A wonderful essay, Claire. I agree--somehow the letters that Trollope's characters write convey an enormous amount about both the characters themselves and conventions of the day. They are filled with life and bear much attention.
It's an interesting study in the history of the novel - why do the ironical narrators suddenly emerge as the heroes of Victorian fiction? There's such a marked distinction between 18th and 19th century novel-writing.
I like the idea of letters as a companion to third-person narration. As you might expect, I still have Clarissa on the brain, and am thinking about how Trollope's approach is much more open that the editor/author dynamic that Richardson espouses.
A wonderful essay, Claire. I agree--somehow the letters that Trollope's characters write convey an enormous amount about both the characters themselves and conventions of the day. They are filled with life and bear much attention.
It's an interesting study in the history of the novel - why do the ironical narrators suddenly emerge as the heroes of Victorian fiction? There's such a marked distinction between 18th and 19th century novel-writing.
I like the idea of letters as a companion to third-person narration. As you might expect, I still have Clarissa on the brain, and am thinking about how Trollope's approach is much more open that the editor/author dynamic that Richardson espouses.