Various Interpretations of Character Motivation in 19th Century American Literature
Various Interpretations of Character Motivation in 19th Century American LiteratureTitle: Various Interpretations of Character in Late 19th Century America Literature
The medium of photography is primarily concerned with capturing a precise, detailed image, with the photographer using a camera to distill the image. In the 19th century, this quest for precision drove not only photographers but also authors, perhaps pointing to a pervading desire to capture the reality of things. Responding to Romanticism, William Dean Howells, Mark Twain, and Henry James, among many others, committed themselves to writing about plausible events that actually occur to the average American individual. This is the essence of Realism. Their writing would be a snapshot of a moment, with the reader witnessing an instance in a character’s life.
Along side the rise of Realism in literature towards the end of the 19th century developed movements of Realism which emphasized different aspects of creating this literary picture. They included Regionalists, who also aimed to write truthfully about what is, and Naturalists, who identified the human struggle as the ultimate theme in Realism. Some would argue that these two genres are outside the realm of Realism, however upon examination, both of these movements share much of the same concerns as the Realists. Because of the preoccupation with achieving objectivity by creating complex characters and by looking at how these characters then react to their given circumstances, we should consider Regionalism and Naturalism as merely strains of Realism. By looking at the work of Jack London, Charles Waddell Chesnutt, and Elizabeth Freeman, we can see their interpretation of the Realist aesthetic.
However, first we shall discuss Henry James, as he is considered the quintessential Realist. James wanted to remove from his writing the subjective artifice of Romanticism, relying then on the distance objectivity grants the reader (and characters involved) to form their own opinion. He concentrated on character motivation — the why a person does something versus if it is morally correct. In “Daisy Miller”, we see all of his concerns regarding literature exhibited. His story is specific about the details of time and place. We are not necessarily concerned with the title character, but rather Winterbourne’s reading of her. We bear witness to his thought process as he reads her outer appearance, trying to determine the inner reality. Initially, he notes Miss Miller’s “various features–her complexion, her nose, her ears, her teeth” (456). He notes this because he believes that he can discern from her natural character. In fact, based on this cataloguing of her outward attributes, he comes to the conclusion that “it [she] was not at all insipid, but it was not exactly expressive; and though it was eminently delicate [he] mentally accused it … of want of finish” (456). He is pleased and “almost grateful for having found a formula that applied” to her (458)....
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