Howells: You Need A Drink Of Water

The English cartoon depicting James atop Howells head was a mark off. They should have depicted James nursing a raging child. For though James was fascinating and Twain has his dynamic character, Howells seems to have nothing but his philosophy. His thinking on literature might be true but that sure is not being revealed by writing a story in order to prove it. Especially one titled A Romance of Real Life, you might as well title it THIS IS HOW IT IS, with a clap on the ears of the listener. To be fair however it does seem to be a rather common mistake for someone who has not let their thinking become a living and active thing which engages with others, indeed I can get like THIS. But it still needs to be criticized; Howells consistently brings his story to the ditches in order to force his opinion. Little quips like, “However Jonathan Tinker had fallen in his esteem as a man” (A Romance of Real Life, 6), just give off the stench of stuffy non enjoyment. If this little insight had been reserved for a Malvolio type, it would have been priceless. Now if the reader shares the same sentiments this attitude can be less offensive. But I would only ask this reader to put themselves in the situation of reading a story with a similarly religious philosophical intrusion, and see how they would handle it.