New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-08-29
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
FICTION,


Mr. Besant claims for Fiction place among 'ne
~, ,rts ON level with Painting, Sculpture, Music
"a Poetry. The field of fiction is as boundless as
chat Of any of her sister arts her possibilities are
s vast and her exceences worthy OF admira-
Zion. and the man who has attained the highest
distinction i'm fiction is the equal OF nm VINO mas
reached the highest distinction in painting OF any
of the other fine arts. Without discussing the ques
tion of relative rank, upon which Mr.. Besants re-
marks seem TO us hasty and incouclusive II may 10
admitted that he maintains his proposition that NC,
ton is one of the fine arts with great cogency' anu
although some NAV think the task supernuous
little reflection will satisfy MS that the vnuica'ion
really needed TO he made. Since fiction, them IL III.
art 1, must like other arts. be governed ana u'eo'ou
by general laws which may be laid down anu
taught with precision and exactness. NO laws can
teach n 10 those who have not already been en-
dowed with the natural gifts; but the natuIa aV'r
tnde is not enough without the technical Skill ITO
ceedinR from the postuate that the OBJECT Oh hcon
10 the study aud exhibition of human nature hc
states the first rule to he that the human interest
must absolutely absorb everything else. hlseWhoIo
no saws that the first rule Is that everything IN
6c,ion which il invented and is not the result OF
pcrsonal experience and observation is worthless
Tho two formularies are Ivy no means equivalent
INT the general drift of Mr. lcsants meaning seems
to bc that the characters and actions must be Ike
those of ren life ~ the novelist has observed IT. lie
addsi " In some other ARTS, the design may follow
any lines which the designer pleascs II may ho
fanciful. unreal OF gtotcsquci but Ia modern n''
ton whose sole end. aim, aud purpose IN 10 portray
humanity aud human character the design must DC
IA accordance with the customs ana general piHot'o
of living men aud women under any proposed set "f
circumstances and conditions" Here MI Bcsnnt
seens 70 coniound hcti,n with one particular form
~ kxtt bp mn
the unreal and the grotesque are perfectly admltsl-
BILE In the romance the fable. in many varieties OF
extrayagant and humorous fiction which are quite
rs legitimate as the conventional thlce-Noiuhc
novel. Indeed the portion OF the lecture deNo'cu
TO this first rule is singuaIly neXact he cohui-
tions of place of manners and of thought must be
drawn from personal observation he says; ana nc
continues This is very simple rule, but one 10
which there should be exccption-never To go be
yond your own experience" What becomes theh Oh
the historical novel2 Oh. hc answers in foOnote,
my rule does not shut that out 1t is not the setting
we regard so much as the acting of the characters,
and when the historical novelist must describe he
must borrow Well. then, If he may borrow. he is
not confined TO his personal observation; Mr. Be-
SAINTS simple rule to which there should be no eX-
ception becomes an arbitrary dlctum when, on MS
own admission. need not regard; ana the EN-
phasis he lays upon the Application OF personal eN-
perlence to the conditions of place, manners, and
thought has no meaning.
In what he says afterward about the arts OF de-
scrption, of observation. of selection OF dramatic
presentations of cleaness in the drawing of chaTac-
ters of drectness of purpose, and of moral seItl-
ment Mr. Besant will meet with the general APP
plause although he is still not free from obscurty
After all these preliminary studies, and the further
study of literary style, comes the point which he
calls " the most important of all-the story" Here
then according 10 hun. seems to be still another
first rule" "Why. the story is everything
work of fiction without plot is an impOs,ibility.
II this is the case we should like to ask what he
thinks of the plot of Pickwick" That work is not
n tyne of the modern novel, but it is cerainly
spectacle and not altogether unsuccessful work OF
fiction. Mr. B,sant is constantly involving himself
In confused and extravagant misstatementS by neg
iectng accurate definition.
Weak as his lecture is in most respects. there is
one part of it for which we heartily thank him.
just as in Painting and Sculpture he says not
only are fidelity truth and harmony 10 be observed
In Fiction, but also beauty of workmanship. 1t is
almost impossible to estimate too highly the value
of careful workmanship, that is, of style. Every
one without exception, of the great masters IN hc-
ton. has recognized this truth" If the mob OF
novelists who presume to write stories before they
can construct an English sentence, who claim
place in literature before they know their grammar
could Ice made to realize that fiction is one OF the
fine arts perhaps they would try to learn the use OF
teeir tools. The multitude of those who believe
that they can write novels when they cannot write
at all. is disheartcning and disgraceiul; and we
are grateful to anybody who Tcbukes their pre-
sun ption.