Ideas Critique on Ian Watt's The Rise of the Novel - Assignment Example

? Ideas Critique on Ian Watt's "The Rise of the Novel" In "The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding" published in The Theory of the Novel: A Historical Approach, the literary critic and professor Ian Watt analyses novel as a new literary form; how works from Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding can be differed from past prose works from Greece, seventeenth century France, and Middle Ages. Firstly, Watt investigates the characteristics of the novel and the realism; he argues that realism tries to show several sides of human experience related to the external world. Watt explains Descartes point of view of the realism by defining the truth as an individual matter, which makes novel reflect individualism and innovation compared to previous literary works. Secondly, according to Watt there are no traditional plots in novels; Richardson and Defoe were the first writers to ignore a plot based on mythology or history for example, which at that time was different from authors with traditional plots such as Shakespeare or Milton. Furthermore, he describes the importance of the description in the narrative; in order to make the novel realistic as possible; the author needs to be capable of accomplishing a concrete demonstration of characterization, present a cohesive background and to be attentive to the individualization of the characters. Thirdly, he explains that before the realism, names were used in a non- particular way, and the novel establishes names as common names that can also indicate information about a character. He also argues about the role of the time, space, and place to individualize each character; how they create a cohesive structure to a plot, also the correlation between representation and reality. Finally, Watt explains the semantic role of the narrative, how the prose style gives a completely authenticity to the realistic novel. This piece of writing by Watt is quite illuminating in the sense that it records the development of novel as a separate entity from earlier prose that did not center on individualism. Rather they provided an objective view of the situation. The presentation and ideas of Watt offer a deep understanding of how the novel emerged and how the attitudes and society were changing to give birth to a new literary form- the novel. However, the ideas presented by Watt are just an initial study of how the novel developed since Watt does not include certain aspects of the development of novel or rather he misjudges the chronology of events. In my opinion, the presentation developed by Watt takes into account a myriad of changes occurring in the society. Watt takes into account the changing attitude of the people which was more attuned to realism and changed from a God centric view to a human centric view. Along with this, Watt also discusses how the printing press and changing London society supported the rise of novels. What makes Watt’s work authentic is the fact that Watt backs up his claims by repeatedly consulting with three different authors- Richardson, Fielding and Defoe. He not just refers to their writings but also the evaluation of their writings. He focuses more on Richardson, given that Richardson was among the pioneers of the novels and it was his novel that later inspired other novels developed not just during that time but also quite later on. According to Watt, a literary piece of writing cannot exist without taking into account the cultural and intellectual factors that shape the society when a particular piece is produced. The novel in this case, falls into the same dimensions. The rise of novel occurred when the society in England was changing towards realism, that is, it was becoming more individualistic. Gone were the days when the characters in the piece were presented for the benefit of the audience. For instance, in plays the character obscured into the unknown when they were not present on the stage or in a particular scene (Watt, 442). However, in a novel, the readers become lost in the characters and their plot. Their stories become the reader’s story and readers relate with novels on a more personal frame as compared to other literary pieces. What makes Watt’s theory more interesting is the fact that he attributed the rise of novel, not just to the authors but also the readers. He does not regard the readers as passive agents to literary developments. Rather he takes into account that as the audience, the readers have a more active role to play in the development of the novel (Schwarz, 101). For instance, he suggests that the readers were developing a more individualistic thought and it was this thought that novelists such as Richardson reflected within their writings. If this thought was not becoming predominant at that time, novels such as those of Richardson would have met with an even greater criticism and these too would not have just centered on the sexually explicit content of the novel. However, one major and somewhat justified criticism against Watt’s theory as pointed out by Elizabeth Deeds Ermarth is that the change to individualistic thought had occurred long before the rise of novel. She asserts that the ‘key epistemological changes that enabled the assumption of realism occurred much earlier than eighteenth century in the transition from Medieval to the Renaissance’ (O’Gorman, 97). If it was truly realism that pushed the literary form to adopt novel into its circle, then the rise of novel should have occurred long before Pamela was published. However, one can argue that while realism was one reason for the rise of novel, there were others that helped in the rise of novel. These included, as Watt, proposes, the development of the printing press, the preference towards letter writing and the changing societal structure within England. Also, the ideas of Watt present just the picture of the changing social and intellectual thought. Watt, very cleverly, ties the rise of novel with the changing society and their perception. However, he ignores on a large part, the fact that the political ideology and the economic structure of the society were changing and how they impacted the rise of novel. For instance, the time that Watt takes into account is the same time when the society was moving towards a capitalistic structure. It was not the time of Shakespeare where plays were written to be performed in front of Kings and Queens. Rather the ordinary person had access to education and could read and write. If Watt was extending his theory to include how the printing press led to the rise of the novel, it is disappointing to point that he ignored the political scenario of that time. Watt’s theory of how social change led to the rise of novel can also be evaluated in reverse. J. Paul Hunter argues that the much of the change that Watt attributes to the rise of novel had occurred much before than Watt claimed. The rising literacy of the middle class occurred almost three generation before the popularity of Pamela in the seventeenth century. However, the rising number of literate did not favor the novels in the beginning even though novels had begun to imitate the intellectual thought of the literates. This thought was, as Watt proposes, realism. However, novels became famous much later when novelists such as Richardson and Defoe were able to use the realism to create a new literary medium- the novel. It is usually the intellectuals who first take up a new thought and transmit it to the common man. The same happened with the novels. Richardson, Defoe and Fielding could be proclaimed as intellectuals who transmitted realism to the common man through their novels. The novel was therefore, according to Hunter, not a projection of the thoughts of the rising literate classes but rather it was the medium that instilled the concept of realism more fully into the minds and attitudes of the common man. Hunter claims, and perhaps rightly, that it was raising literacy was not enough to push the popularity of novels. It was not before female readers grew in numbers that novels began being favored (Jones, 155). Watt, either consciously or unconsciously ignores the female readers when it is evident that novels like Pamela are more popular among the female readers. Watt, in his entire piece, does not draw any distinction between the male and the female readers which is quite surprising. While critics of the novel came from both the generation, it could have been possible that female readers were better able to relate with the novels. Keeping Hunter’s argument in mind, one cannot say whether it was the changing society of London that led to the rise of novel or rather the rise of novel that hastened the process of the changing social and attitudinal differences in the people. However, it cannot be argued that the novel could only have become popular in the circumstances that Watt mentions. These include the changing thought process of the society who was able to now understand the depth of their emotions and the importance of their self. Also with the rise in the capitalist society, people could now afford their own personal entertainment which the novel provided to them. Also Watt focuses predominately in London where the society was undergoing the changes that helped pushed the popularity of the novels and it was for this reason that most novelists of that era were centered in London. Watt also discusses the element of wealth and morality as a common denominator in the novels discussed. For instance, the character of Robinson Crusoe as created by Defoe landed in the island because he was driven by the thought of achieving wealth. This again was a predominant thought among the society that favored the rise of novels. The rising middle class was more attuned towards achieving wealth and it was for this reason that they were more able to relate with the novels that talked about their own desires and feelings by offering a personal view of another life (McKay, 24). Further adding to this thought, it can be observed that the focus of the novels was mainly the labor class and the ambitious people. Previously most stories such as Romeo and Juliet and others of its kind were centered on the rich class, for whom money was a secondary element to that of honor and class. However, earlier novels were another shift in that matter. They centered on the middle class with its many aspirations and ambitions. For instance, McKay points out that the ‘restless pursuit of wealth is what lands Robinson Crusoe on his desert island’ (McKay 24). Since the middle class were able to relate with Robinson Crusoe and they themselves had thoughts of making it big, they were more attached to the novels. They bought and read novels because it allowed them an escape from their own problems of money and survival. In the novels, they saw characters that they once wished to be. With the rise in capitalism, the heroes of the common man had also changed. During the medieval times, the common man aspired for honorable men such as knights. With capitalism, the heroes changed to self-made men who were able to exploit the world to their own advantage. If we are to analyze the above argument, we can make a case that novels were able to fulfill a void in literary creation that had become apparent when the society was changing. The previous modes of literary creation such as plays and theatre were perhaps becoming outdated in the quickly changing London society and the novel took its place because it was able to relate with the ideas and thoughts of the growing readers that mainly belonged to the middle class. Just as online libraries and bookstores have taken the place of actual libraries and bookstores because the society was changing its attitudes and practices, in the same manner, novels became the favored literary device at that time. Ian Watt’s theory on the rise of novel is interesting as well as illuminating as he is able to tie the changing societal attitudes and practices with that of the rise of novel. It cannot be argued that the changing society helped foster the right environment for the rise of novel. While some of Watt’s claims can be argued upon but these are more a matter of what happened when. For instance, Hunter argues that realism occurred much before the eighteenth century but even then, it aided to the rise of novel and thus supports Watt’s theory to a great extent. Watt’s theory of the rise of novel was an initial study that attempted to explain the development of novel. It provided the grounds for more theories to be built upon and therefore there are quite a few elements that critics have attacked. But since it was a preliminary study, it provided room for great discussion. Work Cited Jones, Vivien, Women and Literature in Britain, 1700-1800, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000, Print http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=i4g8wJXbXGsC&pg=PA155&dq=rise+of+novel+watt&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_xLHUp6UF6Gw0QWW4ICQDg&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=rise%20of%20novel%20watt&f=false McKay, Marina, The Cambridge Introduction to the Novel, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011, Print http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=uNOnJkxlr3IC&pg=PA23&dq=rise+of+novel+watt&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_xLHUp6UF6Gw0QWW4ICQDg&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=rise%20of%20novel%20watt&f=false O’Gorman, Francis, The Victorian Novel: A Guide to Criticism, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2008, Print http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=tpCMF6dPh6AC&pg=PA96&dq=rise+of+novel+watt&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_xLHUp6UF6Gw0QWW4ICQDg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=rise%20of%20novel%20watt&f=false Schwarz, Daniel, The Humanistic Heritage: Critical Theories of the English Novel from James to Hillis Miller, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986, Print http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=vdemIf6mGCYC&pg=PA99&dq=rise+of+novel+watt&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_xLHUp6UF6Gw0QWW4ICQDg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=rise%20of%20novel%20watt&f=false Watt, Ian, From The Rise of Novel: Studies from Defoe, Richardson and Fielding, Novel: A Historic Approach. Ed: McKoen Michael, New Jersey: John Hopkins University Press, 2000 Read More