Despite this summer being incredibly busy, I did still manage to find time for some ‘fun’ reading. I have always loved literature, in all of its many forms: classic,modern, adventure, fantasy, drama, mystery, and romance. Curling up with a good book is still one of my favorite pastimes. While the point of this reading is often that it requires little to no thinking, I also cannot help thinking about why this is so- especially in connection to my not so fun (or at least light) reading in moral theology.
This got me wondering: what is it about a good novel that is so appealing; so enjoyable? It seems that at least one answer lies in the fact that novels in some way function as a lens of our lives and society. Think about it: what is it that draws us into a book like Pride and Prejudice, or even Harry Potter? First, I think it magnifies certain aspects of its characters such that we can in some way identify with them. We all recognize Mr. Darcy’s pride because we have all been there in some way, and we all have felt lonely or abandoned like Harry. We identify with the characters, which attracts us to them. But I don’t think it stops there.
While we may identify with certain aspects of characters or situations, we also recognize (or at least recognize that we ought to realize) that the story of the novel is not our own. We are self-interested in many ways, but it doesn't seem to me that novels are popular just because we are narcissistic. While in a lot of ways they allow for escapism, to me, they also offer more than that. We don’t read a book just to get away from our problems, because those in the book have problems too. Rather, it seems to me that I read because subconsciously I recognize that the simplicity of fiction can shed new light on many problems.
This is not to say that a novel has to be simple to be good, or that complicated characters in tangled situations makes for a bad work of fiction. The simplicity of fiction comes in that in most cases, the described human being simply cannot be as complicated as the real thing. Even the deepest character cannot be all-encompassing. We human beings have too many aspects for that. Rather, the beauty of fiction is that it paint a picture of a person in a way that is believable and yet simplifying, such that a particular problem or issue is highlighted.
Since Harry Potter is all the rage right now, take that as an example. Since this was a series, Harry is perhaps better developed than the average character. We get a picture of an ‘average’ boy: he goes through teen angst, falls in love, makes friends, and, above all, makes mistakes. Yet through the fictional setting of the magical world and the choice made by the evil villain to single out Harry, the power of love and self sacrifice are shown again and again. We see this not only in Harry’s final action, but in the actions of his friends, teachers, and the complete strangers who are unwilling to do evil in order to save themselves, often at the cost of death. Through the lens of the extraordinary situation-- the amplification of the good and evil that exist in this world-- we see what love can do. And we start to wonder what it has done (and can do!) in our lives.
Through this lens, the reader is then able to think through the dilemma in a way that is separate from and yet still relevant to her own life. The novel presents, through its characters, a snapshot of the drama of human life. Maybe it’s a picture that the reader recognizes as parallel to something in her own life, or maybe it’s a completely foreign experience. Perhaps she gains perspective on her own problem or maybe she catches a glimpse into another person’s experience, enabling her to sympathize. Either way, she is enriched.
Basically, I think all of this leads to a really interesting question about the role of Literature in cultural Morality and individual moral formation, but I think for now I'll start with these musings. I'd love to hear any thoughts you may have on the subject?
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