Defining the Novel by Conventions of Realism and Fictionality

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Citeable URL: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/defaults/pr76fb109

Attribute Name	Values
Creator	Villanti, Rebekah M.
Abstract	As a relatively recent literary genre, the origin and parameters of the novel are yet to be specifically defined. This essay uses characteristics of early novels to attempt a definition for the novel based on its marks of realism and fictionality. Referencing the novelistic theories of Georg Lukács, Ian Watt, and Catherine Gallagher, the proposed theory offers a definition grounded in subjectivity of perspective, formal conventions, and the concept of voluntary imaginative play. All of these characteristics are exemplified by the earliest instances of what is now considered the novel, both at the inception of the genre in the 18th century, and during its more widespread establishment in the 19th century. Such a theory avoids arbitrary categorization of literature based on subjective pronouncements of the work's relative plausibility. It removes plausibility from the core of the novel's definition, replacing it with consistent and observable conventions.
License	All rights reserved
Resource Type	Research Paper
Date Issued	2021-10-19
Degree Level	Bachelor's
Degree Name	Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Degree Field	English
Academic Affiliation	Writing, Literature and Film
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Publisher	Oregon State University
Peer Reviewed	No
Language	English [eng]

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