great character, he would simply
be deficient, as a reader, in imag–
ination. Has the criticism of "the
liberal imagination" really been di–
rected only at its lack of imagina–
tion? In that case, why has so
much been made to turn around
the word "liberal"? Why not sim–
ply "literal" instead of "liberal"?
Mr. Chase seems to me here to be
confusing literature and life again,
and so perpetrating the very error
for which "the liberal imagination"
has been attacked. He is uneasy at
the fact that literature abounds in
great images of human life that
either express religious ideas direct–
ly or were created by the religious
imagination. But if this uneasiness
becomes so painful that Mr. Chase
can no longer endure it, he has to
face up to what may prove an
equally uncomfortable question:
How close can he really get to Fa–
ther Zossima without becoming a
believing Christian?
Which brings us to observe that
the word "morality" has a great
deal of resonance these days, and
a new phrase, "the moral imag–
ination," seems to take an impor–
tant place in the current critical
vocabulary. The phrase does not
seem obscure, but, present circum–
stances being what they are, it
could stand some clarification.
If
"the moral imagination" refers to
the novelist's ability to record sensi–
tively the moral conflicts of his
characters, how does it differ from
what used to be called "psycholog–
ical insight?" By preaching, imply-
335
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