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A Modern Instance
A Modern Instance explores the deterioration of what could
have been an otherwise healthy marriage through industrial enterprise and
capitalistic greed.
- Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
ebook, 0 pages
Published
November 17th 2010
by MobileReference
(first published 1883)
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I can see the historical importance of the novel: its careful focus on characters' psychology, its treatment of the largely man's world of journalism, its concern with changing estimations of religion are hallmarks of nineteenth-century realism. Yet I was bothered by Howells' assumptions about women's psychological and cognitive weakness and regional differences. As a champion of regional fiction, he might have been more sophisticated about people from outside the urban cultural centers. Yet Edi...more
This is an extraordinarily entertaining read. It's a strange hybrid of moral narrative and broad comedic satire. While the moral purpose of the novel will mean little to most people today, the satire and the plot events kept me interested and engaged. Howells's interest in developing "realistic" fiction ("naturalistic" as literary critics would say) is strongly apparent in this work, in which the two main characters' "love" and marriage are shown to take the courses they do because of the two pa...more
Reading the first few chapters alone was worth it because of the insights provided into the character of Bartley Hubbard. I first "met" Bartley in Howells' novel "The Rise of Silas Lapham" and thought him cynical, but likable (except for the way he treated his wife). "A Modern Instance" is Bartley's story and finding out that he was an orphan and a self-made man wannabe really shows how despicable he was during his interview with Silas Lapham in the aforementioned book. Howells very deftly lets...more
A solid read. I enjoyed it. I think it accurately describes both the mechanics and the ethos of American journalism. To wit: Bartley Hubbard, a newspaperman blessed with "no more moral nature than a baseball," serves as the prototype of the glib and smiling journalist familiar to the audiences of Nightline or Washington Week.
This old-fashioned style of American Realism is probably not for everyone, but I loved this story of "love", abandonment, and divorce during the end of the 1800's. I was definitely born too late.
Oct 17, 2010
Melanie Daves
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
american-realism,
grad-school
A Modern Instance was an interesting read. I enjoyed how easily I could feel for the characters. I was angry with Marcia for being such a deluded idiot and I melted when Ben revealed that the picture he held on to was really a picture of Marcia. It is interesting that when I read the beginning, I actually liked Bartley, but by the end of the novel I detested him. I think Howells did that by changing Bartley's physical appearance towards the end. Howells could not be biased since he decided to wr...more
I liked the dynamic of the love triangle but, like every book by Howells that I have read, the characters are unbelievably dramatic about everything that happens to them. I thought this was supposed to be realistic, but then again, maybe I don't really know what "American realism" is.
One of the lesser-read American novels.
I wish I liked it more, and I understand the novelty and shock of the theme, but my humble opinion is that it never got the reader there - what's common today, if then was an aberration, should still hit the modern reader like a blow, and the book just...treaded water, or rather did a dead man's float, all the way through. I was unmoved, untouched, and really didn't care at the end, even though Howells did create most of the characters as fully three-dimensional people.
As I grow older, I become more aware of how the seemingly peaceful "days gone by" were, in truth, filled with many of the same mistakes and frustrations that society and individuals still face today. Hence, while culture described in the story was very different from the culture I live in, the characters and their views felt very familiar.
I read this for a Literature class that I took at Snow College. If I remember correctly, I liked it. It's been awhile. I probably aught to read it again.
Nov 30, 2010
Haley
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
american-realism,
marriage-divorce-novels
Love it! Wonderful look at a marriage gone wrong. Ruins all those ideas that divorce is something our modern society struggles with....
Jun 25, 2007
Jeff
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
English geeks
The best book with no plot or purpose ever!
Awesome so far!
Apr 21, 2013
Micki Levin
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
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Willam Dean Howells was a novelist, short story writer, magazine editor, and mentor who wrote for various magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and Harper's Magazine.
In January 1866 James Fields offered him the assistant editor role at the Atlantic Monthly. Howells accepted after successfully negotiating for a higher salary, but was frustrated by Fields's close supervision. Howells was made e...more
More about William Dean Howells...
In January 1866 James Fields offered him the assistant editor role at the Atlantic Monthly. Howells accepted after successfully negotiating for a higher salary, but was frustrated by Fields's close supervision. Howells was made e...more
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Mar 08, 2013 10:57am