Essay Questions

How does James defend the reputation of the novel in “The Art of Fiction” against its then-contemporary low opinion?

“The Art of Fiction” is a piece of literary criticism which takes upon itself the task of defending the novel as a form of literature deserving more respect than it had received. At the time, the novel was considered a barely respectable way to pass time, much less a medium for conveying deep thoughts. James engages metaphor throughout the piece to highlight the low regard toward this form of literature which now clearly has gained the recognition James sought, but perhaps none illuminate the temper of the times better than this passage:

“The `ending’ of a novel is, for many persons, like that of a good dinner, a course of dessert and ices, and the artist in fiction is regarded as a sort of meddlesome doctor who forbids agreeable aftertastes.”

It is with this interpretation of the novelist as creative spirit that one should keep in mind as James proceeds to lay out his framework for how the novel can be raised to a status more befitting its potential.

The future potential for the novel for James lies specifically in the refutation of an existing critical commentary. What was the origin of “The Art of Fiction” and what was his response?

In “The Art of Fiction” James is motivated to defend the potential of the novel against its reputation as a literary form viewed as all but a waste of time. This was not, in fact, an unfair or deserved criticism as many novels—arguably the overwhelming bulk of them—were by writers who had no interest in pursuing the writing of their books as an expression of art. This reality was reinforced by low expectations and demands. The motivation by James to write his essay was a lecture by a British novelist insisting upon the necessary for rules to be applied to constructing the novelistic form. This lecture seems to be the origin of the dreadfully limiting admonition to authors to “write what you know.” James makes the argument that such limitation and expectations of rules is precisely what has been holding the novel back from gaining the respect and status it deserves. Imagery of what a novel looks like when freed from such limitations makes his vision clear:

“A novel is a living thing, all one and continuous, like every other organism, and in proportion as it lives will it be found, I think, that in each of the parts there is something of each of the other parts."

Who are some of the novelists that James points to in his critical writings as examples of how his concept of the potential of the novel had already been realized?

In his critical commentaries, it becomes apparent that James is a huge fan of Robert Louis Stevenson, an author who meets his call for constant experimentation within the novel. He points to the wide gap between the content of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as evidence of what the novel can be when approached with creativity. On the other hand, James singles out Madame Bovary as Gustave Flaubert’s one and only unquestioned masterpiece. It is, he argues, the work in which every aspect of the author’s genius managed to come together and take flight. That Flaubert—despite tremendous talent and of getting very close—never actually managed to duplicate this feat is conveyed effectively and efficiently through a metaphorical image which manages to give a portrait of the man himself as well as the hint at the reasons for the perception of James that Flaubert was a flawed genius:

“He was cold, and he would have given everything he had to be able to glow.”