The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-13

The eVer-reCurrlnR reference on the
part OF the book reviewers to the great
American novel; that is to be leads Mr.
Ezra S. Brudno to consider the general
subject of the national novel, His find
ing is that while in limited sense GER
tain novels are peculiarly national, mo
novel is national in the sense mat our
critics are apt to use when speaking OF
the American novel-a sort of gigantic
creation. the embodiment of everything
American" Among novels that are, in
the limited sense, national he names
Dead sous; Go o',ss. 2 It IN IN
Russian novelist Gogol; '.Foma Gordy-
en-" by Maxim Gorky; and most of
Turgenefs and Dostoyevsky's novels =
In French literature, he says, we must
go to George Sand, and in a few in
stances to BalZac, to find French nov
els" The features that make novels
national, in the limited sense of which
he speaks, are '.only such characters
tics in a people that no other people
possess. or a national problem that
finds expression in fiction" Hence the
novel can only be national to the ex-
tent that the people are national Mr..
Brudno proceeds from this statement to
compare the novelists of Russia, the
most national of European nations,
with the novelists of America, which,
las compared with other nations, is
cosmopolitan" Following this compar-
ison. We read Gin The Bookman) as fol-
lows:
THE representative novelists of Rus
STA are Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Turgenef.
and TOlstoy; Maxim Gorky may per-
haps be added as the latest exponent.
1t Ia more difficult, however, to name
American representative nOvelists- Not
so much because of their dlsparag1ns
inferiority by the side of the Russians,
but because of their unsustained art as
masters of fiction; like unsteady lights
they come out twinkling, then grow
dim. and for a minute flicker again
With the exception of Hawthorne there
is no American novelist who could be
decorously entitled representative. In
the case of the Russians l nave men
toned, each of. them stands for a as
tinct feature in the art of fiction; but
no American, with the one exception
named. has followed up definite phase
of fiction. However, for the purpose OF
drawing q parallel to the q q{tntb S,aSs'
James, and Howells; and as g. seton
against Gorly add James Lane Allen, |
who is most likely to stand aloor as an
American representative OF the nheI
art in fiction.
Russia has ever been veXed with /
live issues, most serious problems the |
issues and problems were OF a nature
that concerned her alones they were
national troubles. With the dawning |
of civilization Russia began to OBJ
serve, to feel, to queStion-that is, the
mighty nation needed Interpreters, so
the feeling of the people found ex-
preston through her gifted sons
Gogol was the product of his time
The evil OF serfdom was then at Its
had not yet advanced far enough to
hide its corruption to the extent 1t
does now. So Gogols genius, or rather
the voice of the people that echoed
through him, exposed the evil of slav-
cry and corruption by his brilliant
satire-in the character of Tchitchi-
koffln in Dead Souls; then came the
'Revizor, or the Government 1nspec-
tor a satiricaI drama SO distinctly
Russian that readers who are not
thoroughly familiar with the Russian
people and Russian government can
neither appreciate nor understand 1t.
Later came Dostoyevsky and Turgenef.
They were the spokesman of the sec
ond half of the last century. Nihilism
and culture were the chief problems
then, so we find their canvas filled
with pictures of Nihilism and culture.
Tolstoy, however, addresses a larger
audience; although he speaks from
loud enough for the benefit of those
who do not stand near enough. Hence
his tone frequently rings cosmopoli-
tan And the very last, Maxim Gorky,
possessing the virility well as the
courage of DOstoyvesky, with a heart
beating for his enslaved people adds
new chapters to the Russian novel.
America, on the other hand, has
never had issues or problems such as
concern her alone; her problems and
issues are simply human problems, hui
man issues. The only great national
problem was that of slavery. 1t then
found expression through Uncle
Toms Cabin AS soon as this problem
was solved there was no more need
for Mrs. Stoves prophecy, and her
voice as an interpreter of life was
hushed. Since then there were no ma
donal problems-that is, the problems
We term national are universal; there
is nothing in the national life of this
country that must needs give express
sion through novels. The trust prob
lem and that of capital and labor are
universal problems. human problems; ,
Of fat rio !
toward an aristocracy is not serious
enough to give vent to genius as an I
of this apery; should it be-
come threatening an American GogoI
md an abundance of artistic express | )
sion, romantic vision, and f1awless pur- !
ity of style. but not the writer of the
novel He is only American
II had almost said New English in I I
atmosphere. the rest is COSMOPOLITAN
The Scarlet Letter is not an Ameri- :
can novel; il only has American back =
ground; but background alone does 8
not make a novel national. OF Cooper {
there is little to say. for, after all. he
Is merely an extravaganza, belonging
nowhere. Henry James is an avowed
cosmopolitan. Howells has for almost
half a century made a valiant effort TO
do for American literature what Tur-
genef did for Russian, but alasi all he v
has accomplished is an ACQUISITION of
the Russian masters buoyancy, but as
10 richness of color. depth. the ro-
.n1nuc expression OF youth, artistic
anish, the American dean is still a L il
mere pupil who has much to learn I O
However. as I have said, the fault is h
not in Mr.. Howells. it is in the Ameri- t
IAN people. Mr. Howells has inde- h
'atgably tried to write the American S
novel, but he sadly missed the point
hat the American novel can not be S
written. And where Mr.. Howells has S
allied James Lane Allen has succeed
ID: perhaps because he never aimed at
he American novel II Mr.. Allen had
written The Kentucky Cardinal only. ]
Without writing another line, his claim I
o a seat among the great would have S
,een warranted The reason of his