History Of Novel

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The History of the Novel

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Institution

History of the Novel

The word came about towards the end of the 18th century; it was initially an English

translation of the beloved Italian word Novella. During the medieval period, it was used to

describe a short, generally realistic tale (The Novel 1). The novel in itself involves a human

character in a social situation, with a lens viewing the man as a social entity. The novel as a

genre puts more emphasis on characters, particularly on a sharply tailored and plausible

character (Taormina 1). But the history of the novel is one of the marvels of literature.

The Novel has evolved over time, with its origin tracing back in the 18

Century.

There are events that led to the change in the understanding of the novel. Several factors led

to the emergence of the English novel in the period (Moretti 126). The most prominent reason

was the growing trend of people drifting to the cities, mainly London. It is reported that the

population had doubled between 1650 and 1750 (Simons and Anton 1). The growth of the

city brought forth both curses and blessings; a rapid and wider spread of ideas was witnessed

during the time and a more commercial society emerged (Simons and Anton 1). As of late

1780, infant and child mortality was at an alarmingly high level. In such perilous times, a

man, regarded as the first English novelist, Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), emerged (Simons and

Anton 1).

The emergence of the novel is mainly attributed to the appearance of Daniel Defoe’s

Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders (The Novel 1). In his works, Defoe addressed various

genres while presenting the situation of the country in writing, He seemed to represent all the

conditions for the acceptance of the English novel; which included an emphasis on the man,

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both as a social entity and a being with a soul and the representation of a person’s daily life

affairs (Simons and Anton 1). The main character in the novels is outstanding and convincing

and set a solid foundation that makes Defoe to be credited with being the first author of

realistic fiction (“The Novel” 1). During the same period, another writer, Samuel Richardson,

introduced the first “novel of character” (“The Novel” 1). His two works, Pamela and

Clarissa, are both characterized by the presentation of emotions that connect a reader to the

main character in the novel. Both Defoe and Samuel are regarded as the greatest writers who

established their claims, not on myths, but on actual experiences of individuals (Gascoigne

4).

The focus on fiction started changing. An important date in the history of literature is

1764 which marked the beginning of a different direction of English culture. The rise of

romanticism had begun, which put more emphasis on nature, and values imagination more

over reason and emotion over intellect (Taormina 3). The first Gothic novel whose emphasis

was suspense, terror, exotic setting and effects, was published in the year 1765 (Taormina 3).

The gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto (1765) whose author is Horace Walpole, achieved

significant success and marked a shift in the people’s taste towards the exotic, extraordinary,

and violent passions, towards the romanticism movement, adumbrations of which could be

evident from the late 18

Century. Another early sign of romanticism was evident in the

novel Vicar of Wakefield (1766), which also put an emphasis on horror and romance.

The peak of Romanticism was realized in the first decades of the nineteenth century.

The greatest writers of this period, mainly attributed to publishing numerous romantic poems,

were John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron and Samuel

Taylor (Taormina 3). Their emphasis was mainly on the imagination of an individual as the

right way to achieve truth. Another author during the romantic era is Scott who changed the

novel as an act of self-defense (Gascoigne 1).

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The next era in the history of novel is the Victorian age. By the year 1837, Queen

Victoria had not yet gained the throne, but the events that were taking place made it suitable

to suggest an opening of an era that bears her name. The period between 1837 and 1901 is

designated as the reign of Queen Victoria and was characterized by complexity of culture in

the history of the novel. The period was characterized by people who are more enlightened

and more reasonable. It is also the age of the emergence of a pope and a more romantic age.

A novel published during this period was The Victorian Frame of Mind by Walter Houghton

in 1957 (Taormina 4). In the late Victorian period, the novels presented realities of life. It is

said that the novel was the main reading during this time as the queen fostered the publication

of more books. Sir Walter Scott, for instance, developed a large novel-reading public that

created and encouraged the custom of the 3-volume novel (Taormina 4). More publications

were made on a monthly basis that enabled even the poor to have access to them.

During the same period, the late 19

Century in the US was characterized by the

migration of people from rural to urban areas after the end of the civil war. Industrialization

had started to emerge, and several protests were made by the marginalized groups such as the

blacks and feminists groups. In this period, the existing novelists rejected the idea of

romance. Instead, they advocated for the presentation of the real events happening to the

people (Taormina 4). The novels of this era presented human personality, either bad or good.

The paradigm of realism was fostered by Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, and Theodore Dreiser

as evident in their numerous works (Taormina 4). In the same period in America, a group of

writers advocated for local color writing which was a realistic portrayal of people’s customs

and dialects (Taormina 4). This was due to the desire of the writers to preserve the people’s

ways of life during the industrialization era. In the late 19

Century, the writers adopted the

naturalism, which was a more realistic approach to presenting the happenings by being more

objective and frank in expressing their ideas.

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After the 19

Century, came the 20

Century which was characterized by the first and

second world wars. Similar to the Victorian era, the 20

Century was characterized by

growth in various sectors. The earth had become a global village due to the development of

telecommunications, air and space travel and the growth of gender equality. During this

period, authors mainly focused on themselves and the nature of consciousness. The novels

written in this period were mainly subjective and personal (Taormina 5). The works of

Virginia Woolf, for instance, focused mainly on their thoughts, feelings, and experiences

(Taormina 5).

In the 21

Century, the novels address postmodernism, which emphasizes on a

broader spectrum of issues. The emphasis on the postmodernism is scientific discovery and

personal reasoning. The fiction novels in the 21

Century are mainly characterized by

experimentation, metafiction, less reliance on traditional character and playfulness with

language (Taormina 5).The novel continues to evolve, with its popularity still bring felt in the

modern days.

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Works Cited

English Department. The Novel. Brooklyn College, 23 Sept. 2001,

www.academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/novel.html. Accessed 11

November 2016.

Gascoigne, Bamber. History of English Literature. HistoryWorld. From 2001, ongoing.

www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=knv. Accessed

11 November 2016.

Moretti, Franco. The Novel: History and Theory, 2005.

http://www.english.ufl.edu/mrg/readings/the%20novel.pdf. Accessed 11 November

2016.

Simons, Olaf and Anton Kirchhofer. The Novel in Europe, 1670-1730 : Market Observations.

www.pierre-marteau.com/novels/market/index.html. Accessed 11 November 2016.

Taormina, Agatha. The History of the Novel. Northern Virginia Community College, Aug.

2005, www.nvcc.edu/home/atoarmina/novels/history/default.htm. Accessed 11

November 2016.

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