Aspects of the Novel

Sir Walter Scott published extensively in the early 19th century. He is best known for his novels Ivanhoe and Rob Roy. Scott’s novels are mainly historical, and almost all of them are set in his home country of Scotland. The historical nature of his novels reflects one of his main ideals: He conceives of humanity as being essentially static and believes that all civilizations pass through the same fundamental pattern, from inception to demise. The Antiquary, which is the novel Forster focuses on in Aspects of the Novel, is one of a series of novels Scott published that are often referred to as the Waverly novels. The Antiquary was Scott’s self-professed favorite of his own novels, although it is not by any means his most popular or famous. Scott’s novels were popular throughout Europe in the 19th century. As a result, Forster’s decision to open his lectures using Scott as the exemplar novelist for his command of story is in keeping with Scott’s reputation.

Charles Dickens is one of the most well-known British novelists of the 19th century. He wrote 15 novels between 1836 and 1870. He is most famous for Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities, as well as his novella A Christmas Carol. Dickens’s work focuses on social and economic issues, particularly in London in relation to industrialization. He was highly critical of the poverty and cruelty he saw in the city, and through his novels, he exposed these problems to the public. Forster mainly turns to Dickens in his discussion of people in novels. He argues that Dickens’s characters are largely flat, although Dickens’s prowess as a novelist is such that he can write a flat character who doesn’t feel one-dimensional. Forster also discusses Dickens in the introduction, where he compares Dickens to H.G. Wells (a contemporary of Forster), to show how both novelists focus on detail and imagery to craft a settings that enhance the emotional impact of a scene.

Daniel Defoe is one of England’s earliest novelists. He was a prodigious writer who wrote 15 novels and an estimated 300 works of poetry, pamphlets, and nonfiction. He is best known for Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. In addition to his significant body of work, he was also one of the first active proponents of the novel as a literary form and supported many burgeoning novelists of his time. Forster focuses on Defoe’s Moll Flanders, arguing that it is one of the best examples of a novel built entirely around an individual. Forster also points to Defoe’s personal experience as an inspiration, and perhaps a drawback, to his character building, saying: “[Defoe’s characters’] innate goodness is always flourishing despite the author’s better judgment, the reason evidently being that the author had some great experience himself while in Newgate” (88-89). Defoe was imprisoned in Newgate Jail, just as his Moll Flanders was, due to his publication of a pamphlet he claimed was intended as satire but was taken as sedition by the government. Forster views Defoe’s sentimentality about this experience as a flaw, since it runs the risk of making his characters unbelievable.

Jane Austen wrote at the end of the 18th century. She is one of the most famous English novelists in history and is especially revered as one of the first influential women authors. Her six novels were published between 1811 and 1871, though the last three were published after her death. She is best known for Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, although all her novels engage similar themes of marriage and women’s morality. Forster focuses on her masterful characterization in Mansfield Park, specifically on how she creates characters who initially appear flat but become round at moments of crisis or passion.

Herman Melville was an accomplished 19th century American author who wrote Moby Dick, which is often referred to as the great American novel. Melville wrote 11 novels and many short stories and novellas. Moby Dick, Billy Budd, and several of his other works focus on the experience of men at sea. Melville spent five years at sea himself on whaling ships, and that experience partially informs his novels. However, as Forster shows in Aspects of the Novel, the artistry in Moby Dick is less the subject matter and more Melville’s ability to capture the prophetic tone Forster describes as the novel’s potential for ultimate greatness. Melville’s style as a novelist is remarkably varied, unlike many of the other figures Forster references, and that variation creates a dynamic artistry in Melville’s work that breaks the mold of novels that came before him.

Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë were important female novelists in the 19th century. Originally publishing under masculine pseudonyms Currer, Ellis, and Acton Belle, the sisters each established new approaches to narrative in English literature. The three sisters and their brother, Branwell, were educated together at home, and in the process, they discovered and encouraged in one another a love of imagination and writing. Initially, the sisters published a collection of poetry together, and then each published a novel. Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights before her death in 1848 of tuberculosis. Charlotte Brontë published four novels: Jane Eyre, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor. Forster discusses Charlotte’s round characters, specifically in Villette, but he argues that she does her characters a disservice in pursuit of a “plot thrill” (139). His discussion of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights focuses on the intensity of Catherine and Heathcliff’s emotions, which Forster says pushes the novel into the realm of prophecy.

Dostoevsky was a 19th century Russian author whose complex novels focused on the human experience within the embroiled political and social challenges in Russia. He is best known for Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. He wrote 13 novels and numerous other fiction and nonfiction works. He is lauded as the inspiration not just for major literary movements but entire fields of philosophy, as well. Forster focuses on The Brothers Karamazov in his chapter on prophecy, demonstrating how Dostoevsky’s tone transcends into the divine. Dostoevsky’s work focused on moral philosophy and psychology, and he is credited with partially inspiring both Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche with his depth in exploring the human condition.

American novelist Henry James wrote 20 novels in his career and is best known for his novel Portrait of a Lady and his novella The Turn of the Screw. He primarily published at the turn of the 20th century and is heralded as a prominent figure in the move from realism to modernism in early 20th century literature. James’s work is often regarded as an example of Trans-Atlantic literature, which explores the relationship between the “old world” of Europe with the “new world” of the United States. His own travels to France and other areas in Europe and his study of French literature and theory informs his later work. Those later novels are considered increasingly experimental, and it is one of those later novels, The Ambassadors, which Forster discusses in depth. Forster discusses James’s use of pattern in the structure of the novel, saying that The Ambassadors represents the hourglass pattern. Forster argues that the shape of the novel is intensely satisfying to readers and evokes a sense of aesthetic artistry.