Why the Novel Matters by D. H. Lawrence
A Brief summary on "Why the Novel Matters"
This essay is an attempt of making people try to understand life as a succession of bad and good feelings,sensations ,concepts, ideas, beliefs... The writer establishes the elements of his literary genre as if he would describing the parts of his body- the novel is alive and “whatever is me alive is me”. In a fantastic way, D.W.Lawrence shows his experience as a man and as a novelist, using great comparisions between people from different areas of knowledge( parson, philosopher,scientist) and their views of life. He is very provoking, because he tries to impose his values and concepts without giving much importance to what the others will think, he does not care about “stupid”philosophies, he believes in what he can touch and feel. Finally, the writer defends that “nothing is important but life” and towards this life philosophy, he supports his ideas and feelings present in a novelist soul/ body. Some important topics of the essay are present below:
· Dichotomy body x soul, mind, spirit ( superstition).
· The power of the hand is compared to the power of the brain. Hand, brain and mind are alive. “Me”alive (“Whatever is me alive is me”).
· Paradise is in the palm of novelists’hands- transcedental philosophy.
· The body has knowledge because it is alive.
· Tremulations upon the ether like radio messages = spirit stuff, which is not more important than the living body.
· Life philosophy: “Nothing is important but life”. Life is nowhere but in the living.
· The man, who is alive, is greater than his soul, or spirit, or body, or mind, or consciousness.
· D.H.Lawrence writes that he is a man alive, and for this reason he is a novelist ( superior to saints, scientists, philosophers and poets, “who are great masters of different bits of man alive, but never get the whole hog”).
· Books are not life, but
This essay is an attempt of making people try to understand life as a succession of bad and good feelings,sensations ,concepts, ideas, beliefs... The writer establishes the elements of his literary genre as if he would describing the parts of his body- the novel is alive and “whatever is me alive is me”. In a fantastic way, D.W.Lawrence shows his experience as a man and as a novelist, using great comparisions between people from different areas of knowledge( parson, philosopher,scientist) and their views of life. He is very provoking, because he tries to impose his values and concepts without giving much importance to what the others will think, he does not care about “stupid”philosophies, he believes in what he can touch and feel. Finally, the writer defends that “nothing is important but life” and towards this life philosophy, he supports his ideas and feelings present in a novelist soul/ body. Some important topics of the essay are present below:
· Dichotomy body x soul, mind, spirit ( superstition).
· The power of the hand is compared to the power of the brain. Hand, brain and mind are alive. “Me”alive (“Whatever is me alive is me”).
· Paradise is in the palm of novelists’hands- transcedental philosophy.
· The body has knowledge because it is alive.
· Tremulations upon the ether like radio messages = spirit stuff, which is not more important than the living body.
· Life philosophy: “Nothing is important but life”. Life is nowhere but in the living.
· The man, who is alive, is greater than his soul, or spirit, or body, or mind, or consciousness.
· D.H.Lawrence writes that he is a man alive, and for this reason he is a novelist ( superior to saints, scientists, philosophers and poets, “who are great masters of different bits of man alive, but never get the whole hog”).
· Books are not life, but