VARIETY
THE MYSTERY OF PERSONALITY
IN·
THE NOVEL
The novelist's boldest address to
himself says: "I must master the
most powerful sense of human
.life on earth, that of individual
.striving in a world clotted with
both trouble and joy; I mean to
commit myself to love and am–
bition and the frustrating of mor–
tality."
: The timorous wee clerk within
.replies: "Who,
you?"
.... "Yes," says the novelist, "and
.d:Qn't interrupt. I will reflect the
movem~nt
of ' men in society in
order to give an example of the
glory. of .
desire.~'
, The inner clerk, snuffling right–
eously before so much rhetoric,
says: "Watch out!-That's very dif–
ficult." .
And so it is. And so ensues a
~truggle.
Generally the clerk wins.
Often the dialogue is never quite
argued through. Occasionally, a
few times in each generation, the
novelist wins against his other self.
. In the first case there is the
sleek and pure pseudo-novelist,
faking passion, faking life, the op–
portunist of problems, the Her–
man Wouks and Sloan Wilsons
and .Cameron Hawleys, with their
deep affirmations for those who
admire the editorials in
Life.
In
:the second case there is an uneasy,
453
unfulfilled writer, often precious,
satisfied with aspects and insights
and partial comfort. And in the
third case, when the novelist never
abandons his deepest hopes, well,
there is the possibility of a mas–
terpiece. He gives us the stories
for which we hunger, rich with
people we love in mortal danger;
his way of telling, his angle of
VISIon, his perspective-this is
what we mean by style-gives us
the judgment married to percep–
tion which defines both the whole
man and the artist. Sensitive and
brave at the same time--what a
monster!-he joins plot and per–
spective in a way that finally,
without exhortation, suggests a
vision of the good life.
This is the critical maximum
Announcing the 1958
HARPER
$10#000
Prize Novel Contest
Any unpublished novel in the English
language is eligible. No entry form i.
needed.. 'But each manwcript must
be
ac–
companied by a letter stating that it is·
submitted for the Contest and has never
been published in book form. The contest
opened June 1\ 1957 and
will
close June
1, 1958. In orOer to be, eligible, a manu–
script must
be
received in the offices of
the publishers by the end of the business
day on the closing date.
The Juiges :
SAU L BELLOW.
Author of
Th. Adventures
of Auzi. March, Th. Victim,
etc.
JOHN
K.
HUTCHENS.
Daily Book Critic
of the New York Herald Tribune.
JESSAMYN WEST.
Author of
Cress Dela–
hanly, The WitchdiZZ'rs, Th. Fri.ndly
Persuasion,
etc.
Send manuscripls
or
writ. to:
The Harper Pri.e Novel Contest
HARPER" BROTHERS
49 East 33rd St., Now York
16,
N. Y.·
