In Silas Marner, the coming of Eppie is a more imaginative type of incident than the conversation at the Rainbow. Probably nowhere

else in fiction, and so far as the author knew, never in real experience, had a waif child come from its dead mother to a lonely workman. A group of country laborers conversing at the village inn, on the contrary, is a common scene in life and in art. Of course this episode is highly imaginative in details of individual character and speech.

In Robinson Crusoe, the footprint on the sand is probably a unique single effect; and the detailed picture of Robinson's homemaking is remote from anything Defoe had observed or read. The general conception of a man left alone for years on an island far from civilization was given to Defoe by another writer.

In Ivanhoe, the tournament, the castle siege, and the life of Robin Hood's band, in their general idea, are not proof of great imagination in the author. Of the visit of Richard to Friar Tuck, Scott himself says, "The general tone of the story belongs to all ranks and all countries";1 and he refers to his own particular model.

The distinction between imagination and fancy was elaborated by Coleridge and his contemporaries. Of the two, imagination is the main expressive quality in all great novels, but the fanciful may serve as a decorative element, and add much to the total interest.

In Silas Marner, the description of Eppie's wedding dress, the picture of Nancy on horseback, and the dialogic form of Godfrey's argument with Anxiety might be called fanciful. There is comparatively little fancy in Jane Austen, but much in The Castle of Otranto. The characters of The Gold-bug are mainly imaginative, but some of the incidents are fanciful. To many readers, much of the figurative language of George Meredith shows the caprice of pure fancy.

135. Force. Objectively, this quality may appear in nature, man, or the supernatural; revealing itself either in activity or in endurance. Respecting rhetorical form, it is apparent in rapidity of narration, vigor of description, and

1 Introduction of 1830.

2 See Professor Cook's edition of Leigh Hunt's What is Poetry?

intensity of lyrical feeling. In spite of Goethe's theory of a passive hero for the novel (see Section 82), there are many examples of notable activity. The actions of a dramatic hero may reveal a greater intensity, but range and duration of achievement are other elements to be examined.

Hamlet breaks a woman's heart, awes his mother, escapes from pirates, and kills his enemies. Robinson Crusoe makes a fortune, destroys wild beasts, domesticates others, forms many new acquaintances, travels in three continents, founds a miniature state, converts savages, and saves his own soul. He is in most respects much more a master of circumstances than Hamlet, Macbeth, or Othello.

In the novelist himself, force is necessary for the large plan of a work, and still more for the laborious execution. A weak or impatient mind could not complete a long and complicated novel; much less such extended series as the Waverley Novels or the Comédie Humaine. In many novelists moral force appears also in antagonism to social evils and in ideals of social reform, or in earnest devotion to high conceptions of art.

136. Other Qualities. Many other qualities may be desirable in the novel-for example, elegance and clearness-without being essential to its type. Figures of speech may be studied, as in other forms of literature, but they seem to have less characteristic significance for the novel than for the epic and lyric.

In all dramatic structure, propriety is obviously an essential quality. Comment on its violation, in both epistolary and dialogic form, has been previously given.

CHAPTER IX

THE PROCESS OF COMPOSITION

137. Value of the Study. Some critics give little attention to the process by which a work of art comes into existence; others consider this one of the most important matters in the study of an art, even for those who do not practise it. As a typical process, the composition of novels throws light on the general nature of artistic creation, and is a fascinating phase of the imaginative effort of the mind, in its entirety. In an individual novel, many structural details cannot be understood fully, and the examina tion of style cannot be satisfactory, without some knowledge of the evolution of that particular novel.

Critics who are also novelists - Scott, Spielhagen,1 and Zola, for example—and all critics with deep psychological interest naturally incline to emphasize the creative process.

138. The Data for Study. External data are to be found in prefaces, letters, and other biographical and autobiographical records. The internal data are often less tangible, and close scrutiny may be required before a true interpretation can be given. Evidences of alteration of plan, rapid or labored writing, inspiration or fatigue, and detailed revision, however, are sometimes quite apparent.

1 See his essay, Finder oder Erfinder, in the Technik des Romans. This essay suggests that æsthetics has not given sufficient attention to the process of composition; and it discusses several of the topics noticed in the present chapter.

For a thorough study, one would naturally select a novel that represents an extended process, of which a fairly full history is accessible. For practical method, the student may examine the internal evidence, and then compare it with the external, or vice versa. He may follow, so far as possible, the actual process of the author, or endeavor to trace the evolution of the novel backward from the completed form to the original starting-point.

Many novelists, especially in recent years, have given the student confidential knowledge of their methods. Much valuable material is to be found in the autobiographical writings of Goethe, Scott, George Eliot, Trollope, and Stevenson. See also the bibliography, under Besant, Cody, Henry James, Frank Norris, and W. E. Norris.

139. The Germ of the Work. The original conception of a novel may be small or large, vague or definite, subjective or objective. It may be still dominant in the completed work; but the process of composition is so complex that the first idea is often greatly transformed, and scarcely discoverable by internal evidence. It may be possible to state clearly whether the novel began with character, setting, incident, or theme. The "plot-germ,” in a technical sense, is not necessarily the original point in the design as a whole. Again, the first impulse may be awakened by literature, personal experience, present or past, or by observation.

In the novel, as contrasted with the short story and particularly with the lyric, the typical origin would seem to be in some real sense, objective. A pure lyric often originates in a vague subjective mood, emotional or even sensational according to Wordsworthian formula, in the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings." The ideal origin of a song is perhaps a mood of purely rhythmical

impulse, without definite content of any kind. Some weight of intellectual substance and some outline of conscious design generally accompany the first conception of a novel. The romance may often resemble the lyric.

Theory and practise do not always agree, but both should be studied. Brunetière1 believes that a novel should begin from an insistent internal idea, and the materials in which to embody the idea should be found later. In more detail, he gives three desirable origins for a novel-a story to tell; a character seen; a psychological analysis.2 Poe's idea that a composition should originate in the catastrophe may doubtless be exemplified from the novel, but seems more generally applicable to the short story. (Compare Section 80.) The germinal idea of a sonnet is often found in the last lines.

The origin of Waverley is given by Scott, in the preface of 1829: "My early recollections of the Highland scenery and customs made so favorable an impression in the . . . 'Lady of the Lake,' that I was induced to attempt something of the same kind in prose. I was acquainted with many of the old warriors of 1745 and it occurred to me that the ancient traditions and high spirit of a people, who, living in a civilized age and country, retained so strong a tincture of manners belonging to an early period of society, would afford a subject favorable for romance.” The origin of many of the other Waverley Novels is given in Scott's various introductory comments.

George Eliot gives the origin of Silas Marner in a letter to Blackwood, February 24, 1861: “It came to me quite suddenly as a sort of legendary tale, suggested by my recollection of having once, in early childhood, seen a linen-weaver with a bag on his back." This seems like a lyrical germ, and it is interesting to note the author's tendency toward a metrical version of the story. The germ of Adam Bede is given in the journal entry for November 16, 1858. Romola originated in the visit to Florence, in 1860. (For the history of these and other novels see Cross' Life.)

1 Roman Naturaliste, p. 122.

1 Ibid., p. 115.