Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-04

An American novelist has been
threatened with a damage suit Tor
libel because she included as one OF
the characters of her last novel the
real name of a living man of con-
siderable political prominence.
In England, the famous writer OF
history and fiction. II. G. Wells, has
done the same thing, in a three
volume novel he is now perpetrating'
Such men as Lloyd George. George
Bernard Shaw and Dean Inge. be-
sides several lesser stars of the living
generation, are made to appear IN
dialogue, discussing controversial
topics and live issues Of the day, IN
words they had never uttered, and
perhaps, as claimed. avowlng senti
ments they had never felt.
X X
The part which factual realism
legitimately plays in fine art will al
ways be a mooted question, and
modern inventions, like ''slow movies
and color photography. can only com
plicate the matter. What Is the prac
| tice of real persons as characters In
fiction but the introduction of real
ism in place of invention and sym
bolism? Is art chemistry or me
chanics?
Remarks a literary critic of expert
ence:
ITO insert real persons amidst f1c
tionaI characters is as unwarranteo
as for an artist to attach real jewelry
or dry goods to his canvas, as part OF
| the picture. A historical novel is no,
factual account of events; thai
| would be history but not a novel. A
historical novel seeks to depict the
atmosphere and tone of the age, anc
| uses real characters only SO far as
they contribute to that picture as g
whole. Shakespeare gave Antony his
speech over Caesars dead body, but
he gave it the. character Of eloquence
| which forwarded the plot of the play
not because Antony ever made such
a speech.
Modern fiction could safely do the
| like with living characters, provided
| it only fiattered them, but the writer
risks libel or the victims gun, and
| the only justification would be that
they were essential to the spirit OF
the story. Their being real persons
does not add nor detract from tina,
one test.
1T certainly cannot be argued,
continued the critic, that modern
| realism in using real persons ha!
ever SllIDjSSeu Tic IlLCIdIy IllcllI ~
the story Of The Prodigal Son. mol
of Esther The former is pure fic
tion-a parable of universal truth
the latter is historical short story
beautiful, not because Esther was {
real person, but because she was &
symbol or type Of a universal ideal o.
human struggle, loyalty and se1f-de
vOtiOn to a great cause"
In the line of another art-Sculp
ture-the press is RECALLED this weel
| by a story of a famous university
president, who. writing from Paris O
his visit to the Louvre in company
with a still more famous sculptor
quotes the sculptor as stating that il
his study of the Greek classic, 1.-The
Fighting Gladiator" he expects mod
ern sculptors to surpass it.
The sculptor said:
Il shall never forget the thrill
| felt as an artist when 1 saw the frs
| slow movie l saw a new era OF ar
| in 1t. AS / sat in the movins
picture theater that night I realized
| that a slow movie of that gladiator
| model could give me thousant
| Fighting Gladiators, where the Greel
sculptor could give me but one"
But that is not sculpture; it II
| rhythmic dancing. and that is not
new" is the comment of an artist.
X
The writer's who substitute Twin,
men for fiction characters, and tn,
sculptor who desires to analyze tn,
poses of an actual fighter oy mean
of "slow movie" are seeking real
ism. Certain Washington artists, VIII,
| refrain from being quoted. take ISSUE
/ with both the writer's and the sculpto
on the ground that slavishly factua
reproduction is as far from fine ar
as is anatomical dissection.
Such study of a slow movie, they
declare. is valuable to the art student
only as technical research, Just a. 4