The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-11-24
THE NATURAL MAN IN FICTION
BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE.


BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE.
The man of primitive instincts and
behavior has often been attempted In
fiction, from Shakespeare Cdls6aa
down; but the writer has seldom I'M
derstood the task he set himself. Gen.
orally he portrays a creature ignorant
of culture and good manners, rude and
unconventional in aspect and conduct
"a semi-comic character, who is con-
stantly either getting himself into
grotesque scrapes, or, by his SIM
plicitY and want of tact, exposes the
hollowness of civilization and ETH
quette. If this be cleverly done, the
result may be amusing or even edify-
ing; but 1t misses the real point of the
matter.
The true natural man or woman
must be natural, not through igno-
rance, but by determination. He must
have enjoyed the opportunities of Gull
tivation and explored the domains of
knowledge open to the enlightened
part of the race; he must have con-
sidered the claims of morality and re-
ligion, and measured the rights of
society and the individual. His nature
must be strong and self-reliant, be-
cause only such nature can choose
between conventional obedience and
independence. The interest of the sit
uation will then consist in what he
voluntarily does or refrains from
doing, in contrast with the action of
the conventional man in similar cir
cumstances.
The natural man asserts the rights
and sovereignty of human nature, and
discriminates between its rights and
manifestations and those which policy
and fear have substituted tor them.
That such a character cannot appear
academically lovely goes without say
ing. The first characteristic of human
nature is selfishness, and it recognizes
no moral law. 1t is sincere, because it
admits no master; but it is often cold
and brutal because it denies the claims
of duty, and will even check sponta-
neous impulse of affection or gener-
osity, from a perception that its
Indulgence will hereafter compromise
its independence or serenity. The lat
ter trait, however, will less often be
found in the natural woman than in
the natural man; she yields to i'm
pulse, because, with her, the pleasure
of gratifying an impulse outweighs
the Inconvenience which may subse-
quently result from it; or, as we say,
her true life is less in her intellect than
in her emotions. But she, also, will
often fail to manifest sensibility when
custom demands that she shall do so
and will speak her mind with an
explicitness and mercilessness that the
man prefers to avoid. Women are
uniformly more conventional than
men; but they are also liable to break
away from it at any moment; they
readily take fine surface polish, but
the polish never extends to their inte-
riors, as is the case with their COM
panions in life.
Mrs. Elizabeth Stoddard's latest
novel, "Temple House," is devoted to
q study of the natural man, male and
female; and it certainly surpasses, in
fascination and originality, her pre-
vious 1.-TWO Men," Indeed, its origi-
nality is so radical and at the same
time so reasonable, that the reader de-
rives from 1t fresh and profounder
conception of life; he finds himself in
contact with a mind that has had the
strength or fortune to remain entirely
uncompromised by popular views and
prepossessions, and which has con-
trived to know literature without
adopting its methods or accepting its
conclusions. 1t is safe to say that no |
one ever before wrote such novels as |
Mrs. Stoddard writes, regarding them
merely as statements of ethical prob |
lens; and they will repay attentive |
and prolonged study ON the strength |
of their literary workmanship. "Tem-
pie House" is as laconic and elemental
as Greek tragedy; but it is not at |
all Greek in other respects. 1t is q
fearless plunge into the deep sea of
human nature the plunge is taken at |
the first page, and we remain in that |
intimate but strange region until the
end. The leading characters in the |
book appear what they are, say what
they think, and manifest what they |
feel. The story is not q story Of
events, but of growth and being.
Nothing Is more remarkable than the
They are generally short
and pregnant, but are entirely differ
emit from ordinary dialogues in novels.
The latter aim to expound situations
or describe events-to advance the
plot" as the phrase IL. But the dia-
logues that Mrs Stoddard writes steer
wholly clear of such things. They
seem on the surface to have no aim nor
result; the characters appear quite
oblivious to the fact that they are
characters" and ought to illustrate
and advance . drama. They say only