The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1921-04-28
DEVELOPMENT OF
THE MODERN NOVEL

l. Il = -
Before the Faculty Club and num-
Der Of visiting citizens of Valley City
Wednesday evening, April Is, Mrs.
Mary Patton, Dean of Women, read
the following paper on the Develop
ment of the Modern Novel," During
the program DR.. G. L. Kjerstad read
a paper on Henry James and Secre-
tary C. A.. Lee, one on William Dean
Howells. Their papers will be pub
lished each in it's, turn.
When Washington Irving wrote his
History of New York, he started with
the creation; John Adams in writing
the History of Political Parties in the
United States began with human ma.
ture. and some of the historians OF
the modern novel go back for it's foun..
dation almost to the beginnings OF
written language, but / promise you
that this paper will not be so COM
prehensive.
It may be fascinating to speculate
as to why the ancients who could
draw such picture as for instance,
Helen pointing out to old King Prlam
and his Trojan heroes from their look
out over the Scion gates, the Greek
leaders. her former friends and coun-
trvmen. and in the midst of such a
critical state of affairs, these old
heroes. influenced by her beauty,
glaring at each other as much as 70
Saw. "She's worth it ALL" orwho could
produce such scene as Hector,s part,
ing with Andromache, an episode nlieo
with the most human touches, why
thew could not have woven real STORY
about these characters; or why love
story that has lived through the cen.
turies-such a love story as that OF
Queen Dido-was not made the centre
Of a romantic theme instead OF an
episode in an epic; or why it did not
occur to Livy who so graphically. de-
scribed Hannibal's crossing the Alps
and descent into Italy, to use these
historic events as the setting OF a MS
torical romance, but we shall resist
Neither shall we try to trace, in any
detail. the influence on the building
If the novel of the Italian and French
fiction that the Renaissance brought
in a great abundance into England
nor of the character books so num-
erous in the 18th century which gave
graphic pen pictures OF soldler' a
scullion. a scholar, milkmald, or
any other representative OF society tne
writer chose to paint, which together
wrought out the main elements OF the
novel. viz: the love theme. the PIC
tnres of different classes of society:
the delineation of character, the use OF
conversation, the presentation OF
scenic background, and "assembled
+hen; for the use Of the master hand"
In spite of the fact that some OF inc
most learned writer's OF literary MS,
tory declare that the idea OF the mover
arising so late as the 18th or 18TH Gen. !,
tury IS unnatural and Ilnhlstorlcai,
the 18th century is just the time wnen
we shall assume it had it's beginning
We shall even pass by the lowly mend
er of pots and pans, the record Oh
whose vision in the Bedford Jail has
been more widely read, it is said, than
any other book except the Bible. You
nav call the record of this vision, this
great allegory, this great symbolical
picture of the struggling soul OF Eu,
manity, the Pilgrims Progress, ;'cvei
if YOU will, and you will be in GOOD
company. We will even acknowledge
that it has four requisites of the novel;
viz. Mot. character, description and
dialoeue;s but the Life and Death OF
Mr.. Badman which Bunyan wrote
a little later comes more nearly being
a novel in it's investigation OF the
nroblems Of life and character mot
AZ thew might be but as they are"
and had the author not written the
hook as a religious tract 1T mlgnt
be ranked as the first English novel:
Perhaps if we are not to recognize
Mr. Bunyan as a novelist we should
define what is meant by novel. "A
pretty fair dictionary definition is as
follows: "a novel is fictitious prose
narrative tale, involving some plot OF
more or less intricacy, and aiming TO
nresent a picture of real life in the
historical period and society to when
the persons, manners ana modes u
speech as we'll as the scenery ana sur III
roundings are supposed to belong.
Mr.. Phelps, one of the most attrac.
tive writer's on the subject, says that
if he were forced to make deflnltl {,
he would say that the novel was =" e
good story well told" But such den.
nition would, / fear, exclude many OF
the .best sellers for the past twenty
years.
distinction between the words "ro-
nance" and "novel." One writer IN
making this distinction says that a 70, :.
nance is story in which "the chief
interest lies, not in the characters but
in the events" while III the novel the
principal stress falls not on the sue
cession of events, but on the develop
ment Of character" and again, "the
novel is a picture Of real life and
manners, and Of the times in which
it is written, the>romance. in lofty and
elevated language describes what
never happened nor is likely to hap
pen" To most of us it does not mat,
ter whether it be romance or novel.
We apply the term. novel. as the gen
eral public does, though rather loosely
perhaps, to any work Of prose fiction
and are thankful for this most demo-
cratic form of literature. easily adapt
able to "minds of high, low and no
intelligence.
read an article in the Independent.
I believe it was, the other day, IN
80, II kho$ - or