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Classic Themes in and Contemporary Reception of the Nineteenth-Century Novel: An Absurdly Brief Study
Jane Eyre is very much a product of its times, often employing the quintessentially Romantic technique of apostrophe, which, while considerably predating the Romantic period, being found in Shakespeare, has since fallen dramatically out of favor, making it most often remembered as part of the Victorian novel. This and other literary features, including literarily hundreds of Biblical references and Gothic themes which strike a modern reader as excessive and a postmodern reader as dated, in their lack of irony more than in their inclusion, make the novel seem highly rooted in its time-period. There is nothing wrong with this, all works of art and literature are, in some way, a response to the author’s world, which may vary in scope from a village to the entire, at the time of writing. Indeed Charlotte Brontë does the reader a service, albeit probably unconsciously, in reminding him or her of the background to which the story is set, and, despite the manner in which it is written, the book is itself in no way dated. The Brontës’ continual success is due largely, if not entirely, to their focus on the one timeless subject: human beings.
Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, must suffer slightly in comparison, not because Dickens was a poor writer, although he suffered from the same failures as his contemporaries who wrote in serials, nor because the story is not worth telling, which it definitely is. History is curious in that it grows dated even while the material remains unchanged, historical novels more so even than academic texts. Lucky enough to choose a subject in which the modern opinion has not merely remained consistent but been reinforced by skepticism of Marxism, a philosophy rooted in the French Revolution, Dickens largely escapes this fate. He cannot, however, escape the fact that his characters are too simply drawn for modern tastes, seeming almost more like characters in a Classical play than in a modern novel, nor can the book recover from its most major flaw, an excess of primary characters, or perhaps simply to much interaction among them. The epic is a struggle of the individual against an often hostile world, the hero’s solitude is a defining theme. Classical epics achieve this by focusing on the protagonist exclusively, even the Gods in Homer serve as foils or aids to the hero. A second approach also works well, focusing on individuals and dealing with the surrounding world only as it enters their lives, as opposed to the hero of the Classical epic who enters the surrounding world. Dickens uses a less than successful hybrid of the two, describing events on one hand while dealing with characters on the other, in effect creating an epic plot without epic characters. The result is a sense of disconnection between the two story lines, even as they intersect. While a successful novel, A Tale of Two Cities is made less successful than it could be by the popular novelists desire to create a story with something for all readers, but an intimate tale and an epic. The result is not a failure, and may be a masterpiece, but the book fails to achieve the greatness possible given the plot and Dickens’s talent.
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quote:Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, must suffer slightly in comparison, not because Dickens was a poor writer, although he suffered from the same failures as his contemporaries who wrote in serials, nor because the story is not worth telling, which it definitely is.
This sentence just begs for a 'but because' as a link. It absolutely needs it. It dies painfully without it. Put one in! Now!
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posted
Your opinion of the books comes through too strongly, I think. I've also been accused of this. You are supposed to examine not the worth of the book, but the content.
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How do you know? Pel gave us no details of his assignment; he could well have been asked to give his opinion of the works.
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posted
"Pel gave us no details of his assignment; he could well have been asked to give his opinion of the works."
Yes, it was also supposed to be even shorter. The paragraph following the first sentence you quote is sort of a "but because," but I see your point. There are things I would have done differently had I had more than an hour or so to write it.
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posted
I judged from the title. I think he was asked to give the "classical themes" (a non-opinion requiring study) and "the modern reception". It seems an odd combination. Perhaps the question actually is the reception of classical themes by a modern audience in these two novels?
Anyway, Pelegius seems to give a bit of discussion about modern reception for [iJane Eyre but not for A Tale of Two Cities. That seems to be more of a personal opinion. He does not make the same references to the modern reception as he does with Jane Eyre and instead talks about the problem with mixing Eeic with intimate characters- an issue that may come up when examining classical themes, but not when judging modernity. In fact, I would say that would give the novel a modern edge, since many modern novels focus on and explore characters regardless of how grandiose their situation is.
quote:The result is a sense of disconnection between the two story lines, even as they intersect. While a successful novel, A Tale of Two Cities is made less successful than it could be by the popular novelists desire to create a story with something for all readers, but an intimate tale and an epic. The result is not a failure, and may be a masterpiece, but the book fails to achieve the greatness possible given the plot and Dickens’s talent.
This passage makes no reference to how modernity comes into this. I'm assuming that you, Pelegius, mean now. But you never mention why modern readers may not be receptive to this kind of writing, as you do with Jane Eyre, here:
quote:the book is itself in no way dated. The Brontës’ continual success is due largely, if not entirely, to their focus on the one timeless subject: human beings.
What you wrote, Pelegius, comes across as a personal opinion against A Tale of Two Cities, not an examination of why modern audiences may not like said book.
EDIT: So you were asked to give your opinion of the works? If that's the case, then of course, but don't try to sell your opinion as a modern audience's reaction. I love A Tale of Two Cities but find Jane Eyre kind of meh. Am I representative of the world- clearly not.
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Just out of curiosity, what sort of work will your peers turn in for this assignment? Do you discuss classical plays as compared to postmodern novels in your classes, or would one of your peers find this totally incomprehensible?
(Not that that's a bad thing, it'ts purely a question.)
Posts: 1784 | Registered: Jun 2001
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Harrumph. A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite book of all time. I was quite turned off by your second paragraph, as it sounded like you were telling Dickens how to write. Dickens don't need no writin lessons from u. He write juuusst fine.
Posts: 2827 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Swampjedi: Wow, commas, every, where.
Hire Bill Shatner to read it, and you've got gold!
Indeed. While commas can, in fact, aid in the quest for clarity, they are not necessary in every single sentence. Sentences that don't have multiple nested ideas are often far easier to read.
Posts: 1466 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Dr Strangelove: Harrumph. A Tale of Two Cities is my favorite book of all time. I was quite turned off by your second paragraph, as it sounded like you were telling Dickens how to write. Dickens don't need no writin lessons from u. He write juuusst fine.
posted
I think my main problem with this is how colloquial it is. I have trouble getting to the ideas (which do seem to be thoughtful at first glance) when I see phrases like:
"There is nothing wrong with this, all works of art and literature are, in some way, a response to the author’s world, which may vary in scope from a village to the entire, at the time of writing."
This phrase needs some serious revision. First, take away the "there is nothing wrong with this", it sounds juvenile and uneducated, then fix the missing word, then get rid of the last part about the time of writing. The thought here seems to be solid (that an author's works should and do reflect the environment they are in), but the way you express it needs to be fixed.
EDIT: If I might also comment on the issue of "flow", which is somewhat of a problem. Try reading what you wrote out loud. If you have to take a breath half-way through, or lose your train of thought, revise. Strive for clarity and conciseness.
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" Do you discuss classical plays as compared to postmodern novels in your classes, or would one of your peers find this totally incomprehensible?"
Which peers?
Much of the content, although not the mistakes, which are entirely my own, derives from my Eighth Grade English class, my peers who had the same teacher and a few who did not, will appreciate this, many others would not. My audience was, however, my teacher, a comparative lit major. In another one of her classes, which I took last year along with five other students, comparisons stretching hundreds of years were very much the norm.
" Perhaps the question actually is the reception of classical themes by a modern audience in these two novels?"
Sorry, I am guilty the biased world-view of a classics geek with friends who are also mostly classics geeks. I tend to forget that much of the world is not like me and my friends, which is easy to do. Male and Female classics geeks; American and Mexican, Black, Asian and Anglo; wealthy and working class; conservative, liberal and leftist ones: I tend to forget that this is not the most representative cross-section of the world, or even the educated world.
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