Lecture One Objectives: Describe the historical and literary features of 18th century prose fiction. Assignment: How is the novelist's soul reflected in his novel, as a work of art? Link https://www.skuola.net/letteratura-inglese-1700/novel18t-hcentury.html

The Soul of the Artist

The novelist creates his novel from experience, and some direct impression or perception of life. The application of those incidents and experiences in the work of art needs some way of distancing them. Thus, 3

the novelist has to live inside his novel, and to get out of it at the same time and become a mere spectator, "thus the novelist sets his scene with care, describing it with increasing minuteness of detail, and he chooses a particular period in time for the unfolding of his supposed events." (Allot, 33) 4

The apparent crisis exists for every creative writer, but it concerns the novelist more, because in his creation, there must be correspondence between the literary work and reality which it imitates. 5

This correspondence between the literary work and the reality it imitates is noticed throughout the whole course of the novels of both Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. Both Defoe and Swift commit themselves to the current of life. 6

"A Novel is another kind of work. Unity of design is its character "A Novel is another kind of work. Unity of design is its character. In a Romance, if the incidents be well marked and related with spirit, the intention is answered; and adventures pass before the view for no other purpose than to amuse by their peculiarity, without, perhaps, affecting the main story, if there should be one. 7

But in a Novel, a combination of incidents, entertaining in themselves, are made to form a whole; and an unnecessary circumstance becomes a blemish, by detaching from the simplicity which is requisite to exhibit that whole to advantage. 8

Thus, as in dramatic works, those circumstances which do not tend, either to the illustration or the forwarding the main story, or, which do not mark some character, or person in the drama, are to be esteemed unnecessary." (52-53) 9

Cited by Thomas Holcroft in Novelists on The Novels. 10

The unity, authenticity, and credibility of a work of art, which thereby produce the effect of life- like impression, is not the unity of persons and places, but that of the moral ideology of the author and his society. The novelist's soul is a living aspect in his/or her novel. 11

Readers tend, all the time to connect between a novelist and his/or her heroes and heroines. Whatever the artist depicts, whether depicted characters are saints or robbers, puritans or adulterous, readers seek and see only the soul of the artist himself. 12

According to Allot, a good work of art is a true reflection of common life and human experiences. It is certainly not easy to make good literature with only good sentiments, and it is almost impossible to isolate the good from the bad so as to make an imaginary ideal portrayal. 13

The ambition of a creative novelist is to depict the whole of human nature, comprehending its uncommon contradictions. In real life, there are no absolute good characters. 14

A beautiful character has become beautiful due to a struggle against itself and this struggle shouldn't stop until the end. The evil, which the beautiful character has to fight, is a common reality found in life. (157) 15

The Soul of Daniel Defoe in his novels 16

In his book Memoirs of The Life and Times of Daniel De Foe, Wilson says that Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660 to James Foe. The Foes were Presbyterians, one of the minority Protestant groups outside the church of England that were known as the Dissenters. 17

Daniel was educated at a Dissenter Friendly School and university Daniel was educated at a Dissenter Friendly School and university. Defoe was an extremely political man and many of his works are satirical pamphlets on one topical issue or another. As for his novels, they are regarded as the most realistic novels of the world of literature. 18

Defoe can be considered the pioneer of the realistic English novel in the sense that he uses a realistic method of narration that is away from the tradition of the fantastic and romance-like way which was predominant so far. 19

Besides, he chooses middle-class, common persons and even sinners, to be the protagonists of his novels, which most of his readers could identify with. Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) is a masterpiece that can be interpreted from different perspectives. 20

It could be interpreted from an imperialistic perspective, an adventurous perspective, a psychological perspective, and a religious perspective as well. 21

The repentance of Robinson in Robinson Crusoe, and the subsequent question surrounding the sincerity thereof, is a complex and a widely debated subject. In many ways the life journeys of Robinson, is highly similar to the misfortunes and life that Daniel Defoe himself has lived. 22

In writing his novel Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe is in many ways trying to find his own version of repentance and purgation. Thus, the concept of repentance in Robinson Crusoe is supposed to be analyzed with reference to significant quotations from the novel. 23

Actually, the story is a fictional autobiography, narrated by the fictitious character Robinson Crusoe who leaves his home to explore the world. After different journeys in the sea, his ship gets shipwrecked and Robinson reaches, as the only survivor, an isolated island where he lives for the following 28 years until he gets rescued. 24

The novel is interpreted from different perspectives The novel is interpreted from different perspectives. Therefore it is regarded as an adventurous travelogue that examines the topic of a lonely person in an unfamiliar land who develops different strategies to survive. 25

On another level, the novel could be perceived as an economic parable in which Crusoe's way of thinking rational and economical is highlighted and enhanced more with the absolute absence of Crusoe's emotional or romantic side. 26

Another perspective of the novel is the religious one Another perspective of the novel is the religious one. The novel could be regarded as a religious allegory. There is a predominant examination of Crusoe's relationship to God before and after his conversion. 27