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Abstract
The question of how art, which challenges as well as reflects its society, can be accurately evaluated by that culture remains an on-going concern. In the nineteenth century, Stephen Crane, William Dean Howells, Henry James, and Mark Twain, now considered lasting contributors to the American novel, met with the misunderstanding, even rejection, of their contemporary audience. The subjects and methods of The Red Badge of Courage (1895), A Modern Instance (1882), The Bostonians (1886), and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), denied readers the cliches of sentimental romances. Although all of the novels lacked traditional heroes, heroines, villains, and formulaic stories and depicted everyday people and events, each provoked a specific objection (method in Crane, character in Howells, lack of story in James, and narrator in Twain). Chapter I surveys the criticism from 1875 to 1900 to illustrate the genteel tastes which these novels offended.
Chapter II shows that Howells' study of unpleasant characters and their divorce shocked readers. The majority of critics complained that Howells' characters were either unworthy of study, not representative of New England's finer citizens, or not realistic. Other critics projected their idealism on the novel when they proclaimed Bartley a good person because his intentions are honorable, Marcia a lovely heroine, and Atherton Howells' spokesman for stricter divorce laws.
Chapter III examines James' "American tale" and the anger it elicited. Bored with the lack of incident and angered with James' depiction of Bostonians, critics said James had failed to adequately establish his heroine and develop his story. They overlooked James' concerns: the invasion of the public on private lives, the threat to individuality in a materialistic society, the degeneration of the reform spirit, and the decline of normal sexuality.
Chapter IV demonstrates that once readers had met Huck Finn, they rejected this too-familiar sociopath who, they said, was an unhealthy influence. Clemens' first person narration and use of dialect alienated readers who felt uncomfortably close to Huck.
Chapter V shows that by 1895 critics had accepted both the realists' insistence on realistic details and their interest in psychology. Although a few critics deplored his depiction of American soldiers, most praised Crane's realistic scenes and his depiction of Henry Fleming's maturation. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI
