Aspects of the Novel

by E. M. Forster

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Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775–1817) was an English novelist known for her influential portrayals of the British middle class, which are pivotal in the evolution of the modern novel. Her most famous works include Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), and Persuasion (1817). Forster highlights that all characters in Austen's novels, using examples from Emma and Persuasion, are "round."

Sir Max Beerbohm

Sir Max Beerbohm (1872–1956) was a British journalist renowned for his clever caricatures of the fashionable society of his era. His notable works include The Works of Max Beerbohm; Caricatures of Twenty-Five Gentlemen (both published in 1896), The Happy Hypocrite (1897), a whimsical fable, and Seven Men (1919), a collection of short stories. Forster examines Beerbohm’s sole novel, Zuleika Dobson, a satire on Oxford University student life, as an intricate use of fantasy.

Arnold Bennett

Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) was a British novelist, critic, essayist, and playwright. His major works include a series of novels set in his homeland, known as the "five towns," now consolidated into Stoke-on-Trent. The "Five Towns" novels encompass Anna of the Five Towns (1902), The Old Wives’ Tale (1908), Clayhanger (1910), Hilda Lessways (1911), These Twain (1916), and The Clayhanger Family (1925). Forster uses The Old Wives’ Tale as an example of a novel where time is the "real hero," though he finds the ending "unsatisfactory," causing it to "miss greatness."

Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë (1816–1855), the sister of Emily Brontë, was a prominent British novelist of the Victorian era, best known for her masterpiece Jane Eyre (1847). Her other notable works include Shirley (1849) and Villette (1853). Forster cites Villette as an example where the narrative voice's inconsistency affects the plot.

Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë (1818–1848), Charlotte Brontë's sister, was a British author whose sole novel, Wuthering Heights (1847), is often regarded as superior to any of her sister’s works. Forster describes Emily Brontë as a "prophetess" in a literary sense, noting that while Wuthering Heights does not reference mythology and is detached from the "Universals of Heaven and Hell," its prophetic quality derives from "what is implied" rather than stated explicitly.

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) was an English novelist and journalist, famous for his novels Robinson Crusoe (1719–1722) and Moll Flanders (1722). Forster discusses Moll Flanders as an example where the plot and story serve the main character. He notes that "what interested Defoe was the heroine, and the form of his book proceeds naturally out of her character."

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) is often hailed as the greatest English novelist of the Victorian era. His enduring classics include A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist (1837–1839), David Copperfield (1849–1850), Bleak House (1852–1853), A Tale of Two Cities (1859), Great Expectations (1860–1861), and Our Mutual Friend (1864–1865). Dickens originally published his novels in serial form, spanning several years. Forster notes that most of Dickens' characters are "flat" and can be summarized in a single sentence. However, he argues that these characters evoke "a wonderful feeling of human depth," showcasing Dickens' "vision of humanity that is not shallow." Forster discusses narrative point-of-view using Bleak House as an example, where the narrative perspective shifts inconsistently yet does not alienate the reader, thanks to Dickens' stylistic prowess.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1882; also spelled Dostoevski) was a nineteenth-century Russian writer, renowned as one of the greatest novelists of all time. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1868–1869), The Possessed (1872), The Brothers Karamazov (1879–1880), and the novella Notes from the Underground (1864). Forster, in his discussion of prophecy, compares a passage...

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fromThe Brothers Karamazov with one from a George Eliot novel, concluding that Dostoevsky's work resonates with the prophetic voice of the novelist.

Norman Douglas

Norman Douglas (1868–1952) was an Austrian writer of Scottish-German descent who traveled extensively in India, Italy, and North Africa. Most of his works are set on the island of Capri in southern Italy. Known for his conversational prose style, his notable works include the novels Siren Land (1911), South Wind (1917), Old Calabria (1915), and the autobiography Looking Back (1933). Forster mentions Douglas in a discussion about character, quoting an open letter Douglas wrote to D. H. Lawrence, criticizing Lawrence for his undeveloped characters.

George Eliot

George Eliot (pseudonym of Mary Ann, or Marian, Evans; 1819–1880) was an English novelist celebrated for the realism in her novels. Her best-known works include Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), and her masterpiece, Middlemarch (1871–1872). Forster, in his discussion of prophecy, compares a passage from Adam Bede with one from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, concluding that while both express a Christian vision, Dostoevsky's is prophetic, whereas Eliot's is merely preachy.

Henry Fielding

Henry Fielding (1701–1754) was a British author, regarded as one of the pioneers of the English novel. His most notable works include the novels Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749). Forster cites Fielding as a novelist adept at creating "round" characters. However, when discussing point of view, Forster criticizes Fielding for his intrusive narrative style, comparing it to "bar-room chattiness" that undermines the narrative tension. In discussing fantasy, Forster references Joseph Andrews as an "abortive" attempt at parody. He explains that Fielding began with the intention of parodying Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela, but ended up crafting an original work through the development of his own "round" characters.

Anatole France

Anatole France (1884–1924) was a French novelist and critic who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1921. In discussing narrative structure, Forster describes France’s novel Thaïs (1890) as having a structure resembling an hourglass.

David Garnett

David Garnett (1892–1981) was a British novelist renowned for his satirical tales, such as Lady into Fox (1922) and A Man in the Zoo (1924). He also authored several works based on his connections with the Bloomsbury Group, including The Golden Echo (1953), The Flowers of the Forest (1955), The Familiar Faces (1962), and Great Friends: Portraits of Seventeen Writers (1980). Additionally, he edited a 1938 edition of The Letters of T. E. Lawrence (1938). Forster discusses Lady into Fox, a story where a woman transforms into a fox, as an example of the fantastic in literature.

André Gide

André Gide (1869–1951) was a French writer awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1947, best known today for his novel L’Immoraliste (1902; The Immoralist). In discussing plot, Forster examines Gide’s Les Faux monnayeurs as a novel where the narrative is entirely driven by the main character, resulting in almost no plot.

Oliver Goldsmith

Oliver Goldsmith (1730–1774) was an English novelist, essayist, and playwright known for major works such as the novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), the essay collection The Citizen of the World, or Letters from a Chinese Philosopher (1762), the poem The Deserted Village (1770), and the play She Stoops to Conquer (1773). In discussing plot, Forster describes The Vicar of Wakefield as a novel where the ending is crafted at the expense of the story and characters. Forster refers to Goldsmith as "a lightweight," noting that in The Vicar of Wakefield, as in many novels, the plot is "clever and fresh" at the beginning but becomes "wooden and imbecile" by the end.

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) was an English novelist and poet whose key works include the novels Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895). In discussing plot, Forster characterizes Hardy as a novelist whose plots are so meticulously structured that the characters appear lifeless.

Henry James

Henry James (1843–1916) was an American-born novelist who spent much of his adult life in England. His works often explore the tension between American individualism and European tradition. Some of his major novels include Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), Washington Square (1881), The Bostonians (1886), The Wings of a Dove (1902), and The Ambassadors (1903). Forster notes that The Ambassadors is structured with an hourglass pattern, emphasizing symmetry over character development.

James Joyce

James Joyce (1882–1941) was an Irish novelist best known for his groundbreaking works A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), Ulysses (1922), and Finnegans Wake (1939), as well as the short story collection Dubliners (1914). Forster describes Ulysses as a modern adaptation of the Odyssey and calls it "perhaps the most remarkable literary experiment of our time." However, he also criticizes it for lacking the element of prophecy, which he believes diminishes its success as a novel.

D. H. Lawrence

D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) was an English novelist known for works such as Sons and Lovers (1913), Women in Love (1920), and the controversial Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928). Forster praises Lawrence as "the only prophetic novelist writing today," using Women in Love as an example to highlight Lawrence’s unique narrative style.

Percy Lubbock

Percy Lubbock was an influential author and critic whose book The Craft of Fiction (1921) advanced the theoretical study of the novel. Forster references Lubbock’s assertion that point of view is crucial to characterization. He also discusses Lubbock’s Roman Pictures, a comedy of manners, noting that its chain-like narrative pattern complements the mood of the story, contributing to its success.

Herman Melville

Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist best known for his masterpiece Moby Dick (1851), which is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written. Forster describes Melville as a deeply prophetic writer, citing examples from both Moby Dick and the short story "Billy Budd."

George Meredith

George Meredith (1828–1929) was an English novelist and poet renowned for his advocacy of women’s equality and his skill with internal monologue. His influence was significant among early twentieth-century novelists. Meredith’s major works include The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859), Evan Harrington (1860), The Adventures of Harry Richmond (1871), Beauchamp’s Career (1876), The Egoist (1879), and Diana of the Crossways (1885). Forster acknowledges that, although Meredith’s literary prominence has waned, he remains a master of plot, as demonstrated in Harry Richmond and Beauchamp’s Career.

Marcel Proust

Marcel Proust (1881–1922) was a French author best known for his seven-volume, semiautobiographical novel, À la recherche du temps perdu (1913–27; Remembrance of Things Past). When Forster delivered his lectures, the final volume of this work had yet to be released. Discussing character, Forster cites Proust as an example of a writer who uses "flat" characters to highlight the "round" ones. In his analysis of rhythm in novels, Forster commends Proust's work as an example of a narrative that, despite its chaotic structure, is unified by rhythm, akin to a musical motif.

Samuel Richardson

Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) was an English novelist who pioneered the epistolary novel, where the story unfolds through a series of letters between characters. His key works include Pamela (1740) and Clarissa (1747–1748). In discussing parody and adaptation, Forster mentions Pamela as the novel Henry Fielding sought to parody in his work, Joseph Andrews.

Sir Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832) was a Scottish novelist known for inventing the historical novel. His most famous work is Ivanhoe (1819). In a discussion on storytelling, Forster uses The Bride of Lammermoor (1819) and The Antiquary (1816) as examples. Though Forster admits he does not regard Scott as a great novelist, he acknowledges Scott's talent for storytelling, as he effectively narrates events over time. However, Forster concludes that Scott's storytelling is often superficial and lacks emotional depth, which diminishes the novel's value.

Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) was an American writer known for her experimental novels, stories, and essays. Her major works include Three Lives (1909), Tender Buttons (1914), The Making of Americans (1925), and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933). In a discussion on storytelling, Forster uses Stein as an example of a novelist who attempted to write stories devoid of the element of time.

Laurence Sterne

Laurence Sterne (1713–1768) was an Irish-English author best known for his novel Tristram Shandy (1759–1767), where narrative digression takes precedence over the storyline. In discussing fantasy and prophecy, Forster includes Sterne among novelists for whom these elements are essential in their works.

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was a Russian novelist celebrated for his masterpieces, War and Peace (1865–1869) and Anna Karenina (1875–1877), which are considered among the greatest novels ever written. Discussing character, Forster describes War and Peace as a novel where the narrative perspective, though erratic, is skillfully managed by Tolstoy. In a discussion on rhythm, Forster praises War and Peace for achieving a rhythm that nearly matches the grandeur of a musical symphony, comparable to Beethoven’s Fifth.

H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells (1866–1946) was an English author renowned for his classic science fiction works such as The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), and The War of the Worlds (1898). He also penned comedic novels like Tono-Bungay (1909) and The History of Mr. Polly (1910). Forster, in a discussion about character development, notes that Wells’s characters, much like those in Dickens’ works, are predominantly ‘‘flat’’ but thrive within his narratives due to his exceptional storytelling ability.

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) was a British novelist and critic, celebrated for her major works including Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), and Orlando (1928). She also made significant contributions to early feminist criticism with her work A Room of One’s Own (1929). In his introduction, Forster compares a passage written by Woolf with one by Sterne.

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