while he observes, no definite object before him. He does not wish to fill in a framework prepared in advance, verify by means of documents a theory already conceived. He lets his senses "gather in" the appearances of life; and in his writing, he will render it, in the true sense of the word, without the slightest alteration. Others have seen what they depict. But their vision has been that of professional observers, who are on the watch, who have their "idea" beforehand, if not their plan, and who, by that very circumstance, work more or less upon reality, instead of receiving its impression. Passive and neutral, Guy de Maupassant represents with perfect exactness the things he sees.'[1]
Naturalism, in this view, is Realism carried to the farthest extreme, everything that might interfere with the accuracy of perception and translation being stringently excluded. It is representation, pure and simple, not interpretation. On either theory, Defoe stands out definitely and distinctly as a Naturalist.
It is a function of science to subserve the purposes of art, and there is no ground to suppose that Defoe thought of reversing the relation, and making art subservient to science. It is true, nevertheless, that Moll Flanders and Roxana do exhibit in a most luminous way the trains of causes and effects by which character is moulded and transformed. The influences of material environment have never been exposed with acuter insight; nor has there been a more intelligent diagnosis of existing social conditions, But there is no reason to think that he arranged his materials to support any theory. His aim was identical with that of Maupassant, to mirror life. It does not affect this conclusion to admit that Defoe is often a critic of life, that he moralises often, and not seldom appears in the guise of a sociologist pointing out the defects of penal laws, indicting our treatment of the poor and the criminal classes, and exposing the manifold shortcomings of the social system in general. When a man of sixty, who has been engaged for a quarter of a century in journalism and pam-
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'Chez Guy de Maupassant, nulle trace de romantisme. Entièrement naturaliste, il n'a fait pour ainsi dire que mirer la nature. Lui-même se peint sous le nom d'un de ses personnages, le romancier Lamarthe, "armé d'un œil qui cueillait les images, les attitudes et les gestes avec la précision d'un appareil photographique".
'Mais ce qui l'en distingue, et de M. Zola particulièrement, c'est que son observation est libre. Il n'a, en observant, aucun propos defini. Il ne veut pas remplir tels cadres fixés d'avance, confirmer par des documents une théorie préconçue. Il laisse les sens "cueillir" les images de la vie; et, en écrivant, il la rendra, dans le sens propre du mot, sans la moindre altération. D'autres ont vu ce qu'ils peignent. Seulement leur vision est celle d'observateurs professionnels, qui sont à l'affût, qui ont déjà leur "idée", peutêtre leur plan, et qui, par cela même, agissent plus ou moins sur la réalité au lieu d'en subir l'impression. Passif et neutre, Guy de Maupassant représente les choses vues avec une parfaite exactitude.'
