The Washington times., 1901-09-01
Recent Fiction.

|
| berry Company. 80 cents.)
| Recent Fiction.
"Foma Gordyeeff," by Maxim Gorky. is
| a story by a new Russian author who is
announced as Tolstoy's successor. To the
| admirers of the latter this will probably
seem overestimation, but there is no ques-
tion that the work of Gorky is strongly
individual and brilliant A
The book is rather character study
than anything else, the principal char
acter the hero, being curious blending
of Cossack and Russian parentage. 1t is
permeated with the fatalistic pessimism
which is characteristic of nearly all Rus
sian literature. and which, unlike the
pessimism of the Occident, Is not so much
sign of decadence of individual
thought as a quality which seems to be in
grained in the whole people. Foma
Gordyeeff, far superior to the rest of his
kind in many ways, pure in natural char
acter and instinct, is nevertheless swept
into their vices and wrecked by dissipa-
ton simply through lack of any controH-
ing motive which makes It worth while"
to do anything else. He has no developed
and definite ideals; he has only instincts;
he is the sort of man who, If born an
American, would find his ideal life in
marriage and a home, or in a life work
of some sort; but he finds no work worth
doing; and marriage, as conventionaliy ar
ranged after the manner of his people, is
Tot worth having He is, in short, a soul
starved for lack of idealism and incapable
of discovering what the matter is. He is
an idealist cast into the midst of mate
rialism, and impressed, in every fibre of
n Will be
use for him to try to change the institu-
tons of society; he can only submit, and
in the submission his life is wrecked
1t is not pleasant story, but 1t gives
vivid picture of Russian life, and the So
cialist or the psychologist will find 1t es-
pecially well worth reading. The trans
~lator Is Isabel Florence Hapgood. (New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 81
The latest work of Hall Caine, which
bears the title of THE Eternal City is
certain to awaken a widespread interest
for three reasons, the first is the name
of the author; the second, the fact that
il is the story Of Samson retold in modern
form, Samson being an Italian revolution
list: the third, that the Pope is one of the
chief characters.
The Delilah of Gaines story is not an
the human interest of the book comes
from the fact that instead of being a de-
liberate tool of treachery, she is All un-
conscious one, more sinned against than
SHINING The reasons of the author for
making this change in the spirit of tho
story which he admits to be reproduced
from the Biblical narrative are that no
human being is wholly evil, and that re-
alism demands that there should be a
human and lovable side TO this Delilah.
Moreover though this he does not state
1t would be rather hard to make a hero
Inc out of a thorough traitress, and the
artistic unities demand that there should
be female character of equal Importance
with the hero, and that she shall have, at
least to some extent, the sympathy of
the reader. But there is a reason above
and beyond this. There is subtle ten
dency in modern thought toward the con-
ception of human life as less Independent
and more controlled by circumstances
than the thought of half a century since
conceived it to be. The old-time novelist
made his william willful; the modern story
teller sometimes insinuates that more
harm is done by unconscious mistakes
than by anything else. In short, the in
life of today. in reaction from
the individualistic theories of the last
generation, is tending toward fatalism,
and IL is fatalism of peculiar and Occi- |
dental kind. More than one novelist has.
consciously or unconsciously, pointed
out the fact that good intentions often
bring about the worst results, and that
those most earnest to do good are in
reality the authors of more suffering and |
evil than they prevent. The thought of
= na Sc rl mol of
force; toward the idea that the only real |
crime is weakness, and that 1t is better |
to do something well than to refrain from |
strong effort because of conscientious |
scruples. 1t may be that this tendency |
has affected Mr.. Caine, for he certainly |
shows the effect of 1T more clearly in |
this story than in any OF his former |
books. Ills heroine is. because of her |
very goodness ana unselfish devotion, |
almost helpless toy in the hands of her |
husbands enemies; the hero's ideals are |
to him more or less a stumbling block, |
and his love finally wrecks-his happiness. |
1t is story only saved from blank pes
simsm by its ending: and 1t is a ques- |
tion whether the story is not weakened |
by ending as IL does, and by the mixture |
of motives in the heroine.
From an artistic point of view the |
finest creation in it is the character of |
the Pope: and the Catholic element in |
the move! is managed with supreme skill. |
There is a noticeable blemish in the |
style, which is at times annoying; it is |
the tendency of the author TO use COLO |
quail contractions, not only in the |
dialogue, but in the text. 1t detracts |
from the dignity of the narrative To md |
at the height OF a climax sentence like |
this:
She couldn't breathe; her heart
was beating cruelty
A mannerism like this, when repeated |
as constantly as it is in this book. is a |
somewhat serious defect. tNew York: |
d. Appleton K Co. Sl.5o)
Tales of the Cloister," by Elizabeth |