My favorite bit of this week's reading came toward the end of Chapter Four when Davidson is pointing out the emotional attachment that many early American readers had for the novels that they were reading, "In short, people then as now read themselves into their fictions and their fictions into their lives" (142).
Because I study fan culture, this was particularly interesting to me as it related to the ways that fans are perceived today, and some of the similarities between early novel readers and avid film and television audiences. Too often, I worry that academics underestimate the emotional power of fiction, and I was pleased to see Davidson make mention of what sound very much like novel fanatics on pg. 142:
"What do we make, for example, of the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of young men who leapt off bridges or put a pistol to their foreheads with a copy of Werther in their breast pockets? Surely theirs was an intensive reading. Or of the young women who made a grave in New York City for poor Charlotte Temple; who, for two generations, left wreaths, locks of hair, and mementos of lost loves upon that grave; and who, when they discovered that Charlotte was not a 'real' person but merely a fictional creation, felt utterly betrayed and enraged, for they had--they said--lost a friend."
What's even more interesting about this example is that it comes as a defense against the accusation that reading more books indicated "an increasingly passive form of consumption or comprehension" (141). I was glad to see Davidson defend the novel in this regard, because one of my biggest issues with intellectual big wigs is their inability to acknowledge a value in "low" literature, and the immediate need to disregard works of fiction that do not live up to some imagined literary standard. In Chapter Three, Davidson notes that "social authorities would not have feared the effects of merely escapist literature"-- a comment that I appreciate as someone who feels that the word 'escapist' may be a bit overused by academics.
After all, how do we determine what is "escapist"? How do we determine how a story really spoke to a person? Davidson recognizes that although the availability of books increased in this time period, and people became more "extensive" readers, "even the 'extensive' reading of this fiction could be emotionally intense, psychically fulfilling, imaginatively active, socially liberalizing, and educationally progressive-- quite the opposite of the merely consumptive, passive, repetitive act posited by the Leserevolution model" (142)
I too liked this section, especially since I'm a recovering elitist. I've been battling with, what did you call them, the "intellectual big wigs" since the moment I started this MA....and I, like you, found the solution in "low brow" fiction....which is what real people read.
ReplyDeleteHi Emilee, I thought your comments were quite interesting, and you quoted two passages that have always stuck in my mind. Hemingway has a quote that fiction can become more real that reality because it affects us so deeply and so profoundly. And I agree with you that CD's defense of the novel along these lines. There's nothing superficial or trifling about the imaginative power of a novel like Charlotte Temple to touch individuals in such meaningful ways. dw
ReplyDeleteThe passage you quoted immediately jumped out at me while reading this week's chapters. It sort of sticks to some of the themes I've been touching on, like the "power" of the word. But what it made me think of is the obsession that some alleged "low-brow" fiction and film causes. I'm thinking, of course, of something like Twilight or Star Wars. This seems to be your area of expertise, so I was just curious if you had any insights into this cultural phenomena where people allow these bizarre fictions to consume their lives.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think all of us would agree that we are fans of novels and love to escape into these alternate realities. Seriously, who wouldn't rather live in Hobbiton, Middle Earth or with the Rohhirrim in Rohan than in Fort Worth?!
ReplyDelete