New-York tribune., 1909-10-17
Gbe Nean'2Doak @ribmtIes
SUNDAY, OCTOBER II, 1909.

Nr HoWells has said of the novels of Mr.
james that they are Incompatible, mot so
much because there is nothing in contemporary
fiction to equal them, as because there is moth
ing at all like them" Mr. W. A Gill, who agrees
aith Mr. HOwells, has found a large number of
points of contact between Mr.. James and Mari
vaux the eighteenth century author of ia Vie
de Marianne and in the ''FOrtnightly" he tells
us all about them The parallel is plausible and
amusing. Both men stand for psychological
Interpretation of the individual rather than for
things broadly human" Mr.. James complains
that 't"l litiOnS as to what sort of affair good
novel i be- applied priOri, have already had
much to answer for arguing that "the idea
that the novel has TO translate the things that
surround us into conventional, traditional mOuldS
condemns the art to an eternal repetition of a
few familiar clicheS." His solution of the prob
lem is to trust absolutely to the dictates of his
own mind What does Marivaux say? Few
authors have left us an impression of their own
particular way of seeing the world. Swayed by
Some convention of taste, they do not move with
their own STEP but with borrowed gait His
advice to the novelist prefigures the counsel of
Mr.. James, G6GndORner son esprit son geSte
nGtUrel Obviously Mr. Gill is justified in speak
of the Frenchman as the Americans double.
But to prove that Mr.. James is a modern
MarivauX is not to confirm the validity of his
hypothesis of the art of fiction. Mr.. Gill recalls
the saying of SainteBeuve, that while the word
qndrirGRdGgc had come to cOnnOte a literary
vice, the man whose name supplied the epthet
was superior 10 its current meaning; but he also
quotes the remark of VOtaire that Marivaux
knew all the little paths of the heart, but not
the high road and occupied himself in weigh
ihg flies eggs in cObweb scales" That puts the
passion OF both authors for subtle distinctions
and endless nuGnCes" in a very different light,
and Mr. Gill; borrowing a phrase from Mr..
James. The childish horror of our set for the
JdHGI," is fain to admit that such a horror
carries with it San avenging limitation" An
authors faith in his own individuality may be
carried too far. ITO be only that in which one
is different from Others" says Mr.. Gill, "is to
lie less than ones self, and it is this curtailment
OF their universal nature which earns for both,
eometimes the epithet of 'nhuman.'" " Not only
"nhuman,' but petty which is, if possible,
worse is the word which rewards exploration of
the little paths of the heart rather than the
high road. The principle adopted by these psy-
chologueS is theoretically unimpeachable, but it
is apt to break down, inasmuch it falsifeS
the perspective of life. 4 man who devOteS him
self to the weighing of flies eggs in cObweb
Scales presently eXaggerates the Importance of
his function, we'll as the value of his ma
terial. He loses himself in the exercise of his
technique and uses the energy which might bet
ter 90 to the hewing of a statue in the carving
of Il cherry stone. The result may be a gem,
bat the artists who offer it to us with intense
pride in the individuality they have stamped
upon it pay cruel penalty.
In brief chapter of recollections of JOwett,
which Mr.. J. L. Powell contributes to 1.-The
1, IL.