LITERARY STUDIES

The Rise of the English Novel

The eighteenth century developments in economy and culture led to the rise of new forms of expression and interests in British society. The emphasis of the rational thinking on truth extended to literary expression, which had to be truthful and rational instead of fictional and fantasist. Moreover, the spread of a growing reading public who was becoming more literate increased the number of its audience.  The literacy of the eighteenth century society meant limited culture and the ability to read and write, which was difficult to the laymen and middle class in general to read and understand poetry. This social group also enhanced the rise of the new genre with their growing demand for a literature that reflects their lives.

Unlike the upper classes, the middle class culture was different and sometimes considered alien by the aristocracies. This latter caused the novel to be rejected by the upper classes, reason for which writers remained within the realist tendency to preserve the aspect of rationalism. Thus, the novel of the eighteenth century particularly represented the everyday life and experiences of the middle classes based on the criteria of verisimilitude (very similar to the real) as an attempt to faithfully render their lives and to preserve its sustainability.

            The realist tendency of the novel was further emphasized by the attempt to reflect the truth of the middle class individual. The British critic and scholar Ian Watt reports that the term Realism itself came as a reaction to the term Idealism which told very little truth of the condition of the human being. In this case, realism as a movement permits the novelist to portray the individualistic aspect of society. The novel concerned itself with the life, emotions, the psychology, and the condition of the middle class individual. The personal experiences and struggles of this character are reflected with more depth and complexity by the novel than by any other genre.

Novel Defined

The novel as a genre has been changing its characteristics and focus through time. It is thus difficult to fix a definition for it, yet, it can be described as a long prose narrative about characters and events acting in a plot that is inspired from the real life. It is distinguished by its length to be thus distanced from the form of a short story. One of the characteristics of the eighteenth century novel is the idea of verisimilitude, (the faithful imitation of the real life), yet, starting from the nineteenth century, this criterion became disputable as the novel became less representative and more fictitious. The word novel is taken from Italian novella and French Nouvelle which mean new.

Different critics defined the novel in relation to its characteristics. The most important elements that define it as the existence of characters (more precisely common individuals), a plot, a scene (or setting), and the representation of personal experiences. The novel emphasizes man’s struggles which are depicted in four different types of conflicts:

·        Man against himself

·        Man against society

·        Man against nature

·        Man against God

The leading figures of the novel are: Daniel Defoe author of The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719), Samuel Richardson, author of  Clarissa, or History of a Young Lady (1748), Henry Fielding author of Tom Jones (1749), Tobias Smollet author of  The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748), Laurence Stern author of  The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.(1759), and John Bunyan author of The Pilgrim’s Progres (1678). They are the fathers of the English novel

The Types of Novels

There are different types of novels, among them:

·          The Detective novel: a novel about mystery and crime stories, usually including a character doing the work of a detective to solve a crime.

·          The sentimental Novel:  a novel characterized by its expression of emotions, sensitivity, and moral sentiment.

·          The comic novel: a humorous novel that includes laughter often to criticize.

·          The adventure novel: a novel that presents dangerous and exciting journeys for the main character. The plot in this novel is built on suspense and thrill. with heroic protagonists and exotic settings

·          The picaresque novel: originating from Spain in the sixteenth century, Picaresque is derived from Picaro with means rascal and rogue. It is about an anti-hero who would often throw himself in misadventure and survives through wit and deception.

·          The epistolary novel: a novel written in letters that are exchanged between the characters and the protagonist or different characters in the novel.

·          The Gothic novel: a novel of darkness and fear, including stories about supernatural creatures, ghosts, ghoulish brides, anxiety, death, and pessimism

·          Moralistic novel: a didactic novel that takes as objective to teach morality to its audience. It is usually written for social reform like the works of Charles Dickens.

·          Satire: a novel that includes irony; anger, and sarcasm and which depicts political and social criticism.