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William Dean Howells and the New Science: Darwinian Evolution and the Rise of Realism Stephen Wells

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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2008 William Dean Howells and the New Science: Darwinian Evolution and the Rise of Realism Stephen Wells Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Wells, S. (2008). William Dean Howells and the New Science: Darwinian Evolution and the Rise of Realism (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1353 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS AND THE NEW SCIENCE: DARWINIAN EVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF REALISM A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Stephen H. Wells December 2008 Copyright by Stephen H. Wells 2008 WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS AND THE NEW SCIENCE: DARWINIAN EVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF REALISM By Stephen H. Wells Approved ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Frederick Newberry, Ph. D. Dr. Constance Ramirez, Ph. D. Professor of English (Committee Member) (Dissertation Director) ______________________________ Dr. Thomas P. Kinnahan, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of English (Committee Member) ______________________________ Dr. Albert C. Labriola, Ph. D. Acting Dean, McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts Professor of English iii ABSTRACT WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS AND THE NEW SCIENCE: DARWINIAN EVOLUTION AND THE RISE OF REALISM By Stephen H. Wells December 2008 Dissertation Supervised by Dr. Frederick Newberry, Ph. D. Broad acceptance of Charles Darwin‟s Origin of Species emboldened a young William Dean Howells to explore the possibility of a scientific foundation for a new literature combining close observations of the immediate environment with a method of interpreting these observations based on evolutionary science as Howells understood it. Charles Sprague‟s “The Darwinian Theory,” published in the Atlantic in 1866, the year Howells became assistant editor, provided the foundation for this new method, and Alfred Russel Wallace‟s The Malay Archipelago (1869) prompted Howells to take what he called “a new direction” in fiction based on evolutionary theory and natural selection. He began to explore this new approach in sketches written for the Atlantic (later published as Suburban Sketches) and further developed it in his first novel, Their Wedding Journey. Of special interest is the sketch “Jubilee Days” in which he examines iv the biological premises upon which Darwin and Wallace base their conclusions about natural selection. Howells continued to explore evolutionary theory in A Modern Instance in which he examines the locus of human morality and the educational process that shapes the human moral sense. Individual progress, analogous to social progress, requires inheritance of an innate altruistic tendency, which stands in tenuous opposition to the selfish impulses that had directed human behavior for millennia. If unsupported, altruism can revert to savage animalism; therefore, education must shape it. Additionally, a terminus of influence delimits the boundary beyond which the adult moral sense solidifies. Later in his career, however, Howells‟s attitude toward evolution exhibits a slow but steady shift from measured optimism concerning the future of human society to one of doubt and pessimism. In The Minister’s Charge (1886), Howells concludes that adaptation is possible for the individual and that the variation introduced to the existing, relatively closed social structure will strengthen society as a whole. The Landlord at Lion’s Head (1897) presents an interpretation close in accord with an integrated evolutionary theory of Mendelian genetics with Darwinian natural selection. Howells eventually concludes that the best one can hope for is survival in the perpetual struggle and adaptation within a shifting social environment. v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my family, immediate and extended, without whose immeasurable support in so many ways I would never have been able to complete this study. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The process of writing this dissertation has stretched over eight years and involved many people who have provided support for my project in many ways. I begin with a general declaration of my gratitude to all of those who have helped me in any way to succeed in the completion of this dissertation. More specifically, I would like to start by thanking my committee, especially my committee chair, Frederick Newberry. Dr. Newberry has watched and in many ways guided my scholarly progress for the past sixteen years, and for the past eight years has offered encouragement, patience, prodding, and incisive criticism, all at the appropriate times. Thanks also to my readers, Connie Ramirez, who provided shaping advice from an early stage in the project, and especially to Tom Kinnahan who agreed to step into the project to replace another reader, Jennifer Leader, whose career took a new direction, which took her away from Duquesne University. In addition to my committee, others read and offered comment on portions of this dissertation during various stages of its development. My father, Willard Wells, helped significantly during composition of the original proposal for this project and contributed helpful comments on the first two chapters. Diane Maldonado read chapter one in an early state and noted several points that needed clarification. My colleague at the Community College of Allegheny County, Bonnie Ordonez, deserves special thanks for reading the first two chapters, but more importantly for prodding me to talk things out when I was having difficulty and then having the patience to listen once she got me going. vii Fellow graduate students at Duquesne University through the 1990s made classes, office hours, and social time engaging and enjoyable. I am especially thankful for the friendship of my fellow graduate student, Julie Kloo, with whom I shared countless lunches and wonderful conversations. Her encouragement and energy influenced significantly my approach to research and writing. Also at Duquesne University, Dorothy Frayer, Laurel Willingham-McLain, and Karen Krzywicki all worked in the Center for Teaching Excellence during my fellowship in that office as Instructional Consultant for TAs. They encouraged me when the task seemed too great and regularly evicted me from the office, sending me off to the library to work on this project. My aunt Martelle Wells has provided for me through my entire life a model of someone who pushes boundaries and assumes no personal limits. I must specifically acknowledge the grant she provided that allowed me a summer without teaching to devote to scholarship. My aunt and uncle, Becky and Daryl Warner encouraged me to bring my family to Boston and housed and fed us all while I spent a week reading at the Houghton Library during the day and playing badminton in their back yard in the evening. It was as relaxing, enjoyable, and productive a vacation as I have ever had. The knowledgeable and helpful staff at Harvard‟s Houghton Library Reading Room contributed to a pleasant and enlightening time of study. Permission to quote from the “What Is It?” playbill was generously granted by the Harvard Theatre Collection housed at the Houghton Library of Harvard University. My mother-in-law, Donna Coon, knew how to solve any problem; the magic cure always involved a good meal. Although she passed away before she could see this project completed, she lives on in my children, all of whom love a good meal as much as viii she did, and, unfortunately, in the twenty pounds I‟ve gained since I began working on this project. Her devotion to her family provided an example for me as I tried to balance family life with my teaching and scholarship. My mother and father, Willard and Margaret Wells, both English majors, instilled in me from an early age a love of reading and literature by sharing with me the exploits of Tom Sawyer and the adventures of the Swiss Family Robinson among many others. They also provided for me an example of a work ethic that helped to carry me through the process of writing this dissertation. My kids—Alexandra, Meghan, Stephen, and Maria—showed genuine interest in my work, gave me quiet when I asked for it (most of the time) and gave me fun when I needed it (all of the time), and I thank them for their patience and understanding. Finally, I owe great thanks for the understanding and support of my wife, Jennifer, who has encouraged my devotion to this project, heartened me when I had almost surrendered its completion to the duties of work and family, and who picked up the slack when I needed hours to write. Her commitment and sacrifice surpass my own. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract . iv Dedication . vi Acknowledgments . vii Introduction . 1 The First Steps toward Realism: Charles B. Sprague and “The Darwinian Theory” in Howells‟s Atlantic . 46 The “errors and caprices of destiny”: Geology, Biology, and the World of Natural Selection in Suburban Sketches and Their Wedding Journey . 88 “A curious sense of moral decay” “Sympathy, Morality, Education, and Reversion in A Modern Instance . 146 Social Evolution and Howells‟s Diminishing Hope for Progress in The Minister’s Charge and The Landlord at Lion’s Head . 201 Conclusion . 248 Endnotes . 268 Works Cited . 285 x Introduction Science, Society, and the Fiction of William Dean Howells “So many scientists have denied so many things that it is hard to understand that Science herself denies nothing, to begin with, but seeks only and always to know the truth.” —William Dean Howells, “Editor‟s Study” April 1886 (808) William Dean Howells figures in scholarship and literary history as a gracious editor, an insightful critic, and a conservative influence on American literary realism.
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