The World Set Free · Chapter
§ XI explained
The chapter reflects on how literature from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, especially novels, reveals a recurring conflict between human egotism and the growing sense of wider necessities and a more spacious life.
What happens
The chapter reflects on how literature from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, especially novels, reveals a recurring conflict between human egotism and the growing sense of wider necessities and a more spacious life. It notes that religion was often omitted from these works due to respect for old religious organizations, but that Marcus Karenin helped bring religion back into daily life as a common necessity. The chapter also observes that later novelists became more aware of secular change, portraying characters adapting to or suffering from world changes, with Barnet's book exemplifying this shift.
Themes in this chapter
Religion and Spiritual Renewal
The chapter discusses how religion was omitted from literature but later reintegrated by Marcus Karenin, who saw it as essential to life and the Republic.
The Inevitability of Change and Adaptation
The chapter emphasizes how later novelists portrayed characters adapting to or suffering from world changes, with Barnet's book illustrating this accelerated development.
Characters to notice
- Marcus Karenin
Credited with bringing religion back into the texture of human life, seeing it as a common necessity and rephrasing it for the new age.
- Frederick Barnet
His book is described as a picture of the world coming about like a ship that sails into the wind, serving as a key example of literature reflecting accelerated change.
Key passages
“Barnet’s book, which has served us so well, is frankly a picture of the world coming about like a ship that sails into the wind.”
Barnet's book effectively depicts a world that is turning or changing direction, much like a ship adjusting its course against the wind.
Highlights Barnet's work as a key example of literature reflecting societal change.
“It was the clear vision of Marcus Karenin much more than any other contemporary influence which brought it back into the texture of human life.”
Marcus Karenin's insight was the primary force that reintegrated religion into everyday human experience.
Emphasizes Karenin's role in restoring religion to daily life.