European Literary History

Theme 1: The Enlightenment: Aesthetics and Generic Innovation

The Early Novel: Gender, Travel and Colonialism Aphra Behn 1640-1789

Barnita Bagchi

Examining a Triangular Set of Relationships

In this course on European literary history, we shall be examining 1) Literary-cultural-philosophical movements or trends (Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism) 2) Genre (Novel, Essays on Aesthetics, Reverie or Reflective Autobiography, Lyric Poetry, and Short Fiction) 3) Aesthetics (the discipline that studies beauty). This term was an 18th-century invention, as we shall discover.

Lecture Outlines
These slides will also be placed on my web-page after each lecture finishes. The url is http://www.hum.uu.nl/medewerkers/Bagch101

Examining a Triangular Set of Relationships

New, exciting literary-cultural trends emerge.

These are manifested in genres, which themselves go through change and innovation through such new trends.

How we analyse beauty also goes through exciting, complex changes.

Theme 1: The Enlightenment: Aesthetics and Generic Innovation 3 sub-themes: 1) The Early Novel: Oroonoko (1688) 2) Taste and Ethics: Adam Smiths Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) 3) Reflective Autobiography: Rousseaus Reveries du Promeneur Solitaire (1782)

Barnita Bagchi

The Enlightenment
A current in the history of thought A perspective on the world Held sway from roughly the end of the seventeenth century (c.1680) to the end of the eighteenth century (c. 1789) Belief in the capacity of the human mind to understand the universe View of the universe as ordered, regular, harmonious, scientifically knowable Key names we associate with the Enlightenment include Isaac Newton, Voltaire, John Locke, J.J. Rousseau, David Hume, Adam Smith, and J.W. von Goethe.
Barnita Bagchi

The Enlightenment in the context of Literature

In this course, we shall be examining the early novel, writings on taste and ethics, and reflective autobiography written during the period of the Enlightenment. I shall, in all the three sections, on Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Realism, be looking at beauty as found in literature (the discipline which studies beauty is aesthetics), and the way new genres are innovated

Barnita Bagchi

The Enlightenment in the context of Literature

Genres: literary forms with definable characteristics. Principal genres include the novel, the poem, the epic, tragedy, comedy. Often, genres overlap. We have epic poems, comic novels, and so on and so forth. In this lecture, the focus is on the generic innovation of the early novel, perhaps the literary symbolic form of modernity.

Barnita Bagchi

The Rise of the Novel

The name suggests something new: novelty There are many different narratives and histories about the rise of the novel One thing we can agree on: the novel is a form of prose fiction (although there have been, on occasion, novels in verse: e.g. Vikram Seth, The Golden Gate, 1986) The novel begins to become an influential form from the 1680s, is well-recognized in the eighteenth century, is popular and canonized in the nineteenth century, is reinvented in the twentieth century, until our time, when it is somewhat eclipsed by other genres in other media.

Barnita Bagchi

The Rise of the Novel

Key Features of novels Contemporaneity (even historical novels are shaped so that we feel we are living in that
historical period)

Believability, Credibility, Sense of Probability Familiarity (everyday existence and common people: even if aristocrats or powerful
personages are portrayed, they are represented as if they are familiar)

Individualism, subjectivity Coherence or unity of design At the same time, trend towards the fragmentary, the digressive. Fragment: a part, of which we do not get the whole Digression: when we walk off our straightforward route, and start wandering in off-the-point directions. To see how brilliantly fragments and digressions can be used, think of a classic 18th-century British novel, Laurence Sternes Tristam Shandy (1759-1769)
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From Tristram Shandy

For, if he begins a digression, -- from that moment, I observe, his whole work stands stock-still ; -- and if he goes on with his main work, ---- then there is an end of his digression.

---- This is vile work. -- For which reason, from the beginning of this, you see, I have constructed the main work and the adventitious parts of it with such intersections, and have so complicated and involved the digressive and progressive movements, one wheel within another, that the whole machine, in general, has been kept a-going ; -- and, what's more, it shall be kept a-going these forty years, if it pleases the fountain of health to bless me so long with life and good spirits. See http://www.tristramshandyweb.it/ Hypertext Tristram Shandy Web-Project Barnita Bagchi

The Rise of the Novel

Ian Watt, The Rise of the Novel (1957) is the most influential work even today. Sees the novel as a REALISTIC form Also sees it as an INDIVIDUALIST form To understand these terms, we need a sense of history and philosophy. We shall approach the terms also through the particular text we are studying to trace the rise of the novel, Aphra Behns Oroonoko (1688).

Barnita Bagchi

Realism, Individualism, and the Novel: Oroonoko

The year of publication of Oroonoko is a significant year in history, for it inaugurated the period of the rise of the novel in Great Britain, and, broadly speaking, in Europe. The Glorious or Bloodless Revolution took place in 1688 in Britain. The British got rid of James II, who was showing antiParliament and absolutist tendencies, and instead invited Mary (the next heiress to the English throne) and her husband William of Orange over from the Netherlands. William and Mary did indeed then rule jointly in Britain. A new historical period, in which commerce, finance, banks, the stock-market, colonialism, imperialism, capitalismin short, a whole array of trends we associate with modernity and the novelbecame influential presences in society.
Barnita Bagchi

Realism, Individualism, the Novel, and Oroonoko

There is a slow breakdown, throughout the long eighteenth century (1688- 1820 ) of feudalism. Culmination of this is the French Revolution (1789). People begin to think of themselves not as bonded to their feudal master, or king, or highly powerful collectivist identities. Instead there is a sense of I: an autonomous subject, a human being free to do what s/he wants, free to go where s/he wants. This is a very long, slow process that continues in Europe till the early 20th century.

Barnita Bagchi

Realism, Individualism, the Novel, and Oroonoko

Aphra Behn herself is an example of the individualism of the age. All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds. It is she--shady and amorous as she was--who makes it not quite fantastic for me to say to you tonight: Earn five hundred a year by your wits. -- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own (1929)

Barnita Bagchi

Aphra Behn 1640-1689

Behn was the first professional woman writer in the English language. I have chosen her fiction Oroonoko deliberately in this course, to illustrate an influential recent trend in literary history: showing how important women writers were in shaping the early novel. We can read the history of the early European novel by focusing on Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe (1719), or Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1742), two of the authors that Ian Watt chooses. But Behn was successful in the literary public sphere well before Defoe. I have also chosen Oroonoko because it, and its author, both had a Dutch connection, and a connection with Dutch-British imperial rivalry in the South American country of Surinam, where Oroonoko is set.

Barnita Bagchi

Aphra Behn 1640-1689

Chronology of Aphra Behn's Life From http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/chron-ab.htm 1640 -- Birth of Aphra Johnson, second daughter of Bartholomew Johnson and Elizabeth Denham, baptized Dec. 14 at Harbledown outside of Canterbury. (Although there has been much controversy over the circumstances of Behn's birth, this appears to be the most likely candidate.) 1663-64 -- Probable period of residence in Surinam. 1664 -- Possible date for marriage to Mr. Behn, merchant of "Dutch" (German) extraction. 1665 -- Death of Mr. Behn?
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Aphra Behn 1640-1689

1667-67 -- Aphra Behn serves in Antwerp as a spy for Charles II. 1668 -- Sent to debtor's prison for debts she incurred in the service of the crown. Probably released shortly thereafter. 1670 -- Production of Behn's first play, The Forced Marriage, at Lincoln's Inn Fields by the Duke's Company. It was a great success and ran for six nights, providing its author with two nights' income. (The "third day" always belonged to the author of the play.) 1671 -- February - The Amourous Prince (published 1671); Dorset Garden Theater opened. 1672 -- Covent Garden Drollery published, probably edited by Behn. 1673 -- The Dutch Lover produced at Dorset Garden Theater; does not hold the stage until the third day (not published until 1677). 1675 -- Possible plays by Behn: The Revenge: Or a Match in Newgate, and The Woman Turned Bully. 1676 -- Behn's only tragedy, Abdelazer, produced in the summer. It was followed a few months later by The Town Fop (both published 1677).
Barnita Bagchi

Aphra Behn 1640-1689

1677 -- The Rover, perhaps Behn's most successful play, produced in March and published the same year. Nell Gwyn returned to the stage to play the role of the whore Angelica Bianca. Two further plays produced at Dorset Garden attributed to Behn, The Debauchee (February) and The Counterfeit Bridegroom (September). 1678 -- Sir Patient Fancy produced in January (published 1678). Nell Gwyn once again took a role, that of Lady Knowell. 1679 -- The Feigned Courtesans, dedicated to Nell Gwyn, produced in the spring at Dorset Garden (published 1679) and the tragi-comedy The Young King in the fall (published 1683). 1681 -- The Second Part of The Rover produced early in the year (published 1681), The False Count in November and The Roundheads in December (both published 1682). 1682 -- The City Heiress produced in the spring, (published 1682) followed by Like Father, Like Son, which was such a failure that it was never published and has since been lost. Behn arrested for an "abusive" prologue, but probably let off with a warning. Merger of the the King's Company and the Duke's Company (where Behn's plays were produced) to form the United Company. 1683 -- Publication of the first part of Love Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister, an epistolary roman clef, the first major epistolary novel in English literature. 1684 -- Behn's Poems on Several Occasions published.
Barnita Bagchi

Aphra Behn 1640-1689

1685 -- Another collection of poems, Miscellany, published. Death of Charles II; accession of his brother James II. 1686 -- Publication of The Lover's Watch. The Lucky Chance, Behn's first play since the failure of Like Father Like Son, produced at Drury Lane (published 1687). 1687 -- Her farce The Emperor of the Moon produced in March and published the same year. 1688 -- Three prose fiction works by Behn published: The Fair Jilt, Agnes de Castro and her most famous work, Oroonoko. Abdication of James II ("Glorious Revolution"). 1689 -- Death of Aphra Behn, April 16. Buried in Westminster Abbey. Two of her plays produced posthumously: The Widow Ranter (1689 epilogue by John Dryden) and The Younger Brother (1696).

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Behn
Was thus a spy, a poet, a playwright on the commercial stage, and a writer of fiction. Clearly had a risky, adventurous life. Behn was on the losing side in the Glorious Revolution: she supported Charles II and his successor James II.

Barnita Bagchi

Realism
In the seventeenth century, Europe underwent a Scientific Revolution. Galileo, Newton, Descartes, and Locke are among the most significant minds that ushered the revolution in. A new emphasis on mans capacity to know his/ her own mind: the science of the mind (psychology-philosophy borderline) emerges. John Lockes Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) focuses on the importance of the environment in shaping human psychology and self. The mind, he says, is a tabula rasa, a blank sheet, at birth. Association of ideas from the environment then shapes the human. Now, a premium is placed on human experience. The novel too prizes human experience and the processes of the human mind, in all its rich diversity, variety, and surprisingness.

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Oroonoko
Telling the story of Surinam and its history, placed between Dutch and British rivalry, as if it is everyday. Behn positions herself as a truth-teller. There is in fact no clear definite substantiating evidence as to whether she did in fact travel to Surinam. The point is that she feels the narrative urge to convince us that this fiction is so probable, so plausible, that it may even be true. The extended title of the work is Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave, A True History. This is a standard strategy in the early novel, where writers of fiction routinely claim that they are telling the truth. Defoe too adopts this strategy.
Barnita Bagchi

Oroonoko
Fascinating adoption of female narratorial authority, to describe the sufferings of Oroonoko and Imoinda, the aristocratic/ royal slaves who are transported from Africa to Surinam. Both the narrator (as a woman) and Oroonoko (as a slave) are marginal within the established power-hierarchy in British Surinam.
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Oroonoko
Oroonokos misfortune was to fall in an obscure world that afforded only a female pen to celebrate his fame. Behn represents the slave and the woman as both being refined, intellectual, sensitive, therefore fit mutual company. I have often seen and conversed with this great man, and been a witness to many of his mighty actions; and do assure my reader, the most illustrious courts could not have produced a braver man, both for greatness of courage and mind, a judgment more solid, a wit more quick, and a conversation more sweet and diverting. He knew almost as much as if he had read much: he had heard of and admired the Romans: he had heard of the late Civil Wars in England, and the deplorable death of our great monarch; and would discourse of it with all the sense and abhorrence of the injustice imaginable. He had an extreme good and graceful mien, and all the civility of a well-bred great man. He had nothing of barbarity in his nature, but in all points addressed himself as if his education had been in some European court. So, Oroonoko is like a noble European.
Barnita Bagchi

Oroonoko
Repeatedly, though, Behn also represents the noble savage: Oroonoko, or the Surinamese Indians are shown as having a tremendous sense of honour, are shown as never breaking their word. Equally, the British colonizers are shown as deceitful liars who continually swear upon their honour, and continuously break their words, betraying all professions of friendship and trust.

Barnita Bagchi

Oroonoko: A Romance-like Novel

In literary history, attempts are often made to distinguish ROMANCE from NOVEL. Romance, unlike novel, is held to be less realistic, less believable, more fantasy-like and fairy-tale-like, less interested in verismilitude (appearing to tell the truth) or contemporaneity. But repeatedly in the history of the novel, we find that novels are far more romance-like than this artificial distinction would have it.

Barnita Bagchi

Oroonoko: Between Romance and Novel

The novels of Jane Austen have impeccable romance plots, even though the style is realistic. Defoe picked plots, such as that of Robinson Crusoe, in which adventure, exciting travel narrative, an exotic island setting all play crucial roles. Henry Fielding, another famous 18th-century novelist, wrote works such as Tom Jones which are deliberately written in the style of classical or medieval Greek romances, even though they are set in 18th-century England. They position themselves as contemporary romances.

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Oroonoko
Is also in this genealogy, and in fact begins the trend. Amatory plot Melodrama found throughout the work Elevated royal and aristocratic register used by Oroonoko Emphasis on exoticism in describing the Africans and the Native Americans.
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In sum
Bringing together travel, female narrative authority, slavery, colonialism, and a tragic tale of love and adveture, Oroonoko is one of the best exemplars of the ambition and adventurousness of the early European novel.

Barnita Bagchi

Elements to pay attention to

Be familiar with the plot. Be attentive to the narratorial voice and how it plays out. Realism Individualism Romance Gender Colonialism Always with reference to the particular text, Oroonoko
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Further Reading
The Aphra Behn Page at http://www.lit-arts.net/Behn/ is a good resource. Links to many other pages related to the early novel and Behn. Adelaide P. Amore, ed., Oroonoko, or, the royal slave : a critical edition (Lanham: Univ. Press of America , 1987) Michael Mckeon, The Origins of the English Novel, 1600-1740 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987) Jane Spencer, The Rise of the Woman Novelist (Oxford: Blackwell, 1986) Janet Todd, The Sign of Angellica: Women, Writing, and Fiction 1660-1800 (London: Virago, 1989) Ian Watt, The Rise of the Novel: Studies in Defoe, Richardson and Fielding (1957; repr: Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1983)

Barnita Bagchi