An Objective Approach to the Relationship Between Fiction and Society

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4956013
AutoresRuth A Inglis (autor de correspondencia)
Año1938
Volumen3
Número4
Páginas526
Fecha de publicación1938-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0003-1224 • E-ISSN: 1939-8271
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/2083900
OpenAlexW2329059895
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10

T NHE relationship between literature and society' has been the subject of considerable discussion.2 It is generally agreed that both literary standards and society are variables. Beyond that lies an area of marked controversy from which, for the sake of clarity, have been abstracted two general points of view which I call the and the control theory. Succinctly, the reflection theory holds that literature reflects society; the control theory, that it shapes society. In Literary Indices of Social Disorganization, Elliott and Merrill assume the characteristic reflection-theory position by examining post-War literature in order to read the social barometer.3 Anthropologists and others frequently use the literature of a people as a source of clues to the nature of their culture. Even the words and form in which ideas are couched throw light upon the ideas, customs, and beliefs extant in a group. Since an author usually writes for readers having membership in his own society, the presumption is that literature will reflect what they have in common. This inferential approach to the unknown via the qualities of a related known is like examining a well worn glove to find out the shape of the owner's hand. If it works, such an approach is extremely useful. The question is, in the case of literature and society, does it work? Does literature reflect society? And if so, is the reflection a true or a distorted one? What aspects of society are reflected? Unlike the reflection theory, the social control theory vests in literature an active role of leadership. Proverbially, the pen is mightier than the sword, and certain problem novels and plays such as Ibsen's Doll House, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and most of Dickens' works are claimed to have had tremendous social influence. The basic assumptions of the social control theory as related to literature are a passive suggestibility in readers and a dynamic power inherent in words. However, the proponents of censorship, those who lean most heavily upon this theory, have never adequately explained the process involved nor can they predict the social effect of a given piece of writing. Nevertheless, the fact that dictators

Sociology · Psychology · University Challenges and Reforms