THE WRITER AND THE TOWN

U svojevrsnom međuprostoru autorskoga sjećanja, između pamćenja i zaborava, figurama sjećanja i različitim mnemotehničkim mehanizmima konstruira se književni tekst u kojemu je grad bitan strukturni čimbenik. Grad je poprište zbivanja, ali zahvaljujući svojoj složenosti i dinamici, on je i uzročnik mnogih unutarnjih procesa koji se zbivaju u pojedincu, grad je, osobito u realističkim djelima, često i krivac za nesretnu sudbinu mnogih junaka, grad je simbol očuvanja identiteta i borbe protiv razaranja, destrukcije i mržnje. Devetnaesto stoljeće, koje je obilježeno prodorom novih ideja te znatnim ekonomskim razvojem u privrednim granama, imalo je veliki utjecaj na razvoj gradova. Lokalne trgovine šire se u sve razgranatiju trgovačku privredu, a čime industrijski kompleksi pokrivaju prikrivati većinu gradskih područja. Gradovi se razvijaju, stare kuće obnavljaju, gradske općine dobivaju svoje vijećnice, a javne kulturne i društvene ustanove bivaju sve brojnije. Sve one značajke života malih hrvatskih gradova poput Senja književnikovim okom dobivaju drugačiji miris ukoliko on posjeduje sposobnost da se izdigne iznad malograđanske svakodnevnice u kojoj živi i da kritičkim okom neprekidno promatra svoje sugrađane i njihov ograničeni život. Međutim, Novak nije bio samo promatrač i realist, iako književna kritika najviše cijeni ona njegova djela u kojima je dao kritičku sliku malograđanske sredine, u prvom redu senjske, već je on narav kontemplativna, s težištem i na promatranju ljudskih sudbina, a sredina i društvene prilike zanimale su ga više kao okvir. U toj njegovoj značajki treba tražiti i granice njegovu realizmu, on najčešće piše o uskoj i prostorno ograničenoj sredini, ali će korijeni tome biti više u njegovoj sklonosti da do kraja proniče u život pojedinca, malog čovjeka.In a kind of interspace of authorial memory, between memory and oblivion, figures of memory and various mnemonic mechanisms, a literary text is constructed in which the town is an important structural factor. The town is the scene of events, however, thanks to its complexity and dynamics, it is also the cause of many internal processes that take place in the individual, the town, particularly in realistic works, is often the culprit for the unlucky fate of many heroes, the town is a symbol of the preservation of identity and a struggle against devastation, destruction and hatred. The 19th century, marked by the penetration of new ideas and significant economic development in economic branches, had a great influence on the development of towns. Local trade was expanding into an increasingly diversified commercial economy, whereby industrial complexes covered most of the urban areas. Towns developed, old houses were renovated, city municipalities gained their own town halls, and public cultural and social institutions became more numerous. All those characteristics of the life of small Croatian towns such as Senj gained a different flavour through the writer’s eye insofar as he had the ability to rise above the small-town everyday life in which he lives and to constantly observe his fellow citizens and their limited life with a critical eye. However, Novak was not only an observer and realist, although literary criticism appreciates most of his works in which he gave a critical picture of the small-town environment, primarily Senj, but he was contemplative in nature, with a focus also on observing human destinies, whilst the environment and social conditions interested him more as a framework. The limits of his realism should be also sought in his characteristics, he usually writes about a narrow and spatially limited environment, however, the roots of this will be more in his tendency to fully penetrate into the life of the individual, a small man