The Appeal of the Mystery

A crucial test for a theory of aesthetic value is its been largely dismissive, and their criticisms are ability to explain the value of particular works, or serious and need to be briefly answered before an better kinds of works, especially those that have explanation of the appeal of the genre in terms been very widely appreciated over a significant of the great aesthetic value of its members will be course of time. In music, for example, the theory initially plausible. should be able to explain the wide use and appeal More specifically, mystery novels have been dis throughout the classical and romantic eras of the missed as having shallow, cardboard, stereotypi sonata-allegro form for large scale movements.1 cal characters and little atmosphere; flat style or In literature, the most widely read genre for more no style at all (especially Agatha Christie); for than a century has been the mystery or detective mulaic, repetitious, or conventional plots; emo novel, and its appeal calls for explanation as well tional disengagement; and moral smugness or if we are to understand the nature of literary aesone-dimensionality, with pat defenses of the social thetic value.2 My aim in this article is to explain status quo and little or no investigation or impli the source of appeal of such fiction, which lies in cation regarding the social causes of crime.3 Some the kind of aesthetic or literary value the better of these charges are, of course, true of the worst examples provide. The explanation will lend furmembers of the genre, as they are true of the worst ther support to the theory of aesthetic value that members of any literary genre. But some, such as I have previously defended. the extensive use of conventions, are not artistic vices at all; those that are literary defects do not apply with anything approaching universality and I apply as well to other works considered serious and worthwhile literature; some apply to one type It will be objected immediately, as it has been by of mystery novel but not to another, and some are literary critics on one side of a debate, that myssimply not true even on average, tery novels are merely part of popular culture, not These counterclaims are substantiated below in true literary works of art. In its most dismissive explaining the wide appeal of good mystery nov form, this claim sees such "escapist" literature as els in terms of their aesthetic value, but I can ex worth no more aesthetically than mindless televipand in a preliminary way here in order to indicate sion fare. But reading detective novels has been at the start why such an explanation is in order, a passion of academics and other consumers of Consider the dismissals in the order stated above, canonical literature, while mindless TV is not (not beginning with characters and atmosphere. Once to suggest that all TV is mindless). Philosophers more, some characters, especially minor ones, are may be quite comfortable with attributing real aesindeed one-dimensional, and their moral natures thetic value to popular art forms. In recent years, can be immediately inferred from their physical aestheticians have given serious attention to such descriptions or even names. They only fill slots in genres as horror films and rock and rap music. But plot developments and neither answer nor even of the literary critics who have addressed detecraise real questions about human nature. But the tive fiction, several of the more prominent have same is true of characters in Dickens's novels, for