Standing at an international airport or a huge train station, we can observe two ways in which travellers spend their leisure time while waiting for their plane or train. Either, they are buying food or souvenirs, or they are reading. Some read their daily newspapers, others their favourite comics and some are hidden behind big books. Presumably, the majority of the people who are holding the big books are reading novels containing love stories, thrillers or something similar. While reading these stories, they are probably on a journey together with the protagonist of the plot, experiencing perhaps unknown or, to them, unfamiliar, but interesting and exciting situations. These people are travelling in their minds to far distant places while they are actually travelling, for example, to their working place, their home or to their holiday resort.
What is true now, has been true then. Some people in the 18th century, who had the possibility to travel, took some travel accounts with them on their journey and read them while actually travelling themselves. Others who had to stay at home travelled, as well, by reading books. Although they were in different positions, they shared their love for reading and travelling.
This term paper will analyse the connection between the two popular leisure time activities in 18th century Britain, i.e. travelling and reading novels.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Historical background information
2.1 The rise of the novel
2.2 The development of travel
3 Interaction between travel and the novel in the 18th century Britain
3.1 Influence of travel on the novel
3.2 Influence of the novel on travel
4 Depiction of travel in Oroonoko and A Sentimental Journey
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
The paper explores the intricate relationship between the rise of the English novel and the development of travel as a leisure activity in 18th-century Britain, analyzing how both domains influenced each other's popularity and narrative structure.
- The historical evolution of the novel and travel culture.
- The mutual impact of literature on travel desire and vice versa.
- A comparative analysis of travel depiction in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko and Laurence Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey.
- The use of "formal realism" and travel tropes to establish authenticity in early novels.
- The concept of the "inner voyage" and mental travel through reading.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Influence of travel on the novel
Before we discuss the influence of travel on the novel, first some basic information about why people, especially during that time, were so interested in travelling.
In the 18th century, people travelled for different reasons. Some tried to make a fortune by sailing to the New World or Africa, others travelled to the southern part of Europe in order to gain knowledge or for religious purposes and in the age of Romanticism some searched for beautiful landscapes and the picturesque. Whatever reason made people go on a journey, the topic of travelling was, especially in Britain, an important one. People liked to discuss political, economic and cultural aspects, as well as the environment of far distant countries. “The [Grand] Tour was a major cultural institution, much discussed in fashionable and literary circles; even over breakfast” (Towner, 2004: 226).
People further wanted to know, in the time of colonialisation and of the race for new colonies, how Britain fared in comparison to other European countries, such as Spain, France and Germany. By this they tried to define their own status in the world. Therefore travel accounts and newspaper articles about travelling made good reading. Another cause for people to be interested in travel could be their own immobility due to financial reasons or to their gender. As already mentioned above, travelling was very expensive, therefore often people simply could not afford to make a journey. Women, although some of them were rich, were not meant to travel (alone). They were restricted to their homes and leisure activities within or in close vicinity to them. In both cases, consequently, people started to develop an even greater desire for travelling, which is natural, because human beings always want to have the things they cannot have. In general, “what tourists sought in their travel readings and their own journeys was something that seemed more real and substantial, and thus more moving, than what they had known in their increasingly tense and disrupted lives… a quest for authenticity, for real ‘experience’ that lets us know we exist in some fundamentally valid and meaningful way” (Oerlemans, 2004: 151).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Introduces the connection between reading novels and the act of travelling as two significant leisure activities, establishing the basis for the paper's analysis.
2 Historical background information: Examines the emergence of the 18th-century novel through Ian Watt’s definitions and explores the evolution of travel from survival and commerce to the Grand Tour and tourism.
3 Interaction between travel and the novel in the 18th century Britain: Analyzes the reciprocal influence between literature and tourism, highlighting how each facilitated the growth of the other within 18th-century society.
3.1 Influence of travel on the novel: Discusses how travel accounts shaped the novel's form and how authors utilized travel themes to attract audiences interested in foreign cultures and authenticity.
3.2 Influence of the novel on travel: Explores how reading novels stimulated a desire for travel, positioning the novel as a motivator for real-life exploration and mental journeys.
4 Depiction of travel in Oroonoko and A Sentimental Journey: Compares the narrative strategies in these two works to determine how they conform to or diverge from 18th-century travel writing conventions.
5 Conclusion: Synthesizes the findings, asserting that travel and the novel remain inextricably linked as vehicles for human experience and expansion beyond one's immediate reality.
Keywords
18th Century Britain, English Novel, Travel Writing, Grand Tour, Formal Realism, Aphra Behn, Laurence Sterne, Oroonoko, A Sentimental Journey, Tourism, Literature, Cultural History, Narrative Style, Colonialism, Mental Travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper examines the deep-seated historical relationship between the emergence of the English novel and the popularity of travel during the 18th century.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The central themes include the rise of formal realism in literature, the conventions of travel accounts, the societal impact of the Enlightenment on mobility, and the transformation of reading into a form of mental travel.
What is the research question addressed?
The research explores how the rise of the novel and the rise of tourism were mutually influential, contributing to one another's popularity and success in 18th-century Britain.
What scientific methods are applied?
The author uses a historical-literary approach, conducting a comparative textual analysis of specific primary sources and referencing scholarly works to validate the context of 18th-century cultural practices.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body investigates the historical background of travel and novel writing, analyzes the two-way influence between these fields, and performs a comparative case study of works by Behn and Sterne.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include 18th-century Britain, The Grand Tour, literary realism, Oroonoko, A Sentimental Journey, and the connection between travel literature and fiction.
How does A Sentimental Journey function differently from a traditional travel account?
The author argues that Laurence Sterne uses the format of a travel account to mock its conventions, potentially labeling it an "anti-travel-account" due to the protagonist's spontaneous, non-preparatory, and sentiment-focused approach.
How is Oroonoko characterized in the context of travel writing?
Unlike Sterne’s work, Behn’s Oroonoko is presented more like a narrative tale where the narrator is only coincidentally a traveler, focusing more on the protagonist's tragic journey and social displacement rather than typical sightseeing.
- Quote paper
- Kristin Kreer (Author), 2008, Interaction between the Novel and Travelling, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/137540
