume. A few paragraphs must here suffice to sug- 
 gest a transition from the analytical to the judicial attitude. 
 
 1 See Moulton's Introduction, Hennequin, and various criticisms of their 
 views. 
 
264 THE STUDY OF A NOVEL 
 
 Two methods of judging a novel might be called, with 
 some degree of correctness, the quantitative and the quali- 
 tative. The former method takes account of all varieties 
 of excellence and defect, and judges in accordance with 
 the resulting sum of values. The latter method selects 
 some one master test, conceived as a summum bonum for 
 the novel, and the individual work is ranked high or low 
 as it meets or fails to meet this test. The dogmatic critics 
 accept the second method, though not agreeing among 
 themselves as to what the single test should be. 
 
 Again, one may attempt to judge the novelist, the novel 
 itself, or the novel as it affects the reader. Judgment of 
 the author may be based upon his character, his purpose, 
 or the degree of success in attaining his purpose. It is a 
 delicate matter often, in art as in life, to discover just what 
 human purpose is, 1 and the critic may well note the appli- 
 cation of the biblical "judge not" to his own special field. 
 The judgment of a novel in itself may note only the inward 
 relations of beauty, consistency, etc., or it may compare 
 the presentation of the novel with the outside real world 
 represented, directly or through fictitious imagery. Judg- 
 ment of a novel by the effect it produces can never be 
 entirely a judgment of the novel itself ; for its influence is 
 never exerted without the cooperation of other influences. 
 
 In all forms of judgment, if the critic has a clear theory 
 of the novel, it will be brought to the front ; and many 
 obscure theories often emerge from the darkness theories 
 of life as well as of art so soon as he essays to give a 
 final verdict upon a work produced by his fellow-man. 
 
 1 See Mackenzie : Manual of Ethics; 3d ed., p. 136. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 I. SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL 
 
 A MORE or less definite method of analysis is often implied in 
 reviews or studies of fiction, without any announcement of it. 
 Many critics, particularly those of impressionistic creed, object 
 vigorously to detailed formal analysis. 
 
 In the following examples the method is clearly stated by the 
 critic. In some cases the general outline of analysis was planned 
 for several types of literature, but in all it has been applied to the 
 novel. In the present statement, only the main heads are given 
 when there is much subdivision, and some alterations and ex- 
 planations have been made, the most important being indicated 
 by brackets. The purpose here is simply to suggest a compara- 
 tive view, and the student should consult the originals. The ex- 
 amples are arranged in chronological order. 
 
 Compare analyses of epic and drama. See also some references 
 in the Bibliography, and examine the introductions to novels 
 edited for school purposes. For many technical terms, consult 
 the Glossary. 
 
 i. Fielding. (Prefaces to David Simple, Tom Thumb, Covent Garden 
 Tragedy, and Joseph Andrews.) A plan for the "regular examination" of 
 drama and novel. 
 
 I. The Fable. (II. The Action.) III. Incident. IV. The Char- 
 acters. V. The Sentiments. (VI. The Moral.) VII. Diction 
 which is the " lowest perfection in a writer and one which 
 many of great genius seem to have little regarded." 
 265 
 
266 APPENDIX 
 
 2. Dunlop. (Chapter I.) " Points chiefly to be considered in a novel or 
 romance." [Mainly for judicial criticism.] 
 
 I. The Subject. (Story ; Nuda Materia.) 
 II. The Disposition. [/.<?., Narrative method.] 
 III. The Ornaments ; of which the " most important " are : 
 
 A. The Style. B. The Characters. C. The Sentiments. 
 D. The Descriptions. 
 
 3. Masson. (Chapter I.) " Points for criticism in a novel." 
 
 I. The Subject. (Scheme, idea, total meaning, aim, impression.) 
 " The first or main matter of interest for the critic." Compare 
 Section 119 of the present work. 
 II. Incident. (Construction ; plot-interest.) 
 
 III. Description. (Scenery.) 
 
 IV. Characters. (By which " a novelist is chiefly judged.") 
 V. Style, and other " obvious matters." 
 
 VI. The Extra-poetical Contents. 
 
 s\A 
 
 ' 4. Hennequin. (Appendix ; applied to Victor Hugo.) Plan for a com- 
 plete study of " Esthopsychologie." 
 
 I. Analyse Esth clique. 
 
 A. Les Moyens. 
 
 1. Les Moyens Externes-. 
 
 (a) Vocabulaire. () Syntaxe. (r) Composition. 
 (d) Ton. (<?) Precedes de Description. (Deslieux 
 et des gens ; des dmes ; des idees abstraites.) 
 
 2. Les Moyens Internes. (Sujets preferes.) 
 
 (#) 6poques. () Lieux. (c) Moments. (</) Person- 
 nages (exterieur, interieur). (e) Sujets abstraits. 
 
 B. LesEffets. (Synthese des Moyens.) [Repetition of the above 
 
 analysis, with reference to the effects.] 
 II. Analyse Psychologique. 
 
 A. Les Causes (in the individual author). 
 
 1. Hypothese Explicative. 
 
 2. Faits Expliques. 
 
 B. Interpretation Physiologique. 
 III. Analyse Sociologique. 
 
 A. Determination des categories d'admirateurs. 
 
 B. Conclusions des livres speciaux aux categories speciales. 
 IV. Conclusions generates. Syntheses. 
 
SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF A NOVEL 267 
 
 5. Crawshaw. A general method for literary types, modified for the 
 novel j with detailed subdivisions, not given here. 
 
 I. Study of the Form. 
 
 A. Structure. 
 
 B. Style. 
 
 II. Study of the Substance. 
 
 A. Beauty (and the unbeautiful) in characters, plot, etc. 
 
 B. Ideality (including the " main ideal conception," and reality) 
 
 in characters, plot, settings, etc. 
 
 C. Emotion. 
 
 D. Thought (including the "central thought"). 
 
 6. Maigron. Without definite announcement of plan, his chief technical 
 analysis is : I. Le Recit. II. Les Personnages. III. La Description. 
 IV. Le Dialogue. 
 
 7. Riemann. (Analysis with reference to special types of fiction, or to 
 Goethe individually, is here omitted.) 
 
 I. Komposition. 
 
 A. Gliederung. [I.e., " External structure."] 
 
 B. Einsatze. 
 
 C. [Intercalations.] 
 
 1. Eingeschobene Icherzahlungen. 
 
 2. Eingeschobene Briefe. 
 
 D. Lyrische Einlagen. (Citate ; rhythmische Prosa ; lyrische Mo- 
 
 nologe, etc.) 
 II. Die Mittel der Charakteristik. 
 
 A. Charaktergemalde und typische Gegeniiberstellungen. 
 
 B. Das Absinken der Charaktere. 
 
 C. Charakterentwicklung. 
 
 D. Physiognomik und Mimik. (Much subdivided.) 
 
 8. The Present Volume. The underlying analysis in mind is as follows : 
 
 I. The Novel Itself. 
 A. Form. 
 
 I. Structure. 
 (a) External. 
 (3) Combination of External and Internal Consecutive 
 
 Structure. 
 
 (<r) Internal. (Organic.) Plot ; Settings ; Dramatis Per- 
 sonse ; Characterization. 
 
268 APPENDIX 
 
 2. Style. (Transitional to II., A, I and 2.) 
 B. Subject-Matter. 
 II. Relations of the Novel. 
 
 A. Psychological and Social. 
 
 1. The Process of Composition. (" Genetic Analysis.") 
 
 2. The Shaping Forces. (" Dynamic Analysis.") 
 
 3. The Influence of the Novel. (" Kinetic Analysis.") 
 
 B. ^Esthetic. 
 
 1. Other Types of Literature. 
 
 2. The Individual Arts (other than literature). 
 
 3. Art in General. 
 
 9. Current American Criticism. The following technical analysis may be 
 said to be generally recognized, with many individual variations in details : 
 
 I. Form. A. The Characters. (B, Characterization.) C. Plot. 
 (General analysis, and " details of narrative method.") D. Set- 
 tings. E. Style. 
 
 II. Subject-Matter. (With emphasis on the " central idea " ; often on 
 " purpose.") 
 
II. GLOSSARY AND TOPICAL REFERENCES 
 
 AN adequate dictionary of literary criticism would fill several 
 volumes, and would require the labor of many scholars for a 
 series of years. 
 
 The aim of the following pages is to distinguish in several cases 
 different meanings of the same term ; to list some of the most 
 precise terms, largely found in German criticism, as examples of 
 technical analysis ; and to give references for the study of a few 
 topics of special importance. Most of the authorities to which 
 reference is made are noted in the Bibliography. "Types of 
 Fiction " refers to the list in this Appendix. 
 
 Most of the terms commonly found in the criticism of the novel 
 are also found in the criticism of epic and drama. Many of them 
 belong to a still wider field, and the student should consult not 
 only rhetorics and poetics, but general aesthetics and the dictionaries 
 of the separate arts. 
 
 Allegorische Mimik. (Riemann.) 
 
 Allegory. See Symbolism. 
 
 Amplification of Plot; of Theme. 
 
 Animalism. For one definition see The Nation, Number 1618. Cf. Natu- 
 ralism. 
 
 Anticipation. Cf. use in music. 
 
 Anticipatory Hint ; Suspense. (Hammond.) 
 
 Art, Absolute. The novel is rarely so considered. See general aesthetics, 
 dictionaries of music, etc. 
 
 1'Art pour 1'Art. For application to the novel, see Gilbert, pp. 122, 
 162 ; Lanson, p. 998 ; Warren, p. 220. 
 
 Artist (in modern French sense). See Brunetiere, R. N., p. 162. 
 
 Artistic. I. Contrasted with scientific. 2. Referring to conscious method 
 in the writer. 3. "The word artistic as applied to fiction, denotes a structure 
 that produces the most telling effect on the reader." (Cody.) 
 
 Author's Comment. Generalization and interpretation rather than mere 
 
 269 
 
2/0 APPENDIX 
 
 description. May sometimes be limited to passages in propria persona. 
 See Chorus. 
 
 Autobiographical. I. In first-person form. 2. With reference to the 
 author. 
 
 Avoidance. Might be used as in musical analysis. 
 
 Background. I. Of minor characters, incidents, emotions, etc. 2. The 
 settings. 3. The place setting. See Scenery. 
 
 Beleuchtungseffekt. (Riemann.) 
 
 Besserungstheorie. The theory that a hero should be dismissed in the 
 best condition possible for the individual plot. (Riemann.) 
 
 Cadence. Artistic approach to a conclusion ; as, chapter cadence, cadence 
 of episode, etc. Cf. use in music ; versification. 
 
 Caricature. See Baldwin; Morillot; Symonds. 
 
 Catastrophe. i. Incident or event closing the dramatic line (preferable 
 technical usage). 2. Plot-conclusion marked by strong effect. See Climax 
 and Conclusion. 
 
 Catharsis, Aristotelian. For a review of recent interpretations, see 
 Baldwin. 
 
 Central Character ; Idea ; Incident ; Theme ; Truth; etc. 
 
 Centrifugal (Centripetal). Mainly with reference to plot. 
 
 Cervantine Humor. Compared and contrasted with Rabelaisian Satire. 
 
 Character (a type of literature). See Morley. 
 
 Character, Central. Necessary for the short story, not for the novel. 
 (Cody.) But cf. p. 293 of this volume, under Smollett. 
 
 Character Compensation. See Hedging. 
 
 Character Disclosure ; Elucidation. ( Hammond.) 
 
 Character, Dismissal of. See Riemann, on Absinken der Charaktere. 
 
 Character Function. Value as social type, in distinction from individual 
 value. (Maigron, of Scott.) 
 
 Character, Introduction of. Technical definition in Davidson's Creative 
 Ait of Fiction. See also Dunlop, Bohn edition, I, p. 32. Cf. Personen, Ein- 
 fuhrung der. 
 
 Character, Isolation of, in short story. (Barrett.) 
 
 Characterization, Center of. (MacClintock.) 
 
 Characters, Interplay of. (MacClintock.) 
 
 Chorus, Greek Dramatic. Compared with author's comment. See Tom 
 Jones, III, 7 ; preface to Sarah Fielding's The Cry ; and Worsfold. Cf. 
 Maigron on the lyrical choruses in Atala. 
 
 Climax. i. General rhetorical usage. 2. The center of the dramatic 
 line (preferable usage in technical analysis). 3. The catastrophe. (Gardi 
 ner ; and many critics of the short story.) 
 
GLOSSARY AND TOPICAL REFERENCES 271 
 
 Climax, False or Technical ; Preliminary. (Barrett.) 
 
 Coincidence (in plot). 
 
 Complication of Idea. Governs length of story. (Cody.) 
 
 Complication of Plot. Contrasted with Resolution. Cf. also Denoument; 
 Entanglement. 
 
 Composition. For use in the sense of plastic power and unity in the 
 structure, cf. music and painting. 
 
 Comprehensiveness. A common standard of judgment for the novel. See 
 Totalitat. 
 
 Conclusion. Distinguished from Catastrophe. (Barrett.) 
 
 Conclusion, Dramatic. Equals Catastrophe. (Cody. ) 
 
 Concreteness, Canon of. (Gardiner.) Cf. Detaildarstellung. Seep. no. 
 
 Convergence of Characters; of Narration and Action; of Single 
 Actions. 
 
 Conversation. See Dialogue. 
 
 Counter-play. i. Of Characters (Simonds) ; cf. Interplay. 2. In 
 plot -analysis. See Play. 
 
 Decoration. See p. 266, Dunlop. Cf. Dekoration. (Riemann.) 
 
 Degeneration, Social. See Baldwin, Nordau, Robiati; and Taylor, on 
 Greek romance. 
 
 D6noflment. (In English criticism.) I. The catastrophe. 2. The entire 
 fall of the action. Cf. Resolution. 
 
 Description. Sometimes about equivalent to Scenery, or place setting. 
 For philosophical definition, see Baldwin. " Fiction is essentially a descriptive 
 art." (Cody.) 
 
 Deus ex Machina. See Baldwin. 
 
 Dialog, Alternierend-explizierend ; Alternierend-replizierend ; Theo- 
 retisierend ; contrasted with Rede als Ausdruck des Affekts. (Riemann.) 
 
 Dialogue "is a description of conversation." (Cody.) 
 
 Dialogue, Characteristic ; Descriptive ; Dramatic ; Reflective ; 
 Thematic. 
 
 Didactic Interpolation. 
 
 Disentanglement. See Denoument. 
 
 Disposition. See p. 266, Dunlop. 
 
 Dramatic. i. Objective, contrasted with lyrical. 2. Intense, striking, in 
 reference to action or feeling. See Types of Fiction. 
 
 Dramatic Effect ; Form ; Irony ; Moment ; Movement ; Order 
 of Thought, contrasted with Scenic Order (DeMille's Rhetoric); Probabil- 
 ity; Situation. 
 
 Dynamic Criticism (Analysis). A convenient term in reference to thf 
 forces that influence a novel. Cf. Genetic ; Kinetic. 
 
2/2 APPENDIX 
 
 Effectism. Author's tendency to over-emphasize single effects. 
 
 Effets, les. See les Moyens. 
 
 Emotions, Primary. Contrasted with the complex emotions of civiliza- 
 tion ; common in the naturalistic novel. See Baldwin, on Fear. 
 
 Entanglement. Contrasted with Denodment. 
 
 Environment, Immediate; Remote. (Hammond.) For philosophical 
 definition see Baldwin. 
 
 Epic (adj.). i. Narrative. 2. Comprehensive and objective ; contrasted 
 with lyrical. 3. Having the special qualities of epic poetry; most commonly 
 applied to historical romance. 
 
 Epische Darstellung ; Stoff ; Totalitat ; Weltauffassung ; Ge- 
 setz der epischen Phantasie. 
 
 Episode. I. Of an entire composition. 'The novels of Henry James are 
 all episodes.' 2. Psychological meaning; see Gardiner. 3. A centrifugal 
 narrative of some scope and marked unity. 4. See Section 33. See also 
 dictionaries of music. 
 
 Episodes parasites. (Brunetiere.) 
 
 Erkennungsscene. (Riemann.) 
 
 Esthopsychologie. Hennequin, mainly with reference to the effect of 
 art : it might also refer to the creative process. 
 
 Exciting (Inciting) Force. (Erregende Moment, Freytag.) The motiv- 
 ating force which originates the plot-movement. 
 
 Exposition. I. General rhetorical use. 2. Explanation of action not 
 directly given, as entr'acte exposition. 
 
 Expositions Monolog ; Scene. ( Riemann.) 
 
 Fable, The. Often in eighteenth century criticism, e.g., Fielding, about 
 equal to Plot. (German Fabel is still so used.) 
 
 , Fantasy, Touch of. Especially in short story. See Matthews' Philos- 
 ophy uf the Short Story. 
 
 Form. Generally equals structure, or structure and style. Compare Bald- 
 win, Bray, Perry, and Riemann's Dictionary of Music. " Der Roman ist . . . 
 zwar cine sehr mangelhafte Form, aber ein bestimmter und selbstandiger Aus- 
 druck eines Stils." (Vischer.) 
 
 Form, Geschichte der. Contrasted with Stoffgeschichte. 
 
 Frame. I. General structural outline. 2. The environing action or set- 
 tings for " frame-stories," such as the Decameron. 
 
 Gedankcnkreis. Of the speech of characters. (Riemann.) 
 
 Genetic Criticism (Analysis). A convenient term applicable to the process 
 of composition ; or to the development of the novel as a species. Cf. Dy- 
 Mamic ; Kinetic. 
 
 Gewohnheitsgesten. (Riemann.) 
 
GLOSSARY AND TOPICAL REFERENCES 273 
 
 Gothic. i. Of northern Europe, especially in the middle ages. 2. Bar- 
 barian ; romantic, as opposed to classical. Largely a term of reproach, in 
 eighteenth century criticism. See Bray; Phelps; Ruskin's Stones of Venice. 
 
 Gothic Machinery. See Machinery. 
 
 Grands Genres, les. Especially of tragedy, comedy and epic, " genres 
 essentiellement classiques, appeles pour cette raison les grands genres." 
 (Maigron.) 'The novel became a grand genre early in the nineteenth 
 century.' (Lanson.) 
 
 Grenzen des Romans, Die. The comprehensiveness and amorphous qual- 
 ity of the novel have led critics to special effort to define its limits. See, for 
 example, Spielhagen's Technik des Romans ; Das Gebiet des Romans. 
 
 Hedging. In characterization, the principle of compensation. (Moulton.) 
 This term might be applied also to incidents and settings. 
 
 I'HSroisme sentimental. (Lanson.) 
 
 Humor. I. A quality of style. See Leigh Hunt's Wit and Humor. 
 2. Predominant and one-sided tendency of character; as in Novel of 
 Humors. An early definition in Jonson's dialogic preface to Every Man 
 out of his Humour. Cf. Riemann's treatment of Steckenpferd in Tristram 
 Shandy, etc. See Traill. 
 
 Hypernatural. " In fiction ... a character must be exaggerated to ap- 
 pear natural." (Quoted in Barrett.) 
 
 Ideal. Baldwin gives six meanings for the term as used in aesthetic 
 criticism. See also Bray. 
 
 Idealization, Monochromatic. 
 
 I-Form. (Ich-Form.) Contrasted with third-person form. (Er-form.) 
 
 Impression. " The novel gives a personal impression of life ; the drama 
 a personal demonstration of life." (Lockwood and Emerson : Composition 
 and Rhetoric.) "A novel is, in the broadest definition, a personal impres- 
 sion of life." (H. James: Art of Fiction.) 
 
 Impression, Unity of. A standard of excellence in the short story rather 
 than the novel. (Matthews.) 
 
 Impressionism. See Brunetiere's R. N.; and criticism of painting. Bald- 
 win gives Sterne as an example. 
 
 Incident. I. See Section 31. 2. The " event which supplies the motive 
 for the action of the scene." (Simonds.) 3. See Moulton. 
 
 Indirekte Rede als Einleitung der direkten ; als ordnendes Prinzip. 
 (Riemann.) 
 
 Inference (The Reader's). Recognized as a definite principle of artistic 
 effect. See, for example, Smith's Writing of the Short Story. 
 
 Interplay of Characters. Cf. Counter-play. 
 
 Interweaving of single actions into plot. 
 
274 APPENDIX 
 
 Intrigue. I. Of plot, as complicated design. 2. Of character relations, 
 as in " novel of intrigue." 
 
 Invention. Creative power in the artist as distinct from observation. See 
 Spielhagen's Technik der Romans ; Finder oder Erfinder. Formerly used in 
 a rather more technical sense than at present. 
 
 Irony. Perhaps a special characteristic of the novel. I. A general 
 quality of style. 2. Dramatic Irony (cf. tragische Ironii). See Moult on. 
 3. Detached attitude of the author in reference to his work. (Fr. Schlegel.) 
 
 Isolated Scenes. 
 
 Kinetic Criticism (Analysis). Referring to the effect of a novel. Cf. 
 Dynamic ; Genetic. 
 
 Laws of Fiction, The. Various attempts have been made to state them. 
 See Section 129, Spielhagen on das Gesetz der Objektivitat ; and Novelistic 
 Criticism, Gottsched. Also the discussion in Besant. Maigron, however, 
 gives an interesting explanation of the novel as an anarchistic form, craved by 
 the romanticists, * who hated law and Boileau.' (p. 152.) 
 
 Leitmotiv. See criticism of Wagner. Considered by Robiati, in refer- 
 ence to Fogazzaro. 
 
 Life-size. Of the novel as compared with the short story. (Cody.) 
 
 Link Action ; Personage . ( M oulton.) 
 
 Local Color. "Couleur locale" used by Marchangy early in the nineteenth 
 century. (Maigron.) For application to ballet music, see Krebhiel's How 
 to Listen to Music. 
 
 Lyrical. For many shades of meaning see poetics, aesthetics, etc. " Der 
 Roman ist eine sehr universelle Gattung, und daher nach einer Seite bin auf 
 dem Punkte ins Lyrische iiberzugehen." (Solger.) " Le lyrisme est 1' expres- 
 sion du moi, et le roman doit e"tre la perception du non-moi." (Lanson, 
 P- 1055.) 
 
 Lyrische Einschaltungen ; Monologe. (Riemann.) Cf. Browning's 
 dramatic monologue. 
 
 Machinery. Refers mainly to the motivation, especially when traditional, 
 artificial, or obvious. An Aristotelian term, characteristic of eighteenth 
 century criticism, but used by Dunlop, Scott, Senior, and Raleigh. 
 
 Manner. I. Specific method; about equivalent to style. 2. See Sec- 
 tion 152. 3. German Manier is about equivalent to Mannerism. 
 
 Mannerism. Two meanings are discussed at some length in Senior, p. 97 ffi 
 
 Materia Nuda. (Dunlop.) 
 
 Medias Res, in. In the novel, probably often imitated from the epic. 
 
 Milieu Int6rieur. (Brunetiere: R. N., p. 206.) 
 
 Mimik. Defined and considered at length in Riemann. 
 
 Mistaken Identity. As a type of plot. 
 
GLOSSARY AND TOPICAL REFERENCES 275 
 
 Monolog, Expositions- ; gedachter ; gesprochener ; Klammer-; 
 Reflexions-. (Riemann.) 
 
 Moral. See p. 265, Fielding. 
 
 Morphology of the Novel. 
 
 Motives (in characters), Conflict of; Ruling. 
 
 Moyens, les. See p. 266, Hennequin. 
 
 Narrative Problem, The. (Gardiner, p. 107.) 
 
 Naturalism. I. Sometimes about equivalent to Realism, as opposed to 
 Idealism and Romanticism. 2. Extreme, usually pessimistic or debased, 
 realism. 3. Interpretation of human phenomena in biological terms. Cf. 
 Animalism. Distinguished from Realism in Baldwin. See Brandes ; Bru- 
 netiere ; Guyau ; Pardo Bazan ; Volkelt ; Zola. 
 
 Naturism. A term invented to denote the better elements in naturalism; 
 but not in general use. 
 
 Nemesis. See Baldwin, and Moulton. 
 
 Novel. The following are probably the most important shades of meaning 
 found in English criticism. I. Any type of prose fiction; e.g., as translation of 
 novella (Elizabethan criticism). 2. A long fiction, contrasted with short 
 story. Cf. French and German Ionian. 3. Contrasted with Romance. 
 This distinction was probably implied in Elizabethan criticism, was clearly 
 stated by Congreve, in 1692 (see Raleigh, p. 101), and by many eighteenth 
 century writers; but is not always observed even now. 4. The mature " mod- 
 ern novel," i.e., that since Richardson. " With due respect to the writers of 
 fiction from the sixteenth century down to Defoe and Marivaux, it was in the 
 year 1740 that the European novel, as we understand it, began to exist." 
 (Gosse : Modern English Literature, p. 240.) 5. The realistic novel of con- 
 temporary life. 6. Special historical usage, an example of which is given in 
 Cross, p. 21. 
 
 A few suggestive attempts at concise definition may be quoted : 
 
 "A fictitious narrative, differing from the romance, because the events are 
 accommodated to the ordinary train of human events, and the modern state 
 of society." (Scott : Essay on Romance.) 
 
 " Le recit developpe d'une action vraie ou imaginaire, historique ou non, ou 
 les evenements marchent avec ordre vers un but determine, et ou les carac- 
 tres, bien que vivants et naturels et quoique plus voisins de la realite que dans 
 tout autre genre de poesie, sont agrandis neanmoins par l'ide"al et par le 
 style." (Leveque.) 
 
 " The modern novel is a drama ; description holds the place of scenery ; 
 narration gives a clue to the mise-en-scene ; but it is the talk which consti- 
 tutes the main substance and texture of the work." (Edmond Scheref 
 Assays on English Literature ; translated by Saintsbury.) 
 
2?6 APPENDIX 
 
 "A novel is a fictitious story of some complexity of plot, purporting to 
 be modeled after real life, and portraying the working of some great 
 passion, often that of love." (Lockwood and Emerson: Composition and 
 Rhetoric.) 
 
 Cf. Roman, novella, etc. See Romance. 
 
 Ornaments. See p. 266, Dunlop. 
 
 Parabasis. Parabatische Einsatz ; Schlusswendung. (Riemann.) 
 
 Parallelgeschichte. (Riemann.) 
 
 Pause (in the plot-movement). t 
 
 Personen, Einf iihrung fler, dramatische; durch die Gruppe; durch 
 Erwahnung. (Riemann.) Cf. Character, Introduction of. 
 
 Picaresque. I. Strictly, of the "rogue novel." 2. Broadly, having the 
 general characteristics of that type loose, episodic plot, variety of adven- 
 ture, etc. 
 
 Play. In the analysis of plot, the aggressive activity of the hero; opposed 
 to Counter-play, in which he is acted upon. (Freytag.) 
 
 Plot. i. The unified plan of the action. 2. The unified plan of the 
 entire composition. 3. Of a specially intricate action. 4. In a hostile sense, 
 in reference to the artificial or sensational element. 
 
 Plot Amplification (Hammond); Architecture (Raleigh); Business 
 (Baker) ; Germ ; Scene ; etc. 
 
 Plot, By- (Raleigh) ; Multiple (Hammond) ; Separable ; True; 
 Working (Barrett). 
 
 Poetik. Generally includes imaginative prose, therefore the novel; as 
 contrasted with English poetics. Cf. Prosaics. 
 
 Probability, Dramatic. 
 
 Prosaics. (Gayley and Scott, p. 245.) 
 
 Psychologist's Fallacy. Common in the novel. See Baldwin, and W. 
 James. 
 
 Purpose. Frequently used as a semi-technical term in analysis. 
 
 Rabelaisian Satire. See Cervantine Humor. 
 
 Rationalization ; Derationalization. See Moulton. 
 
 Realism. Commonly contrasted with Romanticism ; but they have much 
 in common, especially as compared with Classicism. A term discussed in 
 nearly every recent criticism of the novel. For wider meanings see aesthetics, 
 poetics, etc. See Naturalism ; Veritism. 
 
 Realism, Higher. 
 
 RSalisme sentimental. (Brunetiere, R. N.) 
 
 Relief Scene ; in Relief. 
 
 Reminiscence (narrative). Cf. dictionaries of music. 
 
 Reminiscence (psychological). See Brunetiere, R. N., p. 174. 
 
GLOSSARY AND TOPICAL REFERENCES 277 
 
 Resolution (of plot). See Denoument. Further Resolution. See 
 Moulton. 
 
 Reticence. Is characteristic of artistic fiction. (Besant.) 
 
 Romance. I. In general sense. Distinguished, as natural and permanent, 
 from Romanticism, as artificial and temporary, in Matthews' Historical Novel. 
 2. Contrasted with novel. Congreve's definition is given in Raleigh, p. 101. 
 A famous definition is found in Johnson's Dictionary ; a very suggestive one 
 in the preface to The House of the Seven Gables. See Novel. 
 
 Romantic. See Bray, Baldwin, Phelps; dictionaries of music and other 
 arts. Four shades of meaning are given in Stoddard, p. 124. Cf. definitions 
 in eighteenth century criticism. 
 
 Romanticism. I. General aesthetic meaning. 2. Historical meaning, 
 referring to the romantic school, which is characterized in all histories of fic- 
 tion covering the period. Gilbert gives as a summary of the school in French 
 fiction : sensibility, personality, lyricism, and pessimism (p. 117; cf. pp. 75, 76). 
 See Brunetiere ; Haym ; Maigron. 
 
 Ruhige Darstellung. As an ideal for the novel. (Jeitteles ; Ludwig.) 
 
 Scenery. I. In dramaturgic sense, of material background. 2. " All the 
 peculiarity, material and moral, which gives a general character to the events " ; 
 Greek chorus included. (Senior, p. 190.) 
 
 Scene, The. General place setting. 
 
 ScSne, en, 'Everything in Scott is.' (Maigron.) 
 
 Scenes, Isolated ; Plot. 
 
 Scenes a faire. In the drama. (Francisque Sarcey ; explained in Mat- 
 thews' Development of the Drama, p. 24 and/otftm.) 
 
 Scenic Characters (contrasted with Individual, Senior, p. 191); Order 
 of Thought. See Dramatic Order of Thought. 
 
 Sensitivists, the contemporary Dutch. See Gosse's introduction to 
 English translation of Couperus' Eline Vere, N.Y., 1892. 
 
 Sentimental School. See Novelistic Criticism : Clara Reeve ; Coleridge ; 
 and Karamzin. (Pp. 292, 296, 300). School of " Sensibility." 
 
 Sentiments. In analysis, the general ideas expressed in a novel. See 
 p. 265, Fielding. 
 
 Short Story. For theory and technic see especially Barrett, Canby, Cody, 
 Heyse, Matthews, Nettleton, Perry, L. W. Smith, and Spielhagen's essays, 
 Novelle oder Roman, and Roman oder Novelle. 
 
 Silhouette, en. (Lanson, of the characters in Notre Dame de Paris.) 
 
 Simplicity (in ^Esthetics). See Baldwin. 
 
 Simplification, Artificial. (Gardiner.) 
 
 Situation. I. The dramatic element in a scene. 2. Circumstances at the 
 beginning of plot. (Simonds.) 3. See Section 30. 
 
2?8 APPENDIX 
 
 Solidity of Life (Gardiner) ; of Specification. See Vraisemblance. 
 v Solution (of plot). Cf. Denoument; Catastrophe. 
 
 Soul of the Story. (Cody.) 
 
 Story. i. A novel as a whole. See Types of Fiction. 2. That ele- 
 ment in a novel which satisfies story interest. 3. See Section 45. 4. The 
 entire body of artistic (especially fictitious) narrative in the world. 
 
 Stummes Spiel. At the close of a novel. (Riemann.) 
 ^ Suspense, Final. Located just before the final resolution. Common in 
 well-constructed plots. SeeFreytag; Moulton ; Perry. 
 
 Symbolism. i. General aesthetic meaning. Sometimes distinguished 
 from Allegory ; the former having more value in the concrete imagery, the 
 latter in the abstract ideas. See Baldwin. 2. Of a contemporary school in 
 poetry and fiction. See Brunetiere. 
 
 Theme, Abstract ; Central ; Concrete ; Main; Sub-. (Cf. 
 dictionaries of music.) 
 
 Thematic Character ; Dialogue ; Incident ; etc. Having more value 
 as subject-matter than as serving the illusion. 
 
 Topographischer Einsatz. (Riemann.) 
 
 Totalitat, Epische, as canon of the novel (Spielhagen and other critics) ; 
 
 des Weltbildes ; False and True distinguished (Riemann, p. 324). Cf. 
 Comprehensiveness. 
 
 Tragic Moment. A sudden, unexpected, but completely motived turn in 
 events, soon after the climax, at which the fall of the action really." begins. 
 (Freytag.) 
 
 Transparency, Device of. See Matthews' Historical Novel, p. 157 ff. 
 
 Truth. Often distinguished from fact. See Baldwin. Cf. Veritism. 
 
 Type (in Art). See Baldwin, Perry, Senior, p. 289, and Veion. 
 
 Type achev6 du Genre. None exists for the novel, as the Iliad does 
 for the epic. (Le"veque.) 
 
 Veritism. Fidelity to truth rather than fact. A term suggested by the 
 hostile critical attitude toward "realism." See Rod, Etudes sur le XIX 8 
 Siecle, Les Veristes Italiens; and Garland. 
 
 Verkleidungsscene. (Riemann.) 
 
 Vraisemblance. " II faut que dans les Romans bien faits la vraisemblance 
 soil partout et soit mSme partout maftresse." (Mad. de Scudery : Clelie, 1661.) 
 
 "The air of reality (solidity of specification) seems to me the supreme 
 virtue of a novel." (H. James : Art of Fiction.) 
 
 Zimmeryerwechslungsmotiy . (Riemann.) 
 
III. TYPES OF PROSE FICTION 
 
 No attempt has been made in this volume to consider the 
 difficult problem of classification. In his once famous Rhetoric 
 (1783), Blair affirmed that literary species ' shade into one another 
 like the colors of nature.' The following list will indicate that 
 certain novelistic types are well-established in European criticism, 
 and that many others, of various degrees of historical and tech- 
 nical isolation, are distinguished by individual critics. While the 
 list is far from complete, it is sufficient to show the variety of 
 bases on which classification or description is attempted. With 
 very few exceptions, the terms have been taken from critics of 
 some note, but authority has been quoted only in a few cases, for 
 special reasons. 
 
 The student of comparative literature may, perhaps, be inter- 
 ested in comparing the general tone of several national schools 
 of criticism in examining the contrast, for example, between 
 the accurate but cumbersome German terminology and the less 
 technical but more lucid manner of the French critics. The 
 student of comparative aesthetics will find some of the broader 
 terms, or similar ones, in dictionaries of music and painting. 
 Many are borrowed from dramatic criticism, and others were 
 originally found in the field of the epic. 
 
 The following abbreviations are used : " N ", for novel; " R ", for romance, 
 roman and romanzo ; "T. T." f for type-title (see Section 5). The figures 
 after the terms are for cross-reference, and suggest a much more elaborate 
 study of shading, contrast, and systematic arrangement. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 x. Action, N. of. 13, 66, 151. 
 
 2. Adventure, N. of; R. of. Adven- 
 
 tures. (T. T.) 
 
 3. Allegorical N.; R. 217. 
 
 4. Amatory Narrative. (Dunlop.) 
 
 5. Analytic (Analytical) N. 
 
 6. Annals. (T. T.) 
 
 7. Antiquarian R. (Baker.) 
 
 279 
 
280 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 8. Archaeological N. 
 
 9. Art and Culture N. (Masson) ; 
 
 Art-R. (Carlyle, of Heinrich von 
 Ofterdingen.) 277. 
 
 10. Autobiographical N ; R. 68. 
 
 11. Biographical N. 
 
 12. Burlesque Fantasy ; Picaroon. 
 
 (Baker.) 
 
 13. Character, and Passion, N. of; 
 
 Character Study. I, 101, 107. 
 
 14. Chivalry, R. of. 92. 
 
 15. Chronicles. (T. T.) 
 
 16. Civilian R. (Dunlop.) 
 
 17. Classical Heroic R. 55. 
 
 18. Comedy, of Accidents; Domes- 
 
 tic ; Love ; Low ; of Man- 
 ners ; in Narrative ; Poetic ; 
 Psychological; Social. (Most 
 of these, and other similar terms, 
 in Baker.) 
 
 19. Comic Epic ; N ; R. 
 
 20. Cosmopolitan N. 70. 
 
 21. Crime, N. of; Criminal N. 98. 
 
 22. Descriptive N. 
 
 23. Detective Story. 
 
 24. Dialect Story. 
 
 25. Dialogue, N. in ; Dialogues. 
 
 (T. T.) 
 
 26. Didactic N. 
 
 27. Discursive N. 
 
 28. Doctrinal (Doctrinaire) N. 
 
 29. Domestic Comedy ; N ; Satire, 
 
 N. of. 
 
 30. Drama, Complete ; Psychologi- 
 
 cal ; Tragic. 
 
 31. Dramatic Effect, Story of ; 
 
 Form, Story of (Barrett) ; Nar- 
 rative ; Sketch ; Story ; Tale. 
 
 295- 
 
 32. Eastern Tale. (Goldsmith.) 95. 
 
 33. Eclogue. 
 
 34. Elevated Fiction. (Senior, con- 
 
 trasted with Familiar.) 
 
 35. Epic, Comic; Pastoral; Prose. 
 
 36. Episodes. (T. T.) 
 
 37. Epistolary N; R. 
 
 38. Epoch, N. of an. 341. 
 
 39. Erotic Adventure, N. of (Warren, 
 
 of Greek Romances) ; Lyrico- 
 Erotic N. 
 
 40. Ethical N. 
 
 41. Extravaganza (Extravagance). 
 
 (Baker.) 
 
 42. Fables. (T. T.) 
 
 43. Fairy R ; Tale ; Story. 
 
 44. Familiar N; Fiction. (Senior, 
 
 contrasted with Elevated.) 
 
 45. Family R. 
 
 46. Fancy, N. of. (Tuckerman.) 
 
 47. Fantastic Tale (Barrett) ; Fantasy. 
 
 48. Fashionable N; Tale. 284. 
 
 49. Folk-Story. 
 
 50. Genre Picture. (Baker.) 
 
 51. Ghost Story. 
 
 52. Gothic R ; of Mystery and Terror. 
 
 80, 139. 
 
 53. Grotesque and Arabesque, Tales of 
 
 the (Poe). 
 
 54. Hero, N. without a (Thackeray) . 
 
 55. Heroic R. 17. 
 
 56. Historical N; R; Tale; N., 
 
 True ; Background, N. with. 
 (Matthews distinguishes the last 
 two.) 
 
 57. Historico-Political N. (Fitzmaurice- 
 
 Kelly.) 
 
 58. History of. (T.T.) (See Section 5.) 
 
 59. Horror, Study in. (Barrett.) 319. 
 
 60. Humanitarian N. (Cross, of Oroo- 
 
 noko.) 102, 190. 
 
 61. Humorous N ; Story. 
 
 62. Humors, N. of. (Trail!, contrasted 
 
 with N. of Manners.) 
 
 63. Idyll, Prose; Rural; Senti- 
 
 mental. 
 
 64. I m agin ative R ; Tale . 
 
 65. Impressionistic N. 
 
 66. Incident, and Action, N. of. I. 
 
 67. Ingenuity, Story of. (Barrett, as 
 
 type of Short Story.) 
 
 68. I-Novel. 10. 
 
 69. Intellectual N. (Bulwer Lytton.) 
 
 183. 
 
 70. International N. (Cross; "created 
 
 by Maria Edgeworth.") 20, 144. 
 
 71. Intrigue and Gallantry, R. of. (W. 
 
 Hazlitt.) 160, 348. 
 
 72. Key, N. with a. 
 
 73. Knavery, R. of. 104, 119, 320. 
 
 74. Letters, N. of. 
 
TYPES OF PROSE FICTION 
 
 281 
 
 75. Life of; and Adventures of. 
 
 (T. T.) 
 
 76. Life, and Manners, N. of 
 
 (" typical form of prose fiction ") ; 
 
 and Passion, N. of. 96. 
 
 77. Local Fiction ; N ; Short 
 
 Story ; History. 
 
 78. Love Comedy; Drama; Idyll; 
 
 N ; Pamphlet (eg., Greene) ; 
 
 R ; Story ; Tale. 
 
 79. Manners, Comedy of; N. of. 
 
 80. Marvel and Mystery, R. of. 52. 
 
 81. Melodrama; Melodramatic R. 
 
 (Baker.) 
 
 82. Memoirs. (T. T.) 
 
 83. Metaphysical N. 103. 
 
 84. Military N. 
 
 85. Mock R. (including Comic ; Hu- 
 
 morous ; Satirical ; T. Arnold) ; 
 Mock-heroic R. (e.g., Hallam). 
 
 86. Modern Life and Society, N. of. 
 
 (Traill.) 285. 
 
 87. Moral Story ; Story with a. 
 
 88. Mystery, N. of ; R. of. 
 
 89. Narrative. (T. T.) 
 
 90. Naturalistic N. 
 
 91. Nautical R; Naval N. (Masson.) 
 
 92. Necromancy and Chivalry, R. of. 
 
 (W. Hazlitt.) 14, 340. 
 
 93. Novel. 
 
 94. Novelette. 
 
 95. Oriental History (Goldsmith) ; 
 
 N; R. 32. 
 
 96. Passion, N. of. 76. 
 
 97. Pastoral Comedy ; Epic ; 
 
 Idyll; N; R. 
 
 98. Pathological N. 21. 
 
 99. Peasant Tale. 
 
 ico. Pedagogic R. (Cross.) 
 
 101. Personality, N. of. (Stoddard.) 
 
 13- 
 
 102. Philanthropical N. 60, 190. 
 
 103. Philosophical Fable ; N ; R. 
 
 83- 
 
 104. Picaresque N ; R ; Picaroon 
 
 N. 73- 
 
 105. Picturesque N. (Bulwer Lytton.) 
 
 106. Pictures. (T. T.) 
 
 107. Plot-Novel ; N. of Plot. 13, 
 
 330. 
 
 108. Poetical R; Poetic Comedy. 
 
 109. Political N. 
 no. Popular Tale, 
 in. Problem N. 
 
 112. Propagandist N. (Baker.) 130. 
 
 113. Prose Epic; Poem (e.g*> Dow- 
 
 den, of Atala) ; R. (Dunlop, 
 Scott, etc.) 
 
 114. Psychological Comedy; Drama; 
 
 N; R. 
 
 115. Purpose, N. of. 
 
 116. Realistic N. 
 
 117. Religious N ; R. 
 
 118. Revolutionary N. (Masson.) 
 
 119. Rogue N ; R. of Roguery. 73. 
 
 120. Romance. 
 
 121. Romantic Love, R. of. (Lewis.) 
 
 122. Satirical Fiction ; N. 
 
 123. Scenes (T.T.) ; Fiction of Scenery. 
 
 (Senior.) 
 
 124. Scientific Experiment, Tale of. 
 
 (MacClintock) ; Scientific N. 
 
 125. Sensation N. (Baker.) 
 
 126. Sentimental N. 
 
 127. Serious R. (Scott.) 
 
 128. Short N; Story; Long Short- 
 
 Story ; Storiette. 
 
 129. Sketches. (T.T.) 
 
 130. Socialist N. 112, 289. 
 
 131. Social Comedy ; N ; R ; 
 
 Study; Society N. 
 
 132. Spiritual R. (Hallam; Scott, con- 
 
 trasted with Temporal R.) 
 
 133. Sporting N. 
 
 134. Story. (Common in titles.) 
 
 135. Study. (As a type of short story, 
 
 frequently.) 
 
 136. Supernatural Phantasy, N. of. 
 
 (Masson.) 
 
 137. Tale. 
 
 138. Temporal R. (Scott, contrasted 
 
 with Spiritual R.) 
 
 139. Terror, Gothic Tale of. 52. 
 
 140. Theological N. 
 
 141. Third-Person N. 
 
 142. Tragic Drama ; N ; Pastoral ; 
 
 Tragi-Comedy. 
 
 143. Traveller's N. (Masson.) 
 
 144. Ubiquitous N. (Walter Bagehot.) 
 
 70. 
 
282 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 145 . Utopian N ; R . 
 
 146. Vision. 
 
 147. Volume N, Single ; Three. 
 
 148. Weird Story. (Barrett.) 
 
 149. Wonder, Story of. (Barrett.) 
 
 150. Yarn. 
 
 FRENCH 
 
 151. Active, R. de la Vie. (Jusserand.) 
 
 i. 
 
 152. Amour, R. d'. 
 
 153. Analytique, R; R. d* Analyse 
 
 intellectuelle ; morale. 
 
 154. Arcadien, R. (Jusserand.) 200. 
 
 155. Archeologique, R. (Lanson, of 
 
 Salammbd.) 
 
 156. Autobiographique, R. 
 
 157. Aventure, Conte d'; R. d'; 
 
 Aventures. (T. T.) 
 
 158. Bourgeois, R. 
 
 159. Burlesque, R. 
 
 160. Cape et d'Epee, R. de. 71. 
 
 161. Champe'tre, R. 
 
 162. Chevaleresque, R. 
 
 163. Chretien, honnSte et familier, R. 
 
 (Gilbert.) 
 
 164. Clef, R. a. 
 
 165. Coeur, R. de. 
 
 166. Comique, R. 
 
 167. Conte. 
 
 168. Devot, Conte. 
 
 169. Epique, R. (Maigron; Jusserand) ; 
 
 Epopee-roman (Jusserand). 
 
 170. Exotique, R. (Gilbert.) 334. 
 
 171. Experimental, R. (Zola.) 
 
 172. Fabliau. 
 
 173. Famille, R. de. 
 
 174. Fantaisiste, R. 
 
 175. Fees, Conte de. 
 
 176. Feuilleton, R. 
 
 177. Gothique, R. 
 
 178. HeroTque, R. 
 
 179. Historique, R; Histoire. (T. T.) 
 
 180. Humoristique, R. 
 
 181. Idylle. 
 
 182. Impressioniste, R. 
 
 183. Intellectuelle, R. d'Analyse. 69. 
 
 184. Intrigue, R. d'. 
 
 185. Lettres, R. par. 
 
 186. Longue Haleine, R. a (of Heroic 
 
 Romance) 
 
 187. Lyrique, R. (Lanson, of George 
 
 Sand.) 
 
 188. Memoires. (T. T.) 
 
 189. Militaires, R. de Mceurs. 
 
 190. Misanthropique, R. (of Flaubert). 
 
 102. 
 
 191. Moeurs, R. de. 
 
 192. Mondain, R. 
 
 193. Morale, R. d'Analyse. 
 
 194. Nationaux, R's. (Erckmann-Cha- 
 
 trian.) 
 
 195. Naturaliste, R. 
 
 196. Nocturne, Conte (title used by 
 
 Hoffman). 
 
 197. Nouvelle. 
 
 198. Oriental, R. 
 
 199. Pastel. 
 
 200. Pastoral, R. 154. 
 
 201. Personnel, impersonnel, R6cit. 
 
 202. Philosophique, R. 
 
 203. Picaresque, R. 
 
 204. Plaisant, Conte. 
 
 205. Poetique, R. (Lanson.) 
 
 206. Politique, R. 
 
 207. Psychologique, R. 
 
 208. Realiste, R. 
 
 209. Roman. 
 
 210. Romantique, R. 
 
 211. Rustique, R. 
 
 212. Satirique, R. 
 
 213. Scenes. (T. T.) 
 
 214. Scientifique, R. 
 
 215. Sentimental, et personnel, R. 
 
 (Lanson ; Gilbert) ; R. d'Analyse 
 des Sentiments. (Jusserand.) 
 
 216. Social, R. 
 
 217. Symboliste et occulte, R. (Gil- 
 
 bert.) 3. 
 
 218. Tendance, R. a. 
 
 219. Tiroirs, R. a. 
 
 220. Utopiste, R. 
 
 221. Voyage Imaginaire. 297. 
 
 222. Voyage, R. de. 
 
TYPES OF PROSE FICTION 
 
 28 3 
 
 GERMAN 
 
 223. Abenteuer ; roman ; und trans- 
 
 oceanischer R. 
 
 224. Allegorischer R. 
 
 225. Anekdotenroman. 
 
 226. Aristokratischer R. (Vischer.) 
 
 227. Autobiographischer R. 265, 323. 
 
 228. Backfischroman. 
 
 229. Bauern novelle ; roman. 
 
 230. Bettlerroman. 
 
 231. Bildungsroman. 276. 
 
 232. Briefroman ; R. in Brief en. 
 
 233. Biirgerlicher R. 
 
 234. Burlesker R. 
 
 235. Charakterroman. 
 
 236. Dialogroman. (Riemann.) 
 
 237. Didaktischer R. 
 
 238. Dorfgeschichte. 
 
 239. Eklektischer R. (Jeitteles.) 
 
 240. Emanzipationsroman. 309. 
 
 241. Ernster R. (Vischer, Aesthetik; 
 
 Jeitteles.) 
 
 242. Erotischer R. 
 
 243. Er-Roman. 
 
 244. Erzahlung. 
 
 245. Ethnographischer R. 
 
 246. Familienroman. 
 
 247. Feengeschichte. 
 
 248. Feuilletonistischer R. 342. 
 
 249. Frauenroman. (Mielke.) 
 
 250. Gedicht-geschichte. (Birken, in 
 
 1679.) 
 
 251. Geisterroman. 
 
 252. Geistlicher R. 
 
 253. Geographischer R. 
 
 254. Geschichtlicher R. 
 
 255. Gesellschaftsroman. (Mielke.) 327. 
 
 256. Gespensternovelle. 
 
 257. Heldenroman. 
 
 258. Heroisch-galanter R. 
 
 259. Herzgeschichte. (Spielhagen.) 
 
 260. Hintertreppenroman. 
 
 261. Hirtenroman. 
 
 262. Historischer R; halbhistorischer 
 
 R. 
 
 263. Humanistischer R. 
 
 264. Humoristischer R, 
 
 265. Ich Erzahlung; R; Brief- 
 
 roman. (Riemann.) 227. 
 
 266. Idealroman. (Korting.) 
 
 267. Idylle; Idyllischer R. (W. Sche- 
 
 rer.) 
 
 268. Judenroman. 
 
 269. Jugendroman. 
 
 270. Kinder- und Hausmarchen. 
 
 271. Kolportageroman. 
 
 272. Komischer R. 
 
 273. Komodiantenroman. (Riemann, 
 
 of Roman Comique.) 
 
 274. Kosmopolitischer R. 
 
 275. Kriminal geschichte ; roman ; 
 
 anthropologischer R. 
 
 276. Kultur roman ; geschichtliche 
 
 Novelle. 231. 
 
 277. Kunstroman ; Kunstlerroman. 9. 
 
 278. Landschaftsroman. (Mielke.) 
 
 279. Legende. 
 
 280. Leidenschaftsroman. (Riemann.) 
 
 281. Liebes roman; historic. (Jeit- 
 
 teles.) 
 
 282. Liigenroman. 
 
 283. Marchen. 
 
 284. Mode-Roman. (A. W. von Schle- 
 
 gel, 1798.) 48. 
 
 285. Moderner R. (Spielhagen, in defi- 
 
 nite sense, contrasted with his- 
 torical novel.) 86. 
 
 286. Moralischer R. 
 
 287. Musikernovelle. 
 
 288. Naturalistischer R. 
 
 289. Nihilistischer R. 130. 
 
 290. Novelle; Novelette. 
 
 291. Objektive Erzahlung. (Spielhagen.) 
 
 292. Opposition, R. der. (Korting.) 
 
 293. Orientalischer R. 
 
 294. Padagogischer R. 
 
 295. Pantomimischer R. (Riemann.) 
 
 296. Pastoralroman ; Antipastorale. 
 
 (Korting, of Berger Extrava- 
 gant.) 318. 
 
 297. Phantastischer R ; Reiseroman. 
 
 (Korting.) 221. 
 
284 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 298. Philosophischer R. 320. 
 
 299. Politischer R. 329. 321. 
 
 300. Pornographischer R. 322. 
 
 301. Prohlemroman, moralphiloso- 323. 
 
 phischer. 
 
 302. Professorenroman. 324. 
 
 303. Psychologischer R; Situations- 325. 
 
 roman. 
 
 304. Rahmenerzahlung. 326. 
 
 305. Rauberroman. 
 
 306. Realistischer R ; Realroman. (Kor- 
 
 ting.) 327. 
 
 307. Reise fabulistik (Rohde) ; ~ 328. 
 
 feuilleton ; roman. 329. 
 
 308. Religioser R. 330. 
 
 309. Revolution, R. der. (Mielke.) 331. 
 
 240. 332. 
 
 310. Ritter geschichte; roman; 333. 
 
 und Rauberroman. 334. 
 
 311. Robinsonade. 
 
 312. Roman. 335. 
 
 313. Romanskizze. (Spielhagen.) 336. 
 
 314. Romantische Novelle. 337. 
 
 315. Romerroman. (Mielke.) 338. 
 
 316. Sagen geschichte; und Ritter- 
 
 roman. 339. 
 
 317. Satirischer R. 340. 
 
 318. Schaferroman. 296. 341. 
 
 319. Schauer licher R (Jeitteles, of 
 
 Mrs. Radcliffe) ; roman. 59. 342. 
 
 Schelmenroman. 73. 
 Schwank. 
 Seeroman. 
 
 Selbst biographischer R ; bio- 
 graphic. 227. 
 Sensationsroman. 
 Sentimentaler R ; Sentimentalitats- 
 
 roman. 
 Sitten gemalde ; roman ; und 
 
 Familienroman. (Jeitteles, of 
 
 Richardson.) 
 Socialer R. 255. 
 Soldatenroman. 
 
 Staatsroman. (Riemann.) 299. 
 Stoff roman. 107. 
 Tendenzroman ; Tendenzioser R. 
 Theaternovelle. 
 Theologischer R. 
 Trans atlantischer R ; ocean- 
 
 ischer R, Abenteuer- und. 170. 
 Umwandlungsroman. 
 Unterhaltungsroman. 
 Vaterlandischer R. 
 Volks buch; marchen; 
 
 roman ; volkstiimlicher R. 
 Wundermarchen. 
 Zauberroman. (Hildebrand.) 92. 
 Zeit geschichtlicher R ; roman. 
 
 (Mielke.) 38. 
 Zeitungsroman. (Mielke.) 248. 
 
 ITALIAN AND SPANISH 
 
 343. Amatoria, Novela ; R. d' Amore ; 
 
 Historia amorosa. 
 
 344. Analitico, R. 
 
 345. Brevo, Racconto. 
 
 346. Caballeria, Novela de; Libro 
 
 de ; R. di Cavalleria. 
 
 347. Campagnuol (a; o), Novella; Rac- 
 
 conto. 
 
 348. Capa y Espada, Novela de. 71. 
 
 349. Comico, R. 
 
 350. Corta, Novella. 
 
 351. Cuadros. (T. T.) 
 
 352. Cuento. 
 
 353. Exemplares, Novelas. (Cervantes.) 
 
 354. Fabula. 
 
 355. Fantasia. 
 
 356. Historia; Novela Historica; His- 
 
 torieta; Historion. 
 
 357. Idilio; Idillio. 
 
 358. Impressionisto, R. 
 
 359. Intimo, R. 
 
 360. Istoria; R. Istorico. 
 
 361. Legendario; Leggenda; Leyenda. 
 
 362. Naturalista, R. 
 
 363. Novela. 
 
 364. Novella. 
 
 365. Obiettivo, R. (Robiati.) 381. 
 
 366. Pastello. 
 
 367. Pastorale, R; Novela Pastoral; 
 
 Pastorela. 
 
 368. Patrana. 
 
 369. Picaresco, R; Novela Picaresca. 
 
TYPES OF PROSE FICTION 
 
 28 5 
 
 370. Politico, R. 
 
 371. Popolare, Racconto; 
 
 Libro; Narracion. 
 
 372. Psicologico, R. 
 
 373. Racconto. 
 
 374. Realisto, R. 
 
 375. Relacion. 
 
 Popular, 
 
 376. Romanzo. 
 
 377. Rusticana, Novella. 
 
 378. Satirico, R. 
 
 379. Sintetico-obiettivo, R. (Robiati.) 
 
 380. Storia; Storiella; Storietta. 
 
 381. Subiettivo, R. (Robiati.) 365. 
 
 382. Suenos. (T. T.) 
 
IV. NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC 
 CRITICISM 
 
 No volume devoted to this subject has appeared, so far as the 
 present writer is aware. The following works are helpful, as giving 
 the general background of the development of criticism, or as con- 
 taining specific reference to the novel. (Works not identified in 
 these Notes will be found listed in the Bibliography.) 
 
 Brunetiere : L'Evolution de la Critique. Roman Naturaliste. Borinski. 
 Braitmaier. Dunlop. See the extended, though poorly arranged 
 bibliography prefixed to the text. (Bohn edition.) Gayley and Scott. 
 
 Hamelius : Die Kritik in der englischen Litteratur des I7ten und 
 iSten Jahrhunderts. (Leipzig, 1897.) Haym. Korting. Mai- 
 gron. Moulton : Library of Literary Criticism. Raleigh. Rie- 
 mann. Rocafort. Saintsbury : History of Literary Criticism. 
 (Referred to as "S" in the following pages.) Spingarn : History 
 of Literary Criticism in the Renaissance. (N.Y., 1899.) Warren. 
 
 Wylie : Evolution of English Criticism. (Boston, 1894.) 
 
 The following notes are a slight introduction to a vast field. 
 Criticism of immediate interest to the student of the novel is found 
 in works on the general history of literature, in aesthetics, in works 
 on the epic and drama, etc., etc. Indexes to periodical literature 
 show an accumulation of material it would take years to assimilate. 
 Much of the best criticism is found in biographies of the novelists. 
 
 It may be noted that the novel itself has often been a mode of 
 criticism, since the beginning. Kastner and Atkins say of Anatole 
 France, "The critical spirit pervades the whole of his thought, 
 so much so that his novels are almost as much of criticism as 
 romance." Individual novels, especially parodies, are frequently 
 criticisms of other novels, or schools of novelists. 
 
 286 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 287 
 
 GR^ECO-ROMAN PERIOD 
 
 Aristotle. The Poetics influenced the theory of the novel, to some extent, 
 in the Renaissance and the i8th century. Cf. S., II., p. 58. 
 
 Plato. Use and exposition of didactic allegory. His treatment of the social 
 effect of fiction influenced Renaissance defenses of poetry. 
 
 The romances themselves were the product of a critical spirit. See also 
 Dunlop, I., pp. 36 ; 96 ; 105. 
 
 THE MIDDLE AGES TO 1400 
 
 "From the 5th to the I5th century . . . humanity was obliged to do 
 as well as it could without the solace of novels." (Warren.) " The 
 Middle Ages were not critical." (S.) 
 
 Defense of realism in Boccaccio, Chaucer, etc. 
 
 Religious application of fiction, as in the Gesta Romanorum. 
 
 Critical consciousness in the saga and verse romance. On the 
 relations of epic and romance, see Ker, and Saintsbury's Flourish- 
 ing of Romance. 
 
 Eustathius. Hysmenia and Hysmene. A caricature of Tatius. (Rohde- 
 Dunlop.) 
 
 Photius. Myriobiblion. (pth century.) Abridgments and fragmentary criti- 
 cisms of Greek and Latin romances. (Dunlop.) 
 
 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 Caxton. Critical work as editor, translator, expositor, and defender of ro- 
 mance. His preface to Morte d' Arthur is " memorable as marking the 
 beginning of prose fiction." (Raleigh.) 
 
 Martorell. Tirante el Blanco, (cir. 1450.) Is a "predecessor of Don 
 Quixote and ... no less a parody on the genuine romances of chiv- 
 alry." (Warren.) 
 
 Sannazaro. Arcadia. On its critical significance, see Garnett, and Warren. 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 The numerous critical treatises scarcely touched prose fiction, 
 though discussing many matters related to it, such as the use of 
 vernacular, epic theory and technic, allegory, etc. 
 
288 APPENDIX 
 
 Pastoral romance continued to represent classical scholarship 
 and artistic motive. 
 
 Picaresque fiction was a critical as well as creative reaction from 
 the older romance spirit. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 " A singular scorn for the older romances is displayed by the men of 
 the later i6th century." (Raleigh.) 
 
 Ascham. The Schoolmaster. Severe criticism, from a Protestant and Eng- 
 lish point of view, of Morte d' Arthur, and the Italian novelle. See below, 
 1 8th century, English, Warton. 
 
 Lyly. The Euphues embodies a theory of poetical prose. See also its 
 prefaces and dedications. 
 
 Painter. The Palace of Pleasure. (1566.) The preface gives some expo- 
 sition and defense of the novella. 
 
 Sidney. Arcadia. Burlesque of pastoral romance and romance of chivalry ; 
 the author's disdain for the work. Defense of Poetry. Much that is 
 essentially applicable, though not applied, to prose fiction. 
 
 FRENCH 
 
 Brugis. (Belgian.) Nonis Aprilis. (1523.) Satirical attitude toward 
 romance of chivalry. See Goedeke : Grundriss zur Geschichte der 
 deutschen Dichtung (1884), I., p. 340. 
 
 ITALIAN 
 
 See S. on Castelvetro (II., p. 84), and on Cinthio and Pigna (II., 
 p. 214). 
 Giraldi. Discorsi intorno al comporre dei Romanzi. (1554.) 
 
 SPANISH 
 
 For the critical relations of early picaresque fiction, see Chandler and 
 Warren. 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 Some of the tendencies suggested by the following references 
 are : Indifference toward romance on the part of scholars ; gen- 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 289 
 
 eral hostility of the idealists, especially the Puritans ; the vogue 
 of the aristocratic heroic romance ; the democratic sub-current ; 
 the debased realism of the Restoration; conscious distinction 
 between romance and novel. 
 
 Bacon. Wisdom of the Ancients. Theory of allegory implied and stated. 
 Advancement of Learning. Dunlop quotes a famous passage, with 
 "fiction" substituted for the "poetry" of some translations. (Introduc- 
 tion.) In the main, Bacon seems afraid to linger in the domain of 
 romance. See S. on his general position. 
 
 Barclay. Argenis. (1621.) The allegorical purpose is explained (II., 14) 
 according to the current sugar-coated pill idea. 
 
 Bunyan. See Masson, p. 82, and cf. Defoe, below. Bunyan's influence on 
 Defoe and realism in general was unintentional. 
 
 Congreve. Incognita. (1692.) See Raleigh, p. 101. 
 
 Davenant. Preface to Gondibert. (1651.) See S., II., p. 368. 
 
 Dryden. Much criticism on matters related to prose fiction, such as heroic 
 poetry, satire, allegory, etc. A novelistic method of acquiring materials 
 is recorded in the preface of Annus Mirabilis. 
 
 Head, The English Rogue. (1665-71.) The prefatory matter defends 
 realistic method in about the same spirit shown by Defoe, Fielding, 
 Smollett, etc. "Though it may seem a romance . . . there is nothing but 
 the truth, naked as she ought to be," etc. Burlesque of high-flown style, 
 and other points of critical interest. 
 
 Ingelo. Bentivolio and Urania. (1660.) Prefaces. " Examined with a judi- 
 cious eye [romances] would appear to be full of the grossest indecorums of 
 invention, as odious misrepresentations of Divinity, unnatural descriptions 
 of Human Life, improper and profane allusions to sacred things, frequent 
 and palpable contradictions, sottish stories and in short, all the absurdities 
 of wild imagination." The lovers of romance "read Fables with such 
 affection, as if their . . . best interests were wrapped up in them. . . . 
 How unsatisfied are they till the end of a paper combat ! What fears 
 possess them for the Knight whose part they take. . . . How are they 
 taken with pleasure and sorrow for the good and bad success of the 
 Romantic Lovers," etc. 
 
 Jonson. See S., II., p. 208. 
 
 Mackenzie. Aretina. (1661.) See Raleigh. 
 
 Milton. Examine Paradise Lost, opening of Bk. IX.; and note the tendency 
 of the Areopagitica, as to popular reading. 
 
2QO APPENDIX 
 
 FRENCH 
 For criticism of prose fiction in general, see Korting and Maigron. 
 
 Boileau. Les Heros de Roman. See Cross, and S., II., p. 292. 
 
 Calprenede, La. Pharamond. The preface objects to the word " roman," 
 because it confuses historical works with pure inventions like Amadis. 
 (Maigron.) " Durch ihn kommt die Romandichtung zuerst gleichsam 
 vollig zum Selbstbewusstsein," etc. (Korting, I., p. 362.) He ob- 
 served unity of place. (Ibid.) 
 
 Chapelain. Sur la Lecture des Vieux Romans. See S., II., p. 260. 
 
 Fancan. Le Tombeau des Romans. (1626.) See Dunlop, II., p. 344. 
 
 Fresnaye, Vauquelin de la. Art Poetique. (1605.) See S., II., p. 131. 
 
 FuretiSre. Roman Bourgeois. (1666.) See S., II., p. 554, and Raleigh, 
 p. 115. 
 
 Huct. De 1'Origine des Romans. (1670.) See S., II., p. 275, and Dunlop, 
 introduction and passim, 
 
 Molidre. Les Precieuses Ridicules. As a burlesque on the love motifs of 
 Scudery, see Cross. 
 
 Scarron. Roman Comique. As a burlesque. 
 
 ScudSry, Georges de. Preface to Ibraham. " Mais entre toutes les regies 
 qu'il faut observer, celle de la vraisemblance est sans doute la plus ne- 
 cessaire." (Quoted in Maigron.) See also S., I., p. 266. 
 
 Scud6ry, Madeleine de. See Maigron, and under " vraisemblance," Glossary. 
 
 Sorel. Berger Extravagant. (1627.) As a burlesque " antipastorale." 
 
 GERMAN 
 Birken. Kurze Anweisung zur deutschen Poesie. (1679.) Considers the 
 
 relations of romance to pastoral, history, epic, etc. 
 Zesen. One of the most popular fiction writers of the century, but does 
 
 not mention the romance in his poetic theory. (Borinski, p. 278.) 
 
 SPANISH 
 
 Cervantes. Don Quixote. See S., II., p. 347. Note, however, these pas- 
 sages in the novel: I., I., 6; I., L, 21. See above, Martorell. There is 
 a bit of pastoral criticism in the preface to Galatea, and of realistic ethics 
 in the preface of the Novelas Exemplares. 
 
 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 
 
 This is the period in which the " modern novel," in one sense, 
 arose, and it is a period of special critical activity. These two 
 facts are doubtless closely related. 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 291 
 
 There is vigorous criticism of the novel in England and Ger- 
 many ; perhaps less notable criticism in France. Among the 
 general phases of this criticism one may note : The defense of 
 realism, and the rise of romantic doctrine ; specific criticism of 
 the Gothic romance, and of the sentimental movement ; increased 
 attention to the theory and technic of prose fiction ; more careful 
 effort to distinguish romance from novel; considerable attention 
 to the history of fiction, and to biographical sketches of novelists ; 
 the development of book-reviewing in the periodicals ; a general 
 neglect of prose fiction in the histories of literature, and in works 
 of general literary criticism ; considerable hostility to fiction, with 
 reference to its great popularity, and the evil effect of circulating 
 libraries. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 Blair, Hugh. Rhetoric (1783). "There remains to be treated of another 
 species of composition in prose, which comprehends a very numerous, 
 though, in general, a very insignificant class of writings known by the 
 name of romances and novels. These may, at first view, seem too in- 
 significant to deserve that any particular notice should be taken of them." 
 But it is explained that the trouble is with the authors rather than with 
 the nature of the species ; and Blair gives a fairly generous, though very 
 brief, treatment of prose fiction. 
 
 Defoe. Defense of realism, and relation of fiction to fact in his prefaces ; 
 the doctrine of allegory in the Third Part of Robinson Crusoe, with 
 reference to the Biblical parables. See Geissler. (Halle dissertation, 
 1896.) 
 
 Fielding, Henry. Much theoretical, technical, and ethical criticism in his 
 prefaces and intercalated essays. See prefaces of Amelia, Joseph 
 Andrews, David Simple, Letters of David Simple, Tom Thumb, and 
 Covent Garden Tragedy ; Joseph Andrews, I., I and 7, II., I, III., I ; 
 Tom Jones, first chapters of Books V., VI., VIII., IX., X., XL, and XVI.; 
 Jonathan Wild, I., I ; and essays on Conversation, and Knowledge of 
 Men. Also note his burlesque element. See p. 265 in this Appendix. 
 
 Fielding, Sarah. Theoretical, technical, and ethical criticism in the pref- 
 aces of The Cry and The Countess of Dellwyn. Discussion of chorus, 
 episode, characterization, relations of the novel to the drama and the 
 essay, definition of "humors," and of "romantic," etc. "The motives 
 to actions, and the inward turns of mind, seem, in our opinion, more 
 
2Q2 APPENDIX 
 
 necessary to be known than the actions themselves; and much rather 
 would we choose that our reader should clearly understand what our 
 principal actors think than what they do." (Were these notable pref- 
 aces written or inspired by Henry Fielding ?) 
 
 Gentleman's Magazine, The. Reviews many novels toward the end of 
 the century; giving a half column to Evelina, five columns to Juliet 
 Grenville, ten columns to Humphrey Clinker, etc. 
 
 Goldsmith. Citizen of the World. Criticism of " Bawdry and Pertness " 
 (an attack on Smollett) in No. 53 ; and see also No. 33. 
 
 Gray. For his views of Ossian, The Castle of Otranto, etc., see Phelps. 
 
 Hurd. Letters on Chivalry and Romance (1762). See S., Vol. III. 
 
 Johnson. Definitions of romance and novel in the Dictionary ; The 
 Rambler, No. 365 ; Preface to Shakespeare ; many passages in Boswell. 
 See Section 166 of the present volume. 
 
 Kames. Elements of Criticism (1762). An elaborate aesthetic treatise, 
 
 / hardly mentioning prose romance. 
 
 Law. Serious Call. (1726.) This famous ascetic work, influencing the 
 Methodist movement, unconsciously supports the theory and practise of 
 the realistic novelists : " If you are told only in the gross of the folly 
 and madness of a life devoted to the world, it makes little or no impres- 
 sion upon you ; but if you are shown how such people live every day ; if 
 you see the continual folly and madness of all their particular actions 
 and designs, this would be an affecting sight," etc. (Chapter XII.) 
 
 Leland. Longsword. (1762.) See Phelps. 
 
 Moore, John. View of the Commencement and Progress of Romance. Life 
 of Smollett. (Both prefixed to Smollett's Works, 1797.) 
 
 Reeve, Clara. The Progress of Romance. (Two vols., Dublin, 1785.) 
 " While many eminent writers have . . . skimmed over the surface of 
 this subject, it seemed to me that none of them had sounded the depths 
 of it. ... Of metrical Romances they have treated largely, but with 
 respect to those in prose, their informations have been scanty and imper- 
 fect." (Preface.) While beginning with Greek romance, the considera- 
 tion of 1 8th century fiction is liberal. Particular attention is given to 
 the differences between the " old [medieval] Romances," " modern 
 [heroic] Romances," and "the Novel." The prefaces of The Phoenix 
 (translation of Barclay's Argenis), and of The Old English Baron, are of 
 considerable critical importance. Preface of The School for Widows. 
 Criticism of the reigning sentimental school; and distinction between 
 true and false sensibility. 
 
 Richardson. Exposition of epistolary technic, and of ethical interest, in 
 critical addenda to Pamela and Clarissa. 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 293 
 
 Smollett. Preface and Chapter I. of Ferdinand, Count Fathom ; burlesque 
 of Gothic method in Sir Launcelot Greaves. "A novel is a large dif- 
 fused picture, comprehending the characters of life, disposed in different 
 groups, and exhibited in various attitudes, for the purposes of an uniform 
 plan, and general occurrence, to which every individual figure is sub- 
 servient. But this plan cannot be executed with propriety, probability, 
 or success, without a principal personage to attract the attention, unite 
 the incidents, unwind the clue of the labyrinth, and at last close the 
 scene, by virtue of his own importance." (Preface of F. C. F.) 
 
 Walpole. The Castle of Otranto. See Phelps. 
 
 Warton, Thomas. History of English Poetry. (1778-81.) Answers 
 Ascham's attack on the Italian novelle, and devotes about eighteen 
 pages to them (Section LX.) ; defends an interest in romance in general 
 (Section V.). See S., III., p. 70 ff. 
 
 See also prefaces of Brooke's Fool of Quality ; Day's Sandford and Merton ; 
 Graves' Columella, and The Spiritual Quixote ; Johnstone's Chrysal; and 
 many other novels of the century. 
 
 FRENCH 
 
 For the novelistic doctrine of the Encyclopaedists in general, see Rocafort, 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Diderot. Eloge de Richardson. (1742.) Famous for its " superstitious ad- 
 miration." In a well-known passage he places Richardson beside Moses, 
 Homer, Euripides, and Sophocles, to be read by turns. " Par un roman, on 
 a entendu jusqu'a ce jour un tissu d'evenements chimeriques et fri- 
 voles, dont la lecture etait dangereuse pour le gout et pour les moeurs. 
 . . . le fond de son drame est vrai ; ses personnages ont toute la 
 re"alite possible ; ses caracteres sont pris du milieu de la societe; ses inci- 
 dents sont dans les moeurs de toutes les nations policees ; ... les 
 passions qu'il peint sont telles que je les eprouve en moi ; . . . il me 
 montre le cours general des choses qui m'environnent." See S., III., 
 p. 92. 
 
 Fresnoy, Lenglet du. L'Histoire justifiee centre les Romans. (1735.) 
 
 Rousseau. Preface to La Nouvelle HeloTse. (1760.) On the relation of 
 the novel to social degeneracy, etc. References to fiction, especially 
 his own novels, in the Confessions. 
 
 Voltaire. Criticism of Rousseau, Sterne, and Swift, etc. See S., II., p. 5 16. 
 
294 APPENDIX 
 
 GERMAN 
 
 For the criticism of the latter part of the century, see Braitmaier, Haym, 
 
 and Riemann. 
 
 Blankenburg. Versuch fiber den Roman. (1766.) See Riemann, p. 4 
 and passim. 
 
 Bodmer. " Bodmer, in dealing with prose fiction, recognizes, as few critics 
 had recognized, the second greatest division of the imaginative literature 
 of the world." (S., III., p. 25. See the whole of the passage.) 
 
 Goethe. Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, V., 7. On the relations of drama 
 and novel. 
 
 Gottsched. Kritische Dichtkunst. (1730.) "Ihre Verfasser [of the com- 
 mon novels] verstehen oft die Regeln der Poesie so wenig, als die wahre 
 Sittenlehre : daher ist es kein Wunder, wenn sie einen verliebten Laby- 
 rinth in den andern bauen, und eitel Thorheiten durcheinander flechten, 
 ihre wolliistige Leser noch iippiger zu machen, und die Unschuldigen zu 
 verfuhren. Wenn sie erbaulich seyn sollten, miissten sie nach Art eines 
 Heldengedichtes abgefasset werden, wie Heliodorus, Longus, Cervantes und 
 Fenelon gethan haben." (Third ed., 1742, p. 167.) Beitrage zur 
 kritischen Historic. (1732-44.) " Ein Roman muss sowohl als andere 
 Schriften, nach geivissen Regeln abgemessen und eingerichtet werden. 
 Sein erster Hauptzweck soil dieser sein, dass er dem Leser allezeit die 
 Tugend belohnt und das Laster bestraft vorstelle. Alle diejenigen, 
 welche hierwider anstossen, entfernen sich von einem Ziele, welcher der- 
 gleichen Schriften allein leidlich macht." See also S., II., p. 555 ff. 
 
 Lessing. Some criticism of La Nouvelle Helolse, in Hamburgische Drama- 
 turgic, Nos. 8 and 9. 
 
 Mendelssohn, Moses. Criticism of La Nouvelle Helolse in his Letters con- 
 cerning Contemporary Literature. See also Braitmaier, II, p. 236 ff. 
 
 Nicolai, Friedrich. Preface to Sebaldus Nothanker. (1773.) "Alle Bege- 
 benheiten sind in unserer Erzahlung so unvorbereitet, so unwunderbar, 
 als sie in der weiten Welt zu geschchen pflegen. . . . Die Personen 
 . . . sind ganz gemeine schlechte und gcrechte Leute," etc. 
 
 Novalis. "Die Liebe ist das liochste Reale, der Urgrund ; alle Romane, 
 wo wahre Licbe vorkommt, sind Marchen, magische Bcgebenheiten." 
 "Der Roman ist gleichsam die freie Geschichte, gleichsam die Mythologie 
 der Geschichte." All must be " so natvirlich und doch so wunderbar, 
 dass man glaubt, es konne nicht anders sein, und als habe man nur 
 bisher in der Welt geschlummert und gehe einem nun erst der rechte 
 Sinn fur die Welt auf." See also S., III., pp. 388-9. 
 
 Schiller. See S., III., p. 381 ff. 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 295 
 
 FIRST HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 
 
 In this period the novel became, in the view of many critics, and 
 largely owing to Walter Scott, a "grand genre." The critical 
 theory of the romantic school was inclined to accept the novel, on 
 account of its freedom from traditions, its ready adaptation to the 
 individual writer, and the lyrical mood. The lingering traces of 
 classical criticism appear in continued disdain of romance in gen- 
 eral. Specifically, criticism was at first largely occupied with 
 Scott, partly with the new-old question of the relations of history 
 to fiction raised by the Waverley Novels. Later, realistic reaction 
 against the romantic movement appeared in theories of fiction, as 
 elsewhere. For the purposes of the general student, this is the 
 period in which American and Russian criticism first became of 
 significance. 
 
 AMERICAN 
 
 Some general tendencies may be noted in the periodicals; among which 
 The Portfolio (1801-27), The North American Review (established, 1815), 
 The Knickerbocker (1833-58), and The Dial (1840-44) are important. 
 
 Fuller (Ossoli), Margaret. Brief notes on American novelists. 
 
 Poe.i" Preface of Murders in the Rue Morgue; periodical reviews, and essay 
 on The Philosophy of Composition. The last has become a classic in the 
 criticism of the short story, though written with lyric poetry mainly in 
 mind. Compare also, "The Poetic Principle." 
 
 Prescott, W. H. Biographical and Critical Miscellanies include Memoir 
 of C. B. Brown, Cervantes, Sir Walter Scott, Chateaubriand's English 
 Literature, and Poetry and Romance of the Italians; all of which have 
 some reference to prose fiction. In the Chateaubriand, he touches at 
 some length on the relation of history to fiction. 
 
 Whipple, E. P.^ Literature and Life. (1849.) A chapter on Novels and 
 Novelists contains some general theory, criticism of the sentimental 
 school, selection of Wilhelm Meister as "perhaps the greatest single 
 novel," etc. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 Barbauld, Mrs. Introduction to Correspondence of Richardson. (1804.) 
 Outline history from Greek romance to Rousseau, etc. 
 
296 APPENDIX 
 
 Bulwer Lytton attempts serious historical or aesthetic criticism in a con- 
 siderable number of prefaces, and in a few essays. 
 
 Carlyle. Severe criticism of the Waverley Novels in the essay on Scott 
 " not profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for edification, for building up 
 or elevating in any shape," etc. He criticizes Scott's facility, but praises 
 his effect on the conception of history. Essays on German literature, 
 and preface to Wilhelm Meister. 
 
 Coleridge. Chapter 23 of Biographia Literaria contains severe criticism 
 of Clarissa and of Gothic romance. See also Statesman's Manual, para- 
 graph 12; Table-Talk, passim ; many fragments in his lectures of 1818; 
 Sections 160 and 165 of the present work, and Tuckerman, p. 200. 
 
 De Quincey. " Novels are the one sole class of books that ever interest the 
 public, that reach its heart, or even catch its eye. And the reason why 
 novels are becoming much more licentious, and much grosser in the arts 
 by which they court public favor, lies undoubtedly in the quality of that 
 new reading public which the extension of education has added to the 
 old one." (Quoted by F. N. Scott.) Condemnation of Wilhelm 
 Meister, in Essay on Goethe. See S., III., p. 479. 
 
 Dickens. Prefaces of several novels ; mainly on the sources, process of 
 composition, purpose, etc. 
 
 Dunlop was remarkably defective in reference to Russian and Scandi- 
 navian fiction. His distribution of space is about as follows : from Greek 
 romance to Boccaccio, 480 pages ; from Boccaccio to 1 700, 490 pages ; 
 the 1 8th century, 50 pages. See p. 266 in this Appendix. 
 
 Hallam. Literature of Europe. (1837.) "Fiction" is a regular heading 
 in the latter part of the work. 
 
 Hazlitt, William. English Poets, Chapter I. ; Age of Elizabeth, Lectures 
 VI. and VIII.; English Comic Writers, chapter on novelists; and 
 the essay, Why the Characters of Romance are Insipid. See also S., 
 TIL, p. 251 ff. 
 
 Jeffrey -reviewed a great deal of fiction during the first quarter of the 
 century, in the Edinburgh Review. His technical interest may be indi- 
 cated by the terms used in February, 1818 (Rob Roy) : scene, underplot, 
 structure, situation, action, coloring, and design. In March, 1817 (Tales 
 of My Landlord), he gives this general approval of fiction: "If novels, 
 however (generally regarded as among the lower productions of our 
 literature), are not fated to last as long as epic poems, they are at least a 
 great deal more popular in their season ; and slight as is their structure, 
 and imperfect as their finishing may often be thought in comparison, we 
 have no hesitation in saying that the better specimens of the art are 
 incomparably more entertaining, and considerably more instructive." 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 
 
 297 
 
 In 1843, Jeffrey wrote an introductory note to collected Reviews of 
 Novels, Tales and Prose Works of Fiction, in which he gives a very 
 interesting " corrected impression " of the novel in general. 
 
 Kingsley, Charles.*^ Preface and epilogue of Yeast ; preface of Alton Locke, 
 and of his edition of The Fool of Quality. See S., III., p. 539. 
 
 Mangin, Edward. Preface to Richardson's Novels. (1810.) Contrasts 
 Richardson's works with the debased "circulating novel" of his own 
 time. 
 
 Newman, J. H. Prospects of the Anglican Church. (1839.) A brief but 
 significant approval of Scott, as preparing "men for some closer and 
 more practical approximation to Catholic truth." . . . Contrasted with 
 " the popular writers of the last century, with its novelists, and some of 
 its most admired poets, as Pope, [Scott's poems and romances] stand 
 almost as oracles of Truth confronting the ministers of error and sin." 
 
 Scott. His numerous and various prefaces contain a mine of interesting 
 matter. The essay on Amadis of Gaul is a noteworthy study of the 
 romance of chivalry. On the Supernatural in Fictitious Composition 
 (a review of Hoffman). Essay on Romance. Lives of the Novelists. 
 The Journal (published, 1900). 
 
 Talfourd. The essay on British Novels and Novelists includes a general 
 defense of romance. In this and in other essays, Talfourd wrote on 
 Defoe, The Fool of Quality, Fielding, Goldsmith, Godwin, Mackenzie, 
 Maturin, etc. 
 
 Thackeray. His burlesque fictions are criticisms of current types or indi- 
 vidual novelists. Jerome Paturot contains " Consideration on Novels in 
 General," and the Paris Sketch Book includes a " Plea for Romances in 
 General." See also the consideration of novelists in English Humor- 
 ists ; Chapter I. of Henry Esmond, and the preface of Pendennis. 
 See S., III., on Lockhart and Macaulay. 
 
 FRENCH 
 
 The general development of the criticism of the Romantic Movement is to 
 be traced in Saintsbury, and in all histories of French literature. For the 
 criticism of Scott, see Maigron, especially Book II., Chapter I. On page 
 158, Maigron gives a glimpse of the artificial criticism of late classicism, with 
 its twenty-six conditions for perfect tragedy, twenty-three for comedy, twenty- 
 four for epic. 
 Balzac. Dedications and prefaces ; especially the preface of La Peau de 
 
 Chagrin. 
 Chateaubriand. His general relation to the Romantic School. Essai sur 
 
298 APPENDIX 
 
 la Litterature Anglaise. Genie du Christianisme. See American criti- 
 cism, Prescott, above. 
 
 Gautier. See S., III., p. 339 ff. 
 
 Girardin, Saint-Marc. See Bibliography. 
 
 Hugo. See the authorities noted above. Preface of Notre Dame de Paris. 
 " L'Histoire dit bien quelque chose de tout cela ; mais ici j'aime mieux 
 croire au roman qu'a 1'histoire, parce que je prefere la verite morale a la 
 verite historique." (Quoted in Maigron.) 
 
 Hulot. Instruction sur les Romans. (1825.) Moral argument against 
 romance. 
 
 MSrime'e. See S., III., p. 348 ff. ; Dowden, French Literature, p. 410, note. 
 
 Sainte-Beuve. There is much criticism of novelists in the Causeries, Por- 
 traits Contemporains, Portraits Litteraires, and Chateaubriand et son 
 Groupe Litteraire. 
 
 Sismondi. Litterature du Midi de 1'Europe. (1813-29.) Some 35 pages 
 out of 1000 are given to prose fiction, Cervantes receiving most attention. 
 
 Stael, Mme. de. Essai sur les Fictions. (1795.) "L'art d'ecrire des romans 
 n'a point la reputation qu'il merite, parce qu'une foule de mauvais auteurs 
 nous out accables de leurs fades productions en ce genre, ou la perfection 
 exige le genie le plus releve, mais ou la mediocrite est a la portee de 
 tout le monde. . . . Un roman tel qu'on peut le concevoir ... est une des 
 plus belles productions de 1'esprit humain, une des plus influentes sur la 
 morale des individus, qui doit former ensuite les mceurs publiques. . . . On 
 regarde (les romans) comme uniquement consacres a peindre 1'amour, la 
 plus violente, la plus universelle, la plus vraie de toutes les passions. . . . 
 L'ambition, 1'orgueil, 1'avarice, la vanite, pourraient etre Pobjet principal 
 de fictions dont les incidents seraient plus neufs et les situations aussi 
 variees que celles qui naissent de 1'amour. . . . On peut extraire des bons 
 romans une morale plus pure, plus releve"e, que d'aucun ouvrage didac- 
 tique sur la vertu. . . . Les evenements ne doivent e*tre, dans les romans, 
 que 1'occasion de developper les passions du coeur humain. . . . Les romans 
 que 1'on ne cessera jamais d'admirer . . . ont pour but de reveler ou de 
 tracer une foule de sentiments dont se compose, au fond de 1'ime, le bon- 
 heur ou le malheur de 1'existence, ces sentiments qu'on ne dit pas parce 
 qu'ils se trouvent lies avec nos secrets ou nos faiblesses et parce que les 
 hommes passent leur vie avec les hommes, sans se confier jamais mutuelle- 
 ment ce qu'ils eprouvent. . . . Observer le coeur humain, c'est montrer a 
 chaque pas 1'influence de la morale sur la destinee. ... II n'y a qu'un 
 secret dans la vie, c'est le bien ou le mal qu'on a fait. . . . Cest ainsi que 
 1'histoire de 1'homme doit Sire representee dans les romans, c'est ainsi 
 que les fictions doivent nous expliquer, par nos vertus et nos sentiments. 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 299 
 
 les mysteres de notre sort." De 1'Allemagne. Preface of Delphine, 
 and Quelques Reflexions sur le But Moral de Delphine. 
 
 Stendhal. (Beyle.) "Qu'est-ce que le roman de Walter Scott? De la 
 tragedie romantique, entremelee de longues descriptions." (Quoted in 
 Maigron.) 
 
 Vigny, de. Reflexions sur la Verite dans 1'Art. (Preface of Cinq-Mars ; 
 1826.) "On doit s'abandonner a une grande indifference de la realite" 
 historique pour juger les oeuvres dramatiques, poemes, romans ou trage- 
 dies, qui empruntent a 1'histoire des personnages memorables. L'Art ne 
 doit jamais tre considere que dans ses rapports avec sa beaut e ideale," 
 etc. 
 
 GERMAN 
 
 For the romantic critics, see Haym. 
 
 Bouterwek. Geschichte der Poesie und Beredsamkeit, etc. (Twelve vols., 
 1805-19.) Vol. III., English translation, " History of Spanish Litera.- 
 ture." (Bohn Library.) This volume gives some attention to prose 
 fiction, particularly to Cervantes. " The result [of Cervantes' initiative] 
 has proved that modern taste, however readily it may in other respects 
 conform to the rules of the antique, nevertheless requires in the narration 
 of fictitious events, a certain union of poetry with prose, which was un- 
 known to the Greeks and Romans in their best literary ages." 
 
 Jeitteles gives excellent articles on the Novelle and the Roman. 
 
 Goethe. See S., III., 363, and 366 ff. 
 
 Richter. Vorschule der Aesthetik. (1804.) "Der Roman verliert an 
 reiner Bildung unendlich durch die Weite seiner Form, in wekher fast 
 alle Formen liegen und Happen konnen. Ursprunglich ist er cpisch ; 
 aber zuweilen erzahlt statt des Autors der Held, zuweilen alle Mitspieler. 
 . . . Aber die Neuern wollen wieder vergessen, dass der Roman chcn 
 sowohl eine romantische dramatische Form annehmen konne und 
 angenommen habe. Ich halte sogar diese scharfere Form . . . fur die 
 bessere, da ohnehin die Laxitat der Prosa dem Romane eine gewissc 
 Strengigkeit der Form notig und heilsam macht." From a passage on 
 the theory of the novel. See also S., III., p. 384 ff. 
 
 Schlegel, A. W. Vorlesungen iiber schone Litteratur und Kunst. (1803- 
 04.) On the different relations of prose and verse in ancient and modern 
 literature. " Und so wircl der Roman nicht als Beschluss und Ausartung, 
 sondern als das erste in der neueren Poesie gesetzt ; eine Gattung, welche 
 das Ganze derselben reprasentieren kann. . . . One who cannot under- 
 stand Cervantes "hat wenig Hoffnung den Shakespeare zu begreifen." 
 
300 APPENDIX 
 
 See also his essays on Lafontaine, Schulz, "Ueber den dramatischen 
 Dialog," etc. 
 
 Schlegel, Friedrich. Geschichte der alten und neuen Litteratur. (1815.) 
 Some historical account of the novel, with some theory. His roman- 
 ticism appears in the criticism of Cervantes and Richardson. In the 
 later eighteenth century, " Romance . . . grew to be a favorite mode of 
 composition with those whose enthusiasm for nature found no vent in 
 any of the older existing forms : for it was exempt from all those fetters 
 that cramped aspiring effort in other departments of poetry. . . . Ro- 
 mance became in the hands of these men of genius exactly what each 
 of them wished." (Translation in Bohn Library.) Elsewhere he calls 
 the novel " the highest reach and the sum of all poetry, the ideal and 
 typical romantic form." See also his essays on Boccaccio, Goethe's 
 works, etc.; and S., III., p. 401. 
 
 Solger. Vorlesungen iiber Aesthetik. (1829.) An example of the early 
 treatment of the novel in German aesthetics. Definition of the novel as 
 a form of epic ; relations of novel, short story, etc. The romantic con- 
 ception of the free form of the novel is embodied in the quotation given 
 under " lyrical " in the Glossary of this Appendix. 
 
 Schopenhauer. Some interesting references to the novel in his literary 
 
 essays. See S., III., p. 566 ff. 
 See S.,111., on Heine and Tieck. 
 
 RUSSIAN 
 
 The movement from romanticism, through realism, to naturalism may be 
 
 suggested by these three citations : 
 
 Karamzin, an admirer and imitator of Sterne, defined the aim of art in 
 some such words as these : "to pour forth floods of emotion on the 
 realm of the sentimental." 
 
 Gogol speaks of his realistic method as follows : " Pushkin . . . used to say 
 that no author had, as much as I, the gift of showing the reality of the 
 trivialities of life, of describing the petty ways of an insignificant creature, 
 of bringing out and revealing to my readers infinitesimal details which 
 would otherwise pass unnoticed. In fact, there is where my talent lies. 
 The reader revolts against the meanness and baseness of my heroes. . . . 
 They would have forgiven me if I had described some picturesque theatrical 
 knave, but they cannot forgive my vulgarity. The Russians are shocked 
 to see their own insignificance." (Letter, quoted in Pardo Bazan, 
 p. 201.) 
 
 Byelinski. (181 1-48.) " Nature is the eternal model of art, and the greatest 
 and noblest subject in nature is man. ... Is not for the anatomist and 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELIST1C CRITICISM 301 
 
 physiologist the organism of a wild Australian as interesting as the or- 
 ganism of an enlightened European ? For what reason should art, in 
 this respect, differ so much from science," etc. (Quoted in Wiener, II., 
 p. 206.) 
 
 THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH 
 CENTURY i 
 
 In this period, one notices first the greatly increased amount 
 of criticism of prose fiction, and the even more significant fact 
 that few of the great critics have failed to make some contribution. 
 Serious consideration of the novel becomes common in works of 
 general criticism, in aesthetics, and in all domains of literary history. 
 German criticism has probably done most for technical study, and 
 perhaps for detailed historical investigation ; French criticism has 
 applied its fondness for formulas, and its clear, rapid examination 
 of problems, to the field of the novel. While many critics now 
 consider the novel as one of the highest forms of art, dissenting 
 voices may still be heard. 
 
 Viewed as accompanying the creative movement, criticism is at 
 first mainly realistic, then naturalistic, then reactionary in the 
 direction of a new idealism, or neo-romanticism. 
 
 A few further aspects may be noted : The considerable number 
 of extended works in the history of national fiction ; works on the 
 art of fiction by novelists or others, intended for practical guidance 
 to beginners ; the increased number of monographs of all varieties 
 in this field ; fresh consideration of fiction in the light of new 
 sociological, psychological, and ethical views; increased attention 
 to the short story as a distinct type; work in the educational 
 domain university theses, edited masterpieces, pamphlets, and 
 books for the systematic study of fiction, syllabi of lecture courses 
 etc. 
 
 AMERICAN 
 
 Garland, Hamlin. Crumbling Idols. The " new spirit " of American realism 
 appears in vigorous fashion. There is much general reference to the 
 
302 APPENDIX 
 
 novel, exposition and defense of "veritism," consideration of "local 
 color," and a striking theory of " the local novel." 
 
 Hawthorne. Notes on his sources, method, etc. Preface of The House of 
 the Seven Gables, on the nature of romance. 
 
 Howells. Criticism and Fiction. My Literary Passions. Heroines of 
 Fiction. Magazine editorials. In general, exposition and defense of 
 the realistic position, with special interest in continental realism, including 
 Russian. 
 
 James, Henry. < Periodical articles. Hawthorne. French Poets and 
 Novelists. The Art of Fiction. "The analogy between the art of the 
 painter and the art of the novelist, is, so far as I am able to see, complete. 
 A novel being a picture . . . how can a picture be either moral or im- 
 moral ? " " The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does 
 compete with life. " "The air of reality (solidity of specification) seems 
 to me the supreme virtue of a novel." Cf. Stevenson, below. See also 
 under " impression," in Glossary. 
 
 Lanier. There is severe criticism of his English Novel in S., III., p. 643. 
 
 Mabie, H. M. has given some attention to fiction. 
 
 Matthews, Brander. Theoretical, technical, and historical criticism. 
 Special exposition of the short story, as an independent type. 
 
 See the Bibliography, under C. S. Baldwin Barrett Burton Canby 
 Chandler Cody Cook Crawford Crawshaw Cross David- 
 son Dixson Dye Forsyth Hammond Lewis MacClintock 
 Moulton Nettleton Frank Norris Perry Scudder Simonds 
 L. W. Smith Stoddard Thompson Tuckerman Van der Velde 
 Warren. 
 
 ENGLISH 
 
 Dallas. May be noted for a low opinion of the novel at a late date. The 
 
 " novel is but a fictitious biography." ..." A novel may be described 
 
 as gossip etherealized, family talk generalized." 
 Dowden has given special attention to George Eliot and to Goethe, in 
 
 various essays and studies ; some attention to the novel in the French 
 
 Revolution, and the History of French Literature. 
 Eliot, George. A vigorous defense of realism in the preface of Adam Bede; 
 
 essays on Story-Telling, Lady Novelists, Silly Novels by Lady Novelists; 
 
 and material for study of her own work in Cross's Life. 
 Gosse has made something of a specialty of the novel, discussing theory 
 
 as well as history. Northern Studies. Questions at Issue. In his 
 
 history of Eighteenth Century English Literature he gives a good account 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 303 
 
 of the rise of the novel. Also note his numerous introductions to trans- 
 lations of continental novels Dutch, Scandinavian, Spanish, etc. 
 
 Hardy, Thomas. Prefaces of Return of the Native, Mayor of Casterbridge, 
 A Pair of Blue Eyes, and Jude the Obscure. In the last, he gives this 
 realistic, impressionistic statement : " Like former productions of this pen, 
 Jude the Obscure is simply an endeavor to give shape and coherence to a 
 series of seemings, of personal impressions, the question of their con- 
 sistency or their discordance, of their permanence or their transitoriness, 
 being regarded as not of the first moment." 
 
 Helps. See S. 
 
 Meredith, George. The prelude of The Egoist is a defense of satire in art, 
 especially in fiction. Cf. the Essay on Comedy. Chapter I of Diana of 
 the Crossways touches the relation of fiction to philosophy. 
 
 Ruskin. Characteristic reference to fiction in many passages. Attack on 
 realism in Fiction, Fair and Foul. Consideration of Scott in Part IV., 
 Chapters 16 and 17, and incidental mention of other novelists, in Modern 
 Painters. Comment on fiction in Fors, especially Letter 31 and follow- 
 ing, on Scott. "Of the four great English tale-tellers whose dynasti.-s 
 have set or risen within my own memory Miss Edgeworth, Scott, 
 Dickens, and Thackeray I find myself greatly at pause in conjecturing, 
 however dimly, what essential good has been effected by them, though 
 they all had the best intentions. Of the essential mischief done by them, 
 there is, unhappily, no doubt whatever." Cf. Carlyle and Newman, above. 
 
 Saintsbury has been a wide reader of fiction, as of most forms of litera- 
 ture, and has recorded many of his impressions. French Novelists. 
 Corrected Impressions. Volumes in the history of English literature, 
 and in Periods of European Literature. Miscellaneous essays. Edi- 
 torial introductions to the novels of Balzac, Defoe, Fielding, and others. 
 
 Stevenson. His criticism is partly an expression of the neo-romanticism of 
 the closing decades of the century. See passages in his letters, and the 
 essays, A Gossip on a Novel of Dumas', A Gossip on Romance, Victor 
 Hugo's Romances, and A Humble Remonstrance. The last is directed 
 in part against the Art of Fiction, by Henry James. (See above.) "The 
 novel, which is a work of art, exists, not by its resemblances to life . . . 
 but by its immeasurable difference from life, which is designed and sig- 
 nificant, and is both the method and material of the work." 
 
 Traill, H. D. See S., III. 
 
 Trollope, Anthony. The Autobiography contains, besides much mate-rial 
 on his own fiction, a chapter on Novels and the Art of Writing Them, 
 and a chapter on English Novelists of the Present Day. The first of 
 these opens with the statement, " It is nearly twenty years since I pro- 
 
304 APPENDIX 
 
 posed to myself to write a history of English prose fiction." It is interest- 
 ing to note that this time coincides with the date of Masson's work 
 the first important history of English fiction. 
 
 See the Bibliography, under Baker Besant Jack Ker Masson W. 
 E. Norris Raleigh Robertson Senior Turner Wilson Wors- 
 fold. 
 
 FRENCH 
 
 Bourget. Criticism of French novelists in Etudes de Psychologic Contempo- 
 raine, and in Etudes et Portraits. 
 
 Brunetidre. Many separate studies in Etudes Critiques, Questions de Cri- 
 tique, Essais sur la Litterature Contemporaine. Victor Hugo. 
 Notable attention in the Manual of French Literature. Le Roman 
 Naturaliste is probably one of the best five or six volumes of aesthetic 
 criticism in the whole field of the novel, for the average student. It was 
 " largely instrumental in hastening the end of naturalism." (Kastner 
 and Atkins.) Of the novel he says : " nul autre genre ne se prete plus 
 complaisamment a des exigences plus diverses." " Par Pimprevu de ses 
 combinaisonsinfinies, par la variete des formes qu'il peut presque indifferem- 
 ment revStir, par la liberte de son allure et 1'universalite de sa langue, il 
 convient particulierement a nos societes democratiques." Of historical 
 romance : " ni du roman ni de 1'histoire, ou plutot qui sera de 1'histoire 
 si vous y cherchez le roman, mais qui redeviendra du roman si vous y 
 cherchez de 1'histoire." 
 
 Lemaitre. Impressions de Theatre. Contains notices of dramatizations of 
 Pere Goriot, Crime and Punishment, and Germinie Lacerteux. 
 
 Montegut. Dramaturges et Romanciers. Ecrivains Modernes de 1'Angle- 
 terre is largely upon novelists. See also S. 
 
 Pellissier. The following may be quoted as a representative recent view of 
 the novel by an historian of general literary movements : " Tenu par les 
 anciens et mSme par notre Sge classique pour un divertissement frivole, 
 le roman avait echappe" ainsi aux definitions et aux regies d'une critique 
 que ne daignait pas s'en occuper. II n'y a guere plus de cinquante ans, 
 Villemain osait a peine le faire entrer dans 1'histoire litteraire, et ne 1'admet- 
 tait du moins qu'en langue grecque. La nature meme du genre se prStait 
 d'ailleurs a tous les sujets et a tous les tons ; aussi, favorise par les con- 
 ditions sociales, devait-il en notre temps prendre les formes les plus 
 diverses et refleter les multiples aspects de 1'dme mod erne. Et, s'il n'est 
 au XIX C siecle aucun sentiment, aucune idee, qui n'y trouve son expres- 
 sion, il n'est aucune ecole de quelque importance qui n'ait tente d'en 
 renouveler la formule d'apres ses vues particulieres, aucune conception 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 305 
 
 de 1'art & laquelle il ne se soit accommode*. II avail etc d'abord une 
 effusion de sensibilite personnelle. II s'appliqua ensuite a faire revivre 
 les siecles passes dans leurs personnages, leurs moeurs et leurs costumes. 
 Quittant 1'histoire pour la societe contemporaine, il se divisa cnfin, 
 sans sortir de ce cadre mSme, en deux genres bien distincts et repondant 
 a deux tendances irreductibles de 1'esprit : les uns, regardant la vie 
 reelle a travers leur imagination Uprise de beaute, de vertu, de bonheur, 
 en rendirent un tableau toujours idealise dans sa verite me"me ; les autres, 
 armes d'une analyse sagace et penetrante, s'etudierent a la voir tclle 
 qu'elle est et a la representer telle qu'ils 1'avaient vue." (Fourth edition, 
 Paris, 1895, P- 2 32.) 
 
 Paris, Gaston. Important for medieval fiction. 
 
 Sand, George. Prefaces to several novels. 
 
 Scherer, Edmond. One of the chief critics of George Eliot in France. Cf. 
 Le Roman Naturaliste : Le Naturalisme Anglais, Etude sur George Eliot. 
 See pp. 205 and 206 of the present volume. 
 
 Taine. " He undoubtedly gave considerable impetus to the Naturalistic 
 movement, but it is entirely unfair to make him responsible for its 
 exaggerations and excesses." (Kastner and Atkins.) Cf. Lanson, 
 p. 1060. 
 
 V6ron. " It has been the fashion for the last fifty years to abuse novels 
 on every opportunity. Would-be serious criticism looks down upon them 
 as beneath its notice," etc. Against such a view Veron affirms the 
 " poetic character " of the novel. 
 
 Vogue", de. "The Neo-Christian movement [is due] in great measure to his 
 critical studies on the great Russian novelists." (Kastner and Atkins.) 
 
 Zola. Brunetiere's Roman Naturaliste is in part an answer to his theories 
 as well as practise. See S., and many monographs and essays. 
 
 See S. on Amiel, Barbey d'Aurevilly, Baudelaire, Doudan, Flaubert, 
 Gautier, the Goncourt brothers, Planche, Texte, etc. 
 
 See Bibliography, under Albert Chassang Do umic Gilbert Guyau 
 Jusserand Lanson Le Breton Le Goffic Maigron Morillot 
 Rocafort Texte. 
 
 GERMAN 
 
 Baumgart. " Der Prosaroman ist viel zu fest an die Detaildarstellung 
 gebunden, als dass er jemals sich ganz zu der Hohe des Epos erheben 
 konnte, wo das Kennzeichen aller echten Poesie die Darstellung 
 des Besondern in lebendigster Gegenwartigkeit zugleich mit der 
 Wirklichkeit wetteifert und doch uberall das Allgemeine in sich 
 chliesst." (p. 315.) 
 
306 APPENDIX 
 
 Beyer, C. Deutsche Poetik. About fifty pages are given to the novel 
 a good example of its treatment in later German poetics. " Der Roman 
 ist das Prosaepos der Gegenwart . . . jene umfangreiche Prosa-Erzahlung, 
 welche Entwickelungsgang und Geschick eines Helden vom ersten Ahnen 
 oder Beginnen seines Strebens bis zu einem gewissen Abschluss einer 
 Reihe von Begebenheiten (bis zur Erreichung eines Zieles oder bis zur 
 Sichtbarwerdung der poetischen Gerechtigkeit, d. i. der Vollendung der 
 poetischen Idee) in abgerundeter Form und poetischer, das wirkliche 
 Leben und den jeweiligen Charakter der Zeit wiederspiegelnder Weise 
 darstellt. Mit andern Worten : der Roman bietet die poetische Ge- 
 staltung eines individuellen, einheitlich bestimmten bedeutenden Lebens 
 in der Form geschichtlicher Erscheinung ; die Spiegelung dieses Lebens 
 mit seinen sittlichen Hohen und Tiefen ; das Bild dieses durch Erfah- 
 rung gereiften, durch Gefahren erprobten, zuletzt zu einem sichern Stand- 
 punkt gelangten Lebens, wie es beispielsweise bei der homerischen 
 Erzahlung der Irrfahrten des Odysseus entgegentritt." (Third edition, 
 Berlin, 1900, II., p. 347.) 
 
 Borinski. Interesting as an example of the study of the theory of the novel 
 in the general history of criticism. 
 
 Brandes discusses a number of novelists in Moderne Geister and Menschen 
 und Werke, as well as in Hauptstromungen. In the last work he treats 
 the " historical and ethnographical naturalism " of Scott at some 
 length. 
 
 Carrie" re. Aesthetik. (1885.) "Die Poesie hat sich ins Gemiith gefliichtet, 
 die Entwickelung der Individuality in einer vielfach widersprechenden 
 prosaischen Welt verlangt nun ihre kiinstlerische Wiedergeburt, und 
 diese ist der Roman." 
 
 Freytag. The analysis of plot in the Technik des Romans has been applied 
 to the novel by various critics. Some theory and technic in the essay 
 on Wilibald Alexis. Preface to Soil und Haben. " Dem Schonen in 
 edelster Form den hochsten Ausdruck zu geben, ist nicht jeder Zeit ver- 
 gonnt, aber in jeder soil der erfindende Schriftsteller wahr sein gegen 
 seine Kunst und gegen sein Volk. . . . Gliicklich werde ich sein, wenn 
 . . . dieser Roman den Eindruck macht, dass er wahr nach den Gesetzen 
 des Lebens und der Dichtkunst erfunden und doch niemals zufalligen 
 Ereignissen der Wirklichkeit nachgeschrieben ist." 
 
 Ludwig. The novel "verlangt erstens Ruhe, Abwcisen jeder Art Ungeduld, 
 zweitens je grosser, d., h., langer, reicher er ist, desto mehr eine gewisse 
 Ausserlichkeit. . . . Eine Hauptkunst des Romanschreibers ist ferner das 
 Arrangement, das Verschweigen von Dingen, die man gern wissen 
 mochte, das Zeigen von Personen und Dingen, deren Verhaltniss zum 
 
HISTORY OF NOVELISTIC CRITICISM 307 
 
 Ganzen noch unbekannt, das Ahbrechen, das Verschlingen, das Ver- 
 bergen des Innern hinter dem Aussern, der Absichten der Personen." 
 
 Meyer. Konversations-Lexikon. " Das eigentlich Charakteristische des Ro- 
 mans im heutigen Sinne dieses Wortes, besteht clarin, dass der Roman in 
 hoherm Grade und in umfassenderer Weise als jede andre, auch jede andre 
 epische Dichtungsart, auf die analysierende Darstellung des vielver- 
 schlungenen Getriebes des seelischen Lebens und seiner innern Geschichte 
 gerichtet ist, oder mit einem Worte : in seinem eminent psychologischen 
 Charakter. Steht dem Drama besonders nahe." (Fifth edition, 1896.) 
 
 Nietzsche. SeeS., III. 
 
 Nordau, Max. Cf. the treatment of Tolstoi and Zola as degenerates, with 
 Robiati and Merejkowski. Chapters in Paradoxes, on The Import of 
 Fiction, etc. 
 
 Riemann. One of the most suggestive volumes of recent criticism in the 
 field of the novel. See p. 267 of this Appendix. 
 
 Scherer, W. Kleine Schriften, II. Includes essays on George Eliot, Auer- 
 bach, etc., and on technic of the modern short story. See Bibliography. 
 
 Spielhagen. In addition to volumes given in the Bibliography, there are 
 chapters in Aus Meiner Studienmappe on Auerbach, Bjornson, and Feuil- 
 let. This contribution to the much-discussed relation of drama to novel 
 may be quoted : " Der Roman ist in jeder Beziehung des Stoffes, der 
 Oekonomie, der Mittel, ja selbst, subjectiv, in Hinsicht der Qualitat der 
 poetischen Phantasie und dichterischen Begabung, der voile Gegensatz 
 des Dramas." 
 
 Schmidt, Erich. Richardson, Rousseau und Goethe. Charakteristiken 
 also contains much on novelists. 
 
 See the Bibliography, under Bobertag Bolsche Braitmaier Cholevius 
 Eichendorff Gottschall Heyse Koberstein Korting Kreyssig 
 Mielke Reborn Rohde Volkelt. 
 
 ITALIAN 
 
 d' Annunzio. The preface of II Trionfo della Morte is interesting as show- 
 ing the Italian traditions of language, and the fine sense of art. 
 
 Robiati. His critical theory is distinct if not original : " Per me la critica 
 ha P ufficio di studiare il movimento del pensiero di un popolo . . . 
 studiare 1' opera d' arte non in se, ma come segno di una data epoca, di 
 un determinato periodo storico." For each of the principal novelists 
 studied he has a formula : "In Verga ho studiato lo sviluppo del ro- 
 manzo naturalista da noi ; in Rovetta una nuova forma di pessimismo ; 
 in Fogazzaro 1' influenza germanica presso di noi ; in Ottone di Banzole 
 
308 APPENDIX 
 
 1* arte di decadenza." He defines the naturalistic novel as one " che 
 cerca le leggi matematiche con cui un individuo od un gruppo sociale 
 agisce o deve agire in date circonstanze, in determinati ambienti." See 
 also p. 189 of the present volume. 
 
 Verga. The novel is "la piu completa e la piu umana delle opere d' arte." 
 See also Section 129. 
 
 RUSSIAN 
 
 Gorki gives a severe criticism of realism, with some reference to his own 
 
 work, in Poet-Lore, summer, 1904. 
 Merejkowski. The volume given in the Bibliography is one of the ablest 
 
 and most stimulating criticisms of Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, and Tolstoi, 
 
 accessible in English. In a sense it is a review of the major tendencies 
 
 of Russian fiction throughout the century. 
 Tolstoi. What is Art, while not directly on the novel, is of large interest 
 
 to the student of that form of art. Preface to edition of Maupassant. 
 
 SPANISH 
 
 Pardo Bazan, Emilia. Fiction is considered in the volume on Russian 
 literature and life. The influence of Russian naturalism on French 
 and Spanish fiction, etc. Discussion of realism and naturalism in 
 several other critical works. 
 
 Vald6s. Los Novelistas Espafioles. Brief chapters on Alarcon, Galdds, 
 Valera, etc. 
 
 Valera. Royal Academy addresses on Amadis of Gaul, Don Quixote and 
 methods of judging it. Preface to later editions of Pepita Jimenez. 
 Nuevo Arte de Escribir Novelas. 
 
V. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 
 
 THE following list includes : 
 
 I. Some works mentioned elsewhere in this volume without sufficient 
 
 bibliographical clearness. 
 II. A few important references in the fields of, 
 
 1. The theory and technic of fiction, including the short story, as 
 
 that is usually discussed in comparison with the novel ; 
 
 2. The study or methodical criticism of fiction ; 
 
 3. The history of European fiction, in large areas, and when it is the 
 
 principal subject of a work ; 
 
 4. The history of theory. 
 
 III. A few other works of such nature as to be of special value in connec- 
 tion with the above interests. 
 
 Suggestion for much more extensive reading is given in the Notes on the 
 History of Novelistic Criticism. In the present list, a f indicates that the 
 author (not always the individual work) is mentioned in those Notes. A * 
 has been placed before those works which are entirely or mainly concerned 
 with fiction. 
 
 ALBERT, PAUL : La Prose. Paris, 1887. 
 About 20 pages on the novel. 
 
 * BAKER, E. A. : A Descriptive Guide to the Best Fiction. London, 1903. 
 
 Limited to English originals and translations. 
 
 BALDWIN, J. M. (editor) : Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology. Three 
 vols.,N.Y., 1901-03. 
 
 Defines or discusses many aesthetic, ethical, psychological, and socio- 
 logical terms found in the criticism of fiction. 
 (References elsewhere are to this work.) 
 
 * BALDWIN, C. S. : American Short Stories. N.Y., 1904. 
 
 Selections ; with introductory essay on the short story. 
 
 * BARRETT, C. R.: Short Story Writing. N.Y., 1900. 
 
 Theory ; technic ; classification, etc. 
 tBAUMGART, H.: Handbuch der Poetik. Stuttgart, 1887. 
 
 309 
 
310 APPENDIX 
 
 * BESANT, WALTER : The Art of Fiction. London, 1884. 
 
 A brief work on the theory, "laws," and technic of the novel as a 
 form of art ; from a novelist's point of view. 
 
 BETZ, L. P.: La Litterature Comparee. Essai Bibliographique. 2d ed., 
 Strassburg, 1904. 
 
 Lists many studies in the international relations of fiction, 
 f BEYER, C. : Deutsche Poetik. 3d ed., three vols., Berlin, 1900. 
 
 * BOBERTAG, F. : Geschichte des Romans und der ihm verwandten Dichtungs- 
 
 gattungen in Deutschland. Two vols., Berlin, 1877-84. 
 BOLSCHE, W. : Die naturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen der Poesie. Pro- 
 legomena einer realistischen Aesthetik. Leipzig, 1887. 
 
 Consideration of Zola is included, 
 f BORINSKI, K. : Die Poetik der Renaissance. Berlin, 1886. 
 
 About 30 pages on the novel. 
 
 BRAITMAIER, F. : Geschichte der poetischen Theorie und Kritik von den 
 Diskursen der Maler bis auf Lessing. Two vols., Frauenfeld, 1888-89. 
 
 A little discussion of the novel. 
 
 fBRANDES, GEORG: Die Hauptstromungen der Litteratur des igten Jahr- 
 hunderts. 5th ed., six vols., Berlin, 1897. Translated from the Danish. 
 English translation, N.Y. and London, six vols., 1901-05. 
 BRAY, J. W. : History of English Critical Terms. Boston, 1898. 
 
 Valuable within its field ; but " critical " is understood as judicial, and 
 there is no consideration of strictly technical terms. 
 f* BRUNETIERE, F.: Le Roman Naturaliste. New ed., 1893. 
 
 Broad aesthetic and ethical criticism of realism, naturalism, impres- 
 sionism, the experimental novel, etc. Illustration chiefly from French 
 fiction, with an essay on "Le Naturalisme Anglais: Etude sur George 
 Eliot." 
 
 (References elsewhere are to this work.) 
 BRUNETIERE, F. : L'Evolution des Genres. 1890. 
 
 * BURTON, RICHARD : Forces in Fiction. Boston, 1902. 
 BURTON, RICHARD : Literary Likings. Boston, 1898. (1903.) 
 
 Besides criticisms of individual novelists, includes four essays on gen- 
 eral " Phases of Fiction." 
 *CANBY, H. S.: The Short Story. N.Y., 1902. 
 
 A pamphlet ; mainly theoretical. Revised as the Introduction to 
 Jessup and Canby's Book of the Short Story. N.Y. and London, 1903. 
 
 * CHANDLER, F. W. : Romances of Roguery. Vol. L, N.Y., 1899. 
 
 Mainly historical research in the Spanish field. 
 
 * CHASSANG, M. A. : Histoire du Roman et de ses Rapports avec PHistoire. 
 
 1862. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 311 
 
 *CHOLEVIUS, L. : Die bedeutendsten deutschen Romane des lytcn Jahr- 
 hunderts. Leipzig, 1866. 
 
 * [CODY, SHERMAN] : How to Write Fiction. Especially the Art of Short 
 
 Story Writing. London, 1895. 
 
 A defense and exposition of technical method. 
 
 * COOK, MAY E. : Methods of Teaching Novels. Chicago, n. cL 
 
 A pamphlet for secondary schools. 
 
 * CRAWFORD, F. M. : The Novel : What It is. N.Y., 1903. 
 CRAWSHAW, W. H. : The Interpretation of Literature. N.Y., 1896. 
 
 Pedagogical ; special outlines for the study of the main types of litera- 
 ture. See p. 267 of this Appendix* 
 
 * CROSS, W. L. : The Development of the English Novel. N.Y., 1899. 
 
 A standard work, covering the entire history of the English novel, 
 conceived as an evolution d'un genre. Cf. Stoddard. Much material 
 on the form of the novel. 
 
 t DALLAS, E. S. : The Gay Science. [Criticism.] Two vols., London, 1866. 
 A chapter on the novel. 
 
 * DAVIDSON, HARRIET A. : The Study of Ivanhoe; Romola; Silas Marner, 
 
 etc. Albany, and in some cases, N.Y. 
 Suggestive analytical pamphlets. 
 
 * DAVIDSON, HARRIET A.: The Creative Art of Fiction. (Pamphlet.) 
 
 Albany. 
 
 *DixsoN, ZELLA A.: Subject-Index to Universal Prose Fiction. N.Y., 
 1897. 
 
 * DOUMIC, RENE : Contemporary French Novelists. N.Y., 1899. Translated 
 
 from the French. 
 
 t*DuNLOP, J. C.: History of Prose Fiction. London, 1814. Revised ed., 
 with important additions, two vols., London, 1888. 
 See p. 266 in this Appendix. 
 
 * DYE, CHARITY : The Story-Teller's Art. Boston, 1898. 
 
 A brief analytical treatise for secondary schools. 
 * EICHENDORFF, J. VON: Der deutsche Roman des iSten Jahrhunderts in 
 
 seinem Verhaltnis zum Christentum. Leipzig, 1857. 
 FITZMAURICE-KELLY, J : History of Spanish Literature. N.Y., 1898. 
 
 * FORSYTH, WM. : Novels and Novelists of the i8th Century. In Illustration 
 
 of the Manners and Morals of the Age. N.Y., 1871. 
 fFREYTAG, GUSTAV : Die Technik des Dramas. 1863. 8th ed., Leipzig, 
 
 1898. English translation, Chicago, 1895. 
 GARDINER, J. H. : Forms of Prose Literature. N. Y., 1900. 
 t GARLAND, HAMLIN : Crumbling Idols. Chicago, 1894. 
 GARNETT, RICHARD : History of Italian Literature. N.Y., 1898. 
 
312 APPENDIX 
 
 GAYLEY, C. M., and F. N. SCOTT : Introduction to Methods and Materials 
 
 of Literary Criticism. Vol. I., Boston, 1899. 
 GIDDINGS, F. H. : Inductive Sociology. N.Y., 1901. 
 
 * GILBERT, EUGENE : Le Roman en France pendant le XIX e Siecle. 2d ed., 
 
 1896. 
 
 GIRARDIN, SAINT-MARC : Cours de Litterature Dramatique. Five vols., 1843 S< 1' 
 
 Includes considerable direct reference to the novel pastoral romance, 
 
 heroic romance, etc. The treatment of the psychology of the drama, in 
 
 reference to love, jealousy, suicide, etc., is applicable in part to the novel. 
 
 GOTTSCHALL, R. VON : Poetik. 5th ed., Breslau, 1882. 
 
 About 30 pages on the novel and short story ; classification of fiction. 
 GUYAU, M. : L'Art au Point de Vue Sociologique. 1889. 
 Quite extended treatment of the novel. 
 
 * HAMMOND, ELEANOR P. : Class Questions for Analysis of Narrative Fiction. 
 
 University of Chicago, 1899. 
 
 A pamphlet of technical analysis. 
 
 HAYM, R. : Die Romantische Schule. Berlin, 1870; reprint, 1902. 
 Excellent on the theory of the novel held by the romanticists. 
 HENNEQUIN, EMILE : La Critique Scientifique. 1890. 
 
 See p. 266 in this Appendix. 
 HEYDRICK, B. A. : How to Study Literature. 3d ed., N.Y., 1903. 
 
 For secondary schools ; brief but sound analysis for the separate types 
 of literature. 
 
 * HEYSE, PAUL, and H. KURZ (editors) : Deutscher Novellenschatz. 
 
 Introduction, on theory of short story. 
 
 * HITCHCOCK, A. M. : How to Study Fiction. Boston and Chicago, 1899. 
 
 A brief pamphlet for secondary schools, 
 f* HOWELLS, W. D. : Criticism and Fiction. N.Y., 1895. 
 
 * HOWELLS, W. D. : Heroines of Fiction. Two vols., N.Y. and London, 1901. 
 *JACK, A. A. : Essays on the Novel as Illustrated by Scott and Miss Austen. 
 
 London, 1897. 
 
 t* JAMES, HENRY: Art of Fiction. Boston, 1885. 
 Theory of the novel, from a realistic position. 
 
 * JAMES, HENRY : French Poets and Novelists. N.Y., 1878. (1884 ; 1893.) 
 JAMES, WILLIAM : Principles of Psychology. Two vols., N.Y., 1890. 
 
 t JEITTELES, IG. : Aesthetisches Lexikon. Two vols., Vienna, 1835-37. 
 
 * JUSSERAND, J. J. : Le Roman Anglais. Origine et Formation des Grandes 
 
 Fxoles de Romanciers du XVIIP Siecle. 1886. 
 
 * JUSSERAND, J. J. : The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare. N.Y. 
 
 and London, 1890. Translated from the French. Entertaining as well 
 as scholarly. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 313 
 
 KASTNER, L. E. and H. G. ATKINS : Short History of French Literature. 
 
 N.Y., 1901. 
 KER, W. P. : Epic and Romance. London, 1897. 
 
 A scholarly consideration of the medieval transition from epic to ro- 
 mance, in the main viewed as a degeneration, with close analysis of both 
 types. 
 
 KOBERSTEIN, A. : Grundriss der Geschichte der deutschen Nationallitteratur. 
 5th ed., 5 vols, Leipzig, 1872-73. 
 
 About 100 pages on the novel ; including theory of prose narration, 
 and particularly the iSth century theory of the novel, in Germany. 
 
 * KORTING, C. : Geschichte des franzosischen Romans im I7ten Jahrhundcrt. 
 
 Leipzig, 1885-87. 
 
 * KREYSSIG, FR. : Vorlesungen iiber den deutschen Roman der Gegenwart. 
 
 Berlin, 1871. (1891.) 
 
 f* LANIER, SIDNEY : The English Novel and the Principles of its Develop- 
 ment. N.Y., 1883. 
 
 LANSON, GUSTAVE : Histoire de la Litterature Francaise. Ed. of 1901. 
 Detailed critical discussion of types as well as individual novelists. 
 
 * LE BRETON, A. : Le Roman au XVII e Siecle. 1890. (1898.) 
 
 * LE GOFFIC, CHARLES : Les Romanciers d'Aujourd'hui. 1890. 
 LEVEQUE, C. : La Science du Beau. 1872. 
 
 * LEWIS, E. H. : Types of American Fiction. (Syllabus of lecture course.) 
 
 University of Chicago, 1896. 
 
 Presents a method of analysis, applied to individual works. 
 LOTZE, H. : Outlines of ^Esthetics. Translated and edited by G. T. Ladd. 
 
 Boston, 1886. 
 
 f* LUDWIG, OTTO (1813-65) : Romanstudien (one vol. in Schriften, six vols.). 
 Leipzig, 1891. 
 
 Important for theory, technic, and classification. 
 
 * MACCLINTOCK, W. D. : Studies in Fiction. (Syllabus of lecture course.) 
 
 University of Chicago, 1897. 
 
 Suggestive and detailed ; quite technical analysis. 
 
 * MAIGRON, L. : Le Roman Historique a 1'Epoque Romantique. Essai sur 
 
 PInfluence de Walter Scott. 1898. 
 *MASSON, DAVID: British Novelists and Their Styles. London, 1856. 
 
 (Boston, 1892.) 
 
 Historical review from Morte d'Arthur to date of writing. Some 
 
 theory and technic. See p. 266 in this Appendix, 
 t* MATTHEWS, BRANDER : Philosophy of the Short Story. N.Y., 1888. 
 
 (1901.) 
 
 * MATTHEWS, BRANDER : Aspects of Fiction. N.Y., 1896. 
 
314 APPENDIX 
 
 * MATTHEWS, BRANDER : The Historical Novel and Other Essays. N.Y., 
 
 1901. 
 
 Several essays on fiction; one on "The Study of Fiction." 
 t MEREJKOWSKI, D. : Tolstoi as Man and Artist. With an Essay on Dos- 
 toievski. English translation, N.Y. and London, 1902. 
 
 * MIELKE, H. : Der deutsche Roman des iQten Jahrhunderts. 4th ed., 
 
 1900. 
 
 " The best work on the [German] fiction of the century." 
 f* MONTKGUT, E. : Dramaturges et Romanciers. 1878. (1890.) 
 MONTEGUT, E. : Ecrivains Modernes de 1'Angleterre. Three vols., 1892. 
 
 * MORILLOT, PAUL : Le Roman en France depuis 1610 jusqu'a nos Jours. 
 
 1893. 
 
 * MORILLOT, PAUL: Scarron et le Genre Burlesque. 1888. 
 
 MORLEY, HENRY : Character Writings of the Seventeenth Century. London 
 andN.Y., 1891. 
 
 Only English works are included. 
 
 MOULTON, C. W. (editor) : The Library of Literary Criticism of English and 
 American Authors. Eight vols., Buffalo, N.Y., 1901-04. 
 
 Includes systematically arranged criticisms of novels and novelists. 
 
 * MOULTON, R. G. : Stories as a Mode of Thinking. (Syllabus.) University 
 
 of Chicago. 
 
 * MOULTON, R. G. :. Four Vears of Novel Reading. Boston, 1895. 
 
 A record of literary club work. Introduction on the study of fiction. 
 MOULTON, R. G. : Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. N.Y., 1885. (1901.) 
 
 A defense and program for systematic analytical criticism. Much that 
 is applicable, mutatis mutandis, to the novel. 
 
 (References elsewhere are to this volume.) 
 NETTLETON, G. H. : Specimens of the Short Story. N.Y., 1901. 
 NICHOL, JOHN : American Literature. 2d ed., Edinburgh, 1885. 
 fNoRDAU, MAX: Degeneration. Translated from the German. N.Y., 1895. 
 NORDAU, MAX : Paradoxes. (1885.) Translated from the German. Chi- 
 cago, 1895. 
 
 * NORRIS, FRANK : The Responsibilities of the Novelist and Other Literary 
 
 Essays. N.Y., 1903. 
 
 Realistic, democratic, and American position ; defends technical study, 
 and includes a chapter on "The Mechanics of Fiction." 
 
 * NORRIS, W. E., and others : On the Art of Writing Fiction. London, 1894. 
 
 Rather light essays on special types and elements of fiction, by novelists, 
 largely by way of advice to beginners. 
 
 t PARDO BAZ/N, EMILIA : Russia ; its People and its Literature. Translated 
 from the Spanish. Chicago, 1890. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 315 
 
 fPELLissiER, GEORGES: The Literary Movement in France during the Nine- 
 teenth Century. Translated from the French. N.Y., 1897. 
 
 * PERRY, BLISS : A Study of Prose Fiction. Boston, 1902. 
 
 The first important work in English on the theory, technic, and general 
 study of fiction, as distinct from historical works. 
 
 PHELPS, WM. L. : The Beginnings of the English Romantic Movement. 
 Boston, 1893. 
 
 * RALEIGH, WALTER : The English Novel. N.Y., 1894. 
 
 An historical review from Chaucer to Waverley. 
 
 * REHORN, K. : Der deutsche Roman : Geschichtliche Ruckblicke und kri- 
 
 tische Streiflichter. Cologne, 1890. 
 
 f* RIEMANN, R. : Goethes Romantechnik. Leipzig, 1902. 
 ROBERTSON, J. M. : Essays towards a Critical Method. Two vols. " Es- 
 says," 1889; "New Essays," 1897; London. 
 
 On critical method in general, and its application to individual writers, 
 including Poe and W. D. Howells. 
 
 f* ROBIATI, G. : II Romanzo Contemporaneo in Italia. Milan, 1892. (Written 
 in 1888.) 
 
 in pages. ^Esthetic, sociological, and psychological discussion of 
 schools and individual novelists. 
 
 ROCAFORT, J. : Les Doctrines Litteraires de PEncyclope"die. 1890. 
 Five or six pages on the theory of the novel. 
 
 * ROHDE, E. : Der griechische Roman und seine Vorlaufer. Leipzig, 1876. 
 t* SAINTSBURY, GEORGE : Essays on French Novelists. London, 1891. 
 SAINTSBURY, GEORGE : The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory. 
 
 N.Y., 1896. 
 SAINTSBURY, GEORGE : A History of Criticism and Literary Taste in Europe. 
 
 Three vols., N.Y., Edinburgh, and London, 1900-1904. 
 
 Invaluable as a general background for the historical student of the 
 
 novel and its theory, 
 f SCHERER, EDMOND : Etudes sur la Litterature Contemporaine. Nine vols., 
 
 1863-1889. A selection translated by Saintsbury, "Essays on English 
 
 Literature," London, 1891, includes three studies of George Eliot. 
 t* SCHERER, W. : Die Anfange des deutschen Prosaromans. Strassburg, 1877. 
 t SCHMIDT, ERICH : Richardson, Rousseau und Goethe. 1875. 
 SCUDDER, VIDA D. : Social Ideals in English Letters. Boston and N.Y., 1898. 
 For the novel, the development of the subject is traced in More, Swift, 
 
 Dickens, Thackeray, and George Eliot. 
 
 * SENIOR, N. W. : Essays on Fiction. London, 1864. 
 
 Still valuable for its theoretical and technical, as well as historical 
 matter. 
 
316 APPENDIX 
 
 SIMONDS, W. E. : Introduction to the Study of English Fiction. Boston, 
 
 1894. Mainly a selection of texts, but with some critical and historical 
 matter. 
 
 * SIMONDS, W. E. : School edition of Ivanhoe. Chicago, 1900. (References 
 
 elsewhere are to this volume.) 
 
 * SMITH, L. W. : The Writing of the Short Story. Boston, 1904. 
 
 t* SPIELHAGEN, FR. : Beitrage zur Theorie und Technik des Romans. Leip- 
 zig, 1883. 
 
 One of the most important works on its subject. 
 
 SPIELHAGEN, FR. : Neue Beitrage zur Theorie und Technik der Epik und 
 Dramatik. Leipzig, 1898. 
 Some discussion of the novel. 
 
 * STODDARD, R. H. : The Evolution of the English Novel. N.Y., 1900. 
 
 A standard work, but not as extensive in historical scope as Cross. 
 SYMONDS, J. A.: Essays Speculative and Suggestive. Two vols., London, 
 
 1890. 
 
 TAYLOR, H. S. : The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages. N. Y., 1901. 
 TEXTE, J. : J.-J. Rousseau et les Origines du Cosmopolitanisme Litteraire. 
 
 1895. English translation, N.Y., 1895. 
 
 Distinctly conceived in the spirit of comparative literature. Liberal 
 discussion of the eighteenth-century English novelists. 
 
 * THOMPSON, D. G. : The Philosophy of Fiction in Literature. London and 
 
 N.Y., 1890. 
 
 Important discussion of the aesthetic, ethical, psychological, and social 
 aspects of fiction ; chapters on "The Construction," and " The Criticism," 
 of a Work of Fiction. 
 fTRAlLL, H. D. : The New Fiction and Other Essays. 1897. 
 
 Includes discussion of the political novel, the novel of manners, and 
 the " novel of humours." 
 *TUCKERMAN, B. : A History of English Prose Fiction. N.Y., 1882(1899). 
 
 * TURNER, C. E. : Modern Novelists of Russia. London, 1890. 
 
 Excellent for the period covered. 
 TURNER, C. E. : Studies in Russian Literature. London, 1882. 
 
 (The references of the present volume are to this work.) 
 t* VALDES, A. PALACIO : Los Novelistas Espafioles. Madrid, 1884. 
 
 * VAN DER VELDE : French Fiction of To-Day. Two vols., N.Y., 1891. 
 fVERON, EUGENE: ^Esthetics. Translated from the French. London and 
 
 Philadelphia, 1879. 
 
 VISCHER, F. T. : Aesthetik. Three vols., 1846. 
 f* VOGUE, E. M. DE : Le Roman Russe. Paris, 1886. English translation, 
 
 Boston, 1887. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES 317 
 
 VOLKELT, J. : Aesthetik des Tragischen. Munich, 1897. 
 
 Illustrations are in part from fiction Tolstoi, Zola, etc. 
 WALISZEWSKI, K. : La Litt6rature Russe. Paris, 1900. English translation, 
 N.Y., 1890. 
 
 Much historical and critical matter on the nineteenth-century novelists. 
 
 * WARREN, F. M. : A History of the Novel previous to the Seventeenth Cen- 
 
 tury. N.Y., 1895. 
 
 A standard work for the history and characteristics of Greek romance, 
 pastoral romance, romance of chivalry, etc. 
 
 * WELLS, B. W. : A Century of French Fiction. N.Y., 1898. 
 
 A study of the development of the novel as a form of art in the nine- 
 teenth century. 
 
 WIENER, LEO : Anthology of Russian Literature. Two vols., N.Y., 1902-03. 
 Indispensable to the average American student of Russian fiction. 
 
 * WILSON, S. L. : The Theology of Modern Literature. Edinburgh, 1899. 
 
 Largely with reference to the English novel. Chapters on the theology 
 of George Macdonald; George Eliot; Mrs. Humphry Ward; Hardy; 
 George Meredith, and the " Scottish School of Fiction." 
 WORSFOLD, BASIL : The Principles of Criticism. London, 1897. 
 
 One chapter on " The Novel as a Form of Literature." 
 
 t * ZOLA, EMILE : Le Roman Experimental. 1880. English translation, 
 N.Y., 1893. 
 
 * ZOLA, EMILE: Les Romanciers Naturalistes. 1881. 
 
 * ZUEBLIN, C. : Social Reform in Fiction. (Syllabus.) University of Chicago, 
 
 1897. 
 
 By a professor of sociology. Studies of Hard Times, Alton Locke, All 
 Sorts and Conditions of Men, Marcella, and David Grieve. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Action and narration, 49. 
 
 Action, the single, 53. 
 
 Addison, 246; Sir Roger de Coverley, 96, 
 
 194, 198, 229; The Spectator, 145, 
 
 208, 229. 
 ^ESTHETIC INTEREST, GENERAL, 247- 
 
 264. 
 
 ^Esthetics, analysis and theory in, 247. 
 ESTHETICS, COMPARATIVE, 232-246. 
 Age of the author, 184. 
 Aldrich, T. B., The Queen of Sheba, 122. 
 Aleman, Mateo, Guzmdn de Alfarache, 
 
 195- 
 Allen, Grant, Physiological /Esthetics, 
 
 248, n. 
 
 Amadis of Gaul, 8, 22, 113, 206. 
 American Criticism of the Novel, Notes 
 
 on, 268, 295, 301-302. 
 Analysis of the novel, vii ff. ( 265-268. 
 
 See also Glossary, 269. 
 Analysis and theory in aesthetics, 247. 
 Andersen, H. C., The Improvisatore, 13, 
 
 82. 
 Annunzio, Gabriele d', 119, 192, 194, 195, 
 
 211, 307. 
 
 Romances of the Lily, 5. 
 Tr ion/o della Morte, 153, 189, 192, n., 
 
 194, 307. 
 
 Architecture and the novel, 243. 
 Aristotle, 212, 287. 
 
 Arnold, Matthew, 145, 161, n., 188, 199. 
 Art, the novel as. See /Esthetic Interest, 
 
 and ./Esthetics, Comparative, 
 theories of, 260. 
 Arts, classification of the, 233. 
 
 relation of the separate, 232. 
 Ascham, Roger, The Schoolmaster, 288; 
 Toxophilus, 17, 130. 
 
 Augustine, Saint, 51, 161, 209. 
 
 Austen, Jane, 9, 22, 67, 83, 98, 101, 126, 
 
 150, 151, 163, 164, 186, 197. 
 Northanger Abbey, 5. 
 Pride and Prejudice, 32, 33, 54, 55, 58, 
 60, 62, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 76, 77, 
 80, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 95, 96, 99, loi. 
 102, 106, 113, 117, 120, 134. 
 Sense and Sensibility, 6, 16, 33, 46, 98, 
 
 118, 123, 145, 148, 255. 
 Author, the, age of, 184. 
 
 and dramatis personae, relations of, 
 
 101 ; in respect to settings, 87. 
 episodes in his life, 186. 
 individuality of, as a shaping force, 
 
 183. 
 
 sex of, 185. 
 
 Azeglio, Massimo d', Ettorre Fieramosca, 
 169, 170. 
 
 Background, middleground, and fore- 
 ground characters, 96. 
 
 Bacon, Francis, 156, 159, 245, 289; The 
 New Atlantis, 193. 
 
 Baldwin, J. M., Dictionary of Philosophy 
 and Psychology, 140. 
 
 Balzac, Honore de, 8, 86, 94, 106, lao, 
 I2i, 150, 153, 155, 156, 159, 176, 
 178, 183, 184, 190, 235, 297. 
 Comidie Humaine, IM, 5, 6, 7, 106, 
 
 133. 135, ISL 170, 173. J 78. 
 Deputy for Arcis, The, 8. 
 Eugenie Grandet, 33, 98, 184. 
 Letters of Two Brides, 13, ai. 
 Lost Illusions, 8. 
 
 Peau de Chagrin, La, 12, 153, 170, 397, 
 Pere Goriot, Le, 33, 127. 
 Woman of Thirty, A, & 
 
 319 
 
320 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Barbauld, Anna L., 295. 
 
 Barclay, John, Argents, 12, 192. 
 
 Baumgart, H., Handbuch der Poetik, no, 
 n., 305- 
 
 Beautiful, the, and the unbeautiful, 256. 
 
 Beckford, William, Vathek, 20, 33, 173, 
 177, 211. 
 
 Beethoven, 241. 
 
 Beginning, middle, and end of composi- 
 tion, 32. 
 
 Behn, Mrs. Aphra, 186; Oroonoko, 102, 
 180. 
 
 Belleau, Remi, Journee de la Bergerie, 
 
 13- 
 
 Beowulf, 15, 19. 
 Besant, Walter, 180; Art of Fiction, 167, 
 
 174, 179- 
 
 and James Rice, All Sorts and Condi- 
 tions of Men, 214. 
 
 Beyer, C., Deutsche Poetik, 306. 
 
 Bible, The : Book of Esther, 120, 161, 
 258 ; Genesis, 46 ; Revelation, 161 ; 
 Book of Ruth, 16, 161. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES, 309- 
 
 317- 
 
 Biography and the novel, 224. 
 
 Birken, Kurze Anweisung zur deutschen 
 Poesie, 290. 
 
 Bjornson, Bjornstjerne, 119, 187, 190, 242. 
 
 Blair, Hugh, Rhetoric, 279, 291. 
 
 Blake, William, 228. 
 
 Boccaccio, 150, 287 ; Ameto, 14 ; Decam- 
 eron, 4, 206. 
 
 Bodmer, J. J., 294. 
 
 Boileau, Nicolas, Les Heros de Roman, 
 290. 
 
 Book, the, as a unit of structure, 8. 
 
 Borinski, K., Die Poetik der Renaissance, 
 306. 
 
 Boswell, James, Life of Dr. Johnson, 209. 
 
 Bourget, Paul, 24, n., 195, 304 ; Cosmop- 
 olis, 82. 
 
 Bouterwek, Fr., History of Spanish Litera- 
 ture, 299. 
 
 Boyle, Roger, Parthenissa, u, 25, 26. 
 
 Brandes, Georg, 306. 
 
 Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre, 123, 186. 
 
 Brooke, Henry, The Fool of Quality, 209 ; 
 Juliet Grenville, 8, 25, 117, 119. 
 
 Browne, Sir Thomas, Religio Medici, 189, 
 
 Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, Aurora 
 Leigh, 221. 
 
 Browning, Oscar, Life of George Eliot, 
 172, 201. 
 
 Browning, Robert, xii, 19, 24, 117, 141, 
 142, 199, 221, 224, 228, 232 ; Pippa 
 Passes, 114. 
 
 Brugis, Nonis Aprilis, 288. 
 
 Brunetiere, Ferdinand, 188, 215, 304; 
 Roman Naturaliste, 24, n., 101, 
 140, 141, 168, 172, 304. 
 
 Buffon, Comte de, 207. 
 
 Bulwer Lytton, 194, 296; Kenelm Chil- 
 lingly, 10, 13, 43; Last Days of 
 Pompeii, 82 ; Last of the Barons, 
 112; Parisians, The, 99; Paul 
 Clifford, 10, 24, 43; Pausanias, 
 180; Rienzi, 14, 22. 
 
 Bunyan, John, 23, 83, 198, 224, 289 ; Holy 
 War, The, 17; Mr. Badman, 17, 
 125; Pilgrim's Progress, 17, 26, 
 71, 92, 123, 136, 185. 
 
 Burney (D'Arblay), Frances, 186; Eve- 
 lina, 21, 31. 
 
 Burns, Robert, 209, 228. 
 
 Burton, Robert, Anatomy of Melancholy^ 
 
 195- 
 Byelinski, Vissarion G., 300. 
 
 Caine, Hall, The Manxman, 8. 
 
 Campanella, Tommaso, Civitas Solis, 
 26. 
 
 Carlyle, Thomas, 176, 196, 296 ; Chartism, 
 123 ; Correspondence, 230 ; French 
 Revolution, 48; Sartor Resartus, 
 230. 
 
 Carriere, M., Aesthetik, 306. 
 
 Catastrophe in plot, 60. 
 
 Caxton, William, 287. 
 
 Central character, 97. 
 
 Cervantes, 95, 150, 153, 156, 163, 290. 
 Don Quixote, 4, 5, 23, 33, 89, 102, 
 123, 153, 174, 179, 185, 189, 194, 
 195, 205, 206, 215, 224, 255, 290. 
 Galatea, 14. 
 
 Chapter, the, 9. 
 
 distribution of characters, 93. 
 
 Character and characterization, 109. 
 
 CHARACTERIZATION, 109-129. 
 
 Character point of view, 71. 
 
INDEX 
 
 321 
 
 CHARACTERS, The, 91-129. 
 
 association of, 99. 
 
 author, and, relations of, 87, 101. 
 
 central, 97. 
 
 change (development) in, 124. 
 
 composition of, 91. 
 
 costume and physical environment of, 
 114. 
 
 foreground, middleground, and back- 
 ground, 96. 
 
 grouping of, 93-108. 
 
 identity, individuality, and type in, 121. 
 
 names of, 112. 
 
 number of, 92. 
 
 pantomime of, 116. 
 
 physiognomy of, 113. 
 
 psychological grouping of, 107. 
 
 settings, and the author, 87. 
 
 social grouping of, 105. 
 
 successive grouping of, 94. 
 
 typical and individual, 104, HI. 
 
 unfolding of, in. 
 
 utterance of, 117. 
 
 Chateaubriand, 297 ; Atala, 153, 154, 281. 
 Chaucer, 118 ; Canterbury Tales, 4. 
 Chesterfield, Letters, 230. 
 Chopin, Frederic F., 241, 242. 
 Circumstantial settings, 83. 
 Classics, the, and the novel, study of, xi. 
 Classification of fiction, 279. 
 Climax and foiling, 44. 
 Climax of plot, 59. 
 
 Clough, A. H., Amours de Voyage, 221. 
 Cody, Sherman, How to Write Fiction, 
 
 167, 174, 178. 
 Coleridge, S. T., xi, 164, 203, 207, 209, 
 
 296. 
 
 Collaboration, 180. 
 Comic, the, and the tragic, 254. 
 COMPARATIVE ^ESTHETICS, 232-246. 
 Comparative literature and study of the 
 
 novel, x. 
 
 COMPARATIVE RHETORIC, 218-231. 
 Complexity in the novel, xii ; as a qual- 
 ity of style, 160. 
 
 COMPOSITION, PROCESS OF, 166-180. 
 Composition, the whole, 3; beginning, 
 middle, and end of, 32 ; germ of, 
 167; length of, 6; plan of, 169; 
 sources of, 170. 
 
 Comprehensiveness, as a quality of style, 
 
 155- 
 
 Conceptual effect, 213. 
 Concerted speech, 19. 
 Concreteness, as a quality of style, 158. 
 Congreve, William, preface of Incognita, 
 
 289. 
 
 Conscience, Hendrik, 117. 
 CONSECUTIVE STRUCTURE, 28-46. 
 Contrast, 252. 
 Conversation, group, 18. 
 Cooper, J. F., 204 ; Last of the Mohicans^ 
 
 10, 19, 55, 62, 94, loo, 224. 
 Costume of characters, 114. 
 Crabbe, George, Tales, 221. 
 Crawshaw, W. H., The Interpretation of 
 
 Literature, 267. 
 CRITICISM, NOVELISTIC, NOTES ON 
 
 THE HISTORY OF, 286-308. 
 American, 295, 301-302. 
 Eighteenth Century, 290-294. 
 English, 287, 288, 289, 291-293, 295- 
 
 297, 302-304. 
 Fifteenth Century, 287. 
 French, 288, 290, 293, 297-299, 304- 
 
 305- 
 
 German, 290, 294, 299-300, 305-307. 
 Grseco-Roman Period, 287. 
 Greek, 287. 
 
 Italian, 287, 288, 307-308. 
 Middle Ages, 287. 
 Nineteenth Century, First Half, 295- 
 
 301 ; Second Half, 301-308. 
 Russian, 300-301, 308. 
 Seventeenth Century, 288-290. 
 Sixteenth Century, 287-288. 
 Spanish, 287, 288, 290, 308. 
 Cross, J. W., Life of George Eliot, 168, 
 
 176, 177. 
 Cross, W. L., Development of the English 
 
 Novel, 20, n., 24, n., 52, 260. 
 Cyrano de Bergerac, Histoire Continue 
 
 des Etats et Empire de la Lune, 
 
 193- 
 
 Dallas, E. S., The Gay Science, 159, 
 
 302. 
 Dante, 106, 192; La Divina Commedia, 
 
 7, 86, 177 ; La Vita Nuova, 13. 
 Daudet, Alphonse, 173. 
 
322 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Davenant, Sir William, preface of Gondi- 
 
 bert, 289. 
 Defoe, Daniel, 7, 16, 23, 102, 115, 125, 150, 
 
 151, 157, 184, 196, 198, 202, 291. 
 Colonel Jacque, 17, 114, 124, 225. 
 Moll Flanders, 115, 124, 202. 
 Mrs. Christian Dames, 115. 
 Plague Year, Journal of the, 16, 17, 
 51, 64, 65, 76, 92, 94, 97, 98, 226, 
 260. 
 
 Robinson Crusoe, 4, 5, 6, 17, 33, 67, 70, 
 71, 74, 75, 84, 89, 95, 98, 115, 123, 
 124, 136, 143, 148, 149, 153, 154, 155, 
 161, 164, 165, 172, 174, 185, 188, 192, 
 205, 215, 291. 
 
 Deloney, Thomas, Jack ofNewbury, 136. 
 De Quincey, Thomas, 296. 
 Design, general, 250. 
 Dialogic form, 17-19. 
 Dickens, Charles, 8, 24, 82, 104, 163, 184, 
 
 195, 198, 214, 296. 
 
 David Copperfield, 7, 71, 98, 102, 185. 
 Dombey and Son, 12, 22, 80, 84, 86, 87, 
 
 88, 90, 134, 201. 
 Edwin Drood, 180. 
 Old Curiosity Shop, 82. 
 Oliver Twist, 6. 
 Pickwick Papers, 184. 
 Tale of Two Cities, 5, 8. 
 Diderot, Eloge de Richardson, 293. 
 Divisions of a novel, 7-12. 
 Documentary form, 20-22. 
 Dostoyevsky, Fy6dor M., 119, 160, 206, 
 
 235 ; Poor Folk, 21. 
 Dowden, Edward, 302. 
 Drama, the, and the novel, 234. 
 Dramatic and non-dramatic form, 15-16, 
 
 Si- 
 
 Dramatic line, the, 57-61. 
 DRAMATIS PERSONS. THE, 91-108. 
 
 See CHARACTERS. 
 Dryden, John, 289. 
 Dumas, pere, Alexandre, 104, 140, 180, 
 
 191. 
 Dunlop, J. C, History of Prose Fiction, 
 
 x, 266, 296. 
 Duologue, 18. 
 
 Earle, John, Microcosmography, 230. 
 Ebcrs, Georg, Homo Sum, 52, 138. 
 
 Edgeworth, Maria, 156, 186 ; Castle Rack- 
 rent, 82, 184. 
 
 Eeden, Frederik van, 211. 
 
 Effects of a novel, particular, 209-214; 
 in general, see INFLUENCE OF A 
 NOVEL. \ \ I 
 
 Eliot, George, 83, ;0i, 126, 133, 140, 144, 
 
 152, 156, i&j, 168, 170, jffl, 173, 
 
 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 184, 185, 
 
 192, 193, 198, 199, 201, 205, 206, 
 
 228, 302 ; see Cross, J. W. 
 Adam Bede, 7, 10, 120, 126, 168, 170, 
 
 172, 173, 174, 203, 222. 
 
 Daniel Deronda, 7, 8, 171. 
 
 Felix Holt, 171. 
 
 Janet's Repentance, 22, 27,46, 57, 59, 73. 
 
 Middlemarch, 136, 153, 170, 175, 185, 
 
 188. 
 Mill on the Floss, 22, 71, 117, 134, 
 
 170, 171. 
 
 Mr. Gilfil's Love Story, 22. 
 Romola, 79, 82, 149, 161, 168, 176, 177. 
 Scenes of Clerical Life, 170, 222. 
 Silas Marner, 7, 10, II, 16, 18, 19, 22, 
 
 23, 24, 3, 3i, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 
 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 50, 54, 57, 
 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 68, 70, 72, 
 73- 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 
 9i, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 100, 
 101, 106, in, 113, 115, 120, 123, 
 126, 136, 140, 142, 146, 148, 151, 
 159, 164, 168, 170, 174, 176, 203, 
 
 2IO, 222, 225, 228, 236, 238, 239, 
 240, 243, 245, 251, 253, 254, 255, 
 26l. 
 
 Emerson, R. W., 145, 159, 188, 230. 
 Emotional effect of the novel, 212. 
 Emotion, line of, 39. 
 English Criticism of the Novel, Notes on, 
 
 265-266, 287, 288, 289, 291-293, 
 
 295-297,302-304. 
 Environment of the author, immediate 
 
 social, 197. 
 
 Environment of characters, physical, 114, 
 Epic, the, and the novel, 222. 
 Episode in plot, 37. 
 Episode in the author's life, 186. 
 Epistolary form, 20, 31. 
 Erckmann-Chatrian partnership, 180. 
 Essay, the, and the novel, 226. 
 
INDEX 
 
 323 
 
 Eustathius, 287. 
 
 Event and incident, 34. 
 
 Everyman, 198. 
 
 Exhibition and interpretation of subject, 
 
 131- 
 Extensive and the intensive, the, in 
 
 subject-matter, 131 ; methods of 
 
 study, ix. 
 
 External material, language as, 248. 
 EXTERNAL STRUCTURE, 1-27. 
 
 Fiction. See Ideality, Illusion, Prose 
 
 Fiction. 
 
 Fielding, Henry, 8, 10, 14, 74, 95, 134, 
 143. 155. 156, iS7. 163, 169, 179, 
 184, 185, 192, 194, 198, 221, 223, 
 224, 226, 234, 265, 291. 
 Amelia, 8, 10, 134, 172. 
 Jonathan Wild, 10, 17. 
 Joseph Andrews, 5, 6, 102, 123, 153, 
 
 169, 179. 
 
 Tom Jones, xi, 5, 10, 33, 76, 98, 185. 
 Fielding, Sarah, 8, 172, 291. 
 
 and Jane Collier, The Cry, 8, 291. 
 Fitzmaurice-Kelly, J., History of Spanish 
 
 Literature, 179. 
 Flaubert, Gustave, 101, 150, 153 ; Madame 
 
 Bovary, 178. 
 
 Fogazzaro, Antonio, 137, 184, 195. 
 Foiling and climax, 44. 
 Force, as a quality of style, 164. 
 FORCES, THE SHAPING, of a novel, 181- 
 
 201. 
 
 Foreground, middleground, and back- 
 ground characters, 96. 
 
 Form and subject-matter, 130. 
 
 Form in art, value of, 249. 
 
 Forms of discourse, 218. 
 
 Foscolo, Ugo, 190; Jacopo Ortis, 21, 
 123. 
 
 Fragments of a composition, 180. 
 
 France, Anatole, 146, 286. 
 
 French Criticism of the Novel, Notes on, 
 266, 288, 290, 293, 297-299, 304- 
 
 3<>5- 
 Freytag, Gustav, 306; Die Ahnen, 5; 
 
 Soil und Haben, 6, 33, 101, 102, 
 
 120, 134, 149, 188, 203; Technik 
 
 des Dramas, 47, n., 306. 
 Froude, J. A., Life of Carlyle, 224. 
 
 Fuller (Ossoli), Margaret, 295. 
 Furetiere, Antoine, Roman Bourgeois^ 
 290. 
 
 Gald6s, Perez. See Perez Gald6s. 
 Garland, Hamlin, 198 ; Crumbling Idols, 
 
 301. 
 Garnett, Richard, History of Italian 
 
 Literature, 188, 196 ; Vathek, 173. 
 Gentleman's Magazine, The, 202, 292. 
 German Criticism of the Novel, Notes 
 
 on, 267, 290, 294, 299-300, 305- 
 
 37- 
 
 Germ of a composition, the, 167. 
 Gesta Komanorum, 287. 
 Giddings, F. H., Inductive Sociology, 107, 
 
 124, 132, n., 207. 
 
 Gilbert, Eugene, Le Roman en France 
 
 pendant le XIX" Siecle, 178, 277. 
 GLOSSARY AND REFERENCES, 269-278. 
 Godwin, William, Caleb Williams, 193. 
 Goethe, ico, 112, 140, 150, 156, 165, 167, 
 184, 206, 209, 224, 225, 230, 234, 
 244, 294, 299. 
 
 Wahlverwandtschaften, Die, 16, 144. 
 Werther, 13, 21, 102, 123, 128, 169, 
 182, 183, 184, 185, 190, 205, 206, 
 214, 255. 
 Wilhelm Meister, 5, 8, 33, 105, 123, 
 
 125, 142, 148, 149, 153, 155, 174, 
 180, 183, 184, 192, 206, 295. 
 
 Gogol, Nikolai V., 160, 163, 171, 176, 
 
 180, 183, 187, 206, 300. 
 Dead Souls, 8, 180, 189, 195, 224. 
 Taras Bulba, 14, 22, 153, 170, 224. 
 Goldsmith, Oliver, 163, 292; Citittn of 
 the World, 229 ; Vicar of Wake- 
 field, 98, 102, 134, 172, 185. 
 
 G6mez de Quevedo y Villegas, Fran- 
 cisco, Suenos, 86. 
 
 Goncourt, de, Edmond and Jules, 119, 
 172. 
 
 Gontcharoff, Ivan A., A Common Story, 6, 
 
 Gorki, Maxim, 308. 
 
 Gosse, Edmund, 170, 174, 275, 277, 302. 
 
 Gottsched, J. C., 294. 
 
 Graves, Richard, The Spiritual Quixote, 8. 
 
 Gray, Thomas, 208, 292. 
 
 Greene, Robert, Alcida, 171, n. 
 
 Grieg, Edvard H., 242. 
 
324 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Group Conversation, 18. See Concerted 
 
 Speech, Dialogue. 
 
 Grouping of dramatis personae, 93-108. 
 Groups, character, characterization of, 
 
 128. 
 Gummere, F. B., Handbook of Poetics, 
 
 218. 
 
 Hallam, Henry, Literature of Europe, 
 296 ; Middle Ages, 48. 
 
 Hardy, Thomas, 87, 119, 132, 182, 198, 
 228, 303; Life s Little Ironies, 6; 
 A Pair of Blue Eyes, 90. 
 
 Harte, Bret, 195. 
 
 Hauff, W., Lichtenstein, 10. 
 
 Hawthorne, Julian, 204, 210. 
 
 Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 87, 121, 137, 
 172, 182, 302; The Ambitious 
 Guest, 6, 92, 222; Dolliver Ro- 
 mance, 180; Ethan Brand, 89, 
 222; House of Seven Gables, 33, 
 82, 89 ; Scarlet Letter, 7, 33, 51 ; 
 Septimius Felton, 180. 
 
 Haywood, Mrs. Eliza, Memoirs of a cer- 
 tain Island adjacent to Utopia, 12. 
 
 Hazlitt, William, 296. 
 
 Head, Richard, The English Rogue, 22, 
 289. 
 
 Hegel, G. W. F., 249. 
 
 Heine, Heinrich, 228. 
 
 Heliodorus, Theagenesand Chariclea, 16. 
 
 Hennequin, Emile, La Critique Scien- 
 tifique, 184, 207, 266. 
 
 Heyse, Paul, 82. 
 
 Historical influence on the novel, 195. 
 
 Historical interpretation in the novel, 139. 
 
 Historical period in subject-matter, 138. 
 
 History (as a type of literature) and the 
 novel, 225. 
 
 History and sociology in subject-matter, 
 132. 
 
 Hobbes, Thomas, 203. 
 
 Hogarth, William, Marriage a la Mode. 
 238. 
 
 Holberg, Ludwig H., Iter Subterraneum, 
 12, 192. 
 
 Howells, W. D., 9, 163, 175, 302; A 
 Modern Instance, 6. 
 
 Huet, Pierre D., De VOrigine des Ro- 
 mans, 290. 
 
 Hugo, Victor, n, 45, 94, 137, 140, 150, 
 184, 198, 206, 228, 234, 241, 244, 
 298 ; Les Miserables, 43, 185 ; 
 Notre Dame de Paris, 8, 10, 86, 92, 
 127, 134 ; Quatre-vingt-treize, 79. 
 
 Hulot, Instruction sur les Romans, 298. 
 
 Humanity and nature in a work of art, 
 247. 
 
 Human nature, in the author, 198; as 
 subject-matter, 143. 
 
 Hume, David, 196. 
 
 Humor as a quality of style, 162. 
 
 Hunt, Leigh, What is Poetry?, 164, n. 
 
 Hurd, Richard, Letters on Chivalry and 
 Romance, 292. 
 
 Ibsen, Henrik, 68 ; Hedda Gabler, 81. 
 
 Ideality, in narrative plot, 48 ; and reality 
 in characters, 102; reality, and 
 truth in settings, 84 ; as a quality 
 of style, 163. 
 
 Identity, individuality, and type, in char- 
 acters, 121. 
 
 Illusion, artistic, 258. 
 
 Incident and event, in plot, 34. 
 
 Individual, the, and society as subject- 
 matter, 142; and the typical, in 
 subject-matter, 131. 
 
 Individuality, in the author, 183; and 
 type, in the characters, 104, 121 ; 
 as subject-matter, 140; of a work 
 of art, 249. 
 
 Individuals, influence of a novel on, 
 208. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF A NOVEL, THE, 202-217. 
 
 Influences shaping a novel. See FORCES, 
 SHAPING. 
 
 Ingelo, Nathaniel, Bentivolio and Urania, 
 26, 289. 
 
 Interpretation and exhibition of subject- 
 matter, 131. 
 
 Interpretation of history in the novel, 139. 
 
 Italian Criticism of the Novel, Notes on, 
 287, 288, 307-308. 
 
 James, Henry, 191, 238, 302; The Art 
 of Fiction, 158, 167, 273, 278, 302. 
 
 James, William, Principles of Psychology, 
 122, 128. 
 
 Jeffrey, Francis, 296. 
 
INDEX 
 
 325 
 
 Johnson, Samuel, 169, 208, 292; The 
 
 Idler, 229; The Rambler, 229; 
 
 Rasselas, 24, n., 142, 147, 169, 174. 
 Jokai, Maurus, 205. 
 jonson, Benjamin, 104, 208, 289; The 
 
 Alchemist, xi. 
 
 Journalism and the novel, 229. 
 Judgment, of a novel, 263 ; of plot, 76. 
 Jusserand, J. J., Le Roman Anglais, 20, 
 
 n., 116, n. 
 
 Kames, Lord, Elements of Criticism, 292. 
 
 Karamzin, 119, 190, 226, 300. 
 
 Keats, John, 228. 
 
 Kemeny, Zsigmond, Baron, 205. 
 
 Kempis, Thomas a, Imitation of Christ, 
 161. 
 
 Kielland, Alexander, 87, 191, 242. 
 
 Kingsley, Charles, 198, 231, 297; Alton 
 Locke, 51, 123; Yeast, 123; West- 
 ward Ho ! 10, 102, 103, 120. 
 
 Kipling, Rudyard, 53. 
 
 La Bruyere, Caracteres, 123. 
 
 La Calprenede, 290. 
 
 La Fayette, Comtesse de, La Princesse 
 de Cleves, 143, 146, 186, 188, 198. 
 
 Lamartine, 140. 
 
 Landscape gardening and the novel, 245. 
 
 Language, as external material, 248; in- 
 fluence of, on the novel, 191. 
 
 Lanier, Sidney, The English Novel, 78, 
 215, 220, 302; Individuality, no. 
 
 Lanson, Gustave, Histoire de la Littera- 
 ture Francaise, 154, 172, 178, 187, 
 
 273, 274- 
 
 Law, William, Serious Call to the Uncon- 
 verted, 292. 
 
 Lazarillo de Tonnes, 195, 206. 
 
 Lcland, Thomas, 186 ; Longsword, 8, 
 292. 
 
 Lennox, Charlotte, The Female Quixote, 
 22, 194. 
 
 Lermontoff, Mikhail Y., A Contemporary 
 Hero, 98. 
 
 Le Sage, 95, 195 ; Gil Bias, 5, 8, 10, 73, 
 
 153, 174- 
 Lessing, Hamburgische Dramaturgie, 
 
 294; Laofcoon, 114, 237. 
 LevSque, C., La Science du Beaux, 275. 
 
 Lewes, G. H., 180, 261. 
 
 Lie, Jonas, 190, 242; One of Life's 
 Slaves, 6. 
 
 Line of emotion, the, 39. 
 
 Lines of interest, 38. 
 
 Literary influence, from a novel, aoj; 
 upon a novel, 193. 
 
 Literary types and the novel. Sec COM- 
 PARATIVE RHETORIC. 
 
 Lodge, Thomas, verse quoted, 199; 
 Rosalind, 13, 17, 22, 115, 124, 157. 
 
 Longus, Daphnis and Chloe, 118, 136, 
 140, 144. 
 
 Lotze, Hermann, Outlines of /Esthetics 
 (translated and edited by G. T. 
 Ladd), 124, 132, 261. 
 
 Ludwig, Otto, 306. 
 
 Lyly, John, 163; Euphues, 17, 24, 57, 113, 
 124, 157, 208, 288; Love's Meta- 
 morphosis, 163. 
 
 Lyric, the, and the novel, 227. 
 
 MacClintock, W. D., 54. 
 
 Mackenzie, Henry, The Man of Feeling, 
 
 6, 22, 25, 98, 112, 116, 176. 
 Mackenzie, J. S., Manual of Ethics, 257, 
 
 n., 264, n. 
 Maigron, L., Le Roman Historique a 
 
 I'Epoque Romantique, 267, 273. 
 Malory, Sir Thomas, Morle d Arthur, 
 
 48, 86, 157. 
 
 Man, nature in, as subject-matter, 144. 
 Manzoni, Alessandro, 104, 137, 150, 190, 
 
 195, 234, 241 ; / Prornessi Sfosi, 
 
 12, 33, 92, 94. 98, 104, 134. 154. *75, 
 
 185, 205. 
 
 Masses (of structure) in a novel, 30 ff. 
 Masson, David, British Novelists and 
 
 their Styles, 132. 147, 183, 266, 304. 
 Matthews, Brander, 180, n., 187, 189, 195, 
 
 302. 
 
 Maupassant, Guy de, 153, 176. 
 Mendelssohn, Felix, 241, 242. 
 Mendelssohn, Moses, 294. 
 Meredith, George, 24, 150, 163, 164, 228, 
 
 303- 
 
 Merejkowski, D., 206, 308. 
 MeYimee, Prosper, 140, 298. 
 Meyer, Joseph, Konversations- Lex ikon, 
 
 3<>7. 
 
326 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Milton, 289; Paradise Lost, 7, 15, 16, 19, 
 289. 
 
 Moliere, 290. 
 
 Momentum, mass in, 42. 
 
 Monologue ^and soliloquy, 17. 
 
 Montegut, E., 304. 
 
 Montemayor, George of, Diana, 206. 
 
 Moore, John, 292. 
 
 Moore, Thomas, Lalla Rookh, 221. 
 
 More, Sir Thomas, Utopia, 102, 103, 134, 
 192. 
 
 Morley, Henry, 25, 116. 
 
 Morris, William, 14 ; House of the Wolf- 
 ings, 14. 
 
 Motivating forces, 63. 
 
 Motivation, 62 ff. 
 
 Moulton, R. G., Shakespeare as a Dra- 
 matic Artist, 47, 49, n., 54, 259, 
 263, n. 
 
 Movement, rate of, in narration, 43. 
 
 Movement and situation, 33. 
 
 Music and the novel, 241. 
 
 Names of characters, 112. 
 
 Names of novels. See Title, the. 
 
 Narration and Action, 49. 
 
 Narratives, simple, sequence of (in plot 
 analysis), 56. 
 
 Narratives simpler than the novel, analy- 
 sis of, 46. 
 
 Narrator, the, and his point of view, 
 66 ff. 
 
 Nash, Thomas, Jack Wilton (The Un- 
 fortunate Traveller), 112, 115, 116, 
 118, 124, 157. 
 
 National and racial influences on the 
 novel, 187. 
 
 Natural, social, and socialized settings, 86. 
 
 Nature, and humanity in a work of art, 
 
 247. 
 external, as subject, 144; influence 
 
 on a novel, 199. 
 
 human in the author, 198; as sub- 
 ject, 143. 
 in man, as subject, 144. 
 
 Navarre, Margaret of, Heptameron des 
 Nouvclles, 4. 
 
 Newman, J. H., 137, 138, 183, 194, 195, 
 198, 209, 224, 231, 297; Callista, 
 101, 155, 194 ; Loss and Gain, 102. 
 
 Nichol, John, American Literature, 204. 
 
 Nicolai, Friedrich, 294. 
 
 Nietzsche, F. W., 176, 307. 
 
 Nordau, Max, Degeneration, 176, 307; 
 
 Paradoxes, 208, 307. 
 Norris, Frank, Responsibilities of the 
 Novelist and Other Literary Es- 
 says, 167, 174, 178. 
 Norris, W. E., and others, On the Art 
 
 of Writing Fiction, 167. 
 Novalis, 294. 
 
 Novel, the, analysis of, vii, 265-268. 
 and other types of art, 232-246. 
 and other types of literature, 218-231. 
 as a type of literature, 218-231. 
 as a work of art, 232-264. 
 characterization in, no. 
 criticism of, notes on the, 286-308. 
 definitions of, 273, 275-276, 293. 
 external structure in, 2. 
 judgment of, 263. 
 laws of, 274, 294. 
 popularity of, 202. 
 study of, vii-xii, 265-268. 
 style in, 152-165. 
 subject-matter in, 132 ff. 
 technical terms in criticism of, 265- 
 
 278, 296. 
 
 theories of, 262, 272, 273, 274, 275- 
 276, 278, 293, 294, 298, 299, 302, 303, 
 304-305, 306, 307. 
 types of, 279-285. 
 
 Objective and subjective aspects of style, 
 
 151- 
 
 Objectivity as a quality of style, 156. 
 O'Shaughnessy, Arthur, 196, n. 
 Ossian, 14, 208. 
 Overbury, Sir Thomas, Characters, 123. 
 
 Painter, Palace of Pleasure, 6, 288. 
 
 Painting and the novel, 237. 
 
 Palacio Valdes, Armando, 308; Es- 
 puma, 91, 137, 198; La Ft, 137, 
 142, 155 ; Maximina, 5 ; Riverita, 5. 
 
 Paltock, Robert, Peter Wilkins, 26, 102. 
 
 Pantomime of characters, 116. 
 
 Paragraph, the, 10. 
 
 Pardo Bazan, Emilia, 235, 308. 
 
 Paris, Gaston, 305. 
 
INDEX 
 
 32; 
 
 Parry, Catherine, Eden Vale, 25. 
 
 Part, the, as a unit of structure, 8. 
 
 Pater, Walter, Marius the Epicurean, 144. 
 
 Patmore, Coventry, quoted, 189 ; Angel 
 in the House, 221. 
 
 Pellissier, Georges, The Literary Move- 
 ment in France during the Nine- 
 teenth Century, 304. 
 
 Perceptual effect of the novel, 209. 
 
 Perez Gald6s, 187; Episodios Nacio- 
 nales, 135; Dona Perfecta, 10, 22, 
 
 33. 5 1 - 5 2 . 73. 76, 137- 
 Philosophy, general, in subject-matter, 
 
 147. 
 
 Phonology, 27. 
 Photius, 287. 
 
 Physiognomy of characters, 113. 
 Physiological psychology, in character- 
 ization, 118. 
 Place distribution, in the influence of a 
 
 novel, 204. 
 
 Place settings, 81-83. 
 Plan of a composition, 169. 
 Plato, 130, 193, 287. 
 PLOT, 47-77. See also STRUCTURE, 
 
 CONSECUTIVE. 
 
 -action and narration in, 49, 53-57. 
 analysis of, 49-71. 
 climax and catastrophe in, 59-62. 
 (dramatic line, the, in, 57-62. 
 generalized statement of, 72. 
 ideality of, 48. 
 judgment of, 76. 
 ^meaning of, 47, 52. 
 motivation and motivating forces in, 
 
 62-65. 
 
 narration and action in, 49, 53-57. 
 narrator, the, in, 66-72. 
 necessity of, in narration, 48. 
 point of view in, 66-72. 
 proper, 52. 
 story, and, 51. 
 s^ types .of, 74. 
 unity of, 73. 
 
 Poe, Edgar Allan, 33, 96, 121, 153, 168, 
 175, 206, 295; The Gold-bug, 86, 
 92, 164, 222 ; Tales, xii ; William 
 Wilson, 122. 
 
 Poetry and prose in the novel, 219. 
 Point of view in the plot, 66-72. 
 
 Points, in the structure, 40-45. 
 
 Pope, Alexander, 297 ; Essay on Man, 
 199; Rape of the Lock, 208, 224. 
 
 Popularity of fiction, 202. 
 
 Prescott, W. H., Biographical and Criti- 
 cal Miscellanies, 295. 
 
 Proportion, 253. 
 
 Prose and poetry in the novel, 219. 
 
 Prose and verse in the novel, 13, 220. 
 
 PROSE FICTION, TYPES OF, 279-285. 
 
 Psychological effects. See Effects of a 
 
 Novel, Particular, 
 groups of characters, 107. 
 
 Psychology, in characterization, 118 ff. ; 
 
 in subject-matter, 140-144. 
 of the process of composition, 176. 
 
 Pushkin, Alexander, 171, 180, 191, 198, 
 206, 221, 228, 241. 
 
 Quevedo. See G6mez de Quevedo. 
 
 Rabelais, 22, 23, 150, 153, 156. 
 
 Racial and national influences on a 
 novel, 187. 
 
 Radcliffe, Mrs. Ann, 8, 10, 13, 63, 64, 80, 
 82, 87, 145, 186, 244; Gaston de 
 Dlondeville, 13 ; Italian, The, 20, 
 80, 137, 161 ; Mysteries of Udolpho, 
 13 ; Romance of the Forest, 7, 13 ; 
 Sicilian Romance, 20. 
 
 Raleigh, Professor Walter, 153 ; The Eng- 
 lish Novel, 235. 
 
 Reade, Charles, The Cloister and the 
 Hearth, 46, 52, 136, 185. 
 
 Reality, and ideality in characters, 102; 
 ideality, and truth, in settings, 84. 
 
 Reciprocity, in structure, 45. 
 
 Reeve, Miss Clara, Old English Baron, 
 7, 20, 186; Progress of Romance, 
 202, 204, 292. 
 
 Reich, Emil, Hungarian Literature, 205. 
 
 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, Discourses, 175. 
 
 RHETORIC, COMPARATIVE, 218-231. 
 
 Richardson, Samuel, 5, 7, 21, 24, 68, 157, 
 
 175, 184, 185, 190, 197, 221, 292, 293. 
 
 Clarissa Harlowe, 7, 21, 116, 118, 154, 
 
 185, 206. 
 
 Pamela, 4, 5, 17, 21, 66, 72, 123, 169, 
 172, 174, 208. 
 
 Richter, Jean Paul, 299. 
 
328 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Riemann, R., Goethcs Romantechnik, 14, 
 
 n., lor, 112, 116, n., 267, 307. 
 Robiati, G., // Romanzo Contcmporaneo 
 
 in Italia, 176, 184, 189, 195, 307. 
 Rossetti, D. G., 169, 228. 
 Rousseau, J.-J., 155, 176, 193, 224, 235, 
 
 293 ; La Nouvelle Helo'ise, 6, 8, 12, 
 
 185. 
 Royce, Josiah, Conception of Immortality, 
 
 122, 127, 252; Spirit of Modern 
 
 Philosophy, 195. 
 
 Ruskin, John, 109, 209, 243, 261, 303. 
 Russian Criticism of the Novel, Notes 
 
 on, 300-301, 308. 
 
 Sainte-Beuve, 298. 
 
 Saint-Pierre, Bernardin de, Etudes de la 
 
 Nature, 4 ; Paul et Virginie, 4, 92, 
 
 98, 140. 
 
 Saintsbury, George, 303. 
 Sand, George, 156, 187, 305 ; Indiana, 8 ; 
 
 Ulia. 8. 
 
 Sannazaro, Jacopo, Arcadia, 13, 227, 287. 
 Santayana, George, Sense of Beauty, 49. 
 Scarron, Paul, Roman Comique, 8, 290. 
 Scene, the, as a unit of structure, 36. 
 Schasler, Max, System der Kiinste, 237. 
 Scheffel, J. V. von, Ekkehard, 203. 
 Scherer, Edmond, 147, 178, 205, 206, 275, 
 
 305- 
 
 Scherer, W., 307. 
 Schiller, 180, 230, 294. 
 Schlegel, A. W., 299. 
 Schlegel, Friedrich, 189, 206, 300. 
 Schmidt, Erich, 307. 
 Schopenhauer, Arthur, 300. 
 Scott, Sir Walter, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 20, 
 23. 37, Si. S 2 , 63, 73, 80, 82, 85, 86, 
 87, 103, 104, 108, 114, 133, 140, 145, 
 X 5. 153. 163, 166, 167, 168, 169, 
 171, 172, 173, 175, 176, 177, 178, 186, 
 187, 190, 197, 198, 214, 223, 235, 244, 
 275, 295, 296, 297, 299, 303, 306. 
 Abbot, The, 216. 
 Anne of Geierstein, 171. 
 Antiquary, The, 5, 89, 90, 98. 
 Bride of Lammermoor , The, 3, 16. 
 Fortunes of Nigel, The, 12, 17, 51, 
 
 73. 173, *9S- 
 Guy Manner ing, 5, 170, 172. 
 
 Heart of Midlothian, The, 4, 12, 172. 
 Ivanhoe, 5, 10, 13, 19, 23, 33, 35, 36, 51, 
 52, 62, 68, 70, 92, loo, 104, 106, 148, 
 154, 164, 171, 216, 224. 
 Kenilworth, 104, 216. 
 Lady of the Lake, The, 168. 
 Monastery, The, 10, 73, 102, 169, 172, 
 
 216, 217. 
 
 Old Mortality, 3, 12, 22. 
 Peveril of the Peak, 12, 17. 
 Pirate, The, 102, 108, 172. 
 Quentin Durward, 12, 217. 
 Redgauntlet, 21, 170. 
 Rob Roy, 5, 10, 12, 102, 137. 
 St. Ronan's Well, 187. 
 Tales of My Landlord, 4, 9, 12, 33. 
 Talisman, The, 79, 104, 224. 
 Waverley, 5, 153, 168, 174, 185, 186, 
 
 206. 
 
 Waverley Novels, The ,5,7, 26, 92, 94, 
 ^S. *39. I 6 5. l6 9 X 7 6 2I 4. 216, 
 296. 
 
 Scudery, Georges de, 290. 
 Scudery, Madeleine de, 278, 290; Le 
 
 Grand Cyrus, 7. 
 Sculpture and the novel, 239. 
 Secularity, as a quality of style, 161. 
 Senior, William N., Essays on Fiction, 
 
 v, 107, 203, 205, 217, 277. 
 Sensational effect, 211. 
 Sequence, in structure, 29. See also 
 
 STRUCTURE, CONSECUTIVE. 
 of dramatic and non-dramatic masses, 
 
 31 ; of simple narratives, 56. 
 SETTINGS, THE, 78-90. 
 aesthetic function of, 78. 
 author, and dramatis personae, 87. 
 circumstantial, 83. 
 distribution of, 88. 
 economy, general, of, 89. 
 ideality, reality, and truth in, 84. 
 natural, social, and socialized, 86. 
 place, 81-82. 
 
 reality, ideality, and truth in, 84. 
 social, socialized, and natural, 86. 
 time, 78-81. 
 vague and exact, 85. 
 Sex in the author, 185. 
 Shadwell, Thomas, The Squire of At- 
 safia, 195. 
 
INDEX 
 
 329 
 
 Shakespeare, 13, 19, 96, 112, 129, 146, 
 155, 157, 162, 236; As You Like It, 
 
 98, 107, 123; Comedy of Errors, 
 121,255; Coriolanus,\g\ Hamlet, 
 
 99, 117, 165, 199; Macbeth, 165; 
 Merchant of Venice, 45, 236 ; Mid- 
 summer Night's Dream, 105, 255 ; 
 
 Othello, 117, 165; Richard Third, 
 257; Romeo and Juliet, 98, 124; 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, 122; Tem- 
 pest, The, 19, 79, 91, 124; Two 
 
 Gentlemen of Verona, 124. 
 
 SHAPING FORCES OF THE NOVEL, THE, 
 181-201. 
 
 Shelley, Mary, 186 ; Frankenstein, 33, 45, 
 57, 102, 142, 169, 201, 211, 212, 
 216. 
 
 Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 228 ; Defense of 
 Poetry, 220. 
 
 Sheridan, R. B., 208. 
 
 Short Story, the, and the novel, 221. 
 
 Sidney, Sir Philip, Arcadia, 14, 17, 22, 
 43, 102, 105, 107, 108, 123, 203, 
 288; Astrophel and Stella, 159; 
 Defense of Poesy, 220, 226, 258, 288. 
 
 Sienkiewicz, Henryk, 190, 195, 242 ; Chil- 
 dren of the Soil, 142 ; Deluge, The, 
 5 ; Fire and Sword, With, 5 ; Pan 
 Michael, 5; Quo Vadis, 51, 55, 62, 
 82, 104, 155, 161. 
 
 Sisraondi, Jean de, Litterature du Midi 
 de T Europe, 189, 298. 
 
 Situation and movement, 33. 
 
 Smollett, Tobias, 6, 14, 24, 74, 95, 131, 
 157. 163, 195, 197, 198, 221, 224, 
 251, 255, 292, 293 ; Adventures of 
 an Atom, 92; Ferdinand Count 
 Fathom, 293 ; Peregrine Pickle, 
 lo; Roderick Random, 66; Sir 
 Launcelot Greaves, 43, 44, 89, 
 
 255- 
 Social composition in subject-matter, 133. 
 
 environment of the author, immedi- 
 ate, 197. 
 
 grouping of the characters, 105, ff. 
 
 groups, influence of the novel on, 207. 
 
 life, in the subject-matter, 135. 
 
 socialized, and natural settings, 86. - 
 Society and the individual, in subj 
 matter, 142. 
 
 Sociology and history, in subject-matter, 
 132. 
 
 Solger, K. W. F., Vorlesungen iibcr 
 Aesthetik, 274, 300. 
 
 Soliloquy and Monologue, 17. 
 
 Sorel, Charles, Le Berger Extravagant, 
 290. 
 
 Sources of a novel, 170. 
 
 Spanish Criticism of the Novel, Notes 
 on, 287, 288, 290, 308. 
 
 Spatial point of view, 69. 
 
 Speech of characters. See Utterance. 
 
 Spencer, Herbert, 150, 156. 
 
 Spenser, Edmund, 114; The Faerie 
 Queene, 124. 
 
 Spielhagen, Fr., 206, 307; Technik des 
 Romans, 79, 138, 153, 154, 155, 158, 
 159, i&z, 172, 175, 178, 204, 307. 
 
 Stael, Mme. de, 156, 298 ; Corinne, 8, 13, 
 82, 102; Delphine, 21, 299; Essai 
 sur les Fictions, 298. 
 
 Stendhal (Henri Beyle), 299. 
 
 Sterne, Laurence, 24, 116, 157, 163, 183, 
 190, 203, 231 ; Tristram Shandy, 
 10, 185, 195. 
 
 Stevenson, Robert Louis, 24, n., 74, 150, 
 153, 167, 180, 303; Black Arrow, 
 The, 10 ; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 
 122; Kidnapped, 6; Master ofBal- 
 lantrae, 12. 
 
 Stoddard, R. H., The Evolution of the 
 English Novel, 26, 200, n. 
 
 Story, in a technical sense, 51. 
 
 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 214 ; Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin, 82, 203, 217. 
 
 STRUCTURE, CONSECUTIVE, 28-46. 
 
 STRUCTURE, EXTERNAL, 1-27. 
 
 STRUCTURE, INTERNAL, 47-129, 267. 
 
 Study of the novel, vii-xii, 265-268. 
 
 STYLE, 150-165. 
 
 in general, 150-152. 
 in the novel, value of, 152. 
 novelistic qualities of, 154-165 ; com- 
 plexity, 160; comprehensiveness, 
 155; concreteness, 158 ; force, 164; 
 humor, 162; ideality, 163; objec- 
 tivity, 156 ; secularity, 161. 
 novelistic type of, 154. 
 ibject- jSubjective and objective aspects of style, 
 
330 
 
 INDEX 
 
 SUBJECT-MATTER, 130-149. 
 
 exhibition and interpretation of, 131. 
 
 extensive and intensive, 131. 
 
 form, and, 130. 
 
 history in, 132, 138-140. 
 
 human nature in, 143. 
 
 individual, the, and society in, 142. 
 
 individuality as, 140-142. 
 
 interpretation and exhibition of, 131. 
 
 in the novel, 132. 
 
 main theme in, 148. 
 
 nature as, 143-145. 
 
 philosophy in, 147. 
 
 society as, 132-138, 142. 
 
 supernatural, the in, 145. 
 
 typical and individual values of, 131. 
 Sudennann, Hermann, Frau Sorge, 13, 
 
 203. 
 
 Sue, Eugene, The Wandering Jew, 112. 
 
 Supernatural, the, in subject-matter, 145. 
 
 Swift, Jonathan, 163, 176, 196; Battle of 
 
 the Books, 14, 23, 224; Gulliver's 
 
 Travels, 26, 69, 75, 76, 85, 102, 174, 
 
 193. 2I 5- 
 
 Symonds, J. A., quoted, 189. 
 Syntax, 22. 
 
 Taine, H., 188, 200, 305. 
 
 Talfourd, Thomas N., 297. 
 
 Tarkington, Booth, The Gentleman from 
 Indiana, 85. 
 
 Tasso, Torquato, Jerusalem Delivered, 
 224. 
 
 TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL, 
 265-268. 
 
 TECHNICAL TERMS IN THE CRITICISM 
 OF FICTION, 265-285. 
 
 Technic of the process of composition, 
 174. 
 
 Temporal point of view, 67. 
 
 Tennyson, Alfred, Harold, 68 ; Idylls of 
 the King, 45, 135, 197, 198, 224, 
 238; In the Children's Hospital, 
 228 ; The Princess, 221. 
 
 Terence, Adelphi, 195. 
 
 Thackeray, W. M., 24, 139, 151, 156, 163, 
 194, 195, 206, 228, 297 ; Henry Es- 
 mond, 8, 12, 24; Pendennia, 33; 
 Vanity Fair, 184 ; The Virginians, 
 
 12, 24. 
 
 Theme, the main, in a novel, 148. 
 
 Theories of art, 260. 
 
 of the novel, 262, 272, 273, 274, 275- 
 276, 278, 293, 294, 298, 299, 302, 
 33. 304-305. 306, 307. 
 
 Theory and analysis in aesthetics, 247. 
 
 Thomson, James, The Castle of Indo- 
 lence, 136. 
 
 Thoreau, H. D., 115, 229. 
 
 Time distribution of influence, 203. 
 
 Time perspective of the process of com- 
 position, 173. 
 
 Time settings, 78-81. 
 
 Title of a novel, 5. 
 
 Tolstoi, Count Lyof N., 104, 119, 140, 150, 
 156, 160, 189, 190, 198, 206, 209, 224, 
 234, 308. 
 Anna Karenina, 33, 71, 82, 102, 106, 
 
 133, 142, 143, 176, 185, 189. 
 Master and Man, 15, 16, 19, 46, 76, 79, 
 
 86, 92, 98. 
 
 The Resurrection, 10. 
 War and Peace, 7, 10, 102, 176, 224. 
 What is Art?, 261, 308. 
 
 Tragic, the, and the comic, 254. 
 
 Traill, H. D., 303. 
 
 Trollope, Anthony, 9, 104, 163, 167, 175, 
 178, 198, 303 ; Barchester Towers, 
 10, 90, 134, 161, 175, 178, 188 ; Can 
 You Forgive Her f, 10 ; Chronicles 
 of Barsetshire, 5 ; Small House at 
 Allington, 82. 
 
 Truth, artistic, 257. 
 
 Truth, ideality, and reality in settings, 
 84. 
 
 Tuckerman, Bernard, History of English 
 Prose Fiction, 48. 
 
 Turner, C. E. Studies in Russian Litera- 
 ture, 180, n., 189, 206. 
 
 Turgenieff, Ivan S., 87, 98, 123, 133, 189, 
 195, 206, 214; On the Eve, 6; 
 \ Smoke, 189. 
 
 Typical, the, and the individual, in char- 
 acters, 104, 121 ; in subject-matter, 
 
 131- 
 TYPES OF PROSE FICTION, 279-285. 
 
 Unity general design, 250-252. 
 
 of plot, 73. 
 Utterance of the characters, 117. 
 
INDEX 
 
 331 
 
 Vague and exact settings, 85. 
 Valdes. See Palacio Valdes. 
 Valera, Juan, 308 ; Comendador Mendoza, 
 
 13 ' Pepita Jimenez, 21, 33, 87, 137, 
 
 144, 169, 170, 189, 194. 
 Van Dyke, John, 188. 
 Verga, Giovanni, 158, 308. 
 Veron, Eugene, ^Esthetics, 127, 233, n., 
 
 248, n., 305. 
 
 Verri, Alessandro, Notti Romane, 8. 
 Verse and prose in the novel, 13, 220. 
 Vigny, Alfred de, 104, 299; Cinq-Mars, 
 
 10, 104, 140, 188. 
 Vischer, F. T., Aesthetik, 272. 
 Vocabulary, 25. 
 
 Vogue, E. M. de, Le Roman Russe, 305. 
 Volitional effect of a novel, 214. 
 Voltaire, 196, 293 ; Candide, 147, 188. 
 Volume, the, as a unit of structure, 8. 
 
 Waliszewski, K., 170, 189. 
 
 Walker, Francis A., Political Economy, 
 ix. 
 
 Walpole, Horace, 186, 230, 244 ; The Cas- 
 tle of Otranto, 12, 20, 67, 137, 164, 
 169, 174, 196, 208, 216, 293. 
 
 Walton, Isaac, The Complete Angler, 17, 
 ISO- 
 
 , Mrs. Humphry, Robert Elsmere, 
 
 123. 
 Warton, Thomas, History of English 
 
 Poetry, 293. 
 Wesley, John, 209. 
 
 Whipple, E. P., Literature and Life, 295. 
 White, James, Earl Strongbow, 8, 25, 26, 
 
 69. 
 Wilson, S. L., The Theology of Modem 
 
 Literature, 147. 
 Winthrop, Theodore, 204; John Brent, 
 
 126. 
 Wordsworth, William, 155, 167, 172. 
 
 Zangwill, Israel, 190. 
 
 Zeising, A., Aesthetische Forschungen % 
 
 233- 
 
 Zesen, Philip von, 290. 
 Ziegler, H. A. von, Die Asiatische Banise, 
 
 5- 
 
 Zimmermann, R., /Esthetik, 62. 
 Zola, Emile, 49, 83, 94, 119, 149, 150, 153, 
 
 178, 193, 206, 211, 235, 305; As- 
 
 sommoir L', 203; Debacle, La, 8, 
 
 33, 134, 203 ; Lourdes, 5 ; Paris, 5 ; 
 
 Roman Experimental, 49, n., 108; 
 
 Rome, 5; Rougon-Macquart t Les> 
 
 S, 106; Terre, La, 8, 13. 
 

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