Senior Writing Sample

Joe Spillane
Trans-Atlantic Literature
Prof. Dillon
Final Paper Assignment


The function of romance in Trans-Atlantic literature has been widely debated. Attempts to define the differences in similarities between European and American texts have created a slew of sub-genres and categories that try to specify and separate the two schools from each-other. While some would argue that it is imperative to note the subtle differences between the two, I would argue that is the things they share which is essential to understanding a genre labeled “Trans-Atlantic.” By comparing the novels Caleb Williams by William Godwin, and The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one can make the argument that each attempts to critique the conflicts between the aristocracy and the rising middle class. In the case of Caleb Williams the romance lies in Caleb’s never-ending faith in the pursuit for truth. In The House of Seven Gables it is the aristocracy who is threatened by the lower classes, and the romance lies in denial of one’s inner evil intentions. Both texts are social commentaries on the conflicts between the rising middle class and the declining aristocracy, which one could argue is the common denominator in all Trans-Atlantic writings.
In David Collin’s essay The Romance of the Impossible: William Godwin in the Empty Place of Reason, Collins defines the romance in Caleb William’s as Caleb’s dream of actualizing a greater truth that is in contrast to the realities that surround him. Collins argues that Caleb’s dream is set up in the start to be impossible. Collins raises this question of Godwin’s intentions when he writes:
“But why would Godwin write a romance that is clearly identified at the start as destructive? If this romance already displays its impossibility, what social purpose
does it serve? The fact that such a romance could be entertaining, even fascinating, suggest that it fulfills the wish to be able to carry out such an impossible enterprise.
The question of telling a story that is set up to be an impossible task asks “What does the resolution of this story say about the aristocratic tyranny of Falkland, and the moral superiority of the middle-class Caleb? One could argue that this story in effect is to emphasize the moral obligations that one must display as a middle-class citizen in a world dominated by the will of the aristocracy. The moral superiority of the middle class is held in much higher regard than the romantic idealism that is associated with Falkland and the upper-classes. Much like Samuel Hutchinson’s protagonist Pamela, Caleb maintains consistency with his moral obligations while knowing that he is to face persecution, just as Pamela does in regards to the persecution from Mr. B. This positive representation elevates the middle-class a new empowered force in the world that is challenging the role of upper-classes in society.
Caleb’s quest for truth and/or freedom serves two purposes according to Collins. Not only can Caleb’s morals serve himself but his actions must serve the greater good of society as well. Collins writes, “Pure freedom, the virtuous intention, is not enough; it must serve the actual interests of others.” This sentiment when can be interpreted as the way in which the middle classes are defining their role in society in Trans-Atlantic texts. The empowerment that the middle class possesses is their moral superiority. At least that is the dream that Godwin wishes to convey. In many ways however this novel is showing how the dreams of the middle class cannot be realized in Caleb’s era. The original title “Things as They Are” is poignant in understanding the contrast that Godwin is creating between the greater moral truth and the harsh real “truth” embraced by society. The middle class could easily be stifled still by the aristocracy but nonetheless as Caleb Williams illustrates, as well as in Pamela, the middle-classes must maintain their moral superiority even though it may cause them persecution.
Collins argues that Godwin draws this moral debate from some of the contemporaries of his time. Collins states that Caleb Williams is a compromise of the debate between Bentham and Kant. Bentham argues that all ethical actions must be in order to serve the greater good of society, and Kant argues that all that matters is a man’s personal moral intentions regardless of their impact on society. Collins concludes, “Thus Godwin takes up a fairly unusual ethical stance. Like Bentham, he insists that ethical action must lead to real good for humanity; like Kant, he holds that one must act with fully virtuous intention.” It is the combination of the two that illustrates what Godwin feels is the role of the middle classes. Caleb’s ability to demonstrate both his good personal intentions and his actions at serving the greater truth for society (i.e. the exoneration of Hawking's name) are what makes his character stand out as an ethical, moral, hero. When applying this to Hutchinson’s Pamela, one can see how Pamela fits this mold as well using her virtue as the thing which perpetuates her as a positive protagonist. The middle class is taking on the role of the heroic in these romances instead of the nobility, which had been a characteristic of romances written in the past.
What defines this as romance according to Collins is Godwin’s wish to tell a fictional account rather than a historical account. Much like Hawthorne, Godwin felt that romantic and/or fictional representations of life allow for a more specific and more encompassing story of events. In the “Essay of History and Romance,” Godwin argues that a fictional representation is preferable to a factual account of a historical personage’s life, for it makes available what is otherwise unknowable in the historical record. A very similar definition of romance is given in Hawthorne’s preface to The House of Seven Gables in which Hawthorne writes:
…while, as a work of art, it must rigidly subject itself to laws, and while it sins unpardonably, so far as it may swerve aside from the truth of the human heart—has fairly a right to present the truth under circumstances, to a great extent, of the writer’s own choosing an creation. If he think fit, also, he may so manage his atmospherical medium as to bring out or mellow the lights and deepen and enrich the shadows of the picture.”
Godwin and Hawthorne both emphasize the romantic mode as a way to give the author greater freedom on commenting on aspects of life that pure historical narratives can exclude. Coming from the epistolary past of earlier fictions, both authors embrace that romance and all its melodramatic obsessions allow for an over accentuated and sensually heightened experience that allows greater access to its readers. The ability to “deepen” and “enrich” the stories being what Hawthorne hoped would be his writings most notable characteristic. In Winifred Fruck’s essay “The American Romance” and the Changing Functions of the Imaginary New Literary History, Fruck argues that Hawthorne’s definition was merely self serving however. Fruck writes:
“Hawthorne’s definition, however, was in itself an exemplary act of self-authorization. It did not describe an American tradition; rather, it was an attempt to elevate the historical romance to a new level of epistemological promise and artistic respectability.”
Fruck argues that Hawthorne isn’t genuinely attempting to define the intentions of the romantic writer and instead is trying to assert his work as noteworthy of artistic recognition. One could see how this undermines the definition of romance that Hawthorne provides. Nevertheless, according to Hawthorne and Godwin, romance is a tool that allows the authors greater lease to raise the questions they wish to raise. What is interesting in both texts here, is that both authors choose to use romance as a way to comment on poignant social issues. Both texts emphasize the search for identity in the rising middle classes. Godwin chooses to illustrate this struggle from the perspective of a persecuted middle class worker, and Hawthorne uses the aging aristocracy and the vivacity of a younger generation.
Traditionally there has been consensus that European and American novels/romances were trying to comment on two different aspects of dealing with society. In Winifred Fruck’s essay she argues that historians classified European texts as being focused on social issues and American literature had been focused on an escape from society and all its obligations. Fruck writes, “The view of American literature that emerged from these studies is that of a literature of flight from civilization and the claims of society, of a literature, in other words, of individual self assertion.” Fruck argues that these studies only considered earlier American novels that were essentially focused on fringe living. Either being on the edge of civilization, or on the frontier exploring it.
Fruck argues that America’s fascination with adventurous romance was not the world that Hawthorne came from. Fruck writes, “Hawthorne’s starting point was not the romance of adventure, but the historical romance of colonial New England with its focus on questions of historical legitimacy and moral guilt.” Godwin and Hawthorne both write romances that are not about fleeing from the responsibilities of society, but instead are about acknowledging the responsibilities of the greater good for society. It is imperative to consider the elements of European novels and American novels together that make up the Trans-Atlantic genre since they share so many aesthetics. Fruck would like to classify The House of Seven Gables as American-Historical Romance. Collins would like to classify Caleb Williams as the romance of the impossible. One could argue, however, that more can be learned by studying the texts from one general perspective. Both authors are making social commentaries about the middle class. Both comment on fringe living and social obligations to society. For example, Hawthorne demonstrates fringe living with the character of Holgrave. Holgrave represents the American ideal of fringe living, having no set obligations to any community, and no obligations in which he can’t give up with short or no notice. It is Holgrave’s ability to settle down and conform to the needs of society (i.e. raising a family, owning land, becoming part of a community) that allows him to be included in the rewarding ending that Hawthorne provides his characters. For Caleb Williams the commentary on the exclusion from society manifests in the thieves (Gines) that Caleb lives with and how Caleb returns to social life at the end of the novel and how living outside of society would have eventually destroyed him, as the original ending would have confirmed.
Fruck also argues that “the secret which stands at the center of Hawthorian romance is the secret of the self which has to learn to acknowledge its own “guilty” longings in order not to be destroyed by them.” Holgrave’s ability to acknowledge and rectify the wrongs of his past allows him to be redeemed in the end of the tale. The Judge’s inability to do so on the other hand is what ultimately destroys him. Since the Judge cannot acknowledge his wrongdoings and falls prey to evil intentions it costs him his life, his son’s life, and his fortunes. It could be argued that Hawthorne also draws from Godwin here. Caleb Williams' fantasies of murder and revenge upon Falkland are repressed, and after much inner turmoil and debate, Caleb concedes to his moral obligations and the greater good of society when he denounces Falkland and redeems his name. Falkland, much like the Judge, is unable to reconcile his evil past and his evil intentions towards Caleb. The persecution of Caleb by Falkland, and the persecution of Clifford by the Judge, is what ultimately allows their downfall at the end of the novels to come to fruition. So Fruck’s definition of what is the essence of Hawthorian romance, may also be applied to the earlier writings of Godwin—furthering the connection between Trans-Atlantic texts. David Collins would argue that the essence of the romance in Caleb Williams is attributed to the pursuit of moral truth instead of the denial of moral guilt. But one could argue that both themes could be used interchangeably in both texts.
By attempting to separate American and European literature into two schools of thought one can miss some extremely important relationships between the middle class and the aristocracy, and the way that Europeans and Americans struggled to find their identity in a newer more secular world. Hawthorne and Godwin may have written in different times at different places, but they used the same traditional elements of storytelling, and the similarities that connect their works cannot be ignored. They both represent the anxieties of a changing society whose everyday uncertainties manifested in the hateful persecution of the innocent. They both represent the new middle class as virtuous. For Godwin the middle class may yet not succeed as the powers they are up against are strong. For Hawthorne the aristocracy must end due to ever-growing power of the middle class. In either case the new world is going to be dependent on the role and responsibility that the middle class needs to exemplify.










BIBLIOGRAPHY

Collins, David, The Romance of the Impossible: William Godwin in the Empty Place of Reason ELH – Volume 70, Number 3, Fall 2003, pp. 847-874 – Article
http://0muse.jhu.edu.ilsprod.lib.neu.edu/journals/elh/v070/70.3collings.html

Fluck, Winifried. “The American Romance” and the Changing Functions of the Imaginary New Literary History – Volume 27, Number 3, Summer 1996, pp. 425-457 – Article
http://0musejhu.edu.ilsprod.lib.edu.neu/journals/new_literary_history/v027/27.3f...

Godwin, William. Caleb Williams. Broadview Press LTD. Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. 2000

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of Seven Gables. W.W. Norton and Company Inc. New York, New York. 2006