Question: Addison's The Coverley Papers is a precursor of the novel. Discuss.
Or, “The Coverley Papers foreshadows the English novel” — Elucidate.
Or, Examine the view that Addison was a pioneer of the English novel.
Or, Examine The Coverley Papers as a precursor of the English novel.
Or, Discuss Addison's contribution to English fiction.
Answer: “The Coverley Papers" is considered a precursor of the English novel. We know that Samuel Richardson's 'Pamela' is the first successful novel in English literature. It was written in 1740. Whereas Addison was alive up to 1719 and Steele was in 1729. So the Coverley Papers had been written before the ‘Pamela'. It is a combination of some notable essays. But it has characterization, story, dialogue, and a social picture. These are the most demandable aspects of a novel. Though “The Coverley Papers" is not a complete novel, we can say that it foreshadows the English novel. For this reason, it is said that Addison was a pioneer of the English novel.
As our discussion is related to the novel, we have to keep in mind the generally accepted basic requisites of a novel. Actually, a novel is a fictitious prose narrative of a certain length. Its common features are: (i) a fictitious story, often a fictitious love story, (ii) characters of the story, (iii) a location of the story, (iv) plot and incidents, and (v) a realistic picture of a particular society, (vi) a world. and (vii) dialogue.
"The Coverley Papers" is remarkable for its characterization. It has been accepted that the most important aspect of a novel lies in its characterization. Great novels always have great characters. In these papers, we get some impressive characters. Sir will wimble is one of them. He is a younger son of an aristocratic family. Fishing and hunting are his hobbies. He catches fish and sends it to his friend's house as a present. Addison has represented this character as vivid and life-like. Moll white will Honeycomb, Sir Andrew Freeport, captain century, the chaplain, and other such minor characters are well-drawn. But the most impressive character is that of Sir. Roger de Coverley. This character is discovered by Steele but developed by Addison. Roger de Coverley has been characterized as kindly, generous, charitable, and possessing a good sense of humor. But he is eccentric, absurd, and weak. In fact, these qualities of his character make him more human. He has a permanent place in English literature among the immortal characters from Chaucer to the present time. So, we see that Addison's characterization is indeed a great step toward the novel.
The plot is one of the most essential aspects of a novel. A novel is formed of several incidents. An incident is what happens to a character or what is brought about by a character. Novelists generally concentrate on some important incidents to develop their plot. Now in the essays connected with Sir Roger, we have some incidents though not many. In the essay, “on Witchcraft the story of Moll white”, we have seen that Sir Roger is meeting the local witch Moll White and we get to know the puzzled attitude of the knight towards witchcraft. We also see that in most of the essays, the knight is in different contexts, different places, and against different scenes, it is true that his love affair with the perverse widow offers good material for plot development. But they are not fully developed. If he is imagined as the hero, the beautiful widow will be the heroine.
A novel demands a realistic picture of a particular society. It is often the interpretation of life. “The Coverley Papers' gives us a realistic picture of the then society. Addison has represented the vivid and actual social picture before our eyes. He was a reformer and a satirist. He has shown the follies and deformities as well as absurdities in order to reform them. He criticizes many things in his contemporary society. But he does not interpret them clearly.
Another important feature of a novel is dialogue and conversation-making. Addison in his essays makes some dialogues but not conversations. Because he represents himself as a spectator, critic, and narrator. Almost all the characters are dumb and mute except Sir Roger de Coverley. Roger de covertly widow. His dialogues are long and well-versed. But this style is uncommon and incomparable in the field of English prose writings. Such kind of characteristic feature of Addison's essays lends weight to the view that “The Coverley Papers' foreshadows the English novel. We can regard it as a preparation for the modern novel. In this respect, an eminent critic says, “Their studies of Human character as exemplified in Sir Roger de Coverley, are a preparation for the modern novel.”
Addison's narrative skill is good but there is no attempt to organize or sustain a plot. His essays lack continuity or story interest. For this reason, it is said that “The Coverley Papers' would form a novel if they were put together in an arranged way.
However, in the context of our delineation as stated above we come across that Addison's characterization is peerless. The character of Roger de Coverley is his wonderful creation. In "The Coverley Papers" Addison has upheld a realistic picture of his contemporary society. It is considered a social document and a moral commentary. Indeed it contains a germ of the English novel. Though we cannot say that Addison was a pioneering novelist can easily see that his characterization was a big step towards the novelist, we can easily see that his characterization was a big step toward the beginning of the 18th-century novel. These “The Coverley Papers" foreshadows the English novel.
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