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Romantic Realism

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AMERICONORMAN

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I recently formulated some thoughts on Romantic Realism, a category of writer that Ayn Rand designated herself. And so what is the difference between being merely romantic and being romantic-realistic? How hard is it for writer's to be the latter, and if difficult, why?

The following should inspire some independent thought among others, and perhaps a debate. I keep it in the original hand writing because I think it is cool.

Jose Gainza.

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I'm not sure exactly what a "malevolent romantic-realist" would be. Because the "romantic" part implies a belief in volition (which contradicts the malevolent universe premise) and "realist" implies a respect for reality (which would seem to contradict having a malevolent personal philosophy). You say that the romantic-realist studies his place and time according to a philosophical framework-- but doesn't everyone who attempts such a study do so according to a philosophical framework of some kind, whether they know it or not?

Can you give some more details on what the "malevolent romantic-realist" would be (can you think of any actual examples, or is it hypothetical)?

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I can think of a malevolent romantic realist: Joseph Conrad.

Exactly!!!!

Reading Ayn Rand Answers gave me this lead; because before I thought that Romantic-Realism was synonymous with being an Objectivist. But according to Ayn Rand in that book, it is not the case, and she has to, regrettably, name Conrad as a Romantic Realist.

And yet, he is so hard to read. One, because he is so malevolent, and has a great tendency to give up this world to that "darkness". I remember a professor of mine naming him as an existentialist. And yet, I had to read him, and yet, I knew that he was a GREAT writer, and yet so BORING.

... And so now I am re-reading him to try and figure it out.

However, as of yet, I still cannot say for sure whether he is a Romantic-Realist, given that Rand spoke and just spoke in those answer periods, and I do not know the in depth analysis she gave him. So, as of yet, I can't say for sure.

But I am very confident that a malevolent Romantic-Realist is possible. He's the guy who can't forget, who can't look past, the malevolence, "THE HORROR--THE HORROR!" he sees before him, in reality. But, an Ayn Rand uses philosophy to look past it. And this is the difference between a Conrad and an Lewis; the latter, doesn't look deep enough.

I proclaiml, I am certain, that if you are not a moralist, you can never be a Romantic writer. Now "Realism" is the conundrum ... possibly.

Jose Gainza.

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But I am very confident that a malevolent Romantic-Realist is possible. He's the guy who can't forget, who can't look past, the malevolence, "THE HORROR--THE HORROR!" he sees before him, in reality. But, an Ayn Rand uses philosophy to look past it. And this is the difference between a Conrad and an Lewis; the latter, doesn't look deep enough.

Jose Gainza.

I totally agree. If Conrad wrote, say, Atlas Shrugged he'd end it with John Galt being tortured and Cuffy Meigs would win. However, he'd still portray these characters by their essential qualities.

If Lewis wrote Atlas Shrugged he'd mention random contemporary political figures by name, and John Galt would have some major (though irrelevant) flaw (like an unsightly birth mark) in order to make him more "real." He'd also include a long and pointless discussion of exactly how John Galt built the motor and talk about the chemical reactions necessary to make Rearden metal.

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  • 7 months later...

MEDITATIONS ON ROMANTICISM OF JOSE GAINZA

1

Can reality ever be romantic?

By “reality” I mean everything and the way in which it exists. I mean this pen in my hand, this black notebook (whose motto reads, “Learning is in the eye of the mind”), this round table top on which my hands rub, the YMCA recreation centre across from me, this intersection, this city, this country, this planet, and all the rest of it.

And what is “romantic”? Immediately one sees the word “roman”. One thinks of the Roman Empire, of the city of Rome, of Italy. The empire was one of grand conquest, of military bravery, of national heroes, consisting of an enormous population, of culture, of accomplished art; men with ideals were the Romans, willing to die for a philosophical cause, and yet who finally extinguished temporarily man’s torch.

Can the definition of “Romantic” be found when we achieve the understanding of the essence of the Roman character and personality?

If ROMANTIC’s meaning has any relation to that ancient civilization, it has one only by the achievements of the latter’s historical representatives. Though the geographical region that the Romans inhabited still is there in some form, the Romans died with the birth of Christianity. If you clutch a handful of Italian soil today, you will not be grasping in your hands Romantic soil. Just by setting foot into Italy today is not at all tantamount to being Romantic. Though we may love the climate and geological virtues of Italy today, we know that the personality of Rome’s men is what counts.

And yet men have in the modern era called themselves “Romantic”. There is a whole score of novelists, poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, working mostly in the 19th century. And there are also some German philosophers at around the same time who are called by the same name. If we’re going to apply the term ‘Romantic’ to reality, we must acknowledge that reality is in large part activity. The activity of the artists of that name is more akin to the ancient Romans, than that school of German philosophers who are associated too with that name.

It seems absurd to think that an art or a science can focus its quest on a reality that is inconceivably static. A man cannot experience reality without being struck with the fact of movement or change. So what will be romantic about reality? What types of movements and by what kind of agents?

Do we call romantic the flowing of a river, the tides of the ocean, the breeze making the trees dance, the dawn and dusk, the earth around the sun, the flow of the stars? All these things move but without the assistance of man at all.

Men are the source of a different type of activity—activity possible by the intelligence of men. This sphere too is large and complex. Now, it is obvious that human activity is what the Romans were doing since the Romans were human. There are some romantic artists who sought to emulate the Romans in craft and in subject. Perhaps all had been educated in the classics. They learned from the ancient Romans some of the methods of their respective arts. They chose Rome as their subject, if not in setting, then in the grandeur of their scenes and themes.

The ancient Roman, like Ancient Greece, seems to be an icon, an idol, and ideal of modern Europe. I do believe that the first men to coin the term Romantic had the ancient Romans in mind, and so they chose their name as a sort of tribute. And perhaps one of these men had as his subconscious motive in choosing the term Romantic: to ensure that the concept would forever be associated with human nature.

But much more historical research is surely needed to validate this idea.

Edited by AMERICONORMAN
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I checked this entry for "Romance" on the web. Cannot quite figure out what it says; but, I think they're saying that a certain genre of stories were called "romances" because they were written "in the vernacular" instead of being written in Latin.

Edited by softwareNerd
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