Man of Feeling by Henry Mackenzie

¶ … Henry Mackenzie's novel "The man of feeling." There are two main issue that we are going to address. The first one is demonstrating that the book under discussion is really a representative example of the sentimental novel genre.

The second one is an attempt to understand what is the novel's place in forming and evoking the concept of "nation."

In order to demonstrate that the book is part of the sentimental novel genre, we ought to be able to recognize the main features which characterize it. Derived from the domestic novel, the sentimental one was a popular genre at the time when Mackenzie wrote it. Meant to be a reaction to the generally diffused idea according to which humanity was depraved, the sentimental novel wishes to demonstrate the fact that human nature is inherently good.

In addition to that this type of novel wishes to provide its readers with a model of conduct. Naturally the focus is on sentiment, sentimentalism and sensibility. And it can be stated that the main character of the book under discussion is a living proof of a human behaviour based on the three coordinates which have been mentioned above. "His remarks were few, and made only to his familiar friends; but they were such as the world might have heard with veneration: and his heart, uncorrupted by its ways, was ever warm in the cause of virtue and his friends."

It must be underlined right from the very beginning that the purpose of the sentimental novel is to cause a strong emotional response in the readers. Even more, the characters are described as undergoing events and passion which have them living emotional experiences which are extremely powerful. In an era in which reason was believed to have failed in man's attempt to understand himself and the universe, sympathy becomes the link which unites people. People are considered to act based upon innate instincts, which are either good or bad " On something like a bed, lay a man with a face seemingly emaciated with sickness, and a look of patient dejection. A bundle of dirty shreds served him as a pillow, but he had a better support, the arm of a female who kneeled beside him, beautiful as an angel, but with a fading languor in her countenance, the still life of melancholy, that seemed to borrow its shade from the object on which she gazed."

The actions of our hero Harley demonstrate that man is kind and benevolent. In fact benevolence represents a key word "Her beneficence was unbounded; indeed the natural tenderness of her heart might have been argued, by the frigidity of a casuist, as detracting from her virtue in this respect, for her humanity was a feeling, not a principle: but minds like Harley's are not very apt to make this distinction, and generally give our virtue credit for all that benevolence which is instinctive in our nature."

One of the main philosophical concepts which can be found at the basis of the sentimental novel is represented by the belief that being true to one's feelings helps man surpass his condition as victim of evilness and falseness. The benevolent people demonstrate not only their superiority to the ones which are fowl, but they are a living proof that happiness and goodness are connected. Acting out of sympathy for the other - Harley's father had taken him up an orphan, and saved him from being cast on the parish; and he had ever since remained in the service of him and of his son."-is what everybody ought to do. What we have therefore is a strong valorisation of fine feeling "Virtue held back his arm; but a milder form, a younger sister of Virtue's, not so severe as Virtue, nor so serious as Pity, smiled upon him."

Moving on, some very interesting considerations could be made regarding the contribution of the novel in forming and evoking the concept of nation. While this was not the declared purpose of the work, some facts might be considered relevant as far as this issue is concerned. People who are part of the same nation have in common the language, the culture, the history and sometimes their ethnic origin coincides as well. It must be underlined that the author of the book is Scottish.

However the novel was published in the year 1771 and by that time the Act of Union passed in 1707 had already proclaimed the union of Scotland and England. Therefore, taking into consideration the political union one could very well speak about a nation. Unlike Laurence Sterne, Henry Fielding or other important writers who were his contemporaries and born in England, Mackenzie had a Scottish origin. This however did not affect the fact that he was British as well.(Harkin 1994)

The book was a great success in Britain and since its purpose was to provide its readers not with a strong emotional experience, but also with a pattern for a righteous moral behaviour, one might assume that this is proof enough in order to demonstrate that the cultural bond which existed between the Scots and the English was strong enough to have them considered as being a nation.

Various critics have suggested that the role assumed by the writers of those times was to create a literary project which would help create the feeling of a community for the readers. The stake was therefore very complex. Besides creating the community, they had to give its members the feeling that they really belonged to it. In order to do that they focused upon providing models of behaviour that were easy to adopt and that could find strong justifications. (Harkin 1994)

Society was undergoing very important changes after the union. It must be underlined that while Scotland had lost its sovereignty the former Scots now British might have felt

Different from the other part of the British population "To people of equal sensibility, the influence of those trifles we mentioned on his deportment will not appear surprising, but to his friends in the country they could not be stated, nor would they have allowed them any place in the account." Therefore the artistic project was supporting a strong social project.