The Origin Of‘realistic' Fictions In England In The Middle 18th Century

The 18 th century is a crucial era for the rise of the novel in English and the formation of modern reading habits,which developed and promoted each other at the same time.This paper attempts to re-examine the creation of "realistic" fictions in England in the middle of the 18 th century,and to examine the relationship between the "rise" of realistic fictions and the reading behavior of the readers at that time.Specifically,this paper argues that the concept of "realistic" novels in the 18 th century needs to be re-understood at two levels.First,Watt's concept of "formal realism" cannot be equated with "real description of life",but it refers to the formal simulation of the real world in the narrative of the novel.That is to say,it simulates the interpersonal structure of real social life in the relationship of characters,and echoes the material structure of the real world on the level of detail.Second,"formal realism" is not enough to express the whole picture of the early days of the birth of "realism" in the middle of the eighteenth century.Realism is not only a feature of the text,but also a kind of reading contract.The realistic fiction has the cooperative essence that the reader puts himself in the story of the character in the fiction,and actively creates the meaning.This kind of reading interaction between the author and the reader runs through the whole reading of the novel.From this,it establishes a kind of reading contract and creates the meaning together between the reader,the fiction and the author.