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MusicandtheGeorgianNovel,ortheDivorceofAdamandEve
13
otherwriters,suchasWernerWolf,reducetheso-calledmusicalisationof
TristramShandytoonlyafewelementsamountingatbesttosomefldubious
«metaphoricalimpressionism»”
,8itcanneverthelessbereasonablyadmitted
thatSterne’sground-breakingnovelinauguratedanewerainthewaymusic
wasmentioned,referredtoandusedintheeighteenth-centuryEnglish
novel.
Yet,althoughmusicwasoftensummonedbyeighteenth-centurynovelists,
itistheverynatureoftheinscriptionofmusicalreferencesintheGeorgian
novelthatIproposefurthertoinvestigate.Itwillbesuggestedthatthevery
inclusionofmusicinthegenreofthenovelisoftenproblematic.
ThedemiseoftheclassicaltheoryoftheflSisterArts”inthecourseofthe
eighteenthcenturypromptedthedivorcebetweenpoetryandmusic,and
thisconsequentlyencouragedthedevelopmentofinstrumentalmusic.This
hadadirectbearingupontheevolutionoftheroleaccruingtomusicinthe
Georgiannovel.Iwouldliketosuggestthatthereisnotonlyadiference,but
afundamentalgenericincompatibilitybetweenmusicandtheliterarytext.9
Lateeighteenth-centuryandearlynineteenth-centurynovelistsfeltthatthe
flnewsensibility”theyendeavouredtoexpressintheirworkscouldaptlybe
exploredthroughreferencestomusicormusicalpractice,hencetheirefort
tosummonupmusicwithintheirnovels.However,theveryfactofdoingso
inaprosetextinevitablycallsinquestionthenatureoftheliterarymedium
itself.Theroleattributedtomusicinsidethetextoffictiondrivesthelatter
awayfromitsusualshores,towardsdangerouszonesthatthreatenitsnormal
balance.TheriseoftheplaceofmusicinthelateGeorgiannovelcanbe
readasataleofattractionaswellasrejectionandultimatedivorce.Evenas
musicfreeditselffromtheshacklesofimitationandbecamemoreandmore
autonomousfromtheconstraintofhavingasitweretoflclothe”poetry,it
acquiredagreaterroleinthenoveland,doingso,ithighlightedtheexpressive
shortcomingsoflanguage.Byinvitingmusicasakeycomponentintheir
texts,novelistsbothparadoxicallyenrichedthemandendangered,orshowed
thelimitationsof,theirownart.
Toshowthis,IwillfirststopattheRenaissancetheoryoftheflSisterArts”
anditsinfluenceonallusionstomusicinearlyGeorgiannovels;thenIwill
havealookattheriseofthemid-eighteenth-centurytheoryofmusical
expressionanditslinkswithLaurenceSterne’scritiqueoflanguagethrough
music;finally,Iwillbrieflyconsideranotheraspectofthedivorcebetween
8Wolf,MusicalizationofFiction,p.233.WernerWolf.MusicalizationofFiction.
Amsterdam-AtlantaGA1999,p.233.
9
Iamnotaddressingherethequestionofpoetry,whichraisesotherissues.
