In the history of English literature, D. H. Lawrence is considered one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century. His writings, on the one hand, have given rise to controversy and, on the other hand, have become extremely popular among many people. Therefore, there is no doubt that he will take up his pen in favor of the novel. His essay “Why the Novel Matters” is also an important addition to the history of literary criticism because here he portrays the novel as an important medium of literature. Before that, poetry and drama were considered the important mediums of literature, and everyone would give importance to poetry, especially. As a result, most of the literary criticism we find from the past is about poetry and discusses various aspects of poetry. In that context, D. H. Lawrence’s “Why the Novel Matters” is a different type of essay. Here, he mainly tries to highlight the importance and excellence of the novel.
According to D. H. Lawrence, other branches of knowledge are fragmented. In science, we see one kind of truth; in religion, we see another kind; and in philosophy, we see yet another kind. Therefore, in all these areas, we can only see fragmented pieces of truth, knowledge, and the universe. D. H. Lawrence has beautifully illustrated this point by discussing which aspects of a person science is interested in, which aspects a painter is interested in, and which aspects a philosopher is interested in. D. H. Lawrence tried to say that other branches of knowledge are not interested in the whole person.
On the other hand, a novel is something that seeks to portray the overall life of a person. By the term “human,” it does not just mean the hands, feet, eyes, and face, but also their thoughts, society, successes, failures, joys, and sorrows. Depicting all these aspects is the purpose of a novel. In fact, if we look at novels, we can see that each novel is as long in length as it is vast in terms of content. Therefore, a novel has many characters, can have many events, and can take a lot of time to develop. According to D. H. Lawrence, a novel is interested in all aspects of human life, and for this reason, its superiority over any branch of knowledge is undeniable.
Not only that, but in a novel, a man is alive and truly alive. In other branches of knowledge, people are more like dead and like an inanimate object. A philosopher ends up telling some moral stories, or perhaps, in the case of religion, we see this. Science provides some unemotional conclusions about humans. From this perspective, a person is alive in the novel, and when readers read, they often see a living person.
Another aspect of the novel that D. H. Lawrence considers extremely remarkable is that it portrays human society. We know that the main difference between animals and humans is that humans live in a society and are dependent on one another. These social relationships, dependencies, and exchanges are depicted in novels.
However, one thing that needs to be mentioned here is that by “novel,” D. H. Lawrence did not only mean a long story written in prose. According to him, the novel is the highest form of literature. Therefore, he considers the Bible to be an extraordinary novel, and he believes that the works of poets like Homer and Shakespeare fall into the category of novels. In this case, the main argument of D. H. Lawrence is that the Bible, as well as the works of Homer and Shakespeare, primarily discuss and portray all aspects of human life. He believes that a novelist should depict the full spectrum of human life in this way.
D. H. Lawrence began writing novels at a time when their popularity had skyrocketed, and he himself achieved considerable success. However, many people did not regard novels with much respect and were keen to give importance to drama and poetry. But D. H. Lawrence said that we must value novels because they complete human life in a way that no other branch of knowledge can. Therefore, according to D. H. Lawrence, novels will not only bring joy and entertainment to people’s minds but also teach them to think critically and help reveal the truths about human life and society. In novels, we can see both good and bad, not just moral lessons. Novels contain not only greatness but also baseness, good alongside evil, and success alongside failure. Thus, novels help to make human life meaningful.
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