The Rise of the Novel in the Restoration Period

The Age of Realism and Precision

The main characteristics of the Restoration period—Realism and Precision—were carried to further perfection. They are found in their excellent form in the poetry of Pope, and in the prose of Addison, who developed it into a clear, precise, and elegant form of expression. The Whigs and the Tories—members of two important political parties which were constantly contending to control the government of the country—used and rewarded writers for satirizing their enemies and undermining their reputations. A satire is concerned mainly with finding fault with opponents and is destructive in its intention.

Development of the Novel

Several conditions and factors contributed to the development of the novel:

• Growing popularity of reading, particularly among the middle class
• Increased education and a rise in educated readers, leading to literary criticism
• Prose as the most accessible form of writing (essays, letters, criticism)

Literary Influences:

• Journalism: aimed to educate and enlighten the reader
• Parallel art forms: biographies and personal memories
• Letter writing: a cultivated art form, composed with care
• Travel literature
• The Restoration comedies of manner
• The picaresque convention: originating in Spain, featuring a roguish protagonist and episodic adventures
• Mock-romance of knight errantry

Other Influences:

• A practical attitude to world affairs
• A belief in the individual conscience
• A spirit of self-enquiry. The spirit of Puritanism encouraged the development of the 'spiritual autobiography'.
• A love of truth. Stricter Puritans opposed the theatre because it put on works of fiction, which they equated with lies. Later Puritans, known as Dissenters, saw art as irrelevant to the serious business of living.

The Rise of the Middle Class

• Education became available to more people
• More leisure time became available, particularly for women
• Greater individualism - a belief that one must earn a living by one's own efforts
• Growing desire to be opened up to new worlds outside one's immediate existence
• Greater spiritual and social alienation and a belief that human destiny was uncertain

Scientific Philosophy

The optimistic philosophy of 'natural philosophers', such as John Locke (1632-1704), was consistent with, and helped lead to, a greater belief in reason at the expense of the imagination. After the Restoration, moderation and religious tolerance replaced passionate religious conviction, and attention was more focused on the social destiny of the individual and the facts and circumstances of the social world.