The Washington times., 1922-04-09

Us0A oSVoA oAn8 S~s>s~
Dickens was capable. the world.
, In its unconscious sslf-dsfense, was
In q difficuity. 1t was obviously
difficult to maintain that the
author Of the account Of the
.Dinsley Bell Cricket Match" was
an unsmiling and glum figure like
Dante! II was very difficult TO
maintain that the author OF "A
Christmas CArol' was . maniac or
misanthrope hating all mankind
Therefore. the existence Of that
hypocriticai spirit IN society. which
always seeks to protect Itself. con-
sciously and unconsciously. tended
toward another explanation. 1t
created and fixed permanently the
opinion which says that Dickens
was only Q caricaturist: be made
an absolutely unreal world. fan
tassic and fascinating. indeed. but
unlike the world in which we live
he was an inventor of goblins and
elvea and FAIRIES! Ft
In other words, all Dickens
criticisms were, to some extent.
biunted by the theory that any
thing he said was to be taken as a
kind OF glorious and amusing lie.
In defining that theory. it IL well
on our side to maintain measure
and common sense. A. Sir Thomas
More said: Newer was the beretic
yet who spoke all false" and there
10 In that criticism an element OF
truth. as in the other criticisms
directed against other reformers-
It In perfectly true. for that mat
ter. that Dante was man Of gium
temperament. II 10 perfectly true
that Swift was a man OF morbid
sensibiiity. and Of terrible trend
toward depression. And It. 10 per-
fectly true that Dickens's type Of
art, his mode OF expressing him
self. was of the fantastic sort; that
his literary style was exhuberaN
rather than restrained.
WAS ALWAYS TRUTHFUL
But what people always leave
out In those rouEh-and-ready esti-
mates of this great man was a
small. not unimportant thing
called truth itselfp'
The things that Swift said about
government. about law. about the
great, about the weak society OF
his day. then at the height Of it's
giory--the things he said were in
deed said by bitter and morbid.
even an insane man. But the
things he said happened to be most
of them true. The criticism which
he made of the early eighteenth
century and that corrupt oligarchy
which has left so many OF its evils
behind II. were. in themselves
viriie and noble criticisms Of an
evil state of society.
In the same way. It is perfectly
true that Dickens had running
through his whole work an indis-
tinct element OF exaggcration. but
that exsggeration is itself exag-
gerated. He exaggerated in the
same fashion that all poets and
artists Of a certain flamboyant
type always do emphasize or over
emphasize certain things. He ex-
aggerated In literature as Turner.
for instance. exaggerated In paint
ing-another great Engiishman
full of very much the same kind Of
highly colored energy and imagi-
nation.
You all know the old story about
Turner and the realistic critic II
is a chestnut, but II is the business
of these solemn occasions to repeat
stories for the thousandth time;
the story OF the man who, when
Turner was painting a sunset. said
TO him:
TT is all very well, Mr.. Turner,
but / never saw sunset Ike
thatP'
And Turner said:
Don't you wish you oould7"
That story above quoted is en-
bodyins the case against realism.
but, as q matter of fact. II en-
bodies somsthins else a. we'll. It
10 not only an argument asainst
reaiisr-, but II IL the real proper
restraint upon imagination. Turn
or recognised that while an artist
may make up somsthinG that docs
not exist in ths real world, II II
his business 10 make up somothinG
that tho human spirit desires TO
imagine.
ARTIST MUST PLEASE.
In other wfrds. simple and hack.
ncyed as the form, is, II Ia not only
the business Of the artist 10 Gre
sts. but also 10 please II you cou-
slider the large amount Of modern
realistic and Psychological fistion,
just ns II you co. yidsr the vsry
large amount o modern art,