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But fiction is not about "real history, geography and so forth", nor about "natural history" nor about "the military and military hardware etc". It's about hum
by mtts 17y ago
But fiction is not about "real history, geography and so forth", nor about "natural history" nor about "the military and military hardware etc".
It's about human nature in general. Which is the reason why Jane Austen is still worth reading even though none of us are, in this day and age, clergyman's daughters and why Dickens has written soap operas with ink black characters that still guide our moral compass today. Or why my favorite writer Kafka is the only truly worthwhile teacher on how to laugh at your pointy haired boss.
- ErrantX 17y ago> It's about human nature in general. It is indeed; but it's not exclusively about that! > But fiction is not about "real history, geography and so forth", nor about "natural history" nor about "the military and military hardware etc". Actually, it is full of things like this - human nature is the story set within such context. Dickens is worth reading for the morality; but also lots of information on Victorian life. It might not be something you notice picking up (and not why the book was written) but I'm betting readers of Dickens will be able to recall all sorts of facts about those times. Fiction is often full of facts :)