Unit 17 General Introduction to the Indian English Novel
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UNIT 17 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE INDIAN ENGLISH NOVEL Structure 17.0 Objectives 17.1 Introduction 17.2 What is a Novel? 17.3 Aspects of the Novel. 17.3.1 Theme 17.3.2 Plot 17.3.3 Characterization 17.3.4 Point of View 17.3.5 Place and Time 17.3.6 Narration or Dramatization 17.3.7 Style 17.4 Types of Novels 17.4.1 Picaresque Novel$ 17.4.2 Gothic Novel 17.4.3 Epistolary Novel 17.4.4 Psychological Novel 17.4.5 Historical Novel 17.4.6 Regional Novel 17.4.7 Other typeslforms 17.5 The Rise of the Indian Novel in English 17.5.1 The Beginning 17.5.2 The Novel in the early 20* Century 17.5.3 Women's Writing 17.6 Shashi Deshpande 17.6.1 Shashi Deshpande as a Novelist 17.7 Glossary 17.8 Let Us Sum Up 17.9 Suggested Reading . 17.10 Answers to Exercises 17.0 OBJECTIVES The aim of this unit is to introduce you to the genre of the novel and trace its aspects. We also aim to familiarize you with the rise of the Indian novel in English. After studying this unit carefully and completing the exercises, you will be able to : outline the development of the novel and its types recognize its different aspects know the history of the Indian novel in English, and trace its development. 17.1 INTRODUCTION In this Block, we intend to introduce you to the genre of the novel, with special reference to Shashi Deshpande's The Binding Vine, prescribed in your course. The Novel: The Binding Vine This is an introductory Unit of the Block and we must lead you step by step. We shall tell you briefly about the novel, its forms and aspects and provide you the background of the Indian novel in English. The next four units of this Block will prepare you to analyse Shashi Deshpande's The Binding Vine after a thorough discussion of the topics related to it. Studying a novel is different from reading a novel. When we read we are interested in the story; we are curious to know "what happens next" and some times we even jump to the end. Once we finish, our interest in the work ends and we pick up another book. So we can say that the novel has entertainment * -due. Not so when we "study" the novel. Of course, we still like to know "what happens next", but we also think about what the author is saying and why; how are the men and women in the novel behaving; are they life-like; what does the author want to convey; and how is helshe doing that? These questions lead us to read carefully and think deeply. Very soon we are able to combine entertainment with literary analysis and the joy of reading a good work becomes a source of knowledge also. As we proceed with this unit, we give you suggestions, ask questions to check your progress and provide answers wherever required. In this way, the block opens up before you a new vista of a literary text. We suggest that as you read you make notes, mark important paragraphs and select important stages in the story. These will come handy at the time of revision. So, here we go! Let us start with the first thing first and ask, "What is a novel"? 17.2 WHAT IS A NOVEL? The novel is a "story", a long, long story but, then it is not a sequence of stories; it dramatizes life but it is not drama; it is written in prose form but it is not prose. So how do we define a novel? A novel can be defined in broad terms as a piece of prose fiction, which dramatizes life with the help of characters and situations. It presents some aspect of human experiences and creates real-life atmosphere that is often gripping. The test of a great novel lies in its universal appeal. Let ud now examine this definition: 1. A novel is written in prose form, but novelists often handle the prose so delicately that the language acquires lyrical beauty. That is the reason why many novels are called "poetic". Though the bulk of this literature is written traditionally in prose, this is not binding and there can be exceptions. Let us remember, Vikram Seth's The Golden Gate is written in verse. 2. A novel is prose "fiction", that means it is an imaginary story. Even though it is imaginary or fictitious, it is life-like. 3. A novel "dramatizes" life. This means the details, the situations and - General Introdllction the characters are like real-life people. They act, react, struggle, suffer to the Indian English and triumph as we do in life. A novel is great or successful when it Novel engrosses the reader and inspires him to identify with it. The author achieves this by giving a coherent and sincere picture of life, human relationships and human strengths and weaknesses. 4. We may say that a novel is a "long" story but it is difficult to determine its length. The accepted length is usually more than 50,000 words. Anything shorter than that is called a "novella". Again, a novel may run into a thousand or so pages and some may be in several volumes. But, these are exceptions. Before we proceed further, we must also know that the novel is an extended narrative and distinct from the short story. The short story is more concentrated and does not have much scope to develop characters and situations, but a novel has this scope because of its length. A "novelette" or a "novella" is a narrative between the short story and the novel in length. In most European literature the word "roman" is used for the novel. "Roman" means "romance." The earlier narratives were associated with the romatic . adventures of the heroes and the heroines. The novel now has achieved a wider scope and is no longer a "romance", though the term "roman" stays on. The English name "novel" is derived from the Italian "novella" meaning "a little new thing". Let us now ask ourselves two questions: Why clo we read novels? Does the novel have any relevance to our lived reality? Does it perform any function in our life? Primarily we read novels for entertainment and also to learn about life. Novels provide us insight into the different aspects of human existence, human psyche, social and familial wlationships and the philosophy of life. We share the author's experiences and learn from them. To answer the second question, we turn to the fact that a novel is an artistic creation of life. Art cannot be didactic, that is, it does not purport to teach directly. It is for us to learn from it, to derive our lesson. The novel will lose its charm if it becomes a sermon. It helps us indirectly by extending our consciousness and making us aware of the immense possibilities of life. So, let us conclude this part with a few quotations: The novel at its most interesting is a process of inhale-exhale, a life- giving inspiration, a prose poem which releases the body and soul, even a new visionary glimpse of the miracle of life itself. - Mulk Raj Anand The novel is a 'perfect medium for revealing to us the changing rainbow of our living relationship - D.H. Lawrence A novel in an impression, not an argument. - Thomas Hardy 'TheNovel: The Binding Vine What is a novel but a peculiar and as yet unheard of event? - Goethe Fiction-if it at all aspires to be art-appeals to temperament. And, it must be, like paintings, like music, like all art, the appeal of one temperament to all the other innumerable temperaments. - Joseph Conrad Chedk your progress 1 Here are a few questions meant not to 'test you, but to help you check your understanding of the lesson. Try and answer these in your own words in the space provided: 1. What is a novel? Define it briefly. ..................................................................................... ..................................................................................... ..................................................................................... , ..................................................................................... ..................................................................................... 2. How would you differentiate between the short story, the novel, and the novella? 3. Does the novel have any function? ..................................................................................... ..................................................................................... ...................................................................................... 17.3 ASPECTS OF THE NOVEL Now that we have defined the novel, let us consider'its aspects. We know that the novel is a story about some event or person set in a particular place and time, advanced by the narrative mode. That means the novel must be having some important elements to keep the interest of the readers alive and, to make the story appealing and real. What are they? How can we find them? What is their significance? Let us, first of all make it clear that an author writes his noveVstory intuitively. For him or her, aspects as such are not important. As readers and scholars, we find the aspects important to analyse a work. Secondly, aspects are ingrained in a work and we can discuss them but we cannot divide a novel according tal them; that will be like cutting it into pieces. We must look at a work as a General Introduction whole to enjoy it. to the Indian English Novel If we have to enjoy a work as a whole, then why should we separate its various components? This we do for the purpose of analysis. If we like a novel, we appreciate it either for its theme or characters or maybe its' narrative technique. That's why, it is necessary for us to familiarize ourselves with: theme, plot, characterization, point of view, place and time, narrative technique, style and structure.