Sir Walter Scott and Jane Austin. Romanticism in prose.

Sir Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, at the age of 18 month he was crippled for life by a childish ailment; and though he grew up to be a man of great physical robustness he never lost his lameness. His independent literary work began with the publication of “The Lay of the Last Minstrel”, a poem which made him the most popular poet of the day. This was followed by other poems on medieval themes, “Marmion”, “The Lady of the Lake” and etc. Beaten by Byron as a poet, Scott turned his attention to prose and in 1814 published his first historical novel Waverley. It was met with success, which inspired Scott to continue his work in this new field.

Among the well-known novels, “Waverly” goes back to the 18^th century for its story, and the next two books, “Guy Mannering” and “The Antiquary” are laid in the time of Scott’s own youth. But in “Old Mortality” he put scenes at the end of the 17^th century. Among other novels about early times, he wrote “Ivanhoe” (1819), “Kenilworth”, “Durward”, “The Talisman” and etc.

Scott is rather difficult to read, especially in those places where his characters speak dialect. Though the stories themselves are good, the books are long for the modern reader. His hard work and his knowledge of history continually astonish the reader; yet the love interest in the stories often lacks depth, and his heroes and heroines, especially the heroines – are weak when compared with the violent scenes in which they live. Scott’s style is sometimes heary and much influenced by the old and flowery ways of speech.

As a master of historical novel he never had rivals and is second to none. His contribution to the development of historical novel is very great indeed. To it he brought a knowledge that was not pedantically exact, but manageable, wide and bountiful. To the sum of this knowledge he added a life-giving, a vitalizing energy, an insight and a genial dexterity that made the historical novel an entirely new species.

Earlier historical novels (Clara Reeves’s Old Baron or Miss Porter’s The Scottish Chiefs) had been lifeless productions, but in the hands of Scott the historical novel became of the first importance.

Scott builds his plots freely, enriching them with plenty of events, introducing a good deal of characters. Several themes crossing in a novel make a vivid bright picture. His achievement to combine descriptions of private life with historic events is great. He masterfully describes portraits, interiors. He skillfully introduces elements of unexpectedness, turns to fantastic elements connecting them with folk superstitions and peculiarities of the folk world vision.

Though Jane Austin wrote her books in troubled years which included French revolution, her novels are calm pictures of society life. She understood the importance of the family in human affairs and though two of her brothers were in navy, she paid little attention to the violence of nations.

The title given to her first novel was “Elinor and Marianne” but was later rewritten and published as “Sense and Sensibility”. In 1796 she started “First Impressions” which was later published as “Pride and Prejudice”. “Mansfield Park” appeared in 1814 and “Emma” in 1816. “Northanger Abby” was begun as a satire on Mrs. Radcliffe’s Mysteries of Udoepho and to show that real life is very different. “Persuasion” was published in the same year. It is her last novel, and there is a belief that her own love affairs are reflected in those of Anne Elliot.

Jane Austin brought the novel of family life to its highest point of perfection. Her works were untouched by the ugliness of the outside world; she kept the action to scenes familiar to her through her own experience. Her first novels were refused by publishers and she had to wait before her novels were accepted.

Her knowledge, within her own limits, was deep and true, but her performance in writing these novels was astonishing. She manages her characters with a master’s touch. Miss Bates in “Emma”, though herself uninteresting, is not allowed to destroy the reader’s interest. Elizabeth Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice” is quite as delightful as Jane Austin called her. Mr. Bennet is nearly as delightful and most of the other leading characters in this novel are first-class literary creations. A general remark is the amusing first sentence of the book.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”.

Her skillfully plots are severely unromantic. As her art develops, even the slight casualties of common life – such an incident, for example, as the elopement that appears in “Pride and Prejudice” – become rarer; the result that the later novels, such as “Emma”, are the pictures of everyday existence. Life in her novels is governed by an easy decorum and moments at fierce passion or even deep emotion never occur. Only the highest art can make such plots attractive, and Jane Austin’s does so.