Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-05-18
THE PROFESSIONAL CLUB.
"The Novel of the Twentieth
Century"

G. II. Davenport was the essayist at the
annual Ladies' night meeting of the
Professional club, held at the Brooks
House Monday evening A company of
between 80 and 40 had supper together
and afterward listened to the paper, the
theme of which was "The Novel of the
10Th century," "Will there be any novel
in the Goth century?' and "What is
novel anyway?' were the two questions
with which the writer opened his essay.
In this intensely unitarian age, with It's
achievements in science and invention
which surpass the widest dreams of fancy,
| its universal social ferment, and its ire
mendous realities to be grappled with, it
might seem that no place would be left for
Imaginative literature. 1t will be found,
however, that the development of the
novel has been coincident with and nee
essary part of the progress of the age.
! The teaching of the ages, the growth OF
! literature, the interior history of the
worlds greatest minds, and the structure
and development of the human mind it.
self, alike show how universal and how
vital is the craving for the imaginative and
the unreal, and what an important part it
has played in religion, in politics, in
science, and in every department of hui
man achievement. Especially is this true of
the century now closing and of the time
in which we live, when novel-reading is no
longer regarded a sin or blighting mental
dissipation, and when it is fact, steadily
securing broader recognition, that the nov
elst has come to hold the place before held
by the preacher, the dramatist, the essay
list and the poet, potent force in molding
thought, and playing every day more i'm
portant part in the intellectual life of
Christendom, and for which the increasing
compleXity of our civilization steadily
widens the opportunity and the need. We
may be very sure, therefore, that the novel
will endure into the 10th and the 10Th cen
turtles. 1t is a needed part of healthful
and well-rounded education, not only for
the great characters of the world, but for
us of more common clay. Without it
there would be danger of our ending
where Darwin did when. after his lifelong
devotion to hard and minute study of ma
terial facts, he confessed that his finer
qualities were so warped that strain of
music a verse of poetry, or flash of i'm
agery caused him actual pain.
In answer to his second question the es-
sayist defined novel as a work OF art, as
painting and sculpture and architecture
and music are arts, and quoted approving
ly the words of Charles Reade, at is the
!
The novelist must do much more than any
other artist. To the figure wrought by the
sculptor he must give the tint of flesh and
blood, he must endow it with life, group
it with other figures similarly created, and
besides giving to them all actual human
eXisten e must 90 deeper and reveal the
mechanism and laws of inner life From
this point the writer entered upon an eN-
haustive study of the origin of the novel
in the imaginative literature of ancient
times and showed the characteristics,
/, schools and forms which have marked its
! development down to the present time,
and more particularly as it has been seen
: among French, Russian, German, Norwe-
! gian and English writers. rapid but
comprehensive glance was also given at
the individual work of the greatest novel
: lists, accompanied by apt and illuminating
T. characterization of the style, purpose and
achievement of each. From all this the
conclusion was reached that there has
been, not only steady growth in literary
n quality and artistic finish, but an increase
of moral force, an animating purpose tC
G work for the uplifting of human kind.
- In the American novel the writer founC
the composite type and representative o
Q all the other national schools of fiction
!, and destined to surpass them all when thu
assimilatve process is complete. Tit
novel of the 10th century will therefore be
3 first American, for since the passing ava.
u of the great English masters of the las
observation-disclosures Bulwer, ThaCkeray
, and George Eliot-the American novelist
Il will rank at least equally with those o
j England. We have had in Cooper
: Misunderstanding Tales the great American
} epic, as Julian Hawthorne styles it; from
IS Mrs. Stowe in Uncle Toms Cabin al
X epoch-making production; from the alem
bic of Hawthorne's genius the subtle es
d sence of poetry extracted from old New
r England provincial life and stepped in tn
n finest hues of Imagination in a series o
# works that will rank with the world
II masterpieces; and from Irving, Longfelloy
r. and Poe romances that will hardly fall be
r low the first rank. Bret Harte, Gable
e Mary wilkins, with her delicate tracer
e of New England life, even in its hardes
it and barrenest conditions Rose TER
1, Cooke, Joel Chandler Harris, Charles Eg
e bert Craddock and others, were mentone
among the list of living Americans who's
J. work has a permanent and individua
ar character. In place of the old ideals
N each useful in its time and place, there
S coming in the American ideal of TN
r brotherhood of man as well as of the ia
10 therhOod OF God, the Ideal towards Whlc
V. Tennyson reached when he sang of tn
r federation of nations in Locksley Hall.
es The novel of the 10th century will b
lie pure without prudery. If the purpose /
w righteous, if the truth be told, no harl
~ can come from any picture of life, 1t
il the false coloring, the preservation of til
tn gliding and rouge thai cover wickedness an
MS vice that make the Immoral novel" tn
III 2Oth century novel will be purpose move
40 That purpose may be to right great s.
ay cia or political wrongs, to illuminate grei
rs historical eras, to restore images of tim
as long past, or to reconstruct from the fac
in of history, like fossil bones, an era lor
IT, dead and people it with living figure
ay The field for the purpose novel is as wit
lis as human interest or the need for humi
enlightenment and human betterment; b