The two novels to be discussed in this paper are: The Mountain and the Valley (M & V), by Ernest Buckler, and Leaven of Malice (L.o.M) by Robertson Davies. Both are novels set in Canada, and written by Canadian novelists. That said, they are 2 very different books. M &V is a tragedy in the form of an extremely descriptive near-encyclopedic journal of a family's life in Maritime Canada. L.o.M is a comedy based in fictional Salterton, and focuses on the publishers of a newspaper, along with their hangers-on.
Aristotle describes tragedy as being "… an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude…. …and effecting through pity and fear the catharsis of such emotions." (1). In Buckler's novel, the main character is David, who starts out very young, and gets progressively older as the book goes on. He is completely preoccupied with his thoughts, and is therefore out of touch with the realities of his situation. This imitation of a type of psychosis is definitely serious and because the book goes to such great lengths to include all aspects of this inwardness and introversion, it can be said to be complete as well. The novel is an exploration of psychology on one level, and Buckler's mathematical training no doubt helped him to consider the various possibilities inherent in this type of story. The novel ends with the death of David, a tragic death, alone and with his dreams unfulfilled and unattained. In this way, it does indeed induce a catharsis of the feelings that Buckler implanted in us throughout the story, releasing David from the Ourobouros-like circle that he had been trapped in since that first mishap he fell into, at the school play.
Conversely, comedy is defined by Aristotle as being "… an imitation of persons worse than the average. Their badness, however, does not extend to the point of utter depravity; rather, ridiculousness is a particular form of the shameful and may be described as the kind of error and unseemliness that is not painful or destructive." (2). L.o.M is just such a text, the characters being slightly unreal because of their stereotypical attributes. The old ladies are all disapproving, the old men are stubborn, the conservatives are ultra-conservative, and the liberals wild. This is the facet of ridiculousness that Aristotle is describing, allowing everyday events to be regarded as funny simply because of their relationship to reality. Davies' world is a type of bastard son to reality, it is warped and out of proportion, yet still holds a rather close resemblance to the truth. His characterisations are extremely strong despite this ridicule of reality, they are all reasonably believable, and even likeable in some cases. A character such as Prof. Vambrace is an excellent and hilarious example of this characterisation, especially when he goes out to play detective after his daughter's name is tarnished by the fake engagement notice in the Bellman.
In conclusion, my personal favorite of the two is definitely Robertson Davies' Leaven of Malice; The Mountain and the Valley I found overstated to the point that it was easy to lose interest in the characters being presented. Davies' novel is much lighter, but somehow leaves more room for deeper understanding of the subject matter, leaving it up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. Buckler seemed to want the interpretation that the reader makes to tally closely with his own, in effect diminishing the eventual power of his novel by force-feeding the answers to the problems he poses for us. I would be willing to bet that as a math teacher he would simply lay out the groundwork for his students, and then allow them latitude to try and experiment; perhaps he should have done the same thing with this novel.
Texts Consulted
Aristotle, Poetics
W.W. Norton, 1982
Buckler, E. The Mountain and the Valley
Davies, R. Leaven of Malice
1 Aristotle, Poetics
W.W. Norton, 1982
2 Ibid.