The historical novel: Scott e Manzoni

THE HISTORICAL NOVEL: SCOTT E MANZONI

During the Romantic age another important literary genre developed: the Historical novels.

The main features of the historical novel are:
•    Combination of fictional and historical elements: the main characters are fictional, the minor ones are often historical characters (for example Richard I “Lion hearted” in Ivanhoe, Charles Edward in Waverly)
•    An historical background: the events are set in a well-defined historical contest;
•    The presence of humble people;
•    A detailed description of manners is provided in order to transmit  a sense of historical verisimilitude;
•    A 3rd person omniscient narrator;
•    The techniques of flashbacks;
•    The writer’s aim is to show the closeness of the past to the present.

Walter Scott and historical novel: riassunto in inglese

HISTORICAL NOVEL AND WALTER SCOTT

Many critics had tried to explain why the historical novel had developed in the 19th century. According to an Hungarian critics, called Lukacs, the reason for the birth of the historical novels  is the search for national identity of many peoples, born during the Napoleonic Wars.

One of the most important writers of the H.N. was Walter Scott
He was Scottish and this fact influenced his life and his literary production. Several important events characterized these years: the Glorious Revolution (1689), the 1st Jacobite Rebellion and the 2nd one (1715-1745) during which Jacobite wanted a Stuart on the throne, the Battle of Culloden and the Highland Clearance.  Some of this events constituted the background of Scott’s Novel.
Walter Scott suffered from polio, because of this he had to spend long time at home, so he read a lots of Scottish legend especially about highlanders. This gave him a strong interest for the past of his country and he introduced a new concept of history, based on the lives of ordinary people.

Walter Scott: biografia e opere

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCOTT AND MANZONI

S. thought that The Act of Union (1707) was necessary evil. S. recognized that the union meant economic progress, on the other hand he felt regret for the heroic Scottish past.
S. believed in the value of compromises, in finding a solution  halfway between Scottish fanaticism and a passive acceptance of English rules.
Most of his poems follow a patter which has been called the “journey”: a traveller moves from an ethnic group, comes into contact with another and shares their life. In the end he returns to his original place, but his experience has helped him to grow up. Now he is able to mediate between two rival groups.

Scott e Manzoni: riassunto

HISTORICAL NOVEL CHARACTERISTICS

WAVERLY (1814). Edward Waverly is a young English man belong to a Jacobite aristocratic family. He is sent to Scotland to join the regiment of the Hanoverian army of King George II. Here he visits a Jacobite family friend, whose daughter, Rose, falls in love with him. However Edward’s attention is attracted by the charming Flora. Flora’s brother is the Jacobite chieftain Fergus Mac-Ivor, (they become friends: two different cultures met), but Edward’s visits to Fergus are wholly unwise and it is not long before Edward is arrested.