The modern trend in biography as shown in various "lives" of Charles Lamb since 1900

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Content THE MODERN TREND IN BIOGRAPHT AS SHOWN IN VARIOUS
"LIVES” OP CHARLES LAMB SINCE 1900
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of English
The University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
by
Leona Pearl James
August 1951
UMI Number: EP44291
All rights reserved
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This thesis, written by
LEONA PEARL JAMES
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and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fu lfill
ment of the requirements fo r the degree of
m S TER OP ARTS
........... Harry__J_.__D_euelA__Jr.
D a te ......
Faculty Committee
Chairman
TABLE OP CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION. ............................. 1
I. SURVEY OP BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING. . ......... 5
II. PSYCHOANALYTICAL AND PSYCHOGRAPHICAL
BIOGRAPHIES OP LAMB...................... 31
THE LAMBS by Katherine Anthony. ....*• 32
BARE SOULS by Gamaliel Bradford.......... 51
III. BIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS OP LAMB................ 60
SO PERISH THE ROSES by Neil Bell.......... 61
JUSTLY DEAR by Cook...................... 80
IV. BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMAS ........................ 95
CHARLES LAMB by Alice Brown ........ 97
CHARLES, AND MARY by Joan Temple.......... 108
CONCLUSION....................................... 118
BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................... 127
INTRODUCTION
The biography, the novel, and the drama are out
standing literary forms for portraying personality. The
biography has been later than the other forms in artistic
development because restrictions, for so many years,
hampered the biographers1 style. Biographical writing
followed such a dull vein that few, aside from the student
displayed much Interest in writing that ntakes breathing
figures: and makes of them stone effigies.During the
twentieth century, biographical writing has improved until
it is now one of the more popular art forms.
Man always has been and always will be fascinated
with the study of mankind. Each individual has motives
that stimulate this interest which are as wide as the
interest itself: vulgar curiosity drives some to peep
into every possible private human closet; a craving for
pure entertainment calls many to observe life; a sincere
desire to profit from another^ experience leads others
along the interesting path; a wholesome interest In and
understanding of human behavior, a deep longing to obtain
^ Donald A. Stauffer, English Biography Before 1700
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1930},P* viii.
2
knowledge of life and times urges the serious reader into
profound study.
During the last fifty years biographers have
endeavored to make their writing attractive not to the
scholar alone, but to the general reader. Writers,
desiring to satisfy the tastes of a larger variety of
readers, are stimulated to many and varied biographical
endeavors. As a result, authors in recent years are
writing biography that is becoming an increasingly
engaging literary form. ?fc*iters endeavor to avoid ex
travagant eulogies for the dead and exhaustive historical
records of those who have won famous battles or amassed
fabulous fortunes. They, with Longaker, recognize that the
^proper study of mankind has become not necessarily the man
who makes history by outward achievement, but the inner man
who either defeats or conquers himself.1 *®
Because of the interest in and value of psychology
for revealing the complex man who struggles with the inner
forces of his nature, the biographer is making wide use of
this science in his endeavor to explain and analyze the
® Mark Longaker, Contemporary Biography
(Philadelphia: University ot Pennsylvania ?ress, 1954),
p. 12.
mental aspects of his subject. Since man is the product of
his heredity, his environment, and his experiences, the
writer who analyzes an individual’s character should
examine and interpret all these factors.
Important as psychological analysis of the how and
why of human behavior may be in portraying personality,
the author realizes that biography must "have life to be
a life.Therefore he endeavors to write an artistic,
dramatic work that is realistic, familiar, and enter
taining. To accomplish this purpose the biographer
borrows techniques from the literary fields of the novel
and of the drama. Thus the biographer, through the proper
selection and use of historical source material, modern
psychological techniques, and fictional and dramatic
style, can now re-create a character which is more truth
ful, more realistic and vivid, and more artistic than was
previously thought possible.
Excellent examples of twentieth century biographical
methods, namely, psychoanalytical, psychographical,
fictional, and dramatic, are found in the modern
biographies of Charles Lamb. In the following chapters
3 Donald A. Stauffer, The Art of Biography in
Eighteenth Century England (Princeton: Princeton University
T r t s i T l ' 3 " 4 1 7 r i > ”‘ Tl. -----
an attempt is made to reveal how writers of these
biographies, using the various methods, portray Lamb.
The study does not include all biographies written about
Lamb in the twentieth century, but particular books were
chosen as representative of the several methods. Since
each biography was written after S. V. Lucas wrote his all
inclusive, two-volume Life of Lamb, the authors* problem
was not one of exhaustive collecting of data, but rather
the problem of careful selection and character analysis.
CHAPTER I
SURVEY- OP BIOGRAPHICAL WRITING
Biography is the artistic representation in con
tinuous narrative of the life and character of a particular
individual. Life writing must give not only the thoughts
hut the personality of the thinker; must record not deeds
alone "hut the nature of the doer.H,l It must present life
as it is lived.
The purpose of biography as now written is por
traiture, and its success or failure mainly depends on the
degree of truthfulness and completeness with which the
image is represented. The portrait gives not only one
aspect of the man but all important aspects. In order to
form this complete man, the biography must develop four
perspectives. 1. It must present clearly the relationship
of the man to contemporary social and political institu
tions and to posterity. 2. It must make an effort to
interpret facts in such a way as to "present character and
habits of mind."2 3. It must avoid panegyric and didactic.
Helen E. Haines, Living with Books (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1936), p* 256.
2 William P. Thrall, A. Hibbard, Handbook to
Literature (New York: Doubleday, Doran and 6o., 192T6),
p. 52.
6
4. It must emphasize personality, for personality should be
the central thesis of the book. Such writing offers a
’ ’unified impression of the character, mind, and personality
of the subject,”5 Biographies, satisfying these criteria,
are not numerous, Helen Haines says of them:
Good biographies are not common. Great biographies;
are rare. But a good biography is a worthy companion,
guide, and friend; and a great biography represents the
most difficult and finest achievement of literary art.4
Good biography is profitable reading. The factual,
human interest elements bring it close to our understanding
and to our emotions, Gamaliel Bradford explains the appeal
of biography in this manner:
We live and move in a world of shadows, in which
there is one intense reality, the reality called you
or I, which perhaps is the vaguest shadow of all. The
constant, unfailing, undying effort of our existence
is to escape from the hampering prison of the I, and
somehow, somewhere, to come into contact with these
other shadow lives, which we dimly divine, but never
really touch. This passionate desire is the basis of
all social activity, and leads us to waste rich hours
in dull talk and aimless diversion. It is the basis,
of all our affections. It is the basis of the
alluring, perplexing, tragical, comical mystery of
love. The same eternal desire is the basis of our
interest in biography. And with this overwhelming
instinct in us, it is not strange that we should find
an absorbing pleasure in the story of shadow lives,
even though poorly written and commonplace,°
3 Ibid., p. 53.
4 Haines, op. cit., p. 227,
5 Gamaliel Bradford, ’ ’Biography and the Human
Heart,” Century, CXX (April, 1930), p. 186.
7
The biographers of today owe a debt of gratitude to
the biographers of the past, for twentieth century writers
alone have not made the modern biography what it is. They
have incorporated the desirable styles from biographies of
all ages and have discarded the undesirable. A few out
standing twentieth century writers, such as Strachey,
Bradford, Maurois, and Ludwig, have contributed their
individual styles and the contemporary popular biography
is the result.
Biography, which is older than the art of writing,
first took the form of oral tradition, which later became
the foundation of legends and mythology*
Socrates was impressed with the significant
importance , f to know one * s self.” He so emphatically
stressed the value of self analysis that character study
became one of the dominant characteristics of biographies.
Plutarch has long been generally recognized as the
parent of biographical art. He understood both Greek and
Roman civilization so was able to present accurately the
contrasting attitudes of his subjects toward life. In his
Lives of Famous Men he quoted from authorities, included
anecdotes, related gossip, Interpreted dreams and portents,
explained origins of various customs, and occasionally
digressed into philosophical discussions. He gave
biography a subjective, personal tone. He incorporated
world affairs and national controversies as they related
to the individual. Plutarch, although aiming to teach a
moral lesson, kept his character writing comparatively
realistic. Later writers became more and more eulogistic
until didactic, moralizing undertakings such as Bishop
'Asser*s Life of Alfred the Great replaced realistic?;
characterizations•
Writers from the tenth century until the sixteenth
century produced very little biographical material that
contributed anything to the twentieth century biography.
Two writers of the sixteenth century endeavored to avoid
prejudice. William Roper in his Life of Sir Thomas More
and George Cavendish in his Life of Wolsey vowed that they
would follow the truth. They failed to avoid all
hagiography and commemoration, but they endeavored to
strike a fair balance, to write adversely of their subject
when it was necessary.
During the seventeenth century Europe passed
through a period of extreme sophistication that is re
vealed in many frank memoirs for which the French were
renowned. Cardinal de Retz portrayed a dramatic struggle
which raised his Memoirs above the level of numerous such
works. Saint-Simon, in his twenty-one volumes of Memoirs
paints a graphic picture of the age. This sophistication
rapidly gave way to careless frivolity. Izaak Walton*s
Lives is one of the very few outstanding biographies of
the century.
The eighteenth century, on the contrary, produced
rich biographical writings. This period gave the world
Boswell*s classic Life of Johnson, one of the finest
biographies in the English language. Boswell used methods
of other writers, but "wrought of them a new combination."®
The author filled the book with anecdotes, intimacies,
personal comment, and humor. He offered the reader a
wealth of detail and thus enabled the reader to draw his
own Inductive analysis. Boswell subordinated commemorative
elements, minimized the didactic qualities, and made the
biography actual, real, convincing. He introduced a
living, breathing human being,
Rousseau produced a fine example of eighteenth
century writing in his serious Confessions. The writer
boldly unveiled his life with all its vileness in his
great life history of a psychopath. What Rousseau did
autobiographically, less talented men attempted biograph-
ically.
® Thrall, op. cit., p. 55.
10
The cold, dignified, formal, emasculated, virtuous
Victorian biography followed. These biographies were not
only prudish, they failed utterly to disclose any foibles
and transgressions. "Some fine jobs of white-washing were
done in those Lives which were surveyed from the uncom
promising stiffness of a red plush chair."7 Lytton
Strachey, in his preface to Eminent Victorians gives a
vivid description of the Victorian biography:
Those two fat volumes, with which it is our custom
to commemorate the dead— who does not know them, with
their ill-digested masses of material, their slipshod
style, their tone of tedious panegyric, their lament
able lack of selection, of detachment, of desigh?
They are as familiar as the cortege of the undertaker,
and wear the same air of slow, funeifal barbarism.®
The brief, living, personal style of Plutarch, and
the shocking, but frankly truthful confessions of the
eighteenth century seemed forgotten. Biographical style
was "fast deteriorating to a long, tedious, lifeless,
artless work,in which few but the scholar and
historian were interested. Commemorative writing had
resulted in "’Books so stuffed with virtue," one writer
7 Mark Longaker, Contemporary Biography
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1934),
p. 23.
8 L. Strachey, Eminent Victorians (New York: G. P.
Putnam’s Sons, 1918), pp. vi-vii.
^ Longaker, 0£. cit., p. 35.
11
says of them, ’that I began to doubt the existence of any
virtue This excessive Victorianism encouraged extreme
twentieth century realism.
Another important factor must be considered. An
awakened intelligence and a more scientific spirit in
relation to the study of mankind came with the century.
The post-Victorian mind revolted against the white-washed
Victorian character. This awakened intelligence of the
reading public not only realized that abstract idealization
results in a tenuous portrait that fails to endure the
changing literary currents, for it is little more than a
glorified ghost spirit. They decided to correct the
situation. They did not just revolt, but that mind
determined to create concrete characters not abstract
idealizations. This scientific spirit refused to accept
panegyric as biography, steadfastly maintaining that
successful biography lies somewhere in the twilight zone
between historic fact and psychological truth,f t
Intelligent writers determined to look behind the
Haines, 0£. cit., p. 238.
^ J. C. Metcalf, Stream of English Biography
(New York: Century Co., 1930), p. 37.
12
Victorian mask and find that ’ ’twilight zone.” To the
Victorians, biography was the 'ineans of getting to know
why certain men are great, or what makes others
interesting*To the twentieth century readers, all
men are interesting and none, broadly speaking, great*
The Victorians were content with adoration of humanity;
their twentieth century successors demand analysis of
mankind. The awakened mind considered "the proper study
of mankind to be man h i m s e l f . ”-^
Twentieth century biographers, in portraying man aa
he actually is, have left no regions of human behavior
sacred from observation and analysis. The biographer
considers that his subject is a human being ”fto be
truthfully portrayed, with scientific exactitude, in
the light of all available evidence.1 In performing
this task, the author must, however, still display the
qualifications that Plutarch laid down nearly two thousand
years ago— sympathetic understanding of human nature,
^ R. Swann, ’ ’Biography and Unbelief,” Nineteenth
Century, CVII (January, 1930), pp. 113-121.
Alexander Pope, Essay on Man (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1904), p. 37.
Haines, 0£. cit., p. 238.
13
logical reasoning, fairmindedness, temperate and sound
ethical standards, and knowledge of the available facts and
circumstances that concern his subject,
Ludwig, Strachey, Bradford, and Maurois, outstanding
modern biographers with the twentieth century vision,
turned wholesomely away from the falsified "character"
and the exaggerated "funeral oration," They endeavor to
depict human beings instead of frigid types "shown con
fused and enlarged through the mist of panegyrick."*^
They experimented intelligently with the many types of
biographical writing and the so called "new" or "modern"
biography is the result.
This term "new" or "modern" does not mean an
entirely new genre, for the techniques of Plutarch,
Boswell, Lockhar-fe, and other fine biographers appear.
But through the use of realism, psychology, and fiction,
the "new" biography seeks to make the work less formalized,
more flexible and vigorous, more infused with human
interest. As Sampson says:
If a youthful iconoclast writes a hostile life of
Scott as a counterblast to Lockhart, the differentia
of his book will be hostility, not novelty or
•^George Sampson, "Biography," Encyelopedia
Britannica, 14th ed., Ill, p. 596,
14
modernity. Nor will the hostility be necessarily a
merit or a defect.1®
The conservative twentieth century biographer
narrates the man’s life as he lived it, recounting
chronologically both good and bad actions from his birth
until his death. The author draws freely upon all known
primary sources, selects wisely, and presents the material
in such an unprejudiced, objective manner that the reader
is at perfect liberty to draw his own conclusions: as to
the type of man the subject was or is. The writer should
also show the character’s relationship to his surroundings,
for a man’s attitude toward life is greatly influenced by
his environment. A good conservative biographer reveals a
man’s personality by chronicling his minor actions, the
minute details of his daily life, anecdotes about him,
clever or apt sayings, his likes and dislikes. The
literary artist will note carefully the character’s con
duct with his family and most intimate friends in deter
mining the type of man his subject is, for great achieve
ments in a career seldom show a man’s true personality.
The writer must use extreme caution to assure the validity
1® Loc. cit.
of every detail. Among the fine twentieth century con
servative biographies is the Life of John Keats by Amy
Lowell.
Strachey writes the highest form of iconoclastic
biography and produced Queen Victoria and Eminent
Victorians as; classic examples. This man sets himself
definitely against the hero worshiping, "bulky two-volume1 1
Victorian Life and seeks through his ironic, incisive,
flashing, highly compressed style to expose the inner man.
Strachey became "the high priest and dominant leader” in
the move toward realism, the imperative search for truth.
To him a "sympathetic attitude" was not only unnecessary,
but was a definite handicap. Strachey*s style, though
generally labeled "new" and "modern"1 ’ descends in a direct
line from Dr. Johnson, one of the greatest English
biographers. Pure Strachey style reflects from Dr.
Johnson*s comment on Sprat’s Life of Cowley. "’His zeal
of friendship, or ambition of eloquence, has produced a
funeral oration rather than a history.* "3- ' 7
Biographers, one and all, agree that truthfulness
is an imperative characteristic. Voltaire, hundreds of
years ago, recognized the value of truthful presentation
when he said, 1 1 *We owe consideration to the livings to the
dead we owe truth only.»1 1 i8 Strachey feels that the
primary aim in biography should be to tell the truth;
dispassionately, impartially, and without ulterior
intentions, Maurois declares that the first characteristic
of the modern biography must be f , the courageous search for
truth,"'*'® Nicolson in his article "Biography Old and New"
states, "No biography can be of any value unless it be
strictly true."'2° Recognizing the value of truth, the
conscientious biographer can not begin his work with any
preconceived conception of what his victim is to be. The
finished portrait must depend entirely upon conclusion®
drawn as a result of diligent study from documentary
evidence rather than legend.
The biographer, in urging the human identity as the
basis of biography, should use extreme care that the great
C. M, Fuess, "Debunkery and Biography," Atlantic
Monthly, CLI (March, 1933), p. 350.
Andre Maurois, Aspects of Biography (New York:
D. Appleton, 1929), p. 27.
20 H. Nicolson, "Biographies Old and New," Living
Age, CCCLII (May, 1937), p. 267.
17
are not unnecessarily dragged down. The author, in en
deavoring to get at the fact of things, "to shake the
kernel of human truth out of the husk of age-old
reputation and glory,"1 can easily cause some good
reputations to look unnecessarily tattered and shriveled,
and that "kernel of human truth in them shrinks to
amazingly little,Regardless of the risk of sacrificing
some falsely idealized heroes, readers and writers agree
that the fashion of critical, truthful biography writing
is a thoroughly healthy one, and is likely to remain with
us.
Inspired undoubtedly by Lytton Strachey*s clever,
Ironic, but intelligent example, imitators, rejoicing in
the name of "debunkers," inundated the market with ironic
lives of the great and the nearly great, William E,
Woodward ranks high as a debunker. This writer has George
Washington and General Grant emerge from his pen as
strikingly unfamiliar personalities. These apparent
admirers and imitators of Strachey write biography that
is no more than "a dance of impish glee around scores of
broken altars,"^ The writer*s liveliness gives debunking
21
Gamaliel Bradford, "Biography and the Human
Heart," Century, CXX (April, 1930), p, 185,
22 Edgar Johnson, One Mighty Torrent (New York City:
Stackpole, el937), p, 477,
18
its "ephemeral charm." This horde of debunkers, Johnson
describes as a "coterie inspired by the simple formula of
denying all traditional judgments of past greatness," who
seek deliberately "for idols with feet of clay, and re
joice greatly when they find a skeleton in a king*s
closet."^3
The "vice squad" are a special group found among
the journalists* This group seek to demonstrate the true
but unhappy thesis that all men are human, and humanity is
weak. "They call from the house-tops that they are ex
ponents of frankness, and that they are not afraid to call
a spade a spade."24
In spite of their multitude of deficiencies, the
debunkers have a core of value. "Immaculate legends need
to be constantly examined for shady spots; the too lofty
supermen need to be reduced to credible human d i m e n s i o n s .’25
The debunkers, who temper their writing with the true
Iconoclastic Strachey style, can remain popular writers,
for true critical biographical writing Is probably here to
23 ibid.. p. 478.
Longaker, op. cit., pp. 22, 23.
25 E. Johnson, "American Biography and the Modern
World," North American Review. CCXLV (June, 1938), p. 364.
19
stay as long as readers are seeking for truth.
The scientific spirit, which becomes keener as the
century advances, demands more and more from biography.
The majority of twentieth century biographers and
intelligent readers are no longer content to narrate and
read simply the facts regarding an individual*s career,
truthful though these facts may be. These groups are
interested in what the individual did, but are equally
interested in how and why he did it. The psychoanalytical
biographers, who deal primarily with the workings of the
mind, began a new kind of study.
Psychological biographers recognize everyday actions
as important in revealing the character of a person, but
consider the mental aspect of far more importance in
interpreting the "how and why1 1 ’ of a most complex
personality. These biographers endeavor to satisfy this
demand for honest explanation and interpretation, Stefan
Zweig is interested in his subject*s mind and wrote Marie
Antionette, Balzac, and Tolstoy, psychological biographies
which display his skill.
“Psychology is the most valuable asset that the;'
26
biographer has if used properly," because it deals with
26 Edward H. 0*Neill, History of American Biography
(Philadelphia: University of ’ Pennsylvania, 1935), p.lO.
20
the operation of the human mind. Psychology makes it
possible for the author to explain the man whose life he
Is trying to present. This type of writing requires
intelligent, careful handling for unfortunate injustice
to both subject and psychology results from Improper use.
The psychological interpretation that attempts to penetrate
the subconscious mind, must be based on a thorough
historical and economic background as well as a broad
scientific foundation.
The psychoanalytical writers borrow from the
recently popularized theories of the psychoanalysts Freud
and Jung.
They Involved the discovery, through the study of
dreams, symbolic action, emotional attitudes and
relationships, of the unconscious elements which
psychoanalysis regarded as more important motivations
than the elements passed into consciousness by an
ever alert and fairly prudish censor.2'
Katharine Anthony, author of Margaret Fuller, and Catherine
the Great. fills her books with scientific psychoanalysis,
and Is a student of Freudian theories.
Many who are Influenced by the Freudian system of
psychoanalysis ’ ’emphasize the significance of the sexual
27 F* B. Millett, Contemporary American Authors
(New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1S40), p. 1$9.
21
motivation and behavior of the subject,"28 which makes for
a popular, flashy book* In the words of J* T* Adams,
"The public gets all the *kick* of fiction with the
soothing sense that they are dealing with something *real*
and * scientific**"29 The reliability of such studies
has been questioned:
Those octavo volumes with which it is our custom to
vulgarize the dead— who does not know them, with their
half-digested paucity of material, their * smart*
style, their tone of tedious superiority, their
lamentable lack of taste, of real knowledge, of honest
purpose? They are as familiar as the case histories
of the psychoanalysts, and wear the same air of
spurious psychological profundity*50
The writer of the sexy psychoanalytical biography
finds this work sensational, but no biographer should
pass Freudian glitter for biographical gold* If the
author discovers that sex is an essential factor, then
decide whether it is pathological or not* Boyd is
convinced that
If pathological, the biographer becomes a
scientist . • • and biography, as a work of art, as
a means of expression, ceases to concern us* Where
28 E* Boyd, "Sex in Biography," Harper * s Monthly
Magazine, CLXV (November, 1952), p* 75&*
28 J* T* Adams, "New Modes in Biography," Current
History, XXXI*
30 E* Boyd, o£. oit*, p. 752.
22
sex is not pathological, its importance is slight
almost to the point of non-existence#*-*-
Artistic handling of a pathological personality is
quite possible although it is an extremely difficult under
taking# Too frequently artistic style suffers at the hand
of science* Truthful handling is almost impossible, for
when the writer ‘ ’ employs psychoanalysis he cannot arrive
at facts but only at interpretations.”32 Adams expresses
no sympathy with or tolerance for this type of biographical
writing#
Clothed in Freudian jargon, the book is considered
by the mob as having a claim to be considered ultra
modern and scientific# This psychoanalysis has proved
a most dangerous tool in the hands of all who have
used it* * • • If ever half-baked knowledge paraded
under the name of science it does so in psycho
analytic b i o g r a p h y#33
This quest for abnormality, this feverish desire to
locate and explain every complexity, every inhibition,
every frustration, undoubtedly has been harmful in cases
where writers with insufficient knowledge attempt the use
of psychoanalytical interpretation# But when such a
3^ Loc clt#
32 B* Be Voto, ’ ’The Skeptical Biographer.”
Harper^ Monthly Magazine, GLXVT (January, 1933), p# 181#
33 Adams, op* cit,, pp# 257-258#
23
search is intelligently undertaken, characters emerge as
interesting, genuine human beings.
Writers are fascinated with this psychoanalytical
approach because of its inexhaustible possibilities. The
literary artist, realizing this, will continue to use
scientific discoveries in portraying personality, but must
not allow his enthusiasm for scientific interpretation to
overshadow his artistic style, for the biographer can not
afford to sacrifice literary art at the altar of scientific
research.
The psychograph is another biographical type
differing from, yet faintly similar to, the psychological
or psychoanalytical biography. This technique, tried by
many writers, has been most successful in the hands of
Gamaliel Bradford, Damaged Souls, Bare Souls, and
Elizabethan Women are artistic examples of his psycho-
graphical development, Psychography as defined by Gamaliel
Bradford is "the condensed, essential, artistic presenta
tion of character*"3^ This writing differs from psychology
in that, while psychology deals with general principles
which may apply to all persons, psychography deals with a
3^ Gamaliel Bradford, A Naturalist of Souls (New
York: Houghton Mifflin, 1917)7 p.
24
person, using psychology only as an aid for developing that
particular individual, Psychography does not allow back
ground, additional characters, chronological order of
events, or any other factor to detract from the main
character. Only that which is Indispensable for its
particular purpose is selected. The psychographer views
the subject from as many perspectives as possible and
selects what is essential and permanent; then gives not a
single portrait but a sum total of them all.
Writers of psychoanalytical biography claim to reveal
hitherto hidden secrets of character through study of the
unconscious, Bradford, the most successful psyehographical
writer, refuses to deal with such revelations. He: collects
the details, "arranges them into a balanced evaluation of
character"33 after giving proper stress and shading, then
leaves the reader to linger over the inferences with which
the passages are charged. His work is suggestive rather
than minutely analytical, but the conclusions are reached
through inductive rather than through intuitive processes,
"Truth it does not seek to reach through the invention of a
hypothesis, nor does it attempt to anticipate the
35 Longaker, op, cit., p, 71,
25
discoveries of research."^8
Writers find that many difficulties and limitations
accompany this form of writing. Prejudice, preconception,
the desire to make an artistic impression, dangers of
interpretation from few known facts constitute but a few
of these problems. Ho author can with absolute validity
determine the character of another from his actions, for
the true motive which prompts aets is known only to the
individual and sometimes not to him. Hence, of necessity,
the psyehographer can never be "absolute nor final, for
human character is too evasive, too elusive.M s 37 ^
literary artist with keen discernment can make this form
of character writing both charming and useful, "obscure,
imperfect, incomplete as it necessarily is."'5 ®
Many a novelist has won international fame for his
ability to create outstanding, vivid, life-like
characters. Dr. Garland Greever recognizes this remarkable
achievement, but at the same time he wonders "whether the
36 hoc. cit+
Gamaliel Bradford, "Art of Biography," Saturday
Review of Literature, I (May 23, 1925), p. 770.
58 Gamaliel Bradford, Lee, the American (Hew York:
Houghton Mifflin, 1912), Appendix p. 279.
26
resurrection of human character is not almost the equal
of great creative writing.**^ What could require more
literary skill than to lay bare the human soul? One writer
goes so far as to declare that by masterful handling, the
biographer is able to push the novelist*s fanciful character
into the darkness, and to make it appear by eontraat life
less and stilted. ”It is a real heart which palpitates
under his hand, real nerves that tingle and thrill. The
novelist must be content to deal with the children of his
mind, the biographer with the children of God.1 *40
Still conscious of traditional restrictions, the
biographer looked with envy toward the fruitful field of
the novelist, who seemed privileged to use many techniques
denied the orthodox biographer. True, the novelist has
at his command the most brilliant conversation he can
imagine. He leads his characters through pages of
fascinating reverie. The novelist may, by skillful
handling, shape his work to a logical and ideal develop
ment and may exclude irrelevancies, digressions, and
anticlimax. The biographer, on the other hand, finds that
39 Garland Greever, **A Heritage of American
Personality,” Dial (March 1, 1912), p. 160.
40 Joseph Collins, The Doctor Looks at Biography
(Hew York: George H. Doran, c 1925), pp.16^X7.
27
life does not always follow a logical and ideal pattern*
The life writer must face facts of life which many times
insist on displaying many irritating features# The
fiction writer seeks to create the illusion of reality,
and is usually most successful, while the traditional
biographer, with his appeal to veracity, oftentimes fails
miserably.
Regardless of these handicaps, the biographer still
has the privilege of working with real characters rather
than fanciful creations# Realizing the value of his subject
matter and its possibilities, the biographer questioned,
”Gould writers overcome these handicaps by indulging in
the novelistic techniques?” They not only decided that
they could, but they did# Two biographical literary
forms— the biographical novel and the biographical drama—
both popular for portraying character resulted#
Some biographers probe the minds and hearts of
characters for their thoughts and motives more intimately
than do some novelists# The writer uses his thorough
knowledge of source material, history, and background of
the character and to these he adds design, climax,
credible characterization, atmosphere, descriptive
coloring, imagination, stream-of-consciousness, free use
of facts, and novelistic style#
28
Successful biographers, each in a different way,
employ the art of the novel in the effective organization
of material, in the development of a central thread or
theme of life purpose, in skillful slabordination of detail
to dramatic crises or climax. They write lives that are
both valid and alluring, Andre Maurois wrote the
alluring Ariel, 1930, Francis Hackett gave readers a
fascinating fictional style in Queen Anne Boleyn, 1939,
Carl Sandburg illustrated what can be accomplished through
the use of fictional technique in his Prairie Years, 1926,
The first biographical novels were so popular that
many of the more conservative critics voiced a note of
alarm, "We are in for it now, • • , We must brace our
selves for a rushing flood of these novelistie biogra
phies,"41 were the words of Chauncey Tinker in 1925,
Most styles of writing are attempted by artless,
ambitious, amateurs, and the biographical novel is no
exception. These inexperienced, aspirers deluge the book
world with thousands of cheap, inexact, exaggerated
"sensational drivel" that parade under the guise of
biography. Their mass of superficial highly spiced
41 Longaker, op, cit,, p, 4,
29
material that is neither sound biography nor good fiction
led Galsworthy to exclaim, "The biographical novel or play
is a deliberate and subtle seducer in a Puritan*s cloak*"
Maurois, one of the most successful writers of the
biographical novel, realizes fully the hazards which could
very easily accompany this style of writing:
It is very dangerous. It requires to be handled
with infinite care, with absolute honesty, and with a
fixed desire never to alter a single fact. There is;
only one argument in Its favor, but that is all-
powerful; there is no other method.48
The second literary form for portraying personality
is the dramatic biography. The use of biographical
material on the stage makes a wide appeal and has brought
encouraging profit both to art and to the box office. The
aims of the biographical dramatist are varied. One aim
is to present every-day life experiences of the subject.
Another may be to present the social and individual
problems of the time. For those who are essentially
psychologists, the aim is to explain the normal and the
abnormal characteristics of the subject. The good
biographical dramatist realizes the importance of
dramatic construction and brilliant dialogue. But he also
must be aware of his obligation to truthful portrayal, or
48 Ibid., p. 96
30
the biographical drama will fail Just as the over
fictionalized biographical novel has failed*
All writers strive for artistic style* Biographers,
as well as all other literary writers,, must never forget
that literary style is not only desirable but essential*
The artist who glorifies his material through the use of
a keen intellect, and who works with style, creates or
recreates a lasting personality* Bradford considers
style the dominant characteristic that "makes all books
live that do l i v e ."43 The good author strives for
effective selection, omission, compression, unification,
becoming brevity, restraint, clarity, and refinement;
but constantly reminds himself that the true work of art
must "be made interesting, must be made beautiful, must
be a well composed, designed, and finished p e r f o r m a n c e . "44
The evolution of biographical art has been
interesting and definite. From an insincere eulogy it
went to a moral lesson, a sentimental memoir, a factual
account, a slashing satire, a candid portrait, an
43 Gamaliel Bradford, "Art of Biography," Saturday
Review of Literature * I (May 23, 1925), p. 770*
44 Albert Britt, Great Biographers (Hew York:
Whittlesey House, 1936), p. I86.
)
31
artistic portrait* Time alone will determine the next
step in its development*
A good life is difficult to write, but it is worth
the effort. Such a life sets before men examples which
are lofty but not inaccessible, astonishing but not in
credible. This double quality makes character writing, as
Maurois has so beautifully said, ”the most convincing of
art forms and the most human of religions.”4®
45 A* Maurois, Aspects of Biography (New York:
D. Appleton, 1929), p.TSR --
CHAPTER II
PSYCHOANALYTICAL AND PSYCHOGRAPHICAL BIOGRAPHIES OP LAMB
Two related yet very different types of writing will
be discussed in this chapter; namely, the psychoanalytical
and the psychographieal types of biography. The writers of
these forms of literature, particularly the psychographic,
are less concerned than other biographical writers with
chronological construction. In an attempt to extract that
which is essential, the psychographer must forsake the
sequence of events, for his method is selective rather than
cumulative • They employ the psychological approach; how
ever, it must be noted that the psychoanalytical biographer
strongly emphasizes the scientific psychological phase,
whereas the psychographieal biographer handles psychology
lightly and stresses artistic style.
The demand for honest explanation and interpretation
of the "why and how" of complex human conduct leads to the
psychological or psychoanalytical approach to writing.
Katherine Anthony, a psychoanalytical enthusiast, has
written one of the finest psychological studies of Lamb.
This author uses no new material, but takes old facts,
places them as it were, under the psychological microscope,
analyzes them in detail, and presents them from the
scientific viewpoint.
32
The contemporary psychographer, Gamaliel Bradford,
considers psychology a valuable factor for portraying
personality; however, he makes it subordinate in his
writing* He views his subject from every possible angle
by summing up all known facts and analyzing their
importance carefully. He then paints an artisti©
portrait which reveals the dominant characteristic of
the particular individual*
THE LAMBS by Katherine Anthony
Careful consideration of Katherine Anthony’s books
lends color to the notion that in order to qualify for
Miss Anthony’s attention, her subject must be either a
ruler or a writer, and be ’ ’either mildly or dangerously
unbalanced#”- * - Since Charles Lamb met the qualifications
so perfectly, he did not escape his share of psycho
analytical analysis. In 1944 Katherine Anthony, whom Mr#
Millett in Contemporary American Authors calls ’ ’the most
persistent devotee of the psychoanalytical biography,”2
1 C# Baker, ’ ’The Lambs," New York Times (March,
1945), p. 4#
p
P. B. Millett, Contemporary American Authors
(New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1940), p. 176#
33
presented to the literary world a new life entitled The
Lambs, Her book is significant for its originality,
because Miss Anthony is ”the first of the American
biographers to use psychology as a definite method of
approach to the study of personality,’ *®
She applies psychological principles in portraying
her subject’s character, and uses them as a means of ex
plaining the underlying motives which molded and shaped
the various lives depicted by her. Miss Anthony completely
disregards strict adherence to chronological order and
presents through choice selection and elimination only
such historical background and biographical data as is
necessary to present what, to her, constitutes a complete
character.
Miss Anthony cleverly develops “a gloomy oil
portrait”^ of Lamb’s life. His lowly birth and the
position of Samuel Salt as benefactor are made evident.
The beneficial influence of Christ’s Hospital, of the early
introduction to the theater, the summer trips to the
3 E. H. O’Neill, History of American Biography
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1^35), p. 11.
4 C. Baker, ’ ’The Sister of Elia,” New York Times
Book Review (March 18, 1945), p. 4.
34
country mansion at Blakeaware where Charles and Mary became
familiar with beautiful tapestries, valuable paintings, and
rambling gardens, is clearly drawn.
From this period of apparent security and happiness,
Miss Anthony leads her readers step by step into the
deepest insecurity, the darkest despair. Mr. Salt’s and
Mrs. Field*s deaths, which took place within a month of
each other, proved to be a major catastrophe, making it
necessary for the Lamb family to move to very undesirable
quarters, where Mr. Lamb degenerated into an idle dere
lict; Mrs. Lamb became an invalid confined to her wheel
chair; Mary was forced to struggle along as an overworked,
isolated, brooding seamstress; while Charles, overcome by
a nervous breakdown, was confined temporarily to a mental
hospital. Dark despair had indeed settled over the Lamb
household, only to be made more horrible when Mary, in a
fit of insanity, attacked her apprentice, and stabbed her
mother to death. What superb material for a psycho
analytical writer i
But Miss Anthony’s ’ ’gloomy oil” is not finished.
She describes Mary’s repeated attacks of insanity, which
she diagnoses as a manic-depressive psychosis. She
follows Charles as Mary’s constant companion, as the
India House clerk for thirty years, as the friend of
35
Coleridge, Manning, Dyer, Hazlitt, Wordsworth, as the
hospitable host, who seemed constantly to be escaping
reality and who later sought desperately for privacy and
for escape. Miss Anthony has not forgotten Emma Isola,
for it was she who brought such a full measure of both
happiness and sadness to Charles and Mary. The narrative
ends as, in a last attempt for privacy, the brother and
sister retire to an asylum to await death.
Miss Anthony begins her analysis of environmental
factors by giving a most vivid picture of England, London,
and the London Temple, whieh has stood like a wrinkle
of age on the face of the city. As far back as the middle
of the eighteenth century this hallowed spot was regarded
as the monument of Londonts antiquity. The black-gowned
lawyers lent appropriate dignity to the ancient church
with its images of saints, Crusaders, and stained-glass
windows.
This historical location, where the three Lamb
children were born and reared, on the surface would give
the impression of a satisfactory, stabilizing environment
for normal secure living. Such a background might prove
suitable for an adult, but could hardly be considered
sufficiently healthy for the normal development of a
child. In a lengthy paragraph (p. 9) Miss Anthony
36
describes the children*s silent play in the churchyard
among the tombstones, their cautious ventures upon the
terraces, and the absence of childhood associations.
Fortunately the precocious Lamb children had an
antidote to the monk-like Temple existence in their brief
excursions to the country at Blakesware. Limited as it was,
they became acquainted with the natural beauty of green
gardens. They knew cows, sheep, daisies, pastures, and
orchards. Imaginary adventures were taken with the
twelve Caesars, with the pictures on the tapestries, and
the Hogarth drawings. Although these external factors
influenced Lamb’s life as his writings show, one must
look deeper as Miss Anthony discusses a combination of
many unfortunate circumstances which may have laid the
groundwork for Charles* abnormal life.
Heredity and family discord played a most prominent
role. John Lamb senior was not of high social rank. As a
boy he was a footman, and from the age of twenty-one until
the death of his employer, he remained a valet. He had
learned not to take life too seriously and to consider
mirth and amusement as among the "legitimate aims of
mankind." A3 head of the household, such character traits
resulted in anything but financial security for the
family. Mrs. Lamb, according to Miss Anthony’s
37
observation, was no more than an equal with her husband,
although she laid some strange claim to a gentility out
ranking her husband*s. This proved a source of constant
contention which became more intense with the passing of
time*
In addition to this parental incompatibility, John
Lamb*s elder sister, Sarah Lamb, became the source of
daily religious disorder, friction, and warfare. She
helped make the home ” * the usual, unhappy, strife-
stricken place in which the delinquent grows up.*”® Miss
Anthony considers this factor of such emotional signifi
cance that she devotes several pages (pp. 17-19) to the
analysis of a secret fear which took hold of Charles* mind
at the age of six, resulting in fantastic religious
illusions; and eventually culminating in a serious; nervous
break-down. Lamb gives the climax in his story ”The
Witch Aunt.” Mary’s similar nervous crisis in related in
her much admired story ’ ’The Young Mohometan.”
The author is convinced that this constant religious
controversy was the unconscious motive which influenced
the writing of Lamb’s ’ ’Letter to Southey.” She devoted an
® K. Anthony, The Lambs (New York: Khopf, 1945),
p. 8.
38
entire chapter to its consideration (pp. 197-212). Ad
mitting that the letter was written in a healthy burst of
anger, Miss Anthony agrees with E. V. Lucas that it does
not show Lamb at his best— his customary groove of
behavior. Miss Anthony, however, disagrees with Talfourdfs
theory of "resentment of friendship," maintaining that
Larn^s motive was an unconscious one rather than any deep
emotional hurt. She alleges that the atmosphere in his
childhood home was so strongly coloured by religious; con
troversy that the fine heat and valiant self-assurance
displayed in the letter was the unconscious reinacting of
contentious religious arguments witnessed as a child#
Born into the servant class, the Lamb boys, through
education, school association, and appointment as clerks
in the South Sea House and the India House, came to occupy
a genteel station; while Mary, although aided by her
Blakesware background, her literary talent, and her
genuine refinement and culture, dropped to a lower social
order, lapsing into sheer dull isolation and drudgery.
She became the social Ishmael she had once played at
being (pp. 28,29). It was not until years later that she
attained the position of a middle-class blue stocking.
Although both Mary and Charles were more and more
interested in being classed among the ranks of society,
39
there was always a hint of Bohemianism in the respectability
of the two. They were not to the manner born, but were
confirmed nomads, and "a part of the restlessness which
they displayed may have been due to the parvenu* s feeling
of insecurity.”
That the social standing of the family hung on a
very weak thread is emphasized by Miss Anthony*s personal
statement regarding the result of the death of Mr. Salt
and Mrs • Fie 3d : “The warp and woof of their whole existence
were suddenly rent asunder.”7 A life of sudden banish
ment, tragedy, and exile is followed by a brief period of
literary notoriety and financial advancement, (p. 61)
Departure of friends, death, and Mary * s return to the
asylum brings a recession, (p. 62) The social rise of
Charles and Mary begins again with their return to London
and the Mitre Court Buildings. A long chapter on “Social
Success” and a second on ’ ’Literary Success” brings the
reader to the chapter, “The Furies,” and the pendulum
swings back. Crabb Robinson in his diary writes of Lamb,
6 G. F. Whicher, “The Lambs,” Weekly Book Review
(March 18, 1945), p. 5.
*7
Anthony, op. cit., p. 27.
40
"His anti-social feeling is quite a disease." (p. 192)
All children need devoted parents, but unfortunately
Mrs• Lamb did not love either Charles or Mary. (p. 7) In
his teens Charles had no parent who was capable of guiding
him through this critical period. He revolted against the
parental attitude displayed by his older brother and sister
and became a frequenter of ale-houses (pp. 30-34). Many an
entire winter evening was spent by Lamb and Coleridge in
"their smoky corner of the Salutation and Cat." Here
was laid the firm "groundwork of a greater evilr the habit
Q
of physical tipsiness.1 1 It was a tragic complement to
the general moral confusion and political unrest, a
complement which might have been avoided had sympathetic,
understanding parents been near to guide.
These unfortunate heredity and environmental
conditions were seriously aggravated by a political
atmosphere of stress and strain mounting to public hysteria.
For fifty years the American Wars and the French Revolution
shattered all peace, shook the stability of English society
like an earthquake, brought the greatest of all periods of
anxiety upon the English— an anxiety which quickened to
terror; and terror to panic. The three Lamb children were
8 Ibid., p. 34.
fated to spend the greater part of their lives in this
difficult half-century. Throughout the chapter, ’ ’The
Storm," Miss Anthony describes the horrors of war with
its psychological reactions. To give weight to her
conviction, she cites the experience of the kind, George
III, who because of the emotional stress of the war,
became mentally unbalanced. If a state of war is difficult
for the emotionally mature, for the ruler of a country,
what might it have been for the emotionally unstable, the
abnormal person, is Miss Anthony’s question.
A factor of less importance, but worthy of note,
is Lamb’s anxiety regarding his finances. Although Charles
was never financially well-to-do, he was able to live very
comfortably. Page 61 gives an account of an increase in
salary and luxuries for Mary. Again, pages 73 and 74
state that the salary grew by regular stages and was paid
with "majestic regularity" adjusted to keep two, if not in
"positive luxury, at least in moderate comfort." At
another time "he (Lamb) blinked at the salary suddenly
boosted from two hundred and forty to four hundred and
eighty pounds a year. This was affluence on a scale that
required expression." (p. 114) Lamb’s letter to Fanny
Kelly assured her that his income justified his proposal
(p. 119). Yet one of his extreme abnormalities was a
42
money obsession, Mall his life Lamb feared starvation and
penury, and his anxiety led him into an undue secretiveness
and silence about money ,‘ l9 That such an unbearable over
strain might easily play a large part in developing a dark
shadow of mental instability which colored the Lambs from
early maturity to Miss Anthony*s theory.
The author views Charles as a slowly developing
paranoid type. She freely emphasizes his habits of
drunkenness, which were his ways of escaping reality.
Drinking failed to bring him complete satisfaction and he
is found moving Mary from house to house in search of
solitude. He moved from Southampton Buildings to 16 Mitre
Court (p, 67), he sought privacy with Thomas Westwood
(pp, 189-191), Eleven moves within a thirty-five year
period were made to satisfy his desire to escape from
people (p* 174), In a letter to a friend Lamb writes:
r , We have been here near three months, and shall stay two
or more, if people will let us alone, but they persecute
us from village to village,f * (p. 173) The first moves
were improvements over their previous standards of living;
however, the later moves may have been considered by his
friends most unwise.
9 P* 149,
43
The abnormalities of Mary and Charles were notice
ably different. While Mary*s attacks of insanity were
periodic and more or less severe, between attacks she
lived in comparative peace and contentment* Charles, on
the other hand, continued in his eccentricities that
produced a general conflict and unhappiness throughout
his entire life. His restlessness, his desire to move
regardless of consequences was far from normal behavior,
Robinson describes his conduct as "half-crazy irregularity!*
(pp. 192*193) Lamb describes himself as "frantic," (p,193)
A murder at Enfield brought him alarmingly close to such
"mental purlieus as those with which his sister had long
been acquainted," (p, 193) Even his humor, which helped
to make him famous, was not without a strain of sadness.
Interesting significance is placed upon the role of
Emma Isola in the lives of Mary and Charles, The joy
which she brought to the Lamb household was darkly over
shadowed by deep sadness, Charles* love for Emma loosened
the tie between brother and sister, a tie which had held
firmly for so many years. It was with great effort and
personal struggle that Charles sacrificed Emma to Edward
Moxon (pp, 191-194). Miss Anthony considers this sacrifice
one of the great victories of Lamb*s life, for it was this
ability to make firm decisions when facing a crisis that
kept him on the safe side of sanity. The wedding revealed
Interesting psychological reactions, Charles gave up
housekeeping for good In a last great effort for that
desired privacy (p, 194), Mary, on the day of the wedding
succumbed to one of her most violent attacks, but
immediately after the ceremony was found miraculously well
(pp, 195-196), It is Miss Anthony*s firm opinion that
Mary suffered throughout her life from extreme jealousy,
although she herself may not have recognized it, for the
forbidden element in the brother-sister relationship
forced the suppression of such a spirit. That envy was
a contributing passion which drove Mary to commit the
dreadful crime of her youth is also a theory held by Miss
Anthony ,
It is quite generally agreed by biographers of Lamb
that from early childhood Mary was a dominant figure in the
life of Charles, Miss Anthony is no exception; in fact,
there are those who feel that she has placed altogether
too much emphasis on the dependency of Charles upon Mary,
She was his tutor (p, 9), she was his confidant (p, 116),
and she was an influencing factor in his literary
achievements (pp. 124-125, 141, 163, 199), Roberts, in
his review in the Saturday Review of Literature writes:
Miss Anthony is pre-occupied with a most unfortunate
feminist thesis that Charles all his life desperately
needed his sister. It is only by twisting the evidence
in a Freudian vice that Charles1 continual care of Mary
45
can be read into an inability to live without her.
... This fanciful opinion of Miss Anthony’s is
easily disposed of by consideration of the mere fact
that without Charles poor Mary would have been
nothing} without Mary, Charles would certainly have
been a happier, more controlled man and as great an
author*10
Roberts disposes of this question a little too easily, for
it might be a bit difficult to prove that Charles would
have been a happier, more controlled man without Mary.
Miss Anthony raises the question of a possible
erotic element in the relationship of Mary and Charles,
but dismisses it in the belief that such a condition would
have ruined their mental balance and behavior completely.
She does go so far as to state that "it is necessarily to
be regarded as one of the possible, even probable, sources
of the painful disturbances which dogged them persistently,
and overwhelmed them at times, throughout their lives#rt11
A story portraying such detailed brother and sister
tragedy and devotion, although written from the psycho
logical viewpoint, might easily have followed a dis
gustingly sentimental trend. Miss Anthony has skillfully
avoided any such pitfall. The Booklist makes the
observation that "the brother and sister devotion ... is
10 R. E. Roberts, "The Lambs," Saturday Review of
Literature, XXVIII (May 26, 1945), p. TUT
11 Anthony, 0£. cit., p. 72.
46
conveyed with a sympathy entirely devoid of sentimen
tality.”^
Perhaps the most controversial portion in Miss
Anthony*s book arises from her suggestive chapter title
”Orestes and Electra.” Her interpretation that Mary had
a guilt complex throughout her life and that Charles con
doned her crime has been a subject for much criticism.
Critics feel Miss Anthony*s whimsical approach derives,
from her determination to pose Charles and Mary as Orestes
and Electra, and that this theory is supported only by
fantastic interpretation. They agree that Mary felt
regret, sorrow and remorse; but never, in her sane
moments, any guilt. Her conclusion regarding the purgation
of Mary*s soul, the necessity of full payment for her
"serene intervals,” is rather impossible since neither
Charles nor Mary furnish sufficient clues to substantiate
such a theory. A severe criticism which applies to this
particular theory appeared in the New York Times Book
Review of March 1945.
About twenty-five years ago Miss Anthony was bitten
by the bug of Freudianism, which (like liquor, love,
12 ”The Lambs,” Booklist, XLI (April 1, 1945),
p. 223.
47
fire, and death) is a useful slave and a monstrous
master. Although she manages to keep the; little
bete noire under control during a great part of her
latest book at times Miss Anthony appears to grow a
little feverish, and, while remaining on her feet,
grasps the reader aggressively by the elbow and
begins to pour Freudian conjectures into his ears.
Miss Anthony goes to the field of psychiatry for an
answer to the death of Charles, Most writers give
erysipelas as the direct cause for Lamb*s death, while
many are convinced that excessive drinking was an
indirect cause. Miss Anthony follows consistently her
analysis to the end, in tracing his death to a mania-
depressive development. She states that erysipelas, which
developed from a comparatively minor injury, was the
cause, corresponding very closely to a clinical theory
of William A, White, an American psychiatrist, that mania-
depressive patients suffer more often than others from the
complications of minor injuries. The author concludes
this particular discussion with the statement that the real
cause of Charles* death was "the final crisis of a mental
illness which he had endured and bravely withstood for a
reasonably long lifetime,"^
^ Ci Baker, "The Sister of Elia," New York Times
Book Review (March 18, 1945), p, 45, '
Anthony, op, cit., p« 225,
48
One of the chief vices of Miss Anthony’s approach to
a story that needs careful accuracy to justify its
retelling, is the inordinate number of “must have’s*”
Whenever a more than usually unlikely hypothesis is made,
a ”raust have” or “may have” explanation appears which
frequently lacks scientific validity* ! f She must have seen
the act. • • • She must have enacted the scene • • .”2.5
are examples of statements that appear repeatedly
throughout the volume.
In the main this biography gives a truthful account
according to provable factual data. The author’s dis
cussion and analysis of the value of the various hereditary,
environmental, social, political, and economic factors in
the emotional life of Charles Lamb is logical and sound*
When she goes into the detailed psychological evaluations
of the Charles and Emma relationship, the Charles and
Mary relationship, and the "Electra and Orestes” thesis,
she is dealing with problems difficult for a trained
psychopathologist to settle with a living subject. She
attempts to deal with secrets which were buried with their
owners. She carefully studies the differences in the
abnormalities of Mary and Charles, and then endeavors to
Ibid., p. 42.
49
classify them as a psychiatrist diagnosis mental disorders*
While other writers discuss Lanins drinking from a social
standpoint, Miss Anthony explains the habit as an attempt
to escape reality. She maintains that this escape complex
is responsible for his frequent changing of locality.
While Emma Isola is usually thought of as the sweet child
who brought happiness to Charles and Mary in their old
age, Miss Anthony presents quite a different picture.
Emma causes a breach in the devoted brother-sister
relationship; she makes possible occasion for unbelievable
jealousy in Mary; she marries, and Lamb seeks privacy more
than ever before*
Although the subject is a most debatable one, Miss
Anthony is one who holds to the thesis that Lamb was un
able to live without his sister. Each felt that he or
she could not get along without the other. It is
altogether possible that the life of each would have
been much different without the other, but under the
circumstances, it becomes rather impossible for anyone
to arrive at any correct conclusion. The development of
Miss Anthony»s theories make for enjoyable, stimulating
reading, but few would care to go all the way with her in
her hypotheses.
The material has been well organized, as Miss
50
Anthony takas her character from lowly birth, through
storms, success, and furies to the ultimate heroic
portrait. Psychological evaluation of Lamb*s heredity,
environment, home life, contemporary political unrest,
and the sympathetic discussion of plausible causes for
his abnormal behavior prepare the reader to accept kindly
the man who, after living a life of constant uphill
struggle, stands forth in the end nthe inimitable
Charles Lamb,1 1
BARE SOULS by Gamaliel Bradford
51
Gamaliel Bradford is an authority on the art of
' ’condensed, essential, artistic presentation of character,’ ^
which he calls psychography. He considers personal letters
one of the most valuable primary source materials for re
vealing a complete personality* Therefore, he is keenly
aware of outstanding epistolary writers and is ardently
interested in their letters* Bradford knows Charles
Lamb through his essays, but he becomes even better ac
quainted with him from the study of his letters*
Bradford’s purpose in writing Bare Souls was a
desire to apply the psychographic method to some of the
world’s finest letter writers* This outstanding
psyehographer resolved to lay bare human souls through
the richest and most suggestive personal documents
available, through the "most satisfactory clues for the
naturalist of soulsnamely, letters*
G* Bradford, A Naturalist of Souls (New* York:
Houghton Mifflin, 1917)7 p* §•
^ G* Bradford, Bare Souls (New York: Harper,
c 1924), p* 8*
52
Eight outstanding letter writers are portrayed in
Bare Souls. Their letters provide unusually rich Material
for the beautiful intimate characterizations* All the
characters ’ ’are speaking portraits and they supply us with
a marvelous nosegay of obiter dicta with long stems and
brilliant colors.1 *^® Lamb, whose letters are esteemed by
many as being superior to his greatly loved essays, well
deserves to be ranked among the greatest of all letter
writers. Within this thirty-three page psychographic
character sketch, Bradford includes sixty-three quotations
from Lamb’s letters*
Bradford’s supreme interest in life writing is so to
focus his literary X-ray that it passes through the flesh
and bones of facts and deeds, and lays bare the human soul*
How does the biographer reach the soul; ’ ’the inner, hidden,
mysterious machinery so cunningly and completely masked
behind the solid, compact covering of flesh and blood?”
For it is imperative that the writer penetrate this
covering before he can dissect and analyze the complex
web of experiences, passions, emotions, and frustrations
that lie beneath* Bradford assures his reader that the
soul shines through most trifling gestures, in a smile,
A. Vernon, ’ ’ Bare Souls,” Saturday Review of
Literature, I (December 6, 1924), p," 345* v
53
In the most insignificant act. "Minor actions tell much,
perhaps more than greater, more deliberate deeds, because
there Is less thought or care for concealment. "^-9
Bradford selects and analyzes thoroughly every
possible angle of the subject*s life. He then paints the
artistic portrait revealing the dominant characteristic
of the individual, and allowing nothing to come between
him and that primary characteristic. He refers to back
ground very briefly, and then only as it lends color to
the desired character trait. (pp. 174, 193) Bradford
merely mentions characters, incidents, or places when
relating Lamb*s mirthful behavior on serious occasions
(p. 171), his love for books and literary characters
(p. 180), his love for the city (p. 192), his comic
gaiety with friends (p. 200), his love of friends and
relations (p. 202). He has complete disregard for
chronological order. The writer on the first page of
the psychography refers to an event which took place later
in Lamb*s life (p. 171), then near the end of the work,
he writes of Lamb*s youth (p. 199),
Bradford unlocks Lamb*s soul with the two
"delicately related keys of love and laughter."20 The
0. Bradford, Bare Souls (New York* Harper, c 1924)
P* 4.
20 ibid.. p. 204.
54
artist brilliantly portrays Lamb as the embodiment of
Shakespeare*s fools, comparing him with the imaginative
character, Touchstone, who was the personalification of
generosity and spiritual wisdom. He shows Lamb as "a
21
creature of whim and frolic fancy,1 ' a character who
refuses to take even the more serious things of the world
seriously (p, 171), 111 health, he laughs away; to dis
agreeable work, he submits and obeys, but always "with
that delicious whimsical sigh of protest,He considers
politics, titles, dignities mere foolishness (p, 176),
Anything "awful" makes him laugh. The curse of madness
always haunts him and he never quite recovers from the
horror of Mary»s crime. This "dull reflection was fooled
by whim or fancy,"23 Bradford guides his reader toward a
more complete understanding of Lamb*s attitude toward the
different phases and Interests of human life through his
letter to Coleridge written after his (Lanib*s) brief period
of insanity, (p, 175) Questions Lamb can not answer, and
21 Ibid,, p. 171.
22 Ibid., p, 187.
23 Loc. cit.
55
profound problems that puzzle, he puts aside and escapes
from them in delightful fantasy* "Nothing puzzles me more
than time and space. Yet nothing puzzles me less, for I
never think about them,”2^ But in his mocking is found no
bitterness, in his mischief, nothing cruel, in his laughter
is.always found a "possible tear of pity and tenderness.”2®
Lamb found books the one serious thing in the world.
He loved them, he trifled and dallied with them, but was
not a serious student. "*1 dream away my life in others*
speculations.*”^® As an author he was a creature of mood
and fancy for impulse led him. He found it difficult to
endure the thought of set hours, appointed tasks, regular
engagements. He complained that the distasteful, dull
routine of the East India Company office work often
deadened his spirits. How he longed for freedom I
Bradford gives in this passage one of the most human,
understandable traits of Lamb. A strange yet so perfectly
normal reversal appears.
24 P* 178 *
25 Ibid.* P« 171*
26 Ibid.. p. 178.
56
He escapes from his bonds . . . , leaves the office
behind and goes free. And behold— freedom is not all
he thought it would be, • • , So humanity trembles
backward and forward, always longing for something
different and never satisfied,27
Once again Bradford quotes this human sigh, so
characteristic of all, rich and poor alike:
*In fact, if I got or could but get 50 pounds a
year only, in addition to what I have, I should live
in affluence•* Yet he trifled with money difficulties
as with all other difficulties:, concluding with his
motto 1 Contented with little, yet wishing for more,*2®
Lamb was essentially a "child of the city," He
loved humanity deeply and saw it reflected everywhere in
the noise, the hurry, and the dirt of the city,
(pp, 192-3) Artificial formality bored him, and he was
"apt to express his feelings with a Shakespearean frankness
which distressed his friends and horrified his visitors,"22
He delighted in the company of a few close friends, a good
dinner, drink, and an old pipe.
Lamb waged a constant battle against liquor and his
pipe. He constantly resisted, constantly yielded. This
battle continued to the end and furnished the strangest
matter for the jesting spirit that jested at all things,
(pp, 197-199) Finally he did manage to put his pipe away,
27 Ibid,, pp. 187-188.
28 lbid., p. 184,
22 Ibid., p. 195.
57
MBut, oh, the struggle I He could not have carried it
through if he had not laughed at it."®^
Bradford feels that it is impossible to understand
the character of Lamb without a full appreciation of the
untiring devotion, the intimate companionship, the un
faltering loyalty shared by Mary and Charles for each
other, for love as well as laughter was one of the keys
Lamb possessed to life*s door* No one could have expressed
deep devotion more beautifully than Lamb himself (pp* 203-
4)* Bradford takes great care to remind his readers that
there was a "profound, underlying, unfathomable goodness
and nobleness in Lamb" that must never be forgotten in the
enjoyment of his "frolicsome mirth" and his "clownish
buffoonery*"
Garland Greever, a personal friend of Gamaliel
Bradford, assures readers that the author "would be the
last to assert" that the psyehography of Lamb is perfect*
Although not all-inclusive, Greever feels that the "salient
qualities are presented with extraordinary s ureness"®!
30 Ibid*, p. 198.
G. Greever, "Bare Souls," Literary Review
(October 25, 1924), p. 4.
58
and the reader has a normal, vital, and intensely human
personality. Critics declare it the "finest book*1 Mr,
Bradford has written,^
Bradford might have used Talfourd»s words as his
text:
Lamb loved to hold himself out as flippant,
frivolous, self-indulgent, mischievous, • • ,
Hypocrites abhorred him. Pharisees thanked God
that they were not like him. He didn’ t eare.
In forming such a character, Bradford studied and analyzed
the many facts of Lamb*s life. He studied and analyzed,
, just as carefully, Lanb»s letters. Then by skillful
selection, emphasis, and literary style he gives us a
fanciful, jesting, lovable personality. He so skillfully
selected his illustrative material that the reader is
perfectly satisfied with the finished portrait. The
writer constructed the scaffold for this palace like
structure of numerous solid bare facts, but no scaffolding
remains visible to mar the finished edifice. The humanity
and nobleness of Lamb is easily recognized, but the
dominant picture is of a creature of whim and frolic
fancy. Those who cherish the old familiar portrait of
Lamb will enjoy reading again and again t$e brief,
intimate, soul-revealing work by Bradford.
32 Vernon, op. cit., p. 345.
59
Miss Anthony and Gamaliel Bradford treat their
subject in an altogether different manner. The former
states a condition, then saturates it with possible
psychological and psychiatrical theories. The latter sets
forth a character trait, and develops that trait through
Lamb's own words. Although Miss Anthony has emphasized a
nervous, abnormal personality and Bradford the jesting,
whimsical, lovable character; both, in the end, conclude
with the brave, loyal, heroic Lamb.
CHAPTER III
BIOGRAPHICAL HOVELS OP LAMB
The novel is defined as a "long story in prose that
depends for its value on portrayal of character as well as
upon succession of incidents." According to this defini
tion, the novel and the biography appear very similar in
character. Fundamentally the two types of writing have
much in common; however, there are problems facing the
biographer which demand different handling from those
confronted by the novelist.
The biographer is presented with real life
situations, and real life never fully gives the writer the
kind of facts in which he is interested. Therefore, while
the biographer must "discover the pattern implied by these
real life facts,the novelist chooses a pattern of human
conduct which he wishes to present, then creates facts in
accordance with his pattern. The biographer and the
novelist face the same problem when character inter
pretation is involved. Each tries, by an act of his own
1 George Saintsbury, The English Hovel (Hew York:
E, P, Dutton and Co,, 1913), p, 31.
& cieanth Brooks and Robert P, Warren, Understanding
Fiction (Hew York: Appleton, Century, Crofts, Inc., 1943),
p, 26.
61
imagination, to analyze the character of his subject. But
who is to determine the validity of anything so subjective?
No two biographers, using identical recorded facts and
recorded opinions, will give the exact interpretation of
those facts and opinions.
Many writers of biography recognize that selection
and omission of subject matter and technique constitute
the major differences between the tedious, artless
biography and a possible brilliantly designed, imaginative
work. Thus writers, in their effort to make biography both
valid and alluring, exercise extreme care in selecting their
material and make full use of all the novelist*s techniques.
As a result, biographers are writing biographical novels
that are both fascinating and instructive#
SO PERISH THE ROSES by Neil Bell
Most readers enjoy the amusing, fantastic story of
the "Roast Pig;" are carried into misty realms of dreamland
with "Dream Children;" and return to reality with the
delightful sensation of having met a friend, a friend who
is "gentle,1 * loving, whimsical, kind. Prom his adolescence
Neil Bell read the writings of Charles Lamb, to the extent
that they became Bell*s bedside book, the book he would
pack at the last moment, the one book he could read when
all the rest of the world* s printed pages lost their
attraction. However, Neil Bell as an author, throughout
his years of reading, failed to meet the "gentle Elia"
whose portrait is so tenderly cherished by the majority
of readers. He became quite confident that the existing
biographies of that lovable man are a "bogus creation,"
that they do not square with the events of Lamb’s life; so
rather than delighting his readers with another glimpse
of "gentle-hearted Charles," Bell purposed in So_ Perish
the Roses to shock and surprise them with "Charley, his
pipes, his liquor, and his loves," He would portray a
flesh and blood human being viho lived life so "fully and so
passionately that at fifty-nine he was burnt-out physically
and mentally."^ He boldly claims that the Lamb he has
created is "different from the Lamb of 1Spurious Legend*
made by Coleridge, Wordsworth, and others who knew him
intimately,"® His claim is justified, for "this is a Lamb
we never knew,"0
® Neil Bell, So Perish the Roses (New York:
MacMillan Co*, 1940), Author * s note,
^ k°c» cit,
5 Loc, cit,
® "So Perish the Roses," Times Literary Supplement
(July 1940), p, 341,
63
Bell, in the biographical novel, S£ Perish the Rose3,
uses many techniques known to the novelist. He gives full
range to his imagination in an endeavor to present the life
of a dramatically tragic figure. When the story begins, a
frail, shrivelled mite is being born to John and Elizabeth
Lamb. The pathetic creature is anxiously watched by his
adoring sister Mary, and his doting Aunt Hetty, Mr. Lamb’s
older sister. This distressing infant, and home
activities in general, interest and impress John, the
older brother, very little, as he arrogantly considers
himself a man with more Weighty problems. The little
fellow’s sickly development, his nervous stammerings, his
sensitive shy nature bring comment and sympathy from those
who see him. Charles begins his school life with the un
gainly yet understanding Mrs. Reynolds, then with the fat,
squat Mr. Bird. This queer , , awkward, , child enters Christ’s
Hospital, where his life-long friendship with Coleridge
begins. But Charles finds his educational advantages
brought abruptly to a close by unexpected financial
reverses, and he begins a life of responsibility, work,
love, drink, and tragedy. He accepts heavy responsibilities
before he comes of age, and carries them throughout his
lifetime, spending thirty-three years of his life doing
distasteful work. This tragic figure experiences four
64
disappointing love affairs which begin with an innocent
adolescent romance and end with a senile passion for a
mere child* He recognizes tobacco suid gin as his demanding
masters and walks with tragedy in the form of a mental
weakness from birth until death.
So Perish the Roses claims to be a biographical
novel, therefore the book should meet the requirements of
both forms of writing. The work, in order to qualify as
good biographical writing should be factual and truthful,
should show environmental influence and sympathetic under
standing, and should maintain an objective point of view.
Since the factual content of a book is a fundamental
factor in determining biographical value, the writer should
endeavor to check carefully with reliable source material
before attempting to write any form of biography. Bell
bases his book on the actual life and letters of Lamb, and
follows chronological order in major as well as minor
happenings. However, the author supplies many imaginative
scenes and long imaginative conversations. As was stated
in chapter one, the free use of imagination is permissible,
but honesty requires the author to inform his reader of
any and all imaginary matter. Bell fails to do this. The
three pages of gossip between Samuel Salt and John Lamb in
the first chapter of the book (pp. 11-13), the delightful
bit of reminiscing don© by Charles in a conversation with
Emma (pp. 179-180), the tragic struggle which possessed
Emma as she sought to please Charles by accepting Edward
Moxon (pp. 465-469) serve as but a few of the many
examples of Bell’s spirited, lifeline imaginary conversa
tional style.
Bell includes many correct minute details, such as
unimportant addresses and irrelevant dates, but includes
many incorrect details as well. According to the author
Mrs. Lamb was left two-hundred pounts when the amount was
actually one hundred and fifty pounds (p. 128); he
records that Lamb entered the South Sea House on September
10 rather than September 1 (p. 107); he has Reverend George
Brockwell christen Charles when he ndgjnt just as easily have
named the correct man, Mr. Jeffs (p. 15); he speaks of
John Cottle, when the name was Joseph Cottle (p. 174); he
refers to "Devil’s Thoughts" written by Coleridge and
Southey when in reality "Devil’s Walk" was written by
Coleridge and Hood (p. 236); and he gives May 27 rather
than May 25 as the date for Fanny Kelly’s appearance at
Drury Lane (p. 313). Although the errors are insignificant,
a writer invites unnecessary criticism by failing to verify
all data.
In relating the murder episode, Bell more closely
66
restricts his material to facts. He gives the time, the
place, the characters (with the exception of a Mrs.
Brokenshire), and incidents leading up to the crime that
correspond with Lucas ’ recital. He quotes the account of
the crime as given in "The Morning Chronicle," Lamb’s letter
to Coleridge, and Coleridge’s reply verbatim. Bell could
just as easily have continued with facts, but he for no
apparent reason has Mary throw the fork and wound Aunt
Hetty instead of Mr, Lamb; he states that the report of
the inquest appeared in the Saturday’s "Morning Chronicle"
rather than in the Monday’s issue: and possibly for
dramatic effect, he makes Lamb drunk and in this condition
has him fall asleep beside the bed where his dead mother
lies.
Although Lucas finds many bachelor characteristics
in Lamb and minimizes his love interests, Bell elaborately
embellishes four alleged amorous experiences. He
romantically relates the young love affair with a farmer’s
daughter named Ann Simmons— a bitter-sweet romance filled
with love, laughter, and tears, so characteristic of young
love— which was commemorated long afterward in the famous
"Bream Children" (pp. 107-177) . Then he recounts a passing
fancy for a Quaker girl that ended by Charles going to
"The Angel Tavern" to drink until the pain, caused by the
67
realization that he was unwelcomed visitor in the Savory
home, was dulled (p. 201-208). The author dramatically
describes Lamb’s devoted friendship and courtship with the
actress, Fanny Kelly, which resulted in a proposal of
marriage (pp. 316-320, 344-350). Bell brings Lamb’s love-
life to a tragic close by portraying a doting intimacy,
just short of unpleasant senile passion, with a child
Emma Isola (p. 445-484). Of the four episodes, the
friendship with Fanny Kelly is the only one that can be
examined by daylight. ”The others are shadowy affairs
hard to disentangle from the mists of subjectivity and the
moonshine of literary exploitation.”^ Although factual
material is present in these episodes, Bell uses imagination,
so freely that the facts are almost obscure.
The terms factual and truthful are not necessarily
synonymous. The source material used in writing a book
may be absolutely factual but be most untruthful, for
subjectively analyzed facts often become dapgerously
distorted. The facts regarding Lamb’s social life are a
good example. Lucas objectively records a small party
held at Lamb’s home to celebrate Wordsworth and Dorothy’s
visit to London. Nothing in his account so much as
^ G-. F. Whicher, ”So Perish the Roses,” Books
(October 6, 1940), p. 16.
68
implies that Lamb was not the perfect host.® Bel3l records
the same social occasion, but spoils the evening with
Lamb's "upset" condition. "He ate absently, drank too
much, and fell into long, brooding silences." Bell then
takes Lamb off in disagreeable reverie (p. 313). Both
biographers record a house warming held in the month of
December. Both relate a quarrel between John Lamb and
Hazlitt, and the fact that Lamb called Wordsworth a.
"*rascally old Lake poet1 and pulled his nose." Lucas
makes no further comment, but Bell observes that "no house
warming could have been more unfortunate. Everything went
wrong." Lamb became very tipsy. Lamb became offensively
discourteous toward his guests. The party broke up '
earlier than usual with Lamb "unable to see himself to
bed" (p. 327). Bell describes party after party in this
manner and after stating that parties attended by Lamb,
either as guest or host, were rarely a success, summarizes
the social situation in these words: "He (Lamb) was the
Jonah in the ship. He was the magnet for the unexpected,
the embarrasing, the ludicrous, the upsetting, the
grotesque, and at times the catastrophic."® Bell’s
8 E. V. Lucas, Life of Charles Lamb. 2 vols., 5th
edition, revised (London: WEhuen, l§2l), vol. I, p. 355.
® Bell, op. cit.. p. 444.
69
accounts are a far cry from the pleasant pictures presented
by other biographers of the many congenial Wednesday
evening social gatherings held in the home of Charles and
Mary,
Lucas does not overlook the fact that Lamb drank.
He states the facts, but makes no attempt to elaborate on
them. He includes Lamb’s essay ’ ’Confessions of a
Drunkard” in his volume and discusses it objectively,
tactfully yet firmly. As one critic has remarkedj ”It
would be impossible more justly to hold the balance between
the claims of historic truth and of personal affection for
Lamb,”^0 Bell also gives the facts but goes to the extreme
in trying to make Lamb appear rude and sottish. Within
four pages (pp, 327-330) Bell, in the most derogatory
language describes Lamb’s drunken condition eleven
different times. In his discussion of ’ ’Confessions of a
Drunkard,” Bell uses Fanny to convince the reader that the
essay was without a doubt autobiographical. The facts are
presented, but excess supplementary material and subjective
handling distort the truth.
Environmental influence is an important factor in
’ ’Life of Charles Lamb,”! Spectator, XCV
(October 28, 1905), p, 653,
almost every Individual's life. Bell, realizing the import
of early environment, spends time In the first three
chapters vividly describing early surroundings. He
pictures Mr. Salt*s library (p. 19), the exaggerated,
fanatical, religious background (pp. 19, 31, 38), Marble
Hall, Hogarth prints of Blakesware, The Wilderness
(pp. 32-37), early influences of the theatre (p. 51) as
environmental factors that stimulated Lambfs burning
passion for books, his artistic appreciation, his wealth
of imagination, his rich, full background which made his
writing possible. Bell observes regarding these factors:
“They were of more enduring stuff and were to remain a
part of him all his days“ (p. 45)).
A writer*s lack of intelligent sympathetic under
standing for a subject often results in a bitter, de
bunking work. Bell admires Lamb, but deals unsympatheti
cally with him by emphasizing rather than minimizing the
unfavorable phases of Lamb*s life. More often than is
necessary, he forces his reader to stop to count Lamb*s
drinks, and so consistently endeavors to make Lamb an
obnoxious drunkard that one critic writes: “In his re
telling of Lamb*s story he (Bell) has not left out a single
strong reek of tobacco and gin.”11
Whicher, op. cit.. p. 16.
71
The writer seems to enjoy belittling Lamb,
describing him as the "shrivelled little creature with a
grotesquely ovoid head" (p. 14), Grandmother Field looked
at him for the first time and remarked, "You*re a shrimp"
(p. 33)• Mrs# Paice, the broker, was impressed with "‘ what
a queer little chap" Lamb was (p. 92)# A discussion in the
Evan*s home resulted in the comment, "Look at his little
shanks# Charley will never be more than a whippersnapper"
(p# 99)* Hester considered lamb an "odd little man with
insubstantial legs and meagre body" (p# 203)# Captain
Scott, an ardent admirer of Fanny Kelly, thought him "a
drab-looking little cock-sparrow" (p, 306). A pretty
young girl in a Manchester bookshop observed, "What a
queer little old fellow" (p# 340). And so it goes from
beginning to end* Bell makes sure that there is a
derogatory remark on the lips of almost every observer#
A biographer should reveal the most sympathy when
dealing with insanity, but again Bell emphasizes rather
than minimizes# He never allows his reader to lose sight
of the strong, deadening strain which dogs the steps of
Mary and Charles from beginning to end# He makes Mrs#
Lamb refer to the "mental taint,” on Mr. Lamb’s side of
the family, and again grandmother Field notices Mary’s
"moithered wits." Bell quotes Charles "’Do you think
72
I’m a fool as well as a madman*" when he realizes he has
been placed In an asylum (p. 178), As the story pro
gresses, Bell Indulges in more frequent and more ex
travagant phrases, such as "Mary was violent and raving"
(p. 394) and speaks most unsympathetically of these mental
breakdowns as "distressful and inopportune." Bell’s final
picture is darkened with Lamb’s insanity#
Mary sat by his bed throughout the afternoon
listening to that rambling flow, now a loud torrent,
now a low disconnected trickle, as he had so often
listened to hers#^
Although objective writing is desirable in
biographies, Bell is too concerned in surprising and
shocking his readers with "a flesh and blood being who
lived life so fully and so passionately that at fifty-
nine he was burnt-out physically and mentally"-*-® to do
either objective thinking or writing. An author may find
it difficult to maintain an objective viewpoint when he
harbors such a subjective image within his own mind#
In discussing the fictional techniques of a work
several factors are involved? 1# plot, 2# internal and
12 Bell, op. cit., p. 511.
Ibid., Author’s note#
73
external characterization, 3, theme, 4. setting, atmosphere,
descriptive coloring, 5. action, 6* stream-of-consciousness,
7* conflict, 8. fictional content episodes, 9* victory over
, self constitute a few techniques* Although each factor is
important to good fictional writing, plot is one of the
basic aspects, for it is the structure of action or the
total design of the story. A good, formal plot is seldom
found in biographical material and So Perish the Roses is
, no exception. There is no plot and the story, because of
poor selection and omission of material, is longer and
more rambling than need be. The narrative includes many
incidents and information that have very little if any
pertinent bearing on the Lambs. The pages and pages
devoted to Coleridge*s debt, and the plans of the
Pantisocratists could profitably be omitted (pp* 160-169)).
The story moves along well for the first few chapters,
but tends to become clogged with biographical detail in
the later sections of the book. Details regarding 1 1 John
Woodvil" (p. 254), unimportant dates (pp. 260, 262, 292,
322), and extended literary criticism (pp. 350-400) are
but a few examples.
Any writing which involves individuals calls for a
description of appearance or personality or both. Skill
ful characterization, both internal and external, adds
much to th© value of any kind of writing* Two external,
descriptive characterizations of Lambfs school teachers
demonstrate Bell»s style* Mrs. Reynolds, a forty-five
year old woman whom life had handled "ungently," was a
grotesque figure, stout, ungainly, with a raddled
complexion and protruding horse teeth; she walked
with a queer rolling lurch; she had lost her hair
from some disease and wore an immense towering
golden wig.14
Mr* Bird was a
fat squat dark man, with a round florid face, little
plump smiting hands, and an oily purring voice. He
affected a flowered Indian gown something after the
style of a quack doctor at the fair, and he liked to
be addressed as Dr, Bird, a title to which he had
no right. 15
Characterization through action and dialogue often proves
most effective. Such characterizations of Elizabeth Lamb
(PP* 6,7)), Joe Pave 11 (p. 73), John Lamb Jr. (pp* 191-192)
are well-handled. External characterization, fine as it
may be, is not sufficient. Internal action, which
attributes motive to the character, is of more subtle
value. The resentful, frustrated, melancholy portrait
of Lamb, shown in brief reverie and mind reading (pp. 313,
322, 350, 425) is far more revealing and effective than
pages and pages of external description.
14 Bell, op. cit., p. 48.
15 Ibid., p. 49.
75
Them© involves the point or meaning of a story
which, though not always easily stated in a brief, con
densed way, is present in the novel. The theme running
throughout So Perish the Roses seems to be ”Charley, his
pipes, his liquor, and his loves,”' * ' ® for the author*s
purpose in writing the book was an attempt to prove
contradictory portraits mere ’ ’ bogus creations.”
Although the setting of a story may be one of the
less complicated factors in novel writing, an author
sometimes fails in creating a vivid, concrete, physical
background. Bell gives the element of place in two
opening paragraphs (p. 3); then augments this descriptive
setting throughout the book by referring to contemporary
political and social events. Political unrest with the
Colonies (p. 11), the Protestant associations mass
meeting demanding repeal of the Act abolishing penal laws
against Roman Catholics (p. 24), the Irish disturbance
(p. 28), the French Revolution (p. 77), the Social reform
parade in Manchester (p. 354), each helps in establishing
a firm, concrete atmosphere. Artistic colorful description
makes Blakesware Hall with its fascinating tapestries,
weird pictures, and shadowy musty libraries a delightful
* * * 6 Ibid., Author*s note.
76
reality (pp. 33-39). The action in So Perish the Roses is
practically nil; for an action story, in the fictional
sense of the word, is a story in whioh the principal
interest lies in plot suspense.
Stream-of-consciousness may serve the novelist very
effectively. Reverie may reveal character, may make
flashbacks most logical, may prepare for future complex
action; in fact, there is hardly a limit to the usefulness
of this technique* Bell makes frequent use of it. A
mind analysis which is psychological in character (p. 204),
a stream-of-consciousness, revealing morbid tendencies
(p. 313), a reverie, giving impressive flashbacks (p. 322),
another reverie vividly revealing the brooding, melancholy
Lamb (p. 350) are a few of the examples Bell uses. An
excellent reverie is in the chapter “Work and Love.**
John is present as the family discusses a financial
problem. He stands apart and as he haughtily surveys the
“sordid little group in a sordid little kitchen” he draws
a graphic mental picture of each member of the family. He
reacts bitterly to this mental picture as revealed in
reverie, (pp. 88-89)
Fiction involves conflict at one level or another.
Characters struggle with each other or against environ
ment, or are engaged in struggled with themselves. In
77
So Perish the Roses Lamb is involved in a social conflict
with self which begins early in the book with the intro
duction of the "snob-maggot" (p. 24), This conflict
develops as Lamb suspicions "derision" (p. 41), a remark
was "Sheer over-riding insolence (p. 60), he was "ashamed
of himself for being ashamed of her" (p. 65), he "revealed
ignoble feelings for which he despised himself" (p. 67), he
"momentarily hated them, believing they were mocking his
insignificance, • • •" (p, 91) This struggle to overcome
self continues throughout the book, but Lamb never
conquers self.
The fictional episodes in Bell’s book are numerous
and are artistically handled. The Roman Catholic anti-
Papal mob scene (pp, 28-30), the Massacre of Peterloo
(pp, 354-357), the duel between Scott and Christie
(pp. 375-377), the three meetings of Lamb and Fanny
Kelly (pp, 316, 320, 323), and the tragic meeting of
Emma and Charles (pp. 449-450) are highly dramatic
fictional episodes. The story of the last peach on the
tree (p, 39), Mary’s dream while visiting the Clarksons
(pp, 273-275), and Charles "'Shepherd’s" stay with Dr,
Ducker (pp. 338-340) illustrate the lighter, less
serious fictional narratives of the book.
Although a tragic hero is always defeated, the
78
author tries to leave the reader with some feeling of
success* Lamb, according to Bell, lived a tragic,
frustrated life* He was unsuccessful in his struggle to
overcome the habit of drink, he failed in love, and ha
lost the conflict with himself* One of Bell*s last
descriptions of Lamb makes him a deluded, defeated
character with no future but liquor*
Charles had now abandoned himself to drink as the
one pleasure, the one anodyne, left in the world which
was becoming increasingly a place of discomfort, pain
and sad memories; a world in which there was only the
transient pleasure of the Immediate moment; nothing
beyond*
Lamb was a pathetic failure*
An author may and does use many different techniques
of writing, but the way he uses them determines their
value* As for biographical techniques, Bell follows
chronological order most methodically and employs factual
material profusely, but he fails to use the facts dis
creetly* He includes an abundance of irrelevant matter
and is often inaccurate* He presents factsJ however, if
they allow any feasible subjective analysis, Bell so
completely alters those facts through wrong inter
pretation, improper emphasis upon insignificant detail,
17 Ibid.* p. 504.
79
and lack of perspective that, according to the majority of
biographers, facts become untruthful and Bell creates an
almost unrecognizable portrait. When this happens, the
biography is false for it is wrong in spirit.
In using fictional techniques, the biographical
writer encounters unavoidable handicaps. Because the book
is biographical, Bell has very little plotj however,
through clever selecting and arranging of material, he
might have produced a more compact, consistent story than
is given. Since a good theme depends more or less upon a
good plot, Bell has a rather vague theme, for the story
has little significance aside from portraying Lamb as Bell
sees him. Again because of lack of plot, Bell does not
write what would be called an nactiont t story.
The biographical writer has all the advantages of
the novelist in his use of some fictional techniques.
Prom both external and internal point of view, Bell
portrays many credible, life-like characters. He
furnishes realistic setting and atmosphere for the story
through his use of historical background and his colorful
descriptions. He resorts frequently to impressive
reveries, and effective purposeful mind-reading. Although
the conflict element terminates in failure, Bell develops
it thoroughly and carefully. He recounts numerous
80
interesting, dramatic, fictional episodes that add action
to the story.
When dealing with a real human being, a writer finds
it difficult to portray a victorious hero. Bell goes to the
extreme, however, in making Lamb a physical and social
oddity, and displays a personality which is much over
drawn and unnecessarily disparaging and derogatory.
JUSTLY DEAR by Cook
It is altogether possible and quite probably that
Neil Bell would include Justly Dear by Mrs. Cook as
another "bogus creation1 ’ written about Charles Lamb. For
rather than "Charley, his pipes, his liquor, and his. loves—
a flesh and blood being who lived life so fully and so
passionately that at fiftyrnine he was burnt-out physically
and mentally,a "rude and sottish" creature, Mrs* Cook
lovingly purposes to present her readers with the
familiarily old, yet ever refreshingly new, portrait of
"gentle-hearted Charles."
For her biographical novel, the author portrays
Land) as the lovable, gentle, and stalwart hero, and Mary
as the tragie, charming worthy heroine. Perhaps the
author makes her hero more or less a saint, but who short
I8 Ibid., Author’s note.
81
of a saint would be willing to assume almost insurmountable
responsibilities, to give up his life without a murmur to
care for his afflicted sister, "never failing to put the
interests of others before his own, and invariably finding
matter for laughter in his misfortunes,"'**9
As the book opens, young Gharles, just come of age,
gay, ambitious, in love, is hurrying along Newgate Street
this crisp December night to spend a merry evening at the
warm, comfortable "Salutation and Cat" with Coleridge and
Southey— talking poetry, mostly— after a day on his office
stool*
The next scene, after the unsuccessful conclusion
of Charles1 shy wooing, brings down the dreadful tragedy
upon the family, when poor, overworked Mary turns from the
horrible murder of her mother, and in her madness asks
piteously, "Charles, what have I done?" (p* 31) So Charles
Lambfs life is set, one would think, in its sad and dull
groove; his sister in an asylum, his father senile and
fretting, Aunt Hetty ehildish and trying, himself chained
to a miserable clerkship.
On an April day of sun and showers, Charles Lamb,
19 E. P* B., "Justly Dear," Christian Science?
Monitor (April 8, 1939), p* 12*
82
after seeing his father buried, walks to the Hackney
lodging, and hand in hand with Mary, who has been an exile
for over two years, Charles and his sister enter the
narrow Pentonville house to begin a life of unselfish
devotion together, wFate might deprive him of much that
she gave to other men, but in his sister Charles Lamb
felt he had a never alienable comrade,t|2^
Time passes, Hester is lost to him and Alice is
married, but Mary is still his comrade;
"The best a man could ask,1 * Charles Lamb told him
self as he hovered over her in thankfulness, now
caressing, now teasing; planning rare safe pleasures
for her, reading to her, walking with her through
London*s streets, dallying with her at the doors of
the theatres they could not afford.to enter;
welcoming friends welcome to her,21
Once again Mary becomes an exile, but once again Mary
recovers* Once again Charles Lamb
fetched her home, and when she cried that she was
shadowing his life, he mocked her back to laughter;
then dropping down beside her chair, whispered
stammeringly of the mighty debt of love still due
from him to her. Blest words indeed I *'May we two
never love each other less,” prayed Charles, watching
his sister as she took up daily life again, . - ;
sharing his troubles and his pleasures, , • ,22
20 E, Thornton Cobb, Justly Dear {New Yorks Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1939), p, 44.
21 Ibid*» P« 74.
22 Ibid., p. 109.
83
Such a hero Mrs. Cook offers her readers. "One whose
heroism endured not for a moment or for a day but for
nearly forty y e a r s
Since fact as well as fiction can be expected in a
biographical novel, the author should acknowledge all
discrepancies of fact. Although Mrs. Cook does not
follow chronological order as strictly as some authors,
she is very selective in her choice of facts for major as
well as minor action and detail. While the murder episode
and Larab*s possible love life might afford rich
possibilities for imaginative embellishing, Mrs. Cook
closely restricts herself to the facts. She describes
the background, the setting, the characters for the murder
just as Lucas gives it, and relates in a factual way the
circumstances leading to the tragedy. She names Mary*s
apprentice, supplies very brief dialogue, and immediately
after the tragedy, she relates that Mary burst into
singing (pp. 19-31).
While some authors highly exaggerate the importance
of women in Lamb*s life, this author succeeds in staying
closely to facts yet, at the same time, making the
incidents interesting. She very briefly tells of Lamb*s
23 pield, "Justly Dear," Hew York Times (February
1939), p. 36.
84
love for Arm (p. 11), makes the reader vividly conscious
of Hester even though Lamb never speaks to her (pp. 57-58,
107). Mrs. Cook tells of Lamb,s great admiration for
Fanny Kelly as an actress then as a woman (pp. 142-143,
199-202, 247-250).
Several times the author presents lengthy dialogue
that is almost entirely based on facts. One of the
finest examples of her dialogue is in the chapter 1 1 On
Persons Desired.” Charles and his many literary friends
gather around his cheerful fireplace to discuss persons
one would wish to have seen. On this occasion Lamb
stammers out the fine, eloquent, classic lines:
■And there is one more. If Shakespeare were to
enter this room we would all rise up to meet him—
but if the One came we should fall down— and try to
kiss the hem of His g-gar-garment.* (p. 217)
The author has so conscientiously kept to factual material
that an anonymous reviewer in the Christian Science
Monitor states: ”Her facts can all be substantiated from
some source or other”; and chapter and verse in the
writings of the Lambs, or their friends ”can be cited in
support of almost every line of dialogue, and every un
spoken thought, attributed to the c h a r a c t e r s . ”24
E. F. B., ”Justly Dear,” Christian Science
Monitor (April 8, 1939), p. 12.
Mrs. Cook’s book is factual, but is it truthful?
As stated in the beginning of this discussion, the author
is inclined to portray her character as more or less a
saint. Whereas Lucas objectively states that Lamb, on
occasions, drank to excess, Mrs. Cook, choosing to overlook
this phase of his life, mentions gin very seldom. Lamb,
when a young man, meets Coleridge at the "Salutation and
Cat" (p. 11), but there is no account of heavy drinking*
Lamb goes with Matthew Gutch to "Three Feathers"— tobacco
is mentioned but not gin. (p. 73} She portrays Lamb as
the perfect host and guest (pp. 166-171), the loyal,
devoted brother (p. 122), and the courageous, stalwart
man (pp. 250-251). She is truthful with the facts she
presents, but she chooses not to present all facts.
Although Mrs. Cook writes from a most sympathetic
perspective, she does not allow her book to become overly
sentimental. She relates Mary’s frequent attacks of
insanity, but always with sincere sympathetic understanding
(pp. 36, 72, 73, 322}. Regardless of this sympathetic
approach, Mrs. Cook does not attempt to force preconceived
opinions: upon her reader, for she views and portrays her
character objectively.
Important as environmental factors are, the author
spends very little time in developing descriptive back
86
ground or relating environmental conditions* She cleverly
inserts a miniature picture here or drops a suggestion
there, leaving the reader to exercise his imagination to
supply the rest# Mrs# Cook gives a small picture of
"Christ*s Hospital” {p* 9), a very brief family back
ground (p. 19), a line merely mentioning Mr# Salt*s
library (p# 20), a picture of an impressive holiday
(p. 21), a paragraph recalling Lamb*s youth (p# 27), but
allows the reader to evaluate their influence#
There is little story in this novel, and no plot
save the slight one suggested by the comings and goings
of Fanny Kelly# • The story, in general, moves along at a
very satisfying tempoJ however, the discussions of
literary characters and literary criticisms are too
frequent and too lengthy for a biographical novel. Large
portions of the chapters ”An Immortal Evening” and "Leigh
Hunt Reviews” are dull and slowly moving for novel
readers# For leitmotif there is the tragic absence of
Mary, when Charles meets all visitors with the phrase
they come to know so well, "Mary is fr-from home#"
Since Mrs# Cook has such a wealth of material for
interesting portrayal in the wise and witty circle of
friends that surrounded the Lambs, she introduces
character after character, making those familiar faces
87
live again in the charming pen pictures found throughout the
book. She paints delightful portraits of William
Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and a most
familiar portrait of Lamb.
Gaunt, solemn-faced, clad in a brown fustian jacket
and striped pantaloons and with a roll in his walk
that was almost nautical, Wordsworth showed himself a
personality at sight; he was the only man to whom at
all times- and in all ways Coleridge admitted himself
inferior.25
Dorothy Wordsworth listened to the sonorous voice as
silently as Lamb. How was it that at first sight, she
had thought Samuel Taylor Coleridge almost ugly? True
he was plain, thin, with a wide mouth, thick lips and
longish loose-growing half-curling black hair, but the
eyes beneath the fine, dark brows and overhanging fore
head were full of fire and as expressive as William’s
own, having in them more of the l f poet*s fine rolling
frenzy’ 1 than she had imagined possible. As for his
conversation it teemed with soul and spirit.26
Making mental notes on his host, Talfourd saw him as
a slight-framed, diminutive, figure in clerkly black,
so fragile in appearance that, seemingly, a breath
might have overthrown him; a dignified man with a fine,
nobly-placed head, a noticeably friendly smile and
eyes that could twinkle for all their sadn e s s .27
Vivid as external descriptive characterization may
be, Mrs. Cook recognizes that only internal portrayal can
make a character really live* Through an act or a few
^ Cook, 0£. cit., p. 46.
26 Ibld«» P- 47.
27 Ibid., p. 194.
words, the author reveals Lamb, not as he looks but as he
is. Firmness emits from the line "John may make speeches,
but I will act." (p. 36) Kindness glows through this one
act— Charles "helping his father’s gnarled fingers insert
the scoring pegs.! l t (p. 34) Unselfish devotion radiates
from the prayer, "God, make Mary well again and nothing
will matter."’ (p. 72) Sociability shines in the question,
"Why do I never want visitors to come or go?" (p. 99)
Courage radiates from the lines "Hush, Mary, I am here,
there is nothing to fear." (p. 106) and in the statement
"Charles came. Fear passed." (p. 139)
Setting and atmosphere is an important factor in
any novel, however, Mrs. Cook does not devote any time to
lengthy, detailed, passages describing London, Temple
Court, or contemporary social or political conditions.
She begins her story as Lamb, a young man walks briskly
along Newgate Street toward the "Salutation and Cat.1 '
Any setting or atmosphere element, aside from this, is
picked up through occasional flashbacks or reminiscence.
Through this medium the author supplies meager but
sufficient material to satisfy most readers.
The author only very occasionally attempts to
depict what went on in the minds of her characters. She
takes Lamb through several pages of reverie as, sitting
89
across from his father, blankly contemplating the cribbage
board, Lamb absent-mindedly casts out cards at random
(p. 19). Again after the ‘ 'three gorgeous weeks" spent with
Coleridge in Cumberland and Westmorland
Charles smoked himself into placidity, seeing
floundering bears and couchant monsters in the
surrounding mountains* . . * He felt very little
as he walked to work once more, and oddly like a
man who had fallen in love. * • *28
As he seeks a lodging place, Lamb is lost in deep
meditation— the perilously narrow line between sanity and
insanity haunts his thoughts, (p. 73) Again as Lamb and
Crabb Robinson sit smoking in silence, Lamb*s thoughts
wander to Mary*s affliction. He is lost in a stream-of-
consciousness as he recounts the narrowing periods of his
sister*s sanity and ponders that "foul, ugly phantom—
Death" (p. 87). According to factual data, Mrs. Cook is
well justified for all of her reveries*
The author displays fine novelistic style as the
opening paragraph reveals*
With shoulders hunched against the brisk cold of a
December night Charles Lamb slipped along Hewgate
Street toward the warmth and comfort sure to be found
at the Salutation and Cat. He was young, nimble-
witted and in love: tonight his need was for
comradeship. . . *29
28 Ibid., p. 32*
2® Ibid., p. 9*
90
She demonstrates her ability to portray dramatic episodes
with novelistie style in picturing Mary*s attacks of
insanity* One of the many highly dramatic tragic scenes
serves as an example:
Pear leapt at his heart as Mary entered and he saw
her face* Where had she been? What had happened?
. . . Presently Rickman arrived, too anxious to hide
his anxiety, and Lamb gathered the story in fragments:
"She came to my rooms with a kindly message ... a
man was with me . . . Baham. . . . He had been a
friend of your mother* s-— and--- "
"Mary recognized him?"
"Yes: I am sorry."
Rickman wondered that such set lips as these of Charles
could ever laugh. * * *
Sunday dragged itself out. A vile day; the sky
heavy with threatening clouds. • • •
Monday seemed but a continuation of Sunday* • • •
On Tuesday Mary smiled at him ominously as he
hovered beside her.
"Charlesi Oh, Chariest" There was terror and pain,
too, in the bitter cry, ... "My head-— it is
agony," she sobbed, and then her voice rang piercingly
shrill -
There was no time to lose.
"Mary is fr-from home," said Charles Lamb to friends
who knocked that night.30
The author makes fine use of style, suspense, and
atmosphere in recounting the Covent Garden theatre anecdote
where Fanny Kelly, playing the part of Nanny in "The
Merry Mourners," narrowly escapes death from a pistol shot
fired by an enraged, jealous suitor (p. 201). She uses
effective though rather lengthy flashbacks (pp. 19, 25,
26-27); however, these Interruptions do not impede the
3® Ibid., p. 290
91
forward progression of the story.
The fictional episodes in Justly Dear are very few
in number. Fanny*s story of her “terrible temptation”
(pp. 200-203) and Lamb*s story of the “Calendar Party”
(pp. 253-256) are the two outstanding examples. While
they are fictional in content, they are not dramatic in
character.
The act of living involves some form of conflict
open or secret. Since Lamb desired to meet his conflict
secretly, Mrs. Cook portrays him as he “works, writes,
and makes merry (today) because he dares not look forward,
. . .”31 Although Lamb meets this haunting fear of the
future with strength and courage, the author presents the
condition as a constant battle for Lamb. The young man
fears when he thinks of his senile father, his invalid
mother, his overburdened sister (p. 21). He becomes
alarmed at Mary*s increasing pallor (p. 22). Because of
this fear of the future, he determines to be "serious,
circumspect, and deeply religion" (p. 37). His meditation
centers around this haunting fear (pp. 39-40, 71, 73).
Hope goes with Lamb, but her sister Fear ever “persists in
hanging to Hope*s apron strings.” (p. 53) Friends noted
31 Ibid., Note found on flyleaf of book.
92
that Charles, because of this fear guards his sister even
when appearing outwardly careless (p. 97), Although
Charles fought valiantly and “barred the way with all
the strength of heart and brain, the grim visitor forced
his way in." (p. 218)
Hear the end of his life Lamb was still struggling,
but “Charles could only hope" (p. 328) and fear always
accompanied hope. In spite of the fact that fear
continues until the end of the story, Mrs. Cook leaves her
reader with a sense of calm assurance--Lamb has met every
conflict victoriously; therefore Lamb will continue to
meet it victoriously.
Although Justly Dear is only an interweaving of
what Charles Lamb did and thought and wrote as he lived
his daily life rather than a complex analysis of behavior,
Mrs. Cook writes a biographical novel which is worthy of
sincere evaluation. Prom the biographical point of view,
the author uses great care in her selection and evaluation
of factual material. Although the subject matter is far
from being exhaustive, the author chooses adequate
material to present a fine personality and is accurate to
the minutest detail. She does not begin her story with
the birth of her subject nor finish with his death as
is customary in biographical writing. Neither does she
follow chronological order of details too meticulously.
-According to Lucas* biography of Lamb, Mrs* Cook presents
a very truthful portrait* Regardless of the fact that she
is excessively sympathetic at times, she presents her
material from such an objective viewpoint that the reader
is free to form his own opinions. She presents environ
mental factors; however, she attempts no analysis of
their influence on the character*s life*
In the use of fictional techniques, Mrs. Cook is
most conservative. She writes a smooth, we11-constructed
story; however there is no formal plot. She presents
vivid external and internal characterizations making her
Characters living personalities. Although setting and
atmosphere is a desirable factor in either the novel or
biography, Mrs. Cook fails to paint as realistic a picture
as some authors. The author develops a consistent stream-
of-consciousness which adds definite characteristics to
Lamb*s personality. She frequently relies upon reverie to
develop her conflict. Mrs. Cook takes very few liberties
in her book, indulging only two or three times In fictional
episodes. She writes a story that is sufficiently
appealing without the addition of humerous imaginary
Incidents* The writer makes the conflict an interesting
yet subtle, thought provoking factor. She succeeds In
writing the familiarly old, yet ever refreshingly new,
portrait of "gentle-hear ted Lamb" who had the supreme
gift of love and laughter and a genius for friendship*
"His gift of laughter made him *the friend of all the
world*; his gift of love demanded the sacrifice of his
youth and the desires of m a n h o o d . " 5^ Although the author
offers an unsophisticated story of a man poor in money but
rich in friends, she gives a "touching human portrayal of
a lovable character."^® Mrs* Cook deserves the gratitude
of all readers and lovers of Lamb for recording anew the
story of a brave man who gave all he had, gave cheerfully
and ungrudgingly; and in the giving became an immortal
memory.
Neil Bell and Mrs* Cook choose the same subject to
portray; they have access to identical source material;
however, contradictory purposes and subjective handling
and selection, omission, and emphasis of factual source
material result in two incongruous interpretations. For
his characterization, Bell invites severe criticism;
whereas, for her portrait, Mrs. Cook attracts words of
commendation.
52 Ibid., p. 5,
33 "Justly Dear," Booklist (March 1, 1939), p. 223*
CHAPTER IV
BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMAS
While writers of the biographical novel and the
biographical drama deal with similar subject matter and
techniques, they vary in their attitude toward the use of
imagination. A writer of a biographical novel may take
unbounded liberties with no thought of acquainting the
reader of factual digressions. When this is done, however,
the author fails to produce a biographical novel in the
true sense of the word, for the conscientious writer will
not falsify to support a theory or to uphold any pre
conceived guesswork. He is free to use the many and
varied techniques of the novelist*s style, but he basis
his use of imaginary matter on fact.
In drama, the playwright more than the novelist
considers fact at a discount, maintaining that Mfancy must
be allowed a broader artistic license.1 1 ' * ’ If the drama In
question is to claim any kinship with biography, however,
the author should realize the obligation of familiarizing
his reader with the digressions, free and numerous as they
may be.
Consistent practice limits the drama to a two or
^ Alice Brown, Charles Lamb (New York: Macmillan,
1924), p. vi.
96
f t
three hour public performance. The influence of this time
element has been so strong that even the writers of
“closet” dramas largely adhere to it. This generally
accepted length limitation causes the drama to take on very
special characteristics. The playwright must select
situations which are ‘ ‘compact in themselves or can be
made compact without vital loss.”* * He must work rapidly,
use heavy emphasis, and allow no waste motion. The
dramatist must make every word, every act lead emphatically
toward the central theme.
In the number of characters he should use, the
novelist has time to develop so many personalities as
suits his fancy, but the dramatist must shape his conflict
with a limited number. He must make minor or “supporting”
characters that exist purely in relationship to the major
actor’s situation.
As to changing localities, the novelist is un
limited. He may make his characters travel the length
and breadth of the world and still be perfectly within
normal situations. The dramatist, while in theory is
unrestricted, finds it advisable, in practice, to restrict
himself. He faces the problem of making his episodes and
* * Cleanth Brooks and Robert Heilman, Understanding
Drama (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1948), p. 9.
97
characters move logically within a chosen limited area.
The tempo or speed with which the action of the
novel and the drama move varies widely. Tempo, as a
rule, may be much slower and more fluctuating in the
novel than in the drama. The pace is naturally slower
in the early part of the play when the groundwork is being
laid, but should increase as the plot grows in intensity.
The length limitations in the drama, which necessitate
compressed, tense action, demand a more consistent rapid
tempo than the lengthier novel.
Effective conversation or dialogue is most desirable
for the interesting novel, but is imperative to the drama.
Words spoken directly by the characters really constitute
the play. The developing of the situation with which the
scene is concerned, the directing toward future action, and
the character development— all three depend on the spoken
lines supplemented by physical action,
CHARLES LAMB by Alice Brown
The play, Charles Lamb, is written by Alice Brown
and was published in 1924, No record of a stage per
formance was found during this study.
Miss Alice Brown was fascinated by the dramatic
suggestions of Charles Lamb’s career and, as a result, she
wrote this full-length play of the conflicts in his life.
98
She maintains that Chairles Lamb lives more in the hearts
than in the minds of men; therefore, he cannot be portrayed
in the ’ ’too solid flesh"3 of biographical reminiscence
because, according to her point of view, “that kindliest
phantom"4 is found only by the light of musing imagination*
Miss Brown admonishes her readers that the play is not
meant to "chronicle the weather that beat upon Charles Lamb
and his beloved Mary, but the stoutness of heart with which
they met it*"5 The dramatist consistently brings this trait
of character to the foreground*
In order to follow Miss Brown*s theme more easily,
a brief summary of the plot is helpful. As the curtain
goes up for the first act, Mary sits sewing rapidly; John
Lamb is absorbed in his game of solitaire; and Mrs* Lamb
sits in a big chair by the fireplace, resting her hand on
her cane. Throughout the first act, character after
character appears on the stage until Mary, Alice, Bertram,
Coleridge, Charles, Hazlitt, Dyer, Manning, and Hunt are
introduced.
The second act is concerned with the "Prince of
3 Brown, op. cit., p. v.
4 Loc. cit*
5 Ibid., p. x.
99
Whales” episode and is saturated with puns which were such
a characteristic part of Charles* conversation. The
presentation of the ’ ’farcical comedy” which Lamb wrote and
whimsically entitled ’ ’ The Dolls,” adds lightness to the
scene. The third act briefly handles the murder scene,
A period of twenty-five years elapses between act
three and four* Manning is home from China; some of the
’ ’old familiar faces” gather to celebrate his home-coming,
as well as Larab*s birthday, and Lamb’s retirement from the
East India House, This part of the play is dull from a
dramatic point of view, but Miss Brown considered it
’ ’beyond human power to deny those flame-tipped tongues
their brief moment of renowned activity,”® Act four is
therefore brilliant in discourse. The fifth act brings
Alice, who has been prominent throughout the play, to the
center of the stage. The spotlight plays on her, then
dims, and she leaves Mary and Charles alone, sitting by
the fire, dreaming of the ’ ’old familiar faces,”
When the dramatic value of a play is examined, many
characteristics must be considered. Dialogue, centralized
meaningful theme and action, character development,
exposition, tempo, motivation, conflict element, and
6 Loc. cit.
general tone; each deserves consideration. Dialogue is one
of the most important factors. While dialogue is
necessarily compressed, it should appear natural and
logical. The most sparkling discourse is found in this
drama because Lamb*s reputation as a witty punster calls
for brilliance to keep Lamb in character. His entering
lines set his conversational tempo— "Ah, Mary, it's a flood
outside, I looked for an ark. And took a cab,** (p. 19)
Lamb's conversation in the play is almost free from
stuttering. Only once does Lamb actually stutter and
this is in a pun. When toldxto be silent, Lamb replies,
"I— I am. P-partly silent— when I st-st-stutter. Between
the syllables." (p. 36) Sharp, crisp, rapid, compressed
style accents Lamb's firmness, his calmness in time of
crisis,
"Don't look."
"Alice, go."
"Silence, Mary, come." (pp. 79-80)
Creative, imaginative conversation consistently runs high.
The length conversation between Maiy and Alice (pp. 8-14),
the unhappy visit from Mr. Winterton (pp. 35-41), the
interruption from the constable (pp. 63-66), and the final
pathetic scene between Charles and Alice (pp. 112-119)) are
fine examples.
101
Actual quotations are used frequently enough, to
satisfy most critics, even though these quotations are at
times far removed from their original context, Alice and
Charles, rather than Coleridge and Charles quote the
familiar lines,
”1 never heard him (Coleridge) preach,**'
MI never heard him do anything else,1 *
In the play Mrs, Lamb, accusing Charles of being bewitched
by Alice, remarks,
”You go to your work later and later every morning,”
To which Charles replies,
”But I make up for it by coming away earlier and
earlier in the afternoon.” (p, 51)
This bit of dialogue actually took place in the office
between Lamb and his employer,
Lamb*s loyalty both to places and persons is the
centralized theme and action of the drama. LambTs deep
feeling for London is revealed in such lines as, ”1 should
pine for London,” (p. 25) and Alice*s observation, ”You
love London.” (p. 71) The unswerving attachment to the
visionary Alice is never lost, but the acme of loyalty
is reserved for Mary. Lamb had one piece of work to do
and that was to ”Hold these walls together” for Mary
(p. 49). After a lifetime of “holding the walls” he
University of Southern California Librarj?’
102
loyally declares, ”It*s a dear old task.” (p. 114) This
same trait of character causes him to turn his back on one
of his fondest hopes with the words, ”Mary must be first.”
(p. 115) At the close of the play this loyalty is ex
pressed in a proverbial pun, ”You and 1*11 be like tooth
ache and his friend gum-boil and ache together and get
well.” (p. 120)
Character development is of major importance to the
drama. Miss Brown describes Lamb as ”that kindliest
phantom,”' 7 He is kind to all; to friends (p. 26), to
foe (p. 36); to the lowly (p. 20), to those of high
degree (p. 95). The author includes twenty characters
in the play. Not mediocre, dull humanity; but many
aspiring, brilliant, powerful men. She attempts no simple
task, for to include such strong characters and yet
present their eclipsing the major character requires
careful skill. Miss Brown so cleverly handles the
situation that the greatness of the men only augments the
nobleness of Lamb. The scene enacting the celebration
of Manning’s home-coming and Lamb*s birthday is a classic
example of her skill. Lamb gallantly endeavors to propose
a toast to Mr. Manning, but feeling his inadequacy,
7 Ibid., p. v
103
requests that Coleridge act for him. Each great man rises
in turn and proposes a toast to "The great man— the hero,"
"The best fellow I ever knew," "The man who has shown
courage in its purest form"— Charles Lamb. (pp. 105-107)
The powerfulness of Manning, the eloquence of Coleridge,
the earnestness of Hunt, the pleasantness of Rickman are
all portrayed, yet far above them stands the courageous
Charles Lamb.
Exposition is a simple matter with the novelist,
for he may use many methods of flashbacks to acquaint his
reader with the background facts and the starting situation
from which the main action moves forward. Exposition
in drama, must be done by the characters while they are
apparently talking of something else. Direct information
can not be given as this would either interrupt the action
or tend to take actors out of character. Miss Brown sets
the background facts which are relevant to the scene by
having the senile father ask questions which would be
ridiculous for a normal individual to ask (pp. 4-5), and
by allowing him to recall past history which brings out
pertinent background information (p. 6). She permits
Alice to give background information about Blakesware and
Lamb's visits to his grandmother (p. 9). Miss Brown uses
Manning's return from China, where he has been for some
104
twenty-five years, as a wonderful opportunity to pick up
background facts (pp. 90-97). During these flashbacks,
the author keeps the action in its forward progression
and makes each instance appear perfectly natural.
The tempo varies throughout the play. A steady
slow pace sets the tempo for the first part of act one,
while background is being laid and characters introduced,
and the pace increases as the act nears the end. The same
tempo pattern follows for act two. The “Prince of Whales1 '
episode and “The Doll“ comedy are slow to the point of
being dull, A tense tempo builds up the dramatic murder
scene of act three and slows again for acts four and five,
as literary characters gather for a quiet pleasant evening
of brilliant discourse,
A well motivated drama will be a drama in which all
events and circumstances are the result of proper causes,
reasons, or justification. Nothing happens that is
absolutely unexpected. Miss Brown keeps this ever in
mind. She gives sufficient reason to prepare the reader
for Alice's marriage to Bartram, but her best bit of
motivation is for the murder. The dramatist makes the
reader aware of Mary's nervous disposition, for she sews
rapidly (p. 6), speaks harshly at times (p. 8), is worried
by Dolly, the kitchen maid (p. 9), even finds that Dolly
105
“undoes” her (p. 70), Charles is “alarmed” when he has
any reason to believe Mary is not well (p. 52)* Shortly
prior to the murder scene, concrete evidence of both
thought and act come in rapid succession# Mary complains
of her head being confused (p, 66), is afraid she might
strike (p. 67). She has sudden rages against the
innocent (p. 78). Miss Brown draws attention to the ”thin
sharp knife” she keeps "so precious.” After all this
motivation, the author is almost under obligation to see
that something dreadful happens.
Drama should accentuate conflict. Conflict of man
with man, idea with idea, or man with idea. In this
particular case the conflict is man with hereditary fear.
Lamb wages the conflict, not for himself alone, but for
his sister as well. He begins the conflict with courage
(p. 30), determination (p. 49), optimism (p. 50) sound
philosophy (p. 67), and trust in Cod (p. 68). Lamb*s
courage instills courage and faith in others. Lamb is not
afraid of the “enemy lurking around the corner,” therefore
Alice is not afraid (p. 70). Lamb is always near “steady
as the pendulum of a clock" (p. 88) in time of crisis, so
Mary is confident. Lamb meets the supreme test in the
conflict twice as Alice offers her love to him. Both
times he emerges, the victor. Lamb will not allow that
106
hereditary fear to ruin another life. The first time he
gains the victory with the decision, "Bartram will take
you home with him” (p. 79), and the second time, "Mary
must be first.” (p. 115)
Most of the conversation in this drama is brilliant
and clever, but does not always lead toward future action.
The conversations of Coleridge, Manning, Hunt, Dyer, and
others make interesting reading but are hardly dramatic
enough for stage performance. The same is true of almost
the entire fourth act. This type of conversation makes
for an inferior stage production, but makes an excellent
“closet” drama.
The tone of the play is two fold— tragedy with a
superficial coating of comedy. Mary sums it up in her
words, “We can meet all the biggest ills of life with a
smile.” (p. 21)
In evaluating the work as a whole, an important
thing to bear in mind is the fact that Miss Brown, in the
preface, admits she plays ”hob with time and place.” She
carefully enumerates the liberties she takes in the play.
Charles* love for Alice (Ann Simmons) continues throughout
his lifetime. Bartram is a silversmith rather than a
helper in a pawn-broker shop. Mary*s apprentice, for no
apparent reason, becomes the family kitchen maid. The
107
gala news of Lamb’s release from the East India House and
his birthday are celebrated simultaneously with high
festivity. Actually the retirement notice came with
no such flourish, and Lamb’s birthday fell a month before
the welcomed news. Dates are juggled to establish a more
direct sequence. These digressions are of such a nature
that they in no way detract from the story. They do not
alter the generally accepted personalities of the
characters. Some of the liberties do give a clarifying
illusion to the drama*
This work is a very acceptable drama. Much of the
dialogue does not particularly develop any situation or
direct toward future action, but does make interesting
reading for a wcloset1 * drama. The central theme is
maintained through the well developed conflict element*
The exposition and motivation of the drama are well
handled, "The Doll" comedy (pp, 54-62) has some pro
phetic value, but this value hardly justifies such a
lengthy performance. The episode grows dull long before
the finish.
Miss Brown introduces many personalities in the
drama, but succeeds in keeping them as "supporting”'
characters for the lead. She makes Lamb consistent, and
maintains well motivated character action. The playwright
108
treats the moral sanity of Lamb in contrast with his mental
insecurity both objectively and sympathetically, and the
conflict terminates victoriously#
CHARLES AND MARY by Joan Temple
The play Charles and Mary is written by Joan Temple
and was published in 1930# It was originally produced by
Malcolm Morley at the Everyman Theatre, London, February 4,
1930, and transferred to the Globe Theatre, February 28,
1930#
As Miss Temple read Lamb's life and works, she
became interested in the dramatie possibilities of his life,
but was equally impressed by his courageous, loyal, un
selfish character traits# Because of her interest in Lamb
as a dramatic character as well as a charming, forceful
personality, she wrote this full-length play Charles and
Mary,
Before taking up the discussion of the drama, a
brief account of the plot will aid in a m6re intelligent,
complete, understanding of the development# Miss Temple
and Miss Brown set the stage very much the same and
approximately at the same time (1796). Mr# Lamb, now in
his dotage, sits talking to himself as he clumsily
fondles a cribbage board; Mary, abraze with some hidden
109
turbulence, sits at the same table sewing nervously* The
vain Mrs. Lamb sits rigid and erect in her chair, in
spite of the fact that she is now an incurable invalid*
Throughout the first act each character, with the exception
of Charles, incessantly says or does something to harass
Mary, who is already overworked to the breaking point.
These constant, irritating demands and frustrating
circumstances lead Mary to temporary insanity and the
tragic murder. The entire second act depicts the social
life of the Lambs. The setting is in Godwin’s home where
friends— Mr. and Mrs. Godwin, Coleridge, Wordsworth, John
Lamb, Mary and Charles, Dudley, and Dyer— meet for a
pleasant evening. The third act, which portrays Mary’s
insanity and the Hester Savoy episode, is highly dramatic
and almost entirely fictional*
Many dramatic characteristics found in Miss Temple’s
play are identical with those in Miss Brown* s drama*
Although they are much the same for all drama, the handling
of them varies. Dialogue in this play is both compact and
consistent* The dialogue between Mrs. Bracebridge and Mary
illustrates Miss Temple’s use of rapid moving style
(pp. 95-97). The conversation develops fine characteriza
tions. Dyer is always absent-minded. Miss Temple makes
him utter a meaningless f l abd abd abd1 1 phrase with almost
110
every line,
"Ah, yes— abd abd abd— most forgetful of me (p. 56)'.
**T didnft know at all whether today was yesterday"
(p. 56).
"I always put my shoes on the mantelpiece. Other
wise I— abd abd abd— am so likely to go out without them"
(p. 85) Then he goes off without them.
"My mind is so absent" (p. 86).
At times this character is developed almost to the extreme
and becomes a bit tiring.
John is lazy and demanding. "Get me my pipe, Mary"
(p. 23). He is insolent and arrogant. "Well, I should
have thought that you could do better than that” (p. 66).
Charles, on the contrary, is sympathetic— "Does your head
hurt much, dear Mary?" (p. 25), brave— "encourage sw-eet-
heart" (pp. 25, 97), appreciative even to those who are
socially inferior— "B'Becky, you are too good" (p. 37).
"Thank you, Becky, for being so kind" (p. 38), humorous--
"Miss Pate--has she not written a novel called 'The Heir
Restored'?" (p. 60), and firm. Twice he reminded Mrs.
Bracebridge to be quiet with the words, "That will do”1
(p. 96), Charles' unselfishness in contrast with John's
selfish disposition is well portrayed in a lengthy dis
cussion between the two regarding Mary (pp. 42-46). This
Ill
unselfishness is noted by Becky, "My, I wonder »e keep
body and soul together-*-always giving up something needful
to somebody else." (p. 35)? Lamb is courageous. This
characteristic is severely tried but holds firm.
That word— maniac I G-od I One’s courage cannot help
but fail, when the blow falls on an open wound* Give
me— just a moment— to get over this. One mustn’t
whine, you know. (p. 105)
Lamb’s fine philosophy is revealed in these remarks:
I like people best when they do good by stealth.
Not when they do good by force I (p. 37)
Let a man be but himself, we will love him for his
faults. If he poses for what he is not, to hell with
him— in spite of his virtues* (p. 73)
You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying
over your head, but you can prevent them from building
nests in your hair. (p. 107)
Although the dialogue is generally consistent, this
characteristic might be questioned in one instance. Twice
Mary addresses her brother as "Charley" (pp. 81, 96}. Since
Mary does this only twice in the play, she seems somewhat
out of character.
Miss Temple uses many very familiar quotations but
places some in fictitious settings. She has Charles saying
to Dyer, "If dirt were trumps what a hand you’d hold"' when
It was actually made by Charles to Martin Burney. Again,
Charles In the play relates the succession of titles to
Dyer (p. 86). This list of titles was actually written to
Wordsworth.
The centralized theme of action and the conflict
seem to be one and the same thing in this drama* Lamb*s
determination to accept the commonplace with fortitude,
while romance in one form or another passes by, is that
conflict* Lamb meets this conflict successfully in act
one when he declares "If there is any risk, I shall face
it gladly* I have given my solemn word that I would take -
Mary under my care— for life.” (p. 44)' Although the
conflict seems almost more than Lamb can bear, he, when
accused of weeping, bravely answers, "I— I have a d1dulling
cold— that is all*1 * (p« 99) Lamb is victorious when the
conflict involves happiness with Hester (p. 101). Each
successive victory qualifies Lamb to advise "You cannot
prevent the birds of sadness from flying over your head,
but you can prevent them from building nests in your
hair*1 ’ (p* 107)
Miss Temple introduces and develops an interesting
though subordinate conflict element between Lamb and
Dudley, a ’ ’ young pompous buck without any sense of
humor.” (p. 57) She presents the two young men in a
wrangling state through most of act two* The playwright
closes the act as Lamb almost sobbing with rage shouts,
"Damn you, sir I Damn yout In your breeches and out of
teml" (p. 79) Miss Temple presents quite a different
113
scene as the two men meet once more, and Lamb calmly
congratulates Hester and Dudley on their engagement#
(p. 104)
Character development, which must be done in the
drama only through dialogue and action, is a difficult
task. In act one Miss Temple gives very fine characteriza
tions of the childish, senile, forgetful Mr. Lamb; the
vain, scolding, demanding Mrs. Lamb; the selfish, bigoted
John Jr.; and the sensitive, high strung, yet lovely Mary*
The very finest portrait, however, is of Charles. Miss
Temple pictures a character who is kindly and unselfish
toward all with whom he comes in contact. He is
sympathetically indulgent with his senile father and his
demanding mother, tolerant with his overbearing brother,
and almost divine in his understanding and devotion to his
unfortunate sister. He lives for others. Although Charles
is crushed with loneliness, and broken-hearted with grief,
he brings courage and aid to Coleridge, comfort to Dyer,
shelter and a position to Becky. This fragile, noble man
might be cruelly bent but he refused to be broken. In
spite of the commonplace which he is forced to meet, he
bravely utters, ”We will continue our Great Works, and win
some more I-mortallty.f l (p. 112)
Although exposition serves a valuable purpose and
114
adds much to the background and Interest of a work, Miss
Temple uses this technique very sparingly. She informs
the reader that something is wrong with John* s leg with a
rather indefinite flashback from Becky: "I ’opes as Mr.
John’s leg be no worse?" (p. 17) She allows Mr. Lamb to
recall his experiences as Mr. Salt’s valet (pp. 35-36),
however, she chooses subject material that is neither
necessary as background nor relevant to the future action
of the drama.
The tempo follows an irregular pattern. While the
stage is being set, the pace is steady and slow, then it
increases to a very rapid tempo for the murder scene, only
to retard and maintain this slower pace throughout act
two. As Hester and Mrs. Barcebridge enter in act three,
the tempo again increases and remains fairly rapid until
the end. During the slower movements, the pace is
sufficiently rapid to hold the reader’s attention.
The motivation for this drama is rather brief,
however, all events seem properly justified. The pre
paration for Lamb’s disappointment in love is well handled
in the dialogue between the two Lamb brothers (pp. 44-45).
The anticipation of Hester is beautifully unified through
the use of the theme song "There is a Lady Sweet and Kind."
Mary first mentions her with the admission: "There is a
115
little Quaker girl” (p. 50). That is really all that is
necessary to prepare the reader for a possible romance*
The most thorough motivation is for the murder scene*
Through clever actions and pertinent dialogue, the pre
paration is adequate to warrant extreme action. Mary
stifles a sigh and puts her hands to her head (p. 15),
She puts her hand to her mouth to refrain from crying out
in alarm; suddenly she shouts wildly (p. 16); she
screams (p. 18). Charles goes for the doctor (p. 17).
Mary clasps her head and sways a little (p. 20). Becky
admonishes, ”Now donft go upsetting yourself— it*s bad
for you— ” (p. 19),
Mary moans, ”0h, my poor headi My poor headi”
(p. 20)
Mary implores, ”God, let me keep my wits— let me
keep my wits I” (p. 21)
Mrs. Lamb, with little concern remarks, ”Mary says
her head is very bad, John.” (p. 22)
Mary: ”1 think— I think you are all trying to drive
me madi Mad I Oh, dear God I” (p. 30)
Charles is anxious about Mary Cp. 25), is solicitous
for her (p. 27). Such motivation prepares the reader for
almost any kind of tragedy.
Although sadness and tragedy permeate the drama
116
from beginning to end, the tone of the work is lightened
with characteristic puns and humor. To avert a serious
crisis, Lamb intentionally makes himself obnoxiously
ridiculous (pp. 78-79). In an endeavor to bring courage
to those plunged in distress, Lamb, who is broken-hearted
and lonely, smiles through his tears and, with no apparent
bitterness exclaims, t f How happy he (Dudley) looks” (p.
110) .
Although it is the author*s duty to acquaint the
reader with liberties which are taken, Miss Temple
acknowledges none. The most conspicuous imaginary
episode is the romance between Hester Savoy and Charles
which is almost entirely fictional. Dudley, who is
mentioned but once in Lucas* account, is a prominent
character in the drama. On the whole, the factu&l content
of the play is satisfying, is well selected, and is
dramatically well developed.
The play conforms well to dramatic criteria. The
limitations of length, of number of prominent characters,
and of change of locality are well controlled. Although
the dialogue is not so brilliant as it might be, it
stimulates effective action, moves consistently, and
develops vivid personalities. The central theme or con
flict is convincing and satisfying, for it ends in a
117
calm but triumphant victory. The exposition and motivation
are not exhaustively handled, but the results are
satisfying.
Miss Temple succeeds in picturing the kindly,
unselfish Lamb, the man who "accepted the commonplace with
fortitude•" She makes him life-like and keeps him con
sistent throughout the drama. Although the reader is
aware of a deeply sympathetic author, Miss Temple does
not become sentimental.
Each playwright chooses suitable material for
dramatic interpretation. Realizing the importance of
Lamb*s social life, each writer emphasizes that phase of
his personality, and paints a similar portrait from a
sympathetic, understanding, objective point of view.
Each author develops an analogous conflict element and
leaves the reader with a victorious hero.
CONCLUSION
After surveying the historical and literary develop
ment of twentieth century biographical writing, and after
seeing the manner in which authors portray the life of
Charles Lamb through modern biographical art, it is now
possible for us to draw certain conclusions with regard
to the evolution and value of the methods used; namely,
psychological, fictional, and dramatic portrayals#
Although twentieth century biography is considered
"modern,1 1 the writing is not an entirely new genre# The
modern biography embraces several criteria; namely,
chronological narration of both good and bad actions,
objective handling, relationship of subject to surroundings,
revelation of personality through detail, truthful inter
pretation, and interesting as well as instructional
approach# Biography as an art has an early beginning,
for Socrates emphasized the personality element; Plutarch
employed each standard of modem biography in his writing;
the sixteenth century biographers endeavored to be truth
ful and avoid the panygeric; whereas those of the eighteenth
century developed the living, breathing being by unveiling
the human soul# The nineteenth century authors with their
exaggerated point of view, and the modern scientifically
minded readers with their interest in personality behavior,
119
prompted the extreme realism of the twentieth century
biography. Ludwig, Strachey, Bradford, and Maurois are
but a few of the outstanding writers who are making their
modern contribution to this evolutionary process.
Practically every writer who has attempted, since
1905, to write the life of Lamb humbly acknowledges his
indebtedness to E. 7, Lucas who wrote the two volume
definitive Life of Lamb. These biographers claim to
contribute no original source material, neither do they
attempt a meticulous and exhaustive recounting of all
available facts, anecdotes, and incidents. They choose
the desired type of biographical writing to portray their
subject, then sift and sort facts with the idea of seizing
the most significant and most illuminating material for
their own particular purpose.
Since neither readers nor the majority of modern
writers are content with the mere relating of facts but
desire as well analysis of behavior, biographers not only
recognize but use psychology as a most useful tool for
analyzing and explaining the workings of the mind. Miss
Anthony makes full use of this tool in her portrayal of
Lamb. By including in her biography pictures of Lamb*s
emotional, unstable ancestral background and a discussion
of contemporary social and political conditions, Miss
.120
Anthony shows the effect of environment and external cir
cumstances on the individual life and character of Charles
Lamb* From a careful analysis of these conditions, Miss
Anthony makes Lamb*s frustrated life more understandable
and more meaningful.
She gives the conservative critics cause for alarm
because of her Freudian interpretations of love affair®
and sexual abnormalities, and for her use of a too amateur
understanding of psychiatry. She calls upon psychoanalysis
to explain practically every underlying motive which molded
and shaped the life of Lamb. Although readers find it
impossible to agree with the author in all of her theories,
Miss Anthony writes a thought-proking psychoanalytical
work. In spite of the detailed psychological analysis,
she succeeds in revealing a very fine, familiar, life
like portrait of Lamb.
Bradford illustrates the fact that the psychological
approach to character is extremely valuable, but that it
alone is not an adequate substitute for biography. In
laying bare the frolicsome, lovable soul of Lamb, he
maintains that the cool psychological analysis must give
way and act only as an aid to the warm, sympathetic,
artistic characteristics of psychographical treatment of
character and personality. The writer does not attempt to
121
supply a framework of chronological data and historical
background in this psyeho&raphlcal study, for he endeavors
to Hlay bare” the human soul rather than display the
concrete body. Because of this method, Lamb becomes rather
abstract, or as Durling and Watt put it, a soul "suspended
in Limbo*”- 1 -
Both Katherine Anthony and Gamaliel Bradford prove
themselves competent writers. They base their work on
sound research and through letters, journals, and essays,
they allow their subject to speak for himself. In this
way these biographers avoid bringing their own personal
judgment upon their subjects. They make such an objective
analysis that the reader has complete freedom in drawing
his own conclusions.
Neil Bell and Mrs. Cook demonstrate the fact that :
the novelist?s techniques, when wisely and skillfully
used, are of definite value to the author. The biographer
is free to write creative artistic literature rather than
merely collect and record historical data. He may produce
a unified effect Instead of enumerating scores of un
related incidents. While he may not be able to use all the
Dwight Durling and William Watt, Biography;
Varieties and Parallels (New York; Drydon Press, 1941),
p. 1^5.
122
means of achieving unity which are available to the
novelist--formal plot for example— he has free use of
many unifying factors; characterization, setting, and
theme* The biographical novelist acquaints readers with
thrilling characters who otherwise would remain a name
only. James Barrie made Margaret Ogilvy the reader*s
friend; Barrington, Maurois, and Merejkowski turned
B^yon, Shelley, and Leonardo da Vinci into fascinating
individuals•
The two biographical novels S£ Perish the Roses
and Justly Dear are summarized most effectively by
comparison and contrast of subject matter and technique*
Although the authors approach and technique are quite
similar, they have an altogether different purpose. While
So Perish the Roses intends to shock and surprise readers
with “Charley, his pipes, his liquor, and his loves,”
Justly Dear contrives to delight readers with the
familiarily, old, yet ever refreshingly new portrait of
”gentle-hearted Lamb.”
While each author writes a biographical novel and
uses the same techniques, each handles those techniques
very differently. These differences result in a dis
similar life story, for the two writers use diverse
selection and emphasis in relating it* Although both
123
are factual, the one author chooses quite different facts
from the other; and often through wrong interpretation,
improper emphasis, and lack of perspective presents a
false, distorted portrayal. Bell is extremely un
sympathetic in treatment and subjective in method; Mrs#
Cook, on the contrary, is almost overly sympathetic and
objective#
Bell suffers severely from the critics for the
emphasis he places on Lamb*s weakness for liquor, tobacco,
and women, and for his unsympathetic handling of the
unfortunate strain of insanity# Although such contrary
purpose and handling result in two distinctly different
personalities, each author is fond of his own Gharles
Lamb and develops him as a realistic character#
Neither author has a formal plot or develops much
of the story element, but both do fine work in internal
and external characterizations. Bell far surpasses Mrs#
Cook in vivid setting and atmosphere, and colorful
description, for he makes his pictures very graphic while
she leaves considerable decorating to the reader*s
imagination. Each uses reverie effectively and each
demonstrates fair fictional style. Bell takes far
greater freedom than Mrs. Cook in the use of dramatic
fictional episodes and imaginary conversation. While one
124
author brings the story to a close with a feeling of
failure and the other with a feeling of satisfaction and
victory, each author develops an interesting conflict.
Neither author writes a book that ranks as a superior
biographical novel, but each author succeeds in re
creating a vivid, realistic portrait of Lamb as each
writer sees him.
Miss Brown and Miss Temple write dramatic accounts
of Lamb*s life which are strikingly similar in purpose,
approach, and technique. They capitalize upon the in
cidents that lend themselves to dramatic portrayal; then
they augment this factual material with imaginary in
cidents, For example, both authors vividly depict the
murder scene and Lamb*s literary social life; then they
add romantic fictional themes which unify the dramas#
The writers of the psychoanalytical, fictional, and
dramatic biographies all feel obliged, for the sake of
truth, to reveal the bad as well as good traits of Lamb#
With the exception of Neil Bell, the authors do not unduly
emphasize the bad traits but keep the more objectionable
features In true proportion with the more noble aspects of
his life. Thus they portray, as far as possible, the
accurate, deep, life-like personality of Charles Lamb*
Unscrupulous writers cause competent critics to
question the value of psychoanalytical, fictional, and
125
dramatic types of biographical writing. However "the
excesses of modern biography are only the by-products of
an attempt to give the form a deeper and wider signifi
cance.1 ’ 2 Conscientious psychoanalytical biographers
recognize the value of this comparatively immature type
of writing in the revolution and analysis of unsuspected
depths of personality. Although the use of fictional
techniques in biographical writing is not fully developed,
authors, employing these techniques with moderation, find
them of intrinsic worth in portraying vividness of
personality. The sincere dramatic biographer has almost
unlimited possibilities for developing a living, human
being.
In conclusion it may be said that the twentieth
century biographers of Lamb, using psychoanalytical,
fictional, and dramatic types of writing, reveal the
significant possibilities as well as limitations of these
types of biographical writing. Although every portrait may
not be a true likeness, the authors re-create an
interesting, complex personality, and portray a vivid,
2 Mark Longaker, Contemporary Biography
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1934)),
p. 20.
126
plausible characterization of Charles Lamb,
While each work discussed in this study has merit,
The Lambs by Katherine Anthony, although imperfect, is
noteworthy for its thorough, well-balanced, systematic
development and analysis of Charles Lamb, Through careful,
objective handling, and an intelligent sympathetic view
point, the book re-creates with artistic style a finished,
vivid, life-like personality who struggled with the inner
forces of his nature and conquered. It satisfies best
those who read for information as well as those who read
for pleasure.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A* GENERAL WORKS (BOOKS)
Benson, A. C., The Leaves of the Tree. London: Smith, 1911*
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Bakeless, Edwin, Andre Maurois, a Study of the Author of
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128
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______, Damaged Souls. Boston: Houghton, 1922.
_____ , Haunted Biography. Seattle: University of
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Johnson, Edgar, One Mighty Torrent. New York City:
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129
Johnston, G. A., M. M. Bryant, editor, ‘ ’ New Biography,” in
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Johnson, Henry, Teaching of History. New York: Macmillan
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Lockitt, C. H., Biography of Today. New York: Longmans,
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Longaker* John M., English Biography in the Eighteenth
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0! Pennsylvania Press, 1934.
Ludwig, Emil, K. Burke, translator, Genius and Character.
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______, Eden and Cedar Paul, translators. Garden City,
Hew York: Garden City Publishing Co., 1937.
Manly, J. M., and E. Rickert, Contemporary British
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Martin, Sarah P., “Gamaliel Bradford as a Psychographer."
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Maurois, Andre, S. C. Roberts, translator, Aspects of
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Merrill, Dana K., Development of American Biography,
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0*Neill, Edward H., History of American Biography,
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Strachey, S., Landmarks in French Literature, New York:;
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English Biography Before 1700, Cambridge,
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131
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(PERIODICAL ARTICLES)
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132
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CXXXIX (February, 1925). “ :
1335
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CXXXI (August, 1922).
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i933).
Strachey, L., "New Biography: Strachey School," Wilson
Bulletin, IV (November, December, 1929).
______, "New Modes in Biography," Current History, XXXI
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(June, 1931).
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XXXIX (December, 1924).
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Woolsey, D. B., "Biography Through Varied Lenses,"
Independent, (December, 1924)#
154
C. PSYCHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHIES (BOOKS)
Anthony, Katherine S#, The Lambs; a Story of Pre-Victorian
England, New York: Knopf, l94'5’ ).
Bradford, Gamaliel, ’ ’Charles Lamb,” in Bare Souls.
New York: Harper, 1924).
(PERIODICAL ARTICLES)
Anthony, K., R. E. Roberts, ’ ’Orestes and Electra,”
Saturday Review of Literature, XXVIII (May, 1945).
Baker, C., ’ ’ The Lambs,” New York Times (March, 1945).
, ’ ’ The Sister of Elia,” New York Times Book Review
(Harch, 1945).
’ ’ The Lambs,” Booklist, XLI (April, 1945).
Roberts, R. E., ’ ’ The Lambs,” Saturday Review of Literature,
XXVIII (May, 1945).
Whieher, G. P., ’ ’ The Lambs,” Weekly Book Review (March,
1945).
Willis, K. T., ’ ’The Lambs,” Library Journal, LXX (March,
1945).
Wyatt, E. V., ’ ’ The Lambs,” Commonwealth, XLII (July, 1945).
’ ’ Bare Souls,” Booklist, XXI (December, 1924).
Coblintz, S. A., ’ ’ Bare Souls,” Literary Digest International
Book Review (Decent)or, 1924TI
Dibble, R. P., ’ ’ Bare Souls,” Nation, CXIX (November, 1924).
Greever, G., ’ ’ Bare Souls,” Literary Review (October, 1924).
Hutchinson, P. A., ’ ’ Bare Souls,” New York Times (October,
1924).
Vernon, A., "Bare Souls,” Saturday Review of Literature, I
(December, 1924).
Woolsey, D. B., wBare Souls,” Independence, CXIII
(December, 1924)5.
135
D. BIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS (BOOKS)
Bell, N., So Perish the Roses (Southwold, N., N. Bell,
pseud.TT New Yorlc:' Scribner * s, 1925.
Cook, E. Thornton, Justly Dear. New York: Charles
Scribner* s Sons, 1959.
(PERIODICAL ARTICLES)
Cordell, R. A., ”So Perish the Roses,” Saturday Review of
Literature, XXII (September, 1940).
Douglas, I., “So Perish the Roses,” Library Journal,
LXV (October, 1940).
Smith, J. A., ”So Perish the Roses,” Spectator, CLXVI
(July, 1940).
”So Perish the Roses,” Times Literary Supplement (July,
1940).
”So Perish the Roses,” New Yorker, XVI (September, 1940).
”So Perish the Roses,” Atlantic Monthly, CLXVI (November,
1940).
”So Perish the Roses,” Wisconsin Literary Bulletin,
XXXVI (December, 194TTH
"So Perish the Roses," Booklist, XXXVII (October, 1940).
"So Perish the Roses," Christian Century, LVII (December,
3.940).
"So Perish the Roses," Nation, CLI (October, 1940).
Whicher, G* P., "So Perish the Roses,” Books (October-,
1940).
E. P. B., "Justly Dear,” Christian Science Monitor
(April, 1939). -------------------------
136
Field, L., "Justly Dear," Hew York Times (February, 1939).
G. G. "Justly Dear," Saturday Review of Literature, XIX
(March, 1939).
"Justly Dear," Booklist, XXXV (March, 1939).
Patton, J., "Justly Dear," Books (February, 1939).
E. BIOGRAPHICAL DRAMAS (BOOKS)
Brown, Alice, Charles Lamb. New York: Macmillan, 1924.
Temple, Joan, Charles and Mary. London: G. Allen and
Unwin, Ltd., 1930.
F. OTHER BIOGRAPHIES OF LAMB (BOOKS)
Blunden, E. C., Charles Lamb and His Contemporaries.
Cambridge: University Press, 1937,
"Charles Lamb," Dictionary of National Biography, XI,
London: Oxford University Press.
Harper, G. M., "Magnanimity of Charles Lamb,” in Literary
Appreciations. Indianapolis, New York: Bobbs,-Merrill,
1937.
Howe, Will D., Charles Lamb and His Friends. Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merril’ l, l9i"4•
Lucas, E. V., "Charles Lamb," Encyclopaedia Britannica,
14th edition, XIII.
______, At the Shrine of St. Charles. London: Methuen
and Co., Ltd., 1'93¥7
______, Life of Charles Lamb, two volumes, 5th edition,
revised. “Hendon: Methuen, 1921).
Lynd, R., "Charles Lamb," in Books and Authors. New York:
G. P. Putnam*s, 1923.
Ross, E. C., The Ordeal of Bridget Elia. Norman: Universily
of Oklahoma Press, 133T0.
157
Watt, H. A., W. W. Watt, Dictionary of English Literature.
New York: Barnes and Noble, 1945.
Webster, A, M., Webster1s Biographical Dictionary.
SpringfieId, Massachusetts: Merriara, 1943.
(PERIODICAL ARTICLES)
Brown, J. M., "Man Who was Lamb," Saturday Review of
Literature, XXXI (July, 1948).
, "Elia Versus Charles," Saturday Review of
TZterature, XXXI (July, 1948T.
, "Shorn Lamb," Saturday Review of Literature,
XXXI (July, 1948).
Whiting, M. B., "Immortal Memory," Hibbert Journal,
XXXIII (October, 1934).
(University of Southern C a lifo rn ia Lib rary^

Asset Metadata

Creator James, Leona Pearl (author)

Core Title The modern trend in biography as shown in various "lives" of Charles Lamb since 1900

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program English

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Biography,literature, English,OAI-PMH Harvest

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Advisor McElderry, Bruce R., Jr. (committee chair), Davenport, William H. (committee member), Warren, Neil D. (committee member)

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