Chapter on Novel

- R J Rees
R J Rees begins the essay by posing a question, “What is a novel?”.
He traces the origin of the novel in 17 Century as it was considered a short story as in
Decameron, written and collected by Boccaccio, he states that in 1700 the novel got its
present meaning.
The Shorter Oxford Dictionary defines: it is a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length
in which characters and actions representative of real life are portrayed in a plot of more or
less complexity.
He defines that novel is a story; longer, more realistic and more complicated than the Italian
Novella written by Boccaccio.
He goes on to say that in 18 Century the novel became popular among upper class women.
The readers were able to identify with the heroines of the novels.
The readership increased rapidly and the demand for the novels also increased. There was a
circulating library to satisfy the needs of the books.
 In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many people felt that the novel
was not respectable.
 According to them the literature must improve their mind. Some modern
readers also consider it as a waste of time. Rees presents the reason of such
thoughts:
 The first reason he gives is that of Plato’s ideas who considered imaginative
literature harmful.
 Plato in his book Republic, says that literature makes people believe in lies,
presents people and gods in bad light, it is useless if not dangerous to the
state.
 This idea was followed by the people and the world is considered to be the
imitation of “real” world.
 The real world consists of “forms” or “ideas”. He gives an example of a chair
which is an idea in reality, and all the existing chairs are imperfect copies.
 Art also is a copy, so according to Plato it is a copy of a copy – an
imitation of an imitation. This system made poetry and fiction seem
useless.
 The only imaginative literature permitted would be that which served
good political purpose, such as inspiring soldiers with courage, or
honoring gods and great men.
 Another reason why novel was not considered respectable is because of
its newness.
 He quotes Anthony Burges from his book The Novel Now, where, in
spite of many years of existence of the novels, the novelist is considered
lowest form of literary practitioner, who presents the world with its
meanness, dirt and sexuality, identifies himself with men and women of
ordinary homes, streets, pubs, schools, prisons using all kinds of
language.
The novel is related to old traditional forms of literature ( epic, lyric,
tragedy), he compares it to a young working girl who worked in the old
aristocratic family, but has no history, no tradition, so she is considered too
“young”, too “modern”.
 Further he mentions two novelists; Richardson and Dickens who weren’t
the university graduates, nor learned, therefore, the people did not treat
them seriously, and the novel was considered second-class literature.
Rees laments that there are thousands of books being published every year
in England, some are sadistic and pornographic and few others deal with
serious subjects, but Rees isn’t against it.
He complains against those writers and publishers who use natural interest
in sex as a means to sell their novels.
This leads some people into a childish and uncritical admiration of novels
which are daring or outspoken, or others to believe that novels are useless.
The third reason: Rees gives an example of D H Lawrence’s novel Lady
Chatterley’s Lover which was banned earlier for being pornographic.
In 1960 after much consideration it was decided that it was not obscene,
rather it was good and serious and of a great literary value.
Though in comparison to Sons and Lovers, this novel wasn’t great, a lot of
people purchased it because of its publicity.
Rees says that the novels should be judged by reading them, not by the
sensational publicity they get.
Some modern critics believe that the novelists of the past have paid too
much attention to the story, or ‘plot’ and too little to ideology and
psychology.
Against this, there has grown up something called ‘the anti-novel’. Rees
quotes Somerset Maugham; the anti novelists consider the telling of the
story for its own sake as a debased form of fiction.
Somerset says that the desire to listen to stories appear to be deeply rooted in
the human animal as the sense of property.
People have gathered round the fire or in a group in the market place to listen
to a story.
In spite of anti- novel the telling of a story remains the important thing in the
novel.
Most modern novels differ in following ways from the novels of Boccaccio’s
time, the romances of the Middle ages and the prose of classical times:
1. The novelist, unlike the simple story teller, is interested in character and
motive as well as in mere events. Ex: Galsworthy’s Man of Property.
2. The novelist is often interested in stating some moral or social problem, and
expressing his own opinions about it. Ex: Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles and
Jude the Obscure . Huxley’s Brave New World.
3. The novelist is sometimes more interested in creating an atmosphere or
expressing some kind of poetic feeling than in telling a story.
4. The novelist is able to take a much wider view of man and the world than the
simple story-teller. Ex: War and Peace.

The history of the English novel may be said to start in 1740 with the publication of
Richardson’s Pamela. Rees looks into the novels which might be the forerunners of
the modern novels.
The first one is Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde (about 1380). It has been sometimes
called the first English novel but it is misleading. It is in fact a long story poem of
some 8,000 lines. Apart from being written in verse, it has all the features of a novel.
The other early book which resembles a novel is Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur
finished about 1470 and printed by Caxton in 1485. it is a great collection of stories
about the half-legendary King Arthur and his Knights.
The book does not have the unity, or fully drawn characters or the clear sense of
time and space that we find in the novels of 18 or 19 centuries.
It contains themes and materials for a hundred novels.
By the time of Elizabeth I (1558-1630) very different kind of prose fiction
were written in England. The first of its kind was ‘romance’ which was
written in a highly artificial kind of prose, set against a classical or pastoral
background.
There were stories of different type which was written in ordinary language
and became popular among the ordinary readers.
Thomas Nashe wrote which can be called the first English novel- namely
The Unfortunate Traveller which is an example of ‘picaresque’ novel.
(Define Picaresque Novel)
Different methods used by novelists –
Unlike dramatist, the novelist has unlimited time to build up his characters,
set his scene and tell his story.
He can include long explanations of his philosophy and opinions.
Richardson’s Clarissa has more than a million words.
 Plain narrative or story telling is the most usual method employed by the
novelist- an omniscient view.
He would not only describe the outward behaviour and actions of the
characters but also their thoughts and feelings. Ex: Galsworthy’s In Chancery.
The novelist writes as though he knows everything.
The other method is the first person narration where a narrator refers
himself as ‘I’.
The writer may be able to use this method to make his story more realistic
and more credible but he would not be able to look deeply into the minds
and motives of the characters. Ex: Dickens’ David Copperfield.
Sometimes the novelist chooses to tell his story through a series of letters.
(Epistolary Novel) Ex: Pamela, Clarissa by Richardson.
Many novelists use conversation to advance their story. It has got more
conversation than narrative.
Some modern novelists (James Joyce and Virginia Woolf) use a method known as
‘interior monologue’ or stream of consciousness.
They follow the principles of Freud and other psycho-analysts. They believe that
some of the important activities of the human mind take place below the level of
consciousness.

R J Rees offers short introductions to five important English Novels for their
readability, they have given pleasure to many millions of readers and they would keep
doing as long as English language lives.
 Mansfield Park (Jane Austen), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Tess of the d’Urbervilles
(Thomas Hardy), Brighten Rock (Graham Greene), The Spire (William Golding)
Jane Austen – (1775-1817), her novels were published after 1800. (Read about Jane
Austen)
Mansfield Park Published in 1814. Written around the character Fanny prince-
adopted by cousins, the Bertrams, taken to live at Mansfield Park.
Written in third person, we see the Bertrand family, their friends and her
own family through the eyes of Fanny.
The story is of Fanny’s love for her cousin, Edmund Bertram- serious man –
becomes a clergyman.
He struggles between his affection for Fanny and much livelier Mary
Crawford.
They prepare for a drama at Mansfield Park in the absence of Sir Thomas
Bertram.
His unexpected return sounds weird for the modern readers but anything
related to theatre was considered morally doubtful.
The play was Lover’s Vows, which we can say outspoken. Fanny is forced to
act.
Fanny is invited to dine with Dr and Mrs Grant. Mrs Norris keeps reminding
Fanny of her lowly and dependent position at Mansfield Park.
Austin shows us a small social group, it has got dry humorous
characterization, there is an undertone of social satire, but she doesn’t
attack the society, shows it as it is.
Charlotte Bronte – (1816 – 55) (Read her Background)
Three sisters: Charlotte Bronte (Currer), Emily (Ellis), Anne (Acton Bell)
Emily’s Wuthering Heights, Charlotte’s Jane Eyre
Reason for selecting Jane Eyre – First- he likes it himself, second- the
younger readers might be unsophisticated and might like melodrama than
tragedy.
Readers would find typically romantic characters, a conventional picture of
‘upper classes’ and ‘lower orders’.
The novel begins with Jane living at her aunt's, Mrs Reed. Mrs Reed and her
children are very cruel towards Jane and one night Mrs Reed locks Jane into
the 'Red Room', a supposedly haunted room in the family home.
Mrs Reed sends Jane to Lowood School where the headmaster, Mr Brocklehurst, is
also cruel towards Jane. Conditions are very poor at the school and Jane's best
friend, Helen Burns, dies of consumption. Jane later becomes a teacher at Lowood.
Jane applies for a governess position at Thornfield Hall and gets the post. She
becomes governess for Adele. Jane begins to fall in love with her employer, Mr
Rochester.
A fire breaks out at Thornfield, nearly killing Rochester as he sleeps. Jane saves him.
Rochester claims it was Grace Poole - a servant - who started the fire, however Jane
doesn't think it was.
Jane is shocked when Rochester confesses his love and desire to marry her. She
thought he wanted to marry Blanche Ingram. On the day of their wedding, a man
turns up at the church to declare that Rochester cannot marry as he is already
married. Rochester reveals all about his marriage, claiming his wife Bertha, is mad
and he still wants to be with Jane.
Jane cannot be with Rochester when he is still married so she runs away, becoming
homeless and then sick. The Rivers family take her in and nurse her back to health.
Jane inherits her uncle's wealth and estate. She finds out that the family that
took her in are a ctually her cousins. St John Rivers asks Jane to join him in
his missionary work abroad and be his wife. She nearly accepts but when she
hears Rochester calling her in a dream, she decides she cannot marry
someone she doesn't love.
Jane returns to Thornfield. When she arrives, she discovers it has burnt
down and Rochester is now living at Ferndean, his usual retreat, and is blind.
Jane rushes to him and they marry. The novel concludes with Jane and
Rochester married with children. Rochester also regains his sight in one eye.
Charlotte creates a world of its own. It is a world of strong emotions, strange
events and twisted characters.

 Thomas Hardy- (1840-1928) – Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891).

Regional novelist, stories are based on the imaginary town “Wessex”.
• The poor peddler John Durbeyfield is stunned to learn that he is the descendent of an
ancient noble family, the d’Urbervilles.
• Meanwhile, Tess, his eldest daughter, joins the other village girls in the May Day dance,
where Tess briefly exchanges glances with a young man.
• Mr. Durbeyfield and his wife decide to send Tess to the d’Urberville mansion, where they
hope Mrs. d’Urberville will make Tess’s fortune.
• In reality, Mrs. d’Urberville is no relation to Tess at all: her husband, the merchant Simon
Stokes, simply changed his name to d’Urberville after he retired.
• But Tess does not know this fact, and when the lascivious Alec d’Urberville, Mrs.
d’Urberville’s son, procures Tess a job tending fowls on the d’Urberville estate, Tess has no
choice but to accept, since she blames herself for an accident involving the family’s horse, its
only means of income.
• Tess spends several months at this job, resisting Alec’s attempts to seduce her. Finally, Alec
takes advantage of her in the woods one night after a fair.
• Tess knows she does not love Alec. She returns home to her family to give birth to Alec’s
child, whom she christens Sorrow.
• Sorrow dies soon after he is born, and Tess spends a miserable year at home before deciding
to seek work elsewhere. She finally accepts a job as a milkmaid at the Talbothays Dairy.
• At Talbothays, Tess enjoys a period of contentment and happiness. She befriends
three of her fellow milkmaids—Izz, Retty, and Marian—and meets a man named
Angel Clare, who turns out to be the man from the May Day dance at the
beginning of the novel.
• Tess and Angel slowly fall in love. They grow closer throughout Tess’s time at
Talbothays, and she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage. Still, she is
troubled by pangs of conscience and feels she should tell Angel about her past.
• She writes him a confessional note and slips it under his door, but it slides under
the carpet and Angel never sees it.
• After their wedding, Angel and Tess both confess indiscretions: Angel tells Tess
about an affair he had with an older woman in London, and Tess tells Angel about
her history with Alec.
• Tess forgives Angel, but Angel cannot forgive Tess. He gives her some money and
boards a ship bound for Brazil, where he thinks he might establish a farm. He tells
Tess he will try to accept her past but warns her not to try to join him until he
comes for her.
• Tess struggles. She has a difficult time finding work and is forced to take a
job at an unpleasant and unprosperous farm.
• She tries to visit Angel’s family but overhears his brothers discussing Angel’s
poor marriage, so she leaves.
• She hears a wandering preacher speak and is stunned to discover that he is
Alec d’Urberville, who has been converted to Christianity by Angel’s father,
the Reverend Clare.
• Alec and Tess are each shaken by their encounter, and Alec appallingly begs
Tess never to tempt him again. Soon after, however, he again begs Tess to
marry him, having turned his back on his -religious ways.
• Tess learns from her sister Liza-Lu that her mother is near death, and Tess is
forced to return home to take care of her. Her mother recovers, but her
father unexpectedly dies soon after. When the family is evicted from their
home, Alec offers help. But Tess refuses to accept.
• At last, Angel decides to forgive his wife. He leaves Brazil, desperate to find her.
• Instead, he finds her mother, who tells him Tess has gone to a village called
Sandbourne. There, he finds Tess in an expensive boardinghouse called The Herons,
where he tells her he has forgiven her and begs her to take him back.
• Tess tells him he has come too late. She was unable to resist and went back to Alec
d’Urberville. Angel leaves in a daze, and, heartbroken to the point of madness, Tess
goes upstairs and stabs her lover to death.
• When the landlady finds Alec’s body, she raises an alarm, but Tess has already fled to
find Angel.
• Angel agrees to help Tess, though he cannot quite believe that she has actually
murdered Alec. They hide out in an empty mansion for a few days, then travel
farther.
• When they come to Stonehenge, Tess goes to sleep, but when morning breaks
shortly thereafter, a search party discovers them. Tess is arrested and sent to jail.
Angel and Liza-Lu watch as a black flag is raised over the prison, signaling Tess’s
execution.
Hardy is called a pessimist, and readers find his novel magnificently tragic.
It is not necessarily gloomy.
R J Rees looks into the twentieth century novelists to show the trends of
the period, specially Graham Greene and William Golding.
War Novels -
River Novel – an extended sequence of novels of which the whole acts as a
commentary for a society or an epoch, and which continually deals with a
central character, community or a saga within a family.
Historical Novel-
Visionary, apocalyptic, allegorical or fanciful –

4. Brighten Rock (1938) by Graham Green. Crime thriller.

5. The Spire (1964) by William Golding. Historical novel.