Novelists of the sea are not numerous; for, in order to be in the best sense successful, the writer must have had a seafaring experience. James Fenimore Cooper, who had been in the navy, criticised Scott's "Pirate" as the work of a landsman. He undertook to produce a genuine story of the sea in his "Pilot," which, whatever else may be its defects, is correct in sailor's lingo and briny flavor. He was no less successful in "The Red Rover," the scenes of which antedate the Revolution. But the prince of marine novelists is unquestionably Frederick Marryat, whose "Peter Simple," "Jacob Faithful," and "Mr. Midshipman Easy" are perhaps unsurpassed in their sphere.
(7) The psychologic novel is concerned chiefly with mental analysis. It traces the workings of the soul under different circumstances and different influences. It follows the character in its ascent to higher goodness or in its descent to lower degradation. Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," for example, is a powerful exhibition of the duality—the brute and the divinity—in human nature. Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter," while in one sense a historical novel, is an incomparable study of the human soul under the weight of guilt and remorse. Throughout George Eliot's novels there is a constant portrayal of mental and moral conditions that give to her works an unusual depth and power. Her method has been justly called psychologic realism. Under this head we may place what has been called the "art and culture novel," the object of which is to exhibit the gradual development of individual character by means of a changing environment. The type of this sort of fiction is Goethe's "Wilhelm Meister."
The short story, which our magazines have rendered so popular in recent years, is a novel in miniature. It paints on a small canvas but with exceeding delicacy. Like the novel or the romance, it may find its materials in any age or in any class of society; and in its general method it conforms to the laws of fiction in general.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
68. What is fiction? How does it resemble the drama? What is said of dramatized novels? Define novel and romance. Give examples of each. 69. What is romanticism? When did it manifest itself? In what two particulars? 70. What is realism? Whence did it spring? What are its merits? What tendency of realistic writers is noted? What is the danger of realism? What is meant by the new romanticism? Mention some of its representative writers. 71. What is the aim of idealism? How does it do this? What two great novelists show idealistic tendencies? 72. What six things are to be noted in every novel? What two groups are distinguished among them? On what does the excellence of a novel depend? What is said of the characters? Whence may they be drawn? How are great writers distinguished? What characterizes profound novels? What is meant by incidents? What is said of their variety? How should they be arranged? What is meant by environment? What environments may be used? How may they be brought before us? What should be the character of this description? What is its place? What is meant by plot? What is presupposed in a skillful plot? What great writers are lacking in dramatic power? What purposes may be aimed at? Why should the purpose be apprehended? About what have thoughtful persons convictions? What is the effect of these convictions? Why should the writer's aim or purpose be understood?
73. How may novels and romances be divided? What are novels of life? novels of idea? What seven classes are distinguished? What is a society novel? What may it portray? What are local novels? What is said of them in America? Mention some well-known local novels. What is a historical novel? On what should it be based? What is said of historical fiction? Who is the greatest of historical novelists? Mention some others. What is said of recent tendencies? Mention some recent historical novels. What is meant by problem or purpose novels? Illustrate by various examples. What is the nature of the love story? of the story of adventure? Illustrate. What is naval fiction? Why are sea novelists not numerous? What is said of Cooper? Who is the chief of marine novelists? With what is the psychologic novel principally concerned? Give examples. What gives George Eliot's novels their depth? What is said of the short story? To what laws is it subject?
Note
As illustrative and practical exercises, let the student criticise several pieces of fiction assigned by the teacher. For this purpose any of the standard or popular works mentioned in the text may be selected, or any others to which the student may have access.
After classifying the work and determining its style, the student should investigate it according to its six component elements,—characters, incidents, environment, plot, purpose, and views of life. The points to be investigated under each head are suggested in the text.
As points of special interest, he may inquire into the origin of the work and the sources from which its materials were derived. This investigation will frequently reveal, as in the case of Thackeray, Charlotte Bronté, Dickens, and George Eliot, interesting autobiographic details.