40 Questions
What was the primary concern of moralists regarding fiction during the 18th century?
Its power to corrupt
What was Samuel Johnson's primary concern when it came to novelistic propriety?
That novels promoted mixed characters
Why were women writers associated with the novel form?
Because they were known for their fiction
How did lending libraries expand the audience for novels during the 18th century?
By charging a fee for the loan of books
What was the implicit implication of women writers' financial motivation for literary production?
That they were not motivated by high moral purpose
What was Samuel Johnson's occupation?
He was a writer of various forms, including poetry and essays
What was the reputation of novels during the 18th century?
They were dubiously respectable as a literary form
Why were female novelists relatively invisible during the 18th century?
Because few wrote 'realistic' works popularized by Defoe, Fielding, and Smollett
What is usually associated with realism in common usage?
Density of detail and plausibility of action
What is a characteristic of Tom Jones that gives it a realistic feel?
The density of social texture
What is the outcome of the plot in Tom Jones, according to Miss Prism's pronouncement?
The good end happily and the bad unhappily
What is the name of the giant whose dungeon Christian faces?
Despair
What is the purpose of the Slough of Despond in the allegory?
To symbolize the treacherous nature of the journey to salvation
What is a notable aspect of the plot in Tom Jones?
Its contrived nature
What is a notable feature of the narrator in Tom Jones?
His ostentation
What is the name of the fair that offers Christian worldly enticements?
Vanity Fair
What do the elaborate authorial constructions in Tom Jones show?
The narrator's dexterity
What is the significance of the parlor in the house of Interpreter?
It symbolizes the heart of man
What is the purpose of the male servant in the parlor episode?
To symbolize the Law
What does the narrator of Tom Jones flaunt and play with?
His control of his readers
What is the source of the pleasure derived from reading Tom Jones?
Its artifice
What is the significance of the maidservant in the parlor episode?
She symbolizes the Gospel
What is the effect of the Law on sin, according to the parlor episode?
It stirs up sin
What is the general message of the allegory, as reinforced by the parlor episode?
That all of life has consequence
What was the focus of the romances that moralists considered a threat to the moral well-being of young women?
The trials of beautiful maidens of high rank and their numerous wooers
What was the characteristic of the prose used in the romances?
Elaborate and detailed
What was the significance of the innovation introduced by writers like Daniel Defoe in the early 18th century?
It led to the development of novels centered on ordinary people
What is the primary reason why novels are often described as realistic?
They feature characters with physical needs and ordinary occupations in relatively familiar settings
What is the main focus of the story being told about the novel in the 18th century?
The deviations from realism in the novel
What was the significance of the explosion of new energies in the novel during the 18th century?
It resulted in a sequence of fictional experiments that justified special attention
What was the characteristic of the characters in the novels that emerged during the 18th century?
They were assigned individualized natures and followed individualized life courses
What is the primary reason why the period between 1700 and 1800 is considered significant in the development of the novel?
It was a period of significant innovation and experimentation in the novel
What is the novelty of the novel according to the passage?
It is a genre that made itself up as it went along, constantly inventive of new kinds of scene and character.
What is the purpose of the clergyman Brand's letters in Richardson's Clarissa?
To serve minimal plot function and communicate a disagreeable personality.
What is the effect of modern abridgements on Richardson's Clarissa?
They retain the plot but eliminate much of what makes its development so prolonged.
What is the significance of the twenty-year gap between the publication of Jane Barker's The Lining of the Patch Work Screen and Richardson's Clarissa?
It indicates the possible extremes in novelistic pace in the eighteenth century.
What is the nature of the clergyman Brand's personality in Richardson's Clarissa?
He is driven by moral blindness and egotism.
What is the main reason why Samuel Johnson claimed that reading Clarissa for the plot would drive one to suicide?
The novel's pace is too slow and risks tedium.
What is the significance of the phrase 'novelistic self-imagining' in the passage?
It describes the novel's ability to create new precedents for itself.
What is the purpose of the passage's discussion of novelistic pace?
To sketch some of the polarities between which novelists might range.
Study Notes
Eighteenth-Century Novels
- Considered a threat to the moral well-being of young women due to their stress on love
- Featured beautiful maidens of high rank with numerous wooers who faced daunting trials
- Written in elaborate prose with lavish detail, telling stories with little connection to readers' lives
- Belonged to the realm of fantasy, satisfying imaginative needs
Emergence of New Energies
- Explosion of new energies in the eighteenth century led to a sequence of fictional experiments
- Writers like Daniel Defoe began to organize fictions around working-class or middle-class characters
- Characters were assigned individualized natures and followed individualized life courses
- This development had a lasting impact on the novel genre
Ordinary People in Novels
- Novels began to depict characters with physical needs and ordinary occupations in familiar settings
- This led to the description of novels as "realistic"
- However, the novel's focus on deviations from realism is a key aspect of the genre
Female Novelists
- Women were major experimenters in the novel genre, with a large contemporary audience
- Women wrote and read novels, contributing to their popularity
- Women's involvement in novel writing led to moralists questioning the respectability of the genre
Morality and Novel Writing
- Moralists, including Samuel Johnson, believed fiction had the power to corrupt
- Johnson advocated for novels that furthered morality, suggesting modes of aspiration
- Mixed characters, combining virtue and vice, were seen as dangerous to readers' moral capacities
Novelistic Pace
- Novels could adopt leisurely or rapid movement according to their aims
- Examples of slow-paced novels include Richard Richardson's Clarissa (1747-48)
- Fast-paced novels, like Jane Barker's The Lining of the Patch Work Screen (1726), also existed
Realism in Novels
- Realism is linked to density of detail and plausibility of action
- However, the assumption that eighteenth-century novels aspire to realism can lead to misunderstandings
- Tom Jones, for example, has a dense social texture, but its plot is more focused on artifice than realism
This quiz explores the characteristics of medieval romance literature, including its focus on love, elaborate prose, and fantastical storytelling. It delves into the themes and styles typical of romance literature during this time period.
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