The novel, in relation to the dissemination of liberal ideas, 1790-1820

422 Pages·065.647 MB·English

by  McClelland, E. M

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THS HOVBL. IM RELATION
10 tH3 DISSSMIHATlDti OF LIBERAL IDEAS. 1790 -;^1820«(|,
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Presented as a tnesis for the
Ph.D* degree, by E*M, McClelland.
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me mm, m relation to ihb nissBMiNATinw of libbral urns. i79o»182g^
ABSTRACT OP TRB AP.Gq»fT
%e thesis deals with the part played ty the novel, 1790-1820, in the
dissemination of liberal ideas. The term ’liberal* has been used to cover
the theories conoerning the nature and destiny of man, his natural rights
and the proper oonatitution of the society in which he lives. The ideas
have been identified in their 18th century form, their philosophic origin
traced, their effect estimated and their popularigation, in the works of
Godwin and other political reformers, illustrated.
It has been shown that novelists were aware of current opinion, not
only from a knowledge of the written works of the reformers, but from a
common body of thought mde familiar to them ty such means as the work of
the Polit iced societies in enlightening the public, the literary coteries,
the Conversation Clubs, the Westminster Forum end other debating societies;
by reviews, pamphlets and tracts; by events indicating serious social unrest;
by the publicity attendant on prosecutions for libel and other causes
célébrés; by their connection with wethodls»*;; by their effect eh educational
theory.
Liberal ideas have been traced in various kinds of novel; in
deliberate propaganda, in those revealing such opinion without particular
urgency, or reflecting it unconsciously; in those attacking, or offering
antidotes for, the i»w philosophy, and in the satires. Changea in ^
modifications of, themes used earlier have been noted. %ie material used
is new and a critical estimate of it is submitted.
I
2.
The thesis elms at establishing two things; first, that the dis­
semination of these views did not cease, as critics have stated, with
the reaction against the French Revolution, but persisted until after
1820; secondly, that the novel, used deliberately with an ®ctra-llteraxy
purpose, is influenced ty an unusually close connection with the historical
background, shown in the use of current events and living people as
%
material for plots and characters, and 'ttiat this influence, ty preserving
the heterogeneous nature of the novel, retards its development as a
literaiy form#
'kM
TABLE OF GOHTEI-jTS
Chapter
Introductory# The relation of liistory to literary critic!3». 1
1. The lines of the inquiry#
2. Liberal ideas identified; their pnilosoi^hic
origin#
II 1. The popularisation of liberal ideas in t>ie mrk 30
of tiie roformors.
Z» The dissemination of liberal ideas; the cliiof
agents#
Xli The vogue of the novel; the spread of the reading 96
public; the use of the form for an extra-literary
puipose; kinds of novels disseminating lib3î*al
ideas.
IV Propaganda. The mark of Bage, Godwin, Hoi crof t, 109
Mary Hays, Mary Wollstonscraft, Charlotte Smith.
Propaganda contd. Typical novels of loss literary 175
value ?d.ti:i the same purpose; kinds of plots; the
^vork of John Galt; Lord Srakiae; oLùxk&y Owenson;
tii0 awareness of the economic situation, T.S.Surr
and ’^The Magic of Wealth**; Mar;^^ Shelley.
VI 1. The reflection of liberal ideas in novels other ZZX
tlian doctrinaires. The work of Mrs. Iiichbaid,
Mrs. Opie, Msiry Robinson, Charles Lloyd,
C. Brockden Brown, Dr. Jofin Moore.
2. Some themes examined. Intelloctual quality
in the novel.
VII 1. Att£iCk3 on, and antidotes to, liberal ideas. 292
The work of lârs. West, E.G. Dallas and others.
2. Some stock characters.
VIII Satires. The public taste for satirical writing. 348
Some full length satires. Close connection between
fiction and current events. The ?/ork of Disraeli,
Sarah Greeny S. â. Barrett, and T.L.Feacock.
Conclusion. 589
INTRODUCTORY
A charaot(iri3tic of our ovm times is the tandeuoy to think
of men in groups and to give Wiosa groups entity by affixing to tiiem
a descriptive label. We are increasingly concerned wita statistics;
we calculate the ^norm* for achievement in this or tlmt Held, for a
particular age-group; we deduce the kind of behaviour typical of
people in a specified income level; we evm, on the evidence of their
habits, postulate the presence of hidden frustrations in members of
certain selected groups, such as artisans or housewives. Personality
itself is said to eidst only in relation to a group and character to
consist of the sum total of an individual’s reactions to the various
groups of which, from time to timo, he willy nilly, becomes a member.
In fact, the group has acquired a sinister i# o rtance. Although tlds
is an extreme, and to many an erroneous, point of view, it must be
conceded that the idea on wtdoii it is based is sound. The mind of the
ordinary man is constantly influenced by the commmity in which he
lives and cannot properly be understood opart from it. He is profoundly
affected by the relationsiiips, both public and private, into which he
enters; he has inherited, and is moulded to a considerable degree by,
the beliefs and prejudices of his age; and his reactions to events,
and to his own circumstances, further influence his personality. In
short; "The material upon which he woiks is the i^ole complex of
conceptions, religious, imaginative and ethical, wliich forms £iis mental
2.
So, betweaa the literature and the gsaeraX social
condition of a nation, there is a very close bond and tne literary
historian is concerned not only with the ideas that find utterance
through tiie poet, the novelist and the philosopher but also with the
point of view, and with the constitution, of the society that produced
iiiffi* Moreover, the way in which literary or artistic ideas are
embodied often depends on the kind of difficulties experienced in life
and ttie motives which proBÇ>t men to try to understand and solve tnam.
The turn taken by social history in my age is, in part, due to the
ideas and opinions that are in the ascendant. In short, ’The adequate
criticism must be rooted in history,’
Speculative ideas are like hormones, they mrk unaccountably
but powerfully and are creative in their effect. Our concern is with
their expression in the minor novels of the day. There, the views and
principles of the ordinary man are reflected. The age was one of great
intellaetu.ai energy and the zest with whicii philosophic ideas were
pursued is one of its most interesting characteristics, Hazlitt might
comment on its ”love of paradox and change, its dastard submission to
prejudice and to the fashion of tlie day” and stigmatize it as ’ an. age
Qnd oh 3*
of talkers, not doers’ but he paid tribute to its resiiianca and to
A A
its spirit of aiquiry. Whan many ideas ferment, however, in the same
vat, there is a danger to existing order. Instead of an ode or a play,
1, ’English Literature and Society in the 18th C,’ Sir Leslie Stephm,
1904, p.$.
2, Ibid, p.6,
3, ”The Spirit of the Age”, W, Hazlitt, 1826,
‘‘Svërÿmsn^Sdition, p.182 (Section on Godwin),
p,194 (Section on Colortdga),
5.
there may be throvm up a revolutionary plan or, at least, a programme
of reform and tbon, at any moment, the latent unhappiness of a society
may cause its members to seize the opportunity to initiate a period of
rapid change and risk every tiling to bring about the realization of
tlieir om doctrines* At such a time, dissemination of opinion is
rapid and the most abstruse ideas become part of the mental equipmmt
of the man in the street. Our study of liberal views and their
permeation of the novel begins in just such a time. The French
Revolution, matched with interest by liberal-minded Englishmen, seemed
at first to represent tha triumph of fraodom over despotism, of
aolightenment over error, and reformers in England, aware of intolerable
conditions in industry, of the oppressive legal system, of rapacity and
of injustice, and of the smouldering misery of the poor, expressed
their views frequently and forcibly, advocating a clean sweep of
existing institutions. At the same time, increased opportunities
arose for the dissemination of these opinions and they reached a wide
public. Essays, pa%lilets and tracts; reviews and periodicalsj
letters, memoirs and the daily press all contributed to the torrent
of ideas that flowed over the country. Whether the channel was what
Oliver jSlton has called *pure or applied* literature, all the issues
that were occupying the leaders of thought of the time were popularised
to a surprising extent and, by the beginning of tli© nineties, have
become a social force. Liberal views have seeped tlirough to the
working man and though, in the process, tlisy liave been limited to
practical reform, they are the impetus behind the great movements of
4#
the time, the abolition of slavery, toleration in rali^jion, and the
oontinual agitation for education and for parliamentary reform*
Among the vehicles of expression, tha novel traces its place* During
the previous decade, i t had sunk to a very loi? level, owing partly to
the dearth of writers of quality Lind partly to the dishonest tricks of
booksellers and publishers who, anxious to exploit the unexpected
chances of fficdcing money offered by the circulating libraries, published
anything in the way of a story and often served up their trash more
than once under different titles* Now, inspired by tiie great concepts,
liberty, equality and fraternity, men capable of translating into
popular form the ideas of the philosophers turned their attention to
fiction and deliberately wrote novels to illustrate their tiioses*
Their energy transformed the novel* As i t gained a little in public
esteem, i t again attracted more able writers and became a popular way
of earning a living* The pattern was simple enough and hundreds
followed it, jumbling together all the fashionable ingredients,
including liberal notions. I t was not necessary to understand Uie
terminology of ideas; it was enough to be sure #mt the expression
of them would find a market and many an industrious hack writer, quite
unconscious of the implications of liis reaarks, #assembled' a novel
and gained a reputation for «advanced» opinions. Otnars, by their
rather smug repudiation of some shocking idea, or a series of pious
reflections on the iniquity of well-knom reformers, reveal their
knowledge of current thought as much by their disavowals as others
do by their panegyrics. The fascination of tracing them lies, not
5.
so mioa la discovering their universality as in observing the
modification, and in some oases recantation, of view as between
treatise, polamic and best-seller. For inconsistaicy is rife.
I&itually exclusive views exist side by side in the same novel and
ourious transmutations occur which make it possible for writers to
illustrate tha doctrine of progressive deterioration by the portrait
of an American Indian in a paroxysm of enjoyable sorrow.
Most popular authors wrote for a living. It is true that
the remuneration was usually very satjll unless the wozk were subscribed.
In spite of the reputation of booksellers for rapaciousnass, by the
end of the century, a writer whose output was reasonably prolific
could make a living. A maiket was £«lso arising for periodical
literature. 1%‘Ortant man were beginning to reward political force
ratner than literary merit for, in 1790, votes were far n»re Important
than lyrics. So the prose writer, and ospeciaiXy the propagandist,
acquired a status unexpected and largely undeserved. Women invaded
the market too and numerous prefaces bear witness to their financial
motives. Mrs. lachbald and Charlotte Smith reveal their poverty
frmikly and solicit the charity of the reviewer on the plea of need.
Others, like the unkaom author of ’Adoaia, a Desultory- Story», 1801,
claim to write for the benefit of a friend. A sign of the times is
visible in the preface to the » Exhibitions of the Hearth, 1@D0, by
Miss Hutchinson, wiio gives as her reason for writing #theJtoe^of
aiding a tender mother and beloved sister, to support |r«^laaELton's \
reverse of fortune, the consequence of the war and my (father being j