The 18th Century Novel: Defining and Redefining Realism

In this paper, I will show that formal realism tells only a very small part of the story of the 18th century novel. While I do believe that realism, as defined by fidelity to individual experience, is the most definable characteristic of the 18th century novel, I will show that authors such as Henry Fielding and Charlotte Lennox realized the bias that formal realism imposes on a text, and that they attempted to create a more critically objective realistic view of humanity\u27s diverse and subjective reality