Smollett from the closely unified plot of Fielding. Fielding constructed the novel with a keen dramatic sense, and ample experience in dramatic composition. His important characters are all on the stage at the conclusion of the action. The autobiographical plot, in general, is prone to frequent introduction of new characters, and abandonment of old ones. An autobiographical novel of a psychological type, however, is strongly unified by persistent point of view—the purpose, character, or development of the hero - but is often weak in motivation and convergence. In Robinson Crusoe there is considerable unity in the social and religious philosophy of the hero,- his idealization of contented middle-class position, and his belief in personal providence; but the unity of both motivation and convergence to catastrophe is rather faint. 61. Types of Plot. In relation to their characters, plots are either superior, fairly equal, or subordinate in value. "Plot-novel" is a name which may be used to indicate the first relation. Stevenson, in the course of his critical defence of romance, emphasized the fact that it is plot rather than characters that allows a free, spontaneous play to the reader's imaginative longings. A rapid and various movement of external incident permits one temporarily to lose sight of his own character and problems; whereas the presence of other well-developed individuals, with their insistent problems, emotions, ideals, and mode of speech, may seem an intrusion and arouse friction. Sometimes in fiction, as in life, one wishes to be alone with his spontaneous dreams and desires. In reference to technical structure, plots may be classified as: loose (episodic), closely unified; simple, complex; catastrophic, climactic; plots of movement, of situation, etc. These terms, like most of those used in literary classification, are somewhat theoretical, and not altogether mutually exclusive. The distinction between a loose and closely unified plot is suggested in Section 60. In a plot properly called episodic the principal interest must lie in the episodes themselves, considered as independent actions, though there is usually some persistent action connecting them. Many novels in the I-form are episodic, but in a true autobiographical fiction the development of the hero's own character may be more important than his external experience or the people whom he meets. Robinson Crusoe, as a whole, is a good example of an episodic plot; Gulliver's Travels a still better one, because the central character is less significant. A simple plot, in the full sense, is one that can be best stated as a single action. Its abstract scheme is represented in the genealogy giving a single line of descent, and its concrete nature in an autobiographical fiction in which all the incidents are unified by the life-history of the hero. A complex plot is one best analyzed into several persistent single actions of unequal importance. An episodic plot may be complex enough in its several portions, but is always simple in general outline. The complex plot is the usual type in the novel, and the normal one, if complexity is considered an essential quality of novelistic style. Of course there are countless degrees of complexity involved in the varying number, relative importance, and arrangement of the single actions. The actions are often naturally grouped into a "main-plot " and a "sub-plot." All plots have some sort of catastrophe, but the term "catastrophic" may be specifically applied to those, whether simple or complex, in which this point is of special importance in unifying the whole movement. An episodic plot can never in a true sense be catastrophic. The nature of climactic plot has been indicated in Section 50. From the meaning of the terms, all climactic plots are also catastrophic. In a plot characterized by movement, the catastrophe is distinctly remote from the initial point, owing to multiplicity of incident, and often to duration of time. plot of situation devotes itself to studying present conditions rather than to changing them. As to their dominant type of incident, plots may be classified as: comic, tragic; historical, ideal; social, individual; objective, subjective (psychological), etc. In the novel, as in the drama, a tragic main-plot with a comic sub-plot is much more common than the inverse relation, for reasons of deep æsthetic and moral significance. EXAMPLES OF PLOT-TYPES Master and Man. Reveals character through plot; is well unified; simple; catastrophic; emphasizes movement; tragic; ideal; socialindividual; objective-subjective. The Plague Year. A plot-novel; somewhat loose; simple; climactic; emphasizing situation; historical; tragic; social; objective. Silas Marner. A novel of character; well unified; technically complex; climactic; emphasizing situation; tragic-(comic); subjective; psychological-(social). Doña Perfecta. Well unified; complex; climactic; emphasizing movement; tragic; fair equivalence of character and action, objective and subjective, social and individual qualities. Pride and Prejudice. Well unified; complex; climactic; emphasizing movement; in broad sense, comic; with essential balance of objective and subjective, social and individual interest. Gulliver's Travels. Subject really predominates over both action and characters; loose; episodic; chiefly situation; ideal; satirical; social; objective. 62. The Judgment of Plot. Without a distinct unity of form or of meaning, no judgment upon a plot as a whole could be given. Further than this, no single absolute standard of judgment can be stated. The differences of critical opinion rest upon profound differences of æsthetic and ethical Weltanschauung, which cannot be forced into agreement. The critics who consider the plot of Tom Jones to be the best in English fiction have a philosophy of life incompatible with that of critics who give first place to Silas Marner or Pride and Prejudice. Nevertheless, certain representative standards may be distinguished, and it may be affirmed that a good plot must satisfy at least one of these; that a supremely excellent plot must satisfy several. Some of these standards are primarily technical; others more immediately and broadly æsthetic or ethical. Among the technical standards of frequent application are well-developed dramatic line, rapidity of movement, intensity of interest, simplicity or complexity. The simple plot has a beauty of its own, but seems more characteristic of the short story than the novel. The origin and history of the novel as a species is associated with Gothic art rather than with Greek. Complexity may be considered advantageous, if not necessary, for the most complete expression of design. Less technical standards demand: that the movement of the plot be determined by the individuality of the characters; be representative of a great ethical law, or otherwise of broad and deep human significance; be characterized throughout by repose, or pass from great moral passion to a logical moral calm; be optimistic in general tendency; etc. A final judgment of a great plot must rest on a familiar acquaintance with all its materials and form. Probably the main outline should appear at a first reading, and be capable of very condensed statement, but the complete significance of details should be practically inexhaustible. CHAPTER IV THE SETTINGS 63. Esthetic Function of Settings. Every action as a whole, and the incidents which compose it, must occur in some definite environment of time, place, and circumstances; but these accessories may be very variously developed in a narrative. The imagination, in general, takes relatively little delight in the mere outline of an action, and a primary value of the settings is to increase interest - to give warmth, concreteness, and individuality to events. The settings of a novel are often of special service in aiding the illusion, as well as in deepening the unity, beauty, and human significance of the fictitious action. It may not always be possible to draw a sharp line between an incident and its accessories, but the term "settings" implies subordination—to be tested not by mere number of words, but by relative artistic significance. Development of settings beyond this point is a violation of artistic economy. In practical criticism, a close study of the environment of an incident aids one to realize and remember the full value of the author's imaginative conception. If Sidney Lanier had ever noted carefully the time setting of the climax in Silas Marner, he could not have written of 'a ray of sunshine striking through the window and illuminating the little one's head.'1 64. General Time Setting. In pure romance, an action may be placed in the future, or in an indeterminate past, 1 The English Novel, p. 28. |