The Novel of Manners. The Epistolary Novel.

Richardson

Samuel

1. The Novel of Manners in the 18th Century Literature Durin the ei hteenth century! a ne" su# enre evolved as "riters e$perimented "ith novels focused on social detail. %hysical appearances may remain shado"y &althou h appearances of si nificance to the novels' social analysis sometimes receive a ood deal of attention(! #ut social #ehavior is rendered "ith sharp particularity. Manners #ecome a su#)ect of consumin interest. *n an attempt to define the "ord manners, one "ould easily assume that manners could #e seen as momentous!

reflections of important values. The history of the "ord manners itself su ests issues involved in the activities that "ord desi nates. Manner in its most #asic sense merely indicates a "ay of doin somethin . Concurrently! ho"ever! the "ord indicated a +customary mode of actin or #ehavior! "hether of an individual or of a community, ha#itual practice, usa e! custom! fashion..t the same time! the collective plural! manners, referred to +a person's ha#itual #ehavior or conduct! especially in reference to its moral aspect, moral character! morals./y the si$teenth century! a more a#stract meanin had evolved! includin +morality as a su#)ect of study, the moral code em#odied in eneral custom or sentiment.- Mean"hile! as early as the mid0fourteenth century! more familiar meanin s emer ed1 +the 1

modes of life! customary rules of #ehavior! conditions of society! prevailin in a people-, and +e$ternal #ehavior in social

intercourse! estimated as ood or #ad accordin to its de ree of politeness or of conformity to the accepted standard of propriety.*n this series of definitions! the idea of manners assumes #oth moral and social si nificance! despite the neutrality of manner as merely a "ay of doin somethin . Moral meanin s preceded social ones. *n the t"enty first century! "e associate manners "ith the social! #ut enerally not "ith the moral. *n the ei hteenth century! #oth levels of meanin operated. The idea of pleasin lin3s them. The eneral #elieve "as that one practiced ood manners in order to ma3e oneself pleasin to others. Consideration for one's company dictated spea3in preservin in lo" and harmonious tones! controversial su#)ects!

raceful postures! avoidin

offerin delicacies at ta#le to others! and so on. The prescriptions "ere endless! and rule #oo3s a#ounded1 #oo3s recommendin "hat to avoid and "hat to do for "omen in search of a hus#and! men "ishin to elevate their social standin ! and anyone

concerned "ith propriety. . promoter in the series of the so0called novels of manners is Samuel Richardson "ith his novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded &1456(. Frances Burney's first novel! Evelina or the History of a Young Ladys Entrance into the World, pu#lished anonymously 2

in 1448! represents nevertheless the pea3 of the enre. 8ritten in epistolary form! Evelina! portrays the En lish upper middle class from the perspective of a seventeen0year0old "oman "ho has reached marria ea#le a e. . comic and "itty novel! the "or3 is ultimately a satire of the 3ind of oppressive masculine values that shaped a youn "oman's life in the ei hteenth century! as "ell as of other forms of social hypocrisy.The novel is considered to #e a 9landmar3 in the development of the novel of manners.Evelina! one of the first &1448( and most representative heroines of manners! has to learn an esoteric code of #ehavior at pu#lic and private +assem#lies!- or dancin parties. This code mainly involves a set of prescriptions a#out dancin partners1 she must dance "ith the man to "hom she has en a ed herself for the evenin and "ith no one else, "ith no one at all if she has said she plans not to dance, never "ith someone to "hom she has not #een formally introduced. 8hen Evelina lau hs inappropriately at a man "hose hi h style stri3es her as ludicrous! she mar3s herself as a +poor! "ea3 irl.- The verdict re isters dou#t of her capacity for ood )ud ment a#out issues more important than her moc3ery of a fop. :ocus on compara#le matters of social #ehavior accounts for much of the content of /urney's novel. This focus also helps account for the novel's form and for the form of other novels of the same eneral species. The idea of manners in all its comple$ity lar ely shapes the plot of Evelina. *n many respects! that plot appears to conform to the conventions of 7

romance. Evelina! thou h not ;uite Cinderella! is a +no#ody- "ho succeeds in marryin the %rince Charmin her society provides. The ascent from inconspicuousness to prominence that shapes the central fantasy of %amela also overns that of /urney's novel.

2. The Epistolary Novel

*n an era of slo"! difficult travel! spatially separated friends and lovers resorted to copious letter "ritin to preserve their connection. Novelists sei<ed on the familiar letter as a plausi#le device for conveyin consciousness! and many =

thou h #y no means all = of the century's fictions of consciousness too3 epistolary form. The epistolary novel! in other "ords! constitutes a su#species of the novel of consciousness! or psycholo ical novel #ecause personal letters! assumed to #e intimate communication! could plausi#ly e$press their "riters' hidden thou hts and deep feelin s. More than that! the 18th century pu#lic demand "as for fact0#ased "ritin s such as diaries! travel0)ournals! #io raphies and letters #ecause fiction "as vie"ed "ith suspicion #y the %uritan middle0class readers! as it "as considered to #e a form of lyin . Su#se;uently! novelists tried to cope "ith this demand and satisfy the pu#lic's desires. Letters! in particular had a flavor of authenticity so epistolary form provided a ready prete$t for 5

revealin

mental and emotional process and for penetratin

#eneath surfaces of privacy. Epistolary fiction readily adapted to tellin love stories! providin psycholo ical insi ht! or offerin social commentary. *t demanded of its readers alertness to the implications and the am#i uities of individual points of vie". *t facilitated the novel's development. . The epistolary novel puts the reader in the position of voyeur! readin "hat is! accordin to the fiction! not intended for eyes other than those of the ori inal recipient. Even readers fully a"are of the letters' fictionality may feel overtones of the for#idden in the process of readin readin them. The fascination of

over someone's shoulder helps to ma3e the fiction

ima inatively compellin .

The story in an epistolary novel is told entirely #y the e$chan e of letters. The first e$ample in En lish of the epistolary novel "as a translation of a :rench "or3! Letters of a Portuguese Nun, in 1?48. *t "as! ho"ever! Samuel Richardson "ho truly esta#lished the form "ith his hi hly successful novels Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded &1451( and Clarissa &1458(. The epistolary novel flourished in En lish literature from 1456 to 1866. Later "riters! such as @ane .usten! incorporated letters into their narrative #ut pure epistolary novels rarely appeared after the ei hteenth century.

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Samuel Richardson (16 !"1#61$

Samuel Richardson "as a self0educated tradesman "ho had little formal literary trainin ! yet he made an impact on En lish literature "hich is nothin less than remar3a#le. Ais

"or3! "hich in the nineteenth century "as particularly critici<ed for e$cessive sentimentality and moralism! is today ac3no"led ed as havin #een e$tremely influential in the development of the En lish novel.

a. Bio%raphical insi%hts Samuel Richardson "as #orn into a lo"er middle class family. 8hen he "as seventeen years old he "as apprenticed to a printer. 8hose dau hter he married! and in1421 he set up his o"n printin #usiness. Ae "as e$tremely hard "or3in and his

#usiness prospered and re". Bn the personal front! ho"ever! he suffered tra edy1 si$ of his children died in infancy and his "ife died in 1471. T"o years later he remarried and had si$ more children! four of "hom survived.

&. 'ritin% career Richardson's career as a "riter #e an at an early a e. /y the time he "as thirteen he "as composin letters for youn

lovers and "ritin prefaces and dedications for #oo3sellers. Ae started novel0"ritin almost #y accident at the a e of fifty0one. Ae "as as3ed to compose a uide to letter0"ritin on the pro#lems of ?

daily life for the poorly educated. 8hile "ritin the models he occasionally continued the same su#)ect from one letter to another. Bne such series of letters involved a father "ritin to his dau hter in service on hearin that her master had tried to seduce her. The e$chan e of letters #et"een father and dau hter ave him the idea for a novel. Ae had heard the story of a youn irl in

service "ho had preserved her virtue and "as re"arded #y marria e! and he used this as his central theme. Ae interrupted his "or3 on the letter0"ritin uide and set to "or3 on Pamela! or

Virtue Rewarded "hich he completed in )ust t"o months. The collection of model letters "as pu#lished a year later as Letters to and for Particular Friends. Richardson "ent on to "rite t"o more novels1 Clarissa (145401458( and Sir Charles randison &14>7014>5(. *n later life

he suffered from nervous disorders "hich today "ould pro#a#ly #e identified as %ar3inson's disease. Ae died in 14?1.

c. 'or(s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded Richardson! alon "ith Defoe and :ieldin ! is credited

"ith ivin shape to perhaps the most influential literary enre of the past three centuries1 the novel. 8ritten in an epistolary form as a personal )ournal! Pamela, or virtue Rewarded #ecame! #y ei hteenth0century standards! a #est0seller. The epistolary form "hich he used "as already popular in :rance #ut Richardson too3 4

it to ne" hei hts. The sin le0plot! #uilt on domestic conflict in familiar indoor settin s! contrasted reatly "ith the episodic

adventures in an e$otic desert island settin of Defoe's Ro!inson Crusoe. Richardson also e$plored the psycholo ical dimension of characters and sho"ed a deep insi ht into the "or3in s of the heart. The influential contemporary literary critic Dr. @ohnson said1 if "ou were to read Richardson for the stor" "our im#atience would !e so much fretted that "ou would hang "ourself$!ut there is more %nowledge of the human heart in one letter of Richardson&s than in all of 'om (ones.) *n 1452! Richardson pu#lished a second part to Pamela! "here the heroine is displayed as a perfect "ife and mother! "ho "rites lon letters of advice on moral! domestic and eneral

su#)ects. .lthou h very successful at the time! today it is considered of less importance. Clarissa 8ritten a ain in epistolary form! Clarissa! Richardson's second novel! tells the story of a "ell0#red youn lady "ho!

a ainst the advice of her family! elopes "ith an unscrupulous man "ho holds her prisoner and rapes her. 8hen she reali<es she has made a mista3e! she distances herself from her persecutor and dies alone in shame and rief. Clarissa, the lon est novel in the

En lish lan ua e &over a million "ords(! "as very "ell received in En land and on the continent! "here it "as translated into :rench! Dutch and Cerman. 8

ir Charles !randison :or his third and final novel! Sir Charles randison

&pu#lished in seven volumes 14>7014>5(! Richardson chose a male prota onist. The novel tells the story of the #enevolent Sir Charles! "ho is torn #et"een his love for a #eautiful En lish "oman! Aarriet /yron! and an *talian no#le lady! Clementina %orretta. Sir Charles is saved from his dilemma "hen! at the last minute! the Roman Catholic Clementina refuses to marry a %rotestant heretic. Sir Charles remains loyal to his faith! returns to En land and marries Aarriet.