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| Wednesday, 18 January 2004 |
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Vistas lV : English Romantic novelists by Anton J. Jesuthasan (Sajj) "The first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart"- Charles John, Huffam Dickens
Having met some of English literature's greatest poets in our last three forays into the vistas of literature, we now meet some of its greatest novelists, the classical and romantic writers of the 18th and 19th centuries, men and women regarded as amongst the world's best writers and story tellers of all time. Their writings have been a fount of pleasure, fun, and delight to many over a century and more: sweet music, poetry and drama couched in picturesque prose. They are also a treasure house of life's many profound truths, to be gleaned by those able or willing to do so. My most favoured from amongst these novelists is Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the creator of such literary masterpieces as David Copperfield, A tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and many more. David Copperfield, regarded as semi-autobiographical, is acknowledged as one of English Literature's greatest novels. Despite its enormous length of some near thousand pages, as with many of Dickens' other major novels, not many would abandon reading the novel part way, enjoying every page as the plot develops and the characters come to life. Characterisation Almost every human virtue and foible is so truthfully captured in its pages, and embodied in the characters, so much so, the reader begins to feel that either he is himself one of the 'dramatis personae', or that every character is another of his personal circle of friends, acquaintances or family; every character is introduced with such realism, that the reader, from the very inception, begins to 'get involved' in the affairs of the character in question. "I am born" - David is the narrator, and this is how he introduces himself to the reader as the novel opens. "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (as I have been informed and believe), on a Friday, at twelve o'clock at night. It was remarked that the clock began to strike, and I began to cry, simultaneously". Could an opening paragraph be more compelling or inviting? David grows up from being an amiable child into an honourable young man, despite the many great vicissitudes in life that visit him. The characters around him: his wife Dora, a little 'doll', pretty, affectionate, yet still a child, becomes pregnant, David hopes motherhood will make her mature, the baby dies, Dora never quite recovers from her loss and soon 'withers' and dies like the "Little Blossom" that was her nickname; his eccentric aunt Miss Betsey Trotwood who adopts him and 'rescues' him from a dreadful fate; Uriah Heep, selfish, obsequious, mean and opportunistic; Mr. Micawber, honest of sorts, always in debt, and often in prison, ironically turning a new leaf and ending life as a magistrate; the ever loyal and faithful Miss Pegotty, David's nurse from his infancy, and life-long help; Agnes, the young woman of immense grace and dignity, David's childhood sweetheart who later becomes his wife; and many more characters both major and minor are creations who live in the reader's mind, never to depart. Language Dickens' language is simple yet elegant, something that the cognoscenti admire, appreciate and relish; others learn from. We do not read an author like Dickens as we do pulp fiction, picked up at one airport and cast away at another: we study and immerse ourselves in Dickens as we read on. Love at first sight gone awry, an early infatuation aborted in time - common occurrences in the experiences of many. We grope for words to elaborate on these misfortunes. The 'first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart' says Dickens! Clear, cogent, and terse! "There can be no disparity in marriage like the unsuitability of mind and purpose" - the chief reason behind most marital breakdowns, separations, and divorces of today? 'Mistaken impulse', 'undisciplined heart', 'unsuitability of mind and purpose' are Dickens' refrain in 'Copperfield'. Would many a young reader have been spared the agony and trauma, remembering and heeding Dickens' cautionary words? Were you born with a 'caul'? What is a 'caul', anyway? In these days of hospital births and 'caesarians', not many would know whether they were born with a caul, or indeed what a caul is. David tells that he was born with a caul which is reputed to save mariners from drowning; the lady that bought his caul for five shillings at a raffle was never drowned, but died triumphantly in bed at ninety two, and her proudest boast was "that she had never been on the water in her life, except upon a bridge"! English humour, no cheap slapstick. Questions Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities", a historical novel based on the French Revolution of 1789, is another of his mammoth works that bears careful reading. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" reads the opening lines of the book; the two cities are Paris and London. Dickens himself is said to have written: "I hope it is the best story I have written". Events throughout the book would strike a raw chord with many readers in Sri Lanka, the similarity between the unfortunate events in this country over recent decades, and in a far off country centuries ago flashing across many minds. Anyone interested enough to read round the book will also encounter many questions relevant today as much as then. Edmund Burke (1729-97), the Irish philosopher, writing of the French Revolution, asked, "Were all these dreadful things necessary? Were they the inevitable results of the desperate struggle of determined patriots, compelled to wade through blood and turmoil, to the quiet shore of tranquil and prosperous liberty?" Burke didn't like the Revolution. Thomas Paine (1737-1809), who wrote "Common Sense", and who did much to inspire the American Revolution, condemned Burke in the following words: "His opinion then was, that the French had neither spirit to undertake it, nor fortitude to support it; now that there is one, he seeks an escape by condemning it". Burke however also said that in a democracy, "the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon a minority, whenever strong divisions prevail in that kind of polity, as they often must, and that oppression of the minority will extend to far greater numbers, and will be carried on with much greater fury, than can almost ever be apprehended from the dominion of a single sceptre". Did Dickens regard the revolution as inevitable? Retribution and revenge in 'A Tale of Two Cities', cruelty and child abuse in 'Oliver Twist', niggardliness in Scrooge in 'A Christmas Carol', as other human vices and virtues in his other works, handled with no less deftness than in 'David Copperfield', make Dickens a revered writer, worthy of respect. Many critics agree that Dickens is probably second only to Shakespeare in the number of memorable characters created. Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), no less a favourite, is another great novelist with a wide range of works besides novels to his credit. Previously hailed as a writer of long narrative poems, Scott is said to have first shot to fame with his historical romance, Waverley. He was a prolific writer from a very young age, and produced several works each year, every year, until his last days, pursuing also a legal career all the while. The National Library of Scotland boasts having a pre-eminent collection of Scott's manuscripts on a wide variety of subjects, including a nine-volume work on 'Life of Napoleon', and several thousand personal letters from and to Scott. Scott mixed freely and closely with the high and low in society, thus gaining insight into the minds of all classes of people. He is said to have been one of the first writers to portray ordinary beings such as peasants and craftsmen sympathetically and realistically. Conflict His novels usually dealt with the conflict between opposing forces: 'Ivanhoe' was about the war between Normans and Saxons. 'The Talisman' was about the Crusades, the conflict between Christians and Muslims, portraying bravery, chivalry, romance, cruelty, violence, vice and virtue, reflecting in Scott's own words, a situation where "the Christian and English monarch showed all the cruelty and violence of an Eastern sultan, and Saladin, on the other hand, displayed the deep policy and prudence of a European sovereign". Describing the encounter in the arid and dismal desert between a Knight of the Red Cross and a Saracen Cavalier, Scott writes, "The Saracen came on at the speedy gallop of an Arab horseman, managing his steed more by his limbs, and the inflection of his body, than by any use of the reins,...............the Saracen cavalier, when he had approached the Christian within twice the length of his lance, wheeled his steed to the left with inimitable dexterity,............." A picture more graphic than ever captured on film by Hollywood's most skilled cameramen, and affirming the assertion that where classics are concerned, one must always have read the book before the film. Scott pioneered the historical novel with great success. In fact Scott's historical novels are said to have greatly influenced Dickens' 'Tale of Two Cities' and Tolstoy's 'War and Peace', and indirectly to have influenced the American South's 'ethos of the mounted soldier' and in turn the American civil war, through his 'picaresque' narratives of somewhat dishonest but appealing heroes! Some more names stand out from among the more outstanding Romantic writers, Jane Austen 1775-1817, and the Bronte sisters, Charlotte (1816-1855) and Emily (1818-1848 and Anne (1820-1849). Jane Austen wrote six major novels, 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Emma', 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Persuasion', each of which is capable of engaging the reader in a marathon reading session. Female readers have commented that they are able to empathize with many of the characters, so much so, they enjoy reading Austen all the more. Bronte sisters Of the Bronte sisters, all of whose lives unfortunately were tragically short, Charlotte is known for her 'Jane Eyre', a very popular novel portraying life, and love, misunderstanding and reconciliation in refined, rural society, and 'Vilette', a story based on her loneliness, of which George Elliot is said to have exclaimed, "It is still a more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power"; Emily for her 'Wuthering Heights', a story of love and revenge; and Anne for 'Agnes Grey', a story about a governess, Anne having been a governess herself for a while, and 'TheTenant of Wildfell Hall', a story of a drunkard, thought to be based on her brother's life. The above are some of my old favourites. Many other writers of the time, and later writers, have added much to the richness of English literature. There are many modern writers, including some Asian writers such as Salman Rushdie, Michael Ondatje, Arundhathi Roy, all three recent Booker Prize winners, and Vikram Seth, all of whom may one day rank as many people's favourites. English literature is no more the preserve of the Englishman. I said 'forays' advisedly in my opening paragraph. As I had stated earlier, I was impelled by R.S. Karunaratne's "Who's Who in Literature", that collection of fifty biographies of literary personages in microcosm, to re-visit some of my own favourite poets and novelists, and that is precisely what I have done - re-visited them, and these writings are no more than a foray or brief attempt at entertaining myself, at the same time interesting others in the subject of English Literature. Literature is a vast ocean of knowledge. A sage of yore said, knowledge that one may succeed in acquiring is but a drop in the ocean. It may also be well to remember that it is little drops that make the mighty ocean. **** Back **** |
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