Life is the most important matter, nothing is important but life. The idea that, body has no importance compared to the mind and soul is futile. If we cut the skin the vain bleeds. It looks alive when blood flows. The philosopher gives importance to his thoughts. The scientist gives importance to the investigations of all pieces of body separately. The saint talks about the another life after death where there is no existence of living things. But the writer understands the whole entity in him as a living being. The message of knowledge cannot be important than the living body. But the philosophers, saints and scientists do not understand the simple truth that their teaching can only be communicated to one when one is a living being. Only a novelist and none else can know it. Being a novelist he consider himself superior to the scientists, philosophers and poets.
The whole is important not the part. Writer does not believe in any partial development of his living body. To the scientist human being is a combination of some pieces. The scientist gives importance to the pieces of body separately because they are the elements of his investigation. On the other hand the another branch of literature is poetry is a process to represent a particular emotion of the poet. Feelings or emotions are only a bit of human being. So poetry does not represent the wholeness of life. For communications the whole novel effect the whole man himself beyond any part of him.
The another part of the discussion is nothing is absolutely right. Everything flows and changes and even change also not absolute. Novelist does not want to fix his life in a particular pattern. Because he knows human life is not a static rather it is very dynamic. What is right today may appear wrong another day. If there is not any change everything will be boring. Change is the important element of attraction. There is certain integrity in change. The writer does not want to know where lies the integrity. He feels that it is useless to talk about ego. And change is the significance of novel.
Writer says that the characters of novel have to live and do nothing. In life we have got to live and nothing. Living means being in existence. Ideas in head shape the pattern of life. In every step of life we invent some sort of guide. The writer feels it is not good to invent ruling not to enjoy life which is very short. The writer feels the point to be alive as a whole man and novel can help one in this gesture. He wants one should not be much concerned about good or bad, right or wrong. In a novel we can only realize that life itself is the reason for living. Right or wrong, good or bad is not important, the instinct of the whole consciousness of body and mind of man is important. And this is depicted by novel only. Thus the Novelist justifies the importance of novel in life.
(Based on “why the novel matters” by D.H. Lawrence)
