Background
''The Man of Feeling,'' Mackenzie's first and most famous novel, was begun in London in 1767.Mackenzie, Henry. ''The Man of Feeling'', edited by Brian Vickers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009) It was published in April 1771, sold out by the beginning of June, and reached its sixth edition by 1791. Mackenzie wrote ''The Man of Feeling'' in the latter half of the eighteenth century, by the end of which the concept of sentimentalism had steadily become merely laughable and entertaining. An 'Index to Tears', which was first included in the 1886 edition of ''The Man of Feeling'' edited by Professor Henry Morley, indicates how the "repertory of sentimental effects...has become a repertory of mirthful effects, perhaps to be read aloud in the Victorian parlour to an audience only needing to hear these categories of tears in order to trigger a rather different physical response." Whilst in the reaction to sentimentalism authors and readers alike satirised or humiliated characters with an excess of emotion, there remained those who supported elements of the genre. According to theoristPlot summary
''The Man of Feeling'' details the fragmentary episodes of the life of Harley which exist within the remains of a manuscript traded to the initial narrator of the novel by a priest. The novel itself begins with these two latter figures hunting, whereas the manuscript is missing the first ten chapters and approximately thirty others at various locations throughout the manuscript's entirety. As a young boy, Harley loses his parents and is assigned several guardians who constantly disagree with each other. They do however agree that he should make an effort to acquire more wealth, and so they urge him to make an old distant relative amiable towards him to claim some inheritance. Harley fails in this endeavour, as he doesn't cooperate with the relative's attempts to warm to him. Harley is then advised to acquire a patron; to sell his vote at an election for a lease of land. His neighbour Mr. Walton gives him a letter of introduction, and he leaves home (and Miss Walton) for London. He meets a beggar and his dog on the way, and after donating to them, hears the fortune-telling beggar's story. In the following (missing) chapters, Harley formally visits the baronet Mr. Walton recommended him to, because when the narrative continues, Harley is calling on him for the second time. The baronet however is away from London, and Harley meets another gentleman named Tom. They go for a stroll and then dine together, discussing pensions and resources with two older men. Harley proceeds to visit Bedlam, and weeps for an inmate there, before dining with a scorned, cynical man and together they discuss honour and vanity. He then demonstrates his skill (or, as many argue, his lack of skill) inLiterary style
Typical of sentimental fiction, ''The Man of Feeling'' is fragmented; chapters and passages are missing, although this is contrived, as the narrative is still comprehensible. Mackenzie highlights these absences, by implying the contents of the non-existent chapters, by chapter numbering (indicating gaps) or through the sudden introduction of characters: "Peter stood at the door. We have mentioned this faithful fellow formerly". The fragmentary nature of the text narrates "the sensibility that is inevitably expressed in moments."Janet Todd, ''Sensibility: An Introduction'' (London: Methuen, 1986)) It allows for elisions and hiatuses, so that content not evoking the sentimental can be excluded from the text entirely. The transient nature of manuscript itself is further alluded to in the Introduction; the manuscript depicting Harley's life is being used as wadding for the curate's gun. Harley's aunt also employs a book to help fold her linen.References
Further reading
* G. J. Barker-Benfield, ''The Culture of Sensibility: Sex and Society in Eighteenth-Century Britain'' (University of Chicago Press, 1996). * Inger S.B. Brodey, ''Ruined by Design: Novels and Gardens in the Culture of Sensibility'' (Routledge, 2009). * William J. Burling, 'A "Sickly Sort of Refinement": The Problem of Sentimentalism in Mackenzie's ''The Man of Feeling'', in ''Studies in Scottish Literature'', 23 (1988), pp. 136–149. * Markman Ellis, ''The Politics of Sensibility: Race, Gender and Commerce in the Sentimental Novel'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004). * Maureen Harkin, 'Mackenzie's Man of Feeling: Embalming Sensibility', ''ELH'' 61:2 (Summer 1994), 317–340.External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man of Feeling, The 1771 novels Picaresque novels Scottish novels Sentimental novels