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A novel is a fictional story of considerable length written in the vernacular of the author. A novel has a [[plot]] that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the [[characters]]. The term novel is derived from the | A novel is a fictional story of considerable length written in the | ||
vernacular of the author. A novel has a [[plot]] that is unfolded by | |||
the actions, speech, and thoughts of the [[characters]]. The term | |||
novel is derived from the word [[novella]]. | |||
There are three main types of novels; the picaresque novel, the | |||
historical novel, and the naturalistic novel. In a picaresque novel | |||
the [[protagonist]] has a series of episodic adventures in which he or | |||
she sees the much of the world and then comments satirically upon it. | |||
A historical novel is a novel that embraces not only romance but also | |||
works that strive to convey the essence of life in a certain time and | |||
place. A naturalistic novel studies the effect of heredity and the | |||
environment on human beings. | |||
Novels force mankind to examine truth, meaning, and values in five | |||
forms. The five forms are inner conflict, conscious conflict, social | |||
conflict, human conflict, and spiritual conflict (Seltzer 3). "By | |||
shaping experience as only it can, the novel becomes itself one of our | |||
most essential experiences because it provides the insight, | |||
intelligence, and coherence which life alone never offers. Man | |||
therefore uses the novel to learn more about his own life-and this is | |||
true whether he's writing one or reading one" (Seltzer 1). It is | |||
easier for a novel to define a human than it is for a human to define a | |||
novel. Novels are about life. The two are codependent. | |||
== | ==History== | ||
The modern novel did not appear until after The Enlightenment and The | |||
Age of Reason. During the periods of the 17th and 18th centuries, | |||
people were beginning to open up to the ideas of God, reason, nature, | |||
and man. This led to the revolutionary development in art philosophy, | |||
and politics. With the flow of new ideas came the flow of literary | |||
work. The English novel was forced to appear in the 18th century due | |||
to the fact that more people could read and had money to spend on | |||
literature (Taormina 1). | |||
18th century novelists include Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, and | |||
Jane Austin. Daniel Defoe was sometimes called the founder of the | |||
modern English novel (Taormina 1) He wrote ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1719) | |||
and ''Moll Flanders'' (1722). Samuel Richardson wrote many novels. | |||
Most of them dealt with moral issues and women. Jane Austen wrote | |||
many novels that are still very popular today. "Although she is not | |||
an 18th century novelist, Austen has more in common with the novelists | |||
of the 18th century than she does with the novelists of the early 19th | |||
century. She was the greatest English novelist of manners" (Taormina | |||
2). She wrote ''Pride and Prejudice'' (c. 1812) and ''Emma'' | |||
(1816). | |||
==A Quick Look at the History of Women and Novels== | |||
When most people think of a novel written by a woman they think of a | |||
long drawn out romance story. While there is nothing wrong with a long | |||
drawn out romance story; it is stereotypical to put female writers | |||
into the romance box. The history of the novel wouldn't be complete | |||
without the question of gender. Nothing ever really is complete without a distinction between male or female. Diane Long | |||
Hoeveler asks the question, "Can the history of the novel be rewritten | |||
so that women writers are given their proper status even though, for | |||
the most part, women produced works that have been largely denigrated | |||
or buried by historians of the novel?" (Hoeveler 1) The world may | |||
never know. | |||
---- | |||
*Taormina, Agatha. "Origins of The Novel. "2005. 10 Feb. 2006 | [[Literary Terms]] | ||
<http://www.nvc.edu/home/ataormina/novels/history/origins.htm> | |||
*Long Hoeveler, Diane. "Women and Novelistic Authority. "''Academic Search Premier''Winter 2004,Vol. 36,Issue 4 | |||
*Seltzer, Alvin. Chaos in the Novel, the Novel in Chaos. New York: Shocken Books, 1974 | ==Works Cited== | ||
*Taormina, Agatha. "Origins of The Novel. "2005. 10 Feb. 2006 | |||
<http://www.nvc.edu/home/ataormina/novels/history/origins.htm> | |||
*Long Hoeveler, Diane. "Women and Novelistic Authority. "''Academic | |||
Search Premier''Winter 2004,Vol. 36,Issue 4 | |||
*Seltzer, Alvin. Chaos in the Novel, the Novel in Chaos. New York: | |||
Shocken Books, 1974 | |||
[[Category:Literary Terms]][[Category:World Literature]] | [[Category:Literary Terms]][[Category:World Literature]] |
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