New-York tribune., 1890-03-30
DIR. HOLMES ON REALISM.
"SwANIP, MALARIOUS, ILL-SMELLING." ="

From over the Teacups' in the April Atlantic.
We got talking the subject of realism, of which so
much mas been said of late
1t seems to me- said, that the great additions which
have made by realism to the territory O literature
consist largely IN a swampy, maiarious, III nismelIlhs
patches of soil which had previously been left to
tiles and vcrmn. 1T perfectly easy u be original
hy violating the laws OF decency and the canons of
good The general consent OF clVlnzeh people
was supposed to have banshcd certain subjects from
the conversation of wellbred people and the page OK
rcspectabe literature There i no subject, ol htus
any which may not be treated of at the proper tme
the place. by tine PsoE the qr noe hs or @ he
story teller invadcs the province OF the man OF sceo
he dangerous ground need say nothing OF the
blunders lie Is pretty make. The imaginative
writer after effects The scientific man IS after truth
science Is decent modest does not try to siarte but 10
instruct. The and objects when outrage
every sense Of delcacy in The story teler's highly
coorcd paragraphs be read without giving offence
in the chase language OF the physlologst OF the phS
There i, very celebrated novel Madame Bovary,'
the work OF NJ. Fiaubert which is noted for having
been the subject of prosecution as an imTnorai work
That it. has serious 10 h 'son mere re II the no e int the
honey of sensuOs description Is spread So deeply over
readers never think Of its holding anything else.
Al the Phase Of "nhlCwed rD, passion wt94 ibs Are
book is bought ana read for, by the great majority Of
It's purchasers all but smpletons very well know
Of justice This book is fanou, for its realism
In fact 1t is recognized a. one of the earliest and
most brilliant examples Of that modern modern style 9f
attempted to do for literature what the photograph
has done For those who take the Trouble
to drink ont of the below the rim of honey there
where realism is carried 10 its extrcme-sur
passed In horror by no writer unless IL De the one one
whose name must be looked for AT the bottom OF the
! alphabet aS If It's natural place wer' a, low down
/ in the drcg, Of realism a. II could find Itself rms
! is the death-bcd scene where Madame 'oVary cN
prcs In commissions. The author must have visited
the hospitals for the purpose of watching the terrible
agOnios he was to depict, trfihplhE from one Den 10
another until he reached the where the cries and
conoron, the most frishfu. such scene he
! has reproduced No hospital physician would have
/ pictured the struggle I'm such color, In the same
way that other realis NJ lola. ha, painted patient
suffering from dcl rum rcmen- the disease known To
common speech $ the horrors In describing tnS
case he dge AZ at ang"ag, can do to make IL more
but supcrreasm, If such term does not contradict
| itself
In this matter Of the literal reproduction Of sights
and which natural instinct and our better
Informed taSt" and Judgment teach II, 70 avoid art a,
been far in advance of literature II is three hundred
wears since Joseph Rihcra. more commonly known as
spaenolctto was born in the province oi Valencia IN
| spain. We had the misfortune OF seeing painting OF
| his in collection belonging 10 one Of the French
| princes. and exhibited IN public GALLERY. II was
! that Of a man performing upon himself the opera
persons who looked upon thl, revolving picture viii
never get rid o it, remembrance. and viii rcsret the
the offence of the painter II ! ventured TO describe
it. Ribcra wa, fond Of depcting iust such odions
on his srdiron saint >c' astan full Of arrows v r.
equally "A source Of delight 10 him Even in subje ts
which had no such elements Of horror he finds the
materials FOR the decctaton OF his ferocou, pencil
he makes mp for the defect by rendering with a
BRUTAL realism dcformlty and ugne-s.7
'rc hr.t great mistake made br the ultra realI-t
like, FL.nhcrt and lola is as have said their gnor-
INK The line of distinction between masinatve art
| and science. We can lind realism enough in hooks
9f anatomy snrgery ana medicine IN st.dyng VIZ, tne ne
natural integumcns. II is well for the artist to sud
ae sn H c Apdo m s or h vnaT o Sv 9 T hr @'
| behind then. when they 70 INTO the gallery for ex
| hlhiion Lancisi'- figures show Us how the great
statues look when dlvesed Of their natural covering
Il Is Instructive. but useful chiefly n, m ans 10 AID
In thc true artistic reproduction OF nature. When the
/ novelist. should
.omc,ng from the physician as well b from s tse
never high tini- and -r-tian lights to aston,h
locker on. such scenes a. Flanbert and Zolt
d,srrIbc would be- Reproduced in their essential char
| That is the first stumbling blo,h IN the way
those To which have referred. There are subjects
| which must be investigated hy scientific men which
| about When y realistic writer Ike zoa surprises
his rrdcr into Kind of knowledge he never thought
Of wishing for he sometimes harms him more than hc
has any idea Of doing. Ne wants to produce sensa
tion. and be leaves permanent disgust not TO he soi
| rid of. Who does not remember odou> images that
never De washed out from the consciousness which
reicntvc Of evil words and the images they present
cling e. his memory and viii NOT lose their hold. one
who has had the mischance 20 soil his mind By reading
certain poems of swift VIII never cleanse u TO lt'
oricinal whiten",s fNpre. .ions and thoughts of
and In some degree affect The hu' Of every idea that
passes through the dlscolorcd tissues.
This (, the gravc,t accusation o bring against real
Sparnolctto IN the unccan revelations Of zola
| description
The hyccnc specialist The painful fact, Of disease to
he physician the details Of the laundry to the washer
woman. n we ar, 10 have realism In II, tedious
dc-cr ptons u unlmportani particulars let i be of
rilculars which do not excite desn~ Such is the
description of the vegetables In Zolas "Ncntrc de
Paris" whore. II one wishes TO the apotheosis Of
turnips. hrcts and cahhaecs. he can find them glor
many dcltic, their forms. their coors. their expires
sion. worked npon until they seem as II they were
boiled ard eaten.
/ am pleased to ind French critic
many of nv own entirely coincide The
great mistake Of The realsts" he says. Is that they
profess 10 tell the truth because they tell everything
rhi, pncrilc hunting after details this cold and cynical
| Inventory Of all the wrctchcd conditions I'm the midst
n % ~" NJ 70 poor unGerfand il letter but ON % the "a" con "
rrv the effect the spectators IS kind of dazrIed
material ruthfi,ncss 10 which the school OF NJ Fau-
bert moro esrecl!lly prctends misses rs aim going
| return 10 my thoughts on the relations Of i'm
as9@t,vc art In AL AL IT, forms m ~, win ,Gsnee The
Is handled dcrorously- -rcvcrcnty. We might almost
say becomes rcpusivc. shameful. ara dchaeing in
the unscrupuous nanpnlations of the ov-l red man
I confess that am little Jealous OF certain
tendencies in own American literature which led
Of scvcrst and out spoken of ,atrical
fellow countrVmcn. no longer living tO be called la
account for H. 10 say. in moment of bitterness. that
the mission Of America to yugarirc ,naniind.
myself have sometimes wondered at the pleasure some
awless freaks Of New World literature. | have aues.
toned whether their delight was not like that Of the
~paftAnS III the mites pi tlVIr Hcot>. Bnt
| suppose belong 10 another agc and must not at
tempt 10 judge the present by my old fashioned
| standards.
The company listened c.villy to these remarks
whether they agreed with them not | am not
sure that want All the Young Pc pplc 10 think lust
as do In matters Of critical judgment. New wine
docs not go wen into old bottles. but If old casl
has hcld GOOD wine II may improve "A crude Juice to
stand awhile upon the lees OF what IL was once filed
with.
| SMALL BOYS ESSAY on BREATHING
From Medical Classics
h.rn