The issues of the ancient heros are investigated in the article. They said different thoughts about the historical novel in the world literary criticism. So, the terms as «the historical novel», «the novel which told about his- tory», «the novel which based in the history», «the novel of the history» have been used about this kind of novels. The historical novels which talked about distant historical periods are researched in this article. To this group of historical novels we can show the well-known English writers Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton's «The Last Days of Pompeii» and Robert Graves' «I, Claudius»; the prominent French writers Gustave Flaubert's «Salammbô» and Maurice Samuel Roger Charles Druon's; «The novel about Alecsandr Macedonian or God»; the notable german writer Goerg Ebers' «Ward»; italian writer Raffaello Giovagnoli's «Spartaco»; the well-known Henryk Sienkiewicz's «Where is your way?» («Quo vadis») and Boleslav Proust's «Pharaoh» as an example in European literature.
When the Great French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 –1821) Marches shuddered Europe. English writer sir Walter Scott founded of the new literary genre - the genre of the historical novel unprecedented till then.When he created this genre, his basic goal is the desire of delivering his interior senses and excitements and his patriotism to the people and his readers. He saw the novel genre more acceptable to achieve this purpose. Deeply perceiving the literary laws of his time as an intellectual and literate writer, Walter Scott, also choose this way and turned to the creator of the completely new literary genre - the genre of the historical novel. In the Russian scientist Alexandr Dolinin's opinions, Walter Scott directed the attention to the history and strengthened the thoughts of historians to write the history much more interesting, with his romantic glance to the history and describing the history in romantic manner. In a word, he had influenced much more to the historical thoughts, but not to the literary processes [1; 127].
To recieve the theme of the novel from the any time of the history and introducing these to the readers in the point of view of the modern world outlook does not suffice for accepting of the novel as the historical novel.The thought that which theme is historical and which theme is non – historical, is the theme of the conflict [2; 96].
They said different thoughts about the historical novel in the world literary criticism. So, the terms as «the historical novel», «2the novel which told about history», «the novel which based in the history», «the novel of the history» have been used about this kind of novels.
They said that Walter Scott is the founder of the historical novel in the Oxford dictionary of the literary terms. Here the historical novel is given as a novel manner that some writers wrote the existing events of the historical time, and the thoughts of the referee layers and laws and rules in the real form. Like one of the basicsidesof the historical novel, it have been showed describing the basic features of the time which happened events from peculiarity of the importance of the connection between the social confrontation and the private fate [3; 203].
There have been the historicity principles one or another degree in some works in Europe since ancient times. For example, when Homer wrote his traces named by «Iliada» and «Odisseya» and PubliyVergiliyMaron (Publius Vergilius Maro, b.c.70 - 19) wrote his trace named by «Eneida», they had the purpose describing the heroism histories of their nation that they belonged to. Moreover, in the ancient time, the traces about the history, geography and other sciences were writting in the poem form and involved for the attention like both of the scientific work or the beautiful example of the art literature. Also, the historians as Herodotus (b.c. 484–425), Strabone (b.c. 60 – 24), Plinius, Plutarch (46-127) gave the wide place to the myth, legend, stories and eposes in their works at the same time with the historically happened fact, too.
This was considered natural circumstance, too. Because, legends and eposes, existing at that time, reflected the informations about the different countries, cities, historical places and personalities in themselves. For instance, in spite of the legend about the ruler of ancient Midia Astiaghand much more the mythical and legendary plot,in Herodot's work named by «History», and here, the author had also given the detailed historical information about the powerful State Midia, historically surrounded the wide territory, and its kingAstiag; and his grandchild, the Persian ruler Kirus, who overthrew him and passed to his place. In general, this tendency had spread widely in the whole world at the ancient times. Namely the ancient Chinese historian Sma Tsyan's trace named by «Historical notes» was also complete lyriched in myths and legends.
At the ancient time the history turned to the novel, but from Walter Scott's time the novel turned to the history.The time when sir Walter Scott wrote his novels are the years that the important historical events happened in Europe. Wide social reforms had been carried out in some countries especially in Germany. The events that survived at every step after enlightenment, promised great hopes to the advanced strength of the Europian society. But constraints of the old continent had not finished yet, as if anew the old continent wanted to return to the past days, especially after Napoleon's marches. Scott wrote his first novel Waverly in 1814, namely at this time, when Napoleon had been defeated [4; 264].
The historical novels are the novels describing the historical events and persons as a theme. The author explains the historical realities connecting with the strength of his dream in this novel. Historical novel deals with the events being in the different time of the history. Here, heroes will be able to be true or imaginary. But given informations very correspondses to historical truths. In reality, this kind of the novel is the literary product of the romantism. The english writer Walter Scott has created the first example of this literary kind in the world literature.
Walter Scott based on the achievement of the XVIII century enlighteners in his creative activities. But as the original real representative of the XIX century Walter Scott had gone considerable forwards from his ancestors in some problems. Walter Scott did not fall behind from his ancestors in the art mastery side and went forward from them with his opened showing the depth of his historical conception and the character of his heros in much more perfect form. The reason of this was the socio-historical progress in the result of Great France Bourgeois Revolution at the end of the XVIII century.
After the events of the France Bourgeois Revolution the writers had a duty coming from the demand of the time such as to show openly the development laws of the history observing the complex forms of the state and social revolution process. Walter Scott's work named by «Waverly, or 60 years ago» is considered the first art example of the historical novel genre in the world literature. Further, he had written 28 historical novels and he had also defined the theoretical bases of the historical novel genre at the same time. Further, the historical novel, like the new literary genre, had begun to spread widely at first in all Europe countries, and then in the Eastern countries.
If we overlook Alexandr Macedonian, the emperors of the Ancient Rome and Napoleon in the history of the European nations, there are not many great conquerors and historical heroes in Europe concerning to the East. Therefore, we observe especially two tendencies in the European historical novels. Or the head heros of these historical novels are the simple people not the great historical personalities, and or the head heros of these novels are often the rulers of the East not the great historical personalities of the West.For the first group of these novels we can give example Walter Scott's «Quentin Durward», Victor Marie Hugo's «Paris Notrdam Church» (Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831), Raffaello Giovagnoli's (1838–1915) «Spartaco» (1874), Henryk Sienkiewicz's «Where is your way?» («Quo vadis», 1994) dealing with the authority years of the emperor of the ancient Rome Neron, but for the second group of these novels we can give example Walter Scott's «The Talisman», Boleslav Proust's (1847—1912) «Pharaoh» (1897), Gustave Flaubert's (1821– 1880) «Salammbô» (1862) and etc. novels.
From point of view of the theme, the historical novels dealing with the historical events after Napoleon period are much more in the European literature. Because, Napoleon's wide encroachment activities implemented by him in the European territory is one of the factors or may be the first factor influencing directly to the founding of the historical novel genre. Napoleon's attacks led the separate European peoples to the national self-esteem, and once again revealed the necessity of the idea of struggle together against the strong enemy, and this is also reflected directly in the literature.
From this point of view, the well-known Hungarian researcher George Lucas noted the importance of paying attention to the Great French Revolution and the Napoleonic Movement when he studied the historical novel genre. Thus, Georg Lukacs explains the reasons for the creation of the historical novel, which the first consistent examples are written in Europe since the nineteenth century: «But the most important thing for us, to put forward objectively the main features of historical consciousness before and after the French Revolution, in terms of to show clearly occurring of the historical novel on the which social and ideological grounds [5; 27].
Lukacs also underlined that, being related in the history only in terms of subject and structure is not enough for chancing the novel to the historical novel, the conformity to the date of the heros' mental – psychological situations described in this novels is important. In his opinion, the formation period of the historical novel is very important both in social and ideological points of view.
İn this article we try to investigate the historical novels which tells about ancient historical times. To this group of historical novels we can show the well-known English writers Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton's (1803–1873) «The Last Days of Pompeii» and Robert Graves' «I, Claudius»; the prominent French writers Gustave Flaubert's (1821–1880) «Salammbô» (1862) and Maurice Samuel Roger Charles Druon's; (1918–2009) «The novel about Aleksandr Macedonian or God» (Alexandre le Grand, 1958); the notable german writer Goerg Ebers' «Ward»; italian writer Raffaello Giovagnoli's (1838–1915) «Spartaco» (1874); the well-known Henryk Sienkiewicz's «Where is your way?» («Quo vadis», 1994) and Boleslav Proust's (1847–1912) «Pharaoh» (1897) as an example in European literature.
So, the prominent English writer Eduard George Bulver Litton tells about the terrible event shappening in 79 year in Pompei which was the cradle of the culture of ancient the Rome and one of the most beautiful cities of the world in his historical novel named by «The last days of Pompeii». The writer shows in this work that, this city had been ruined in the result of the erupting of the Vezuvi volcano and no one got rid of this misfortune.
The well-known English writer Robert Graves describes the life story of the powerful emperor of the ancient Rome in his historical novel named by «I, Cladius». Cludius lost father from his childhood, and had sufferedfrom different illnesses for a long time. Even his native mother said that there is no ugly one than Claudius in the Earth. But Claudius overturned to the emperor of the ancient Rome in the result of his chance. And then he got the management of the government to his hand and he much more broadened the territory of the country, too. Even if Claudius achieved receiving the title of Yulia - Claudius - the God of the ancient Rome.
The prominent French writer Gustav Flaubert's work «Salammbô» was also in the genre of historical novel, and it dealt with the Pun wars which carried out against the citisens of the ancient Rome by the citisens of the Carfagen. The head hero of this work is Hamilcar, the ruler of Carfagen. While coming back from the war against Rome, Hamilcar was obliged to fight with the hired soldiers which couldn't receive wages. The writer gives the description of the same war in this novel. When the head of the hired fighters Mato saw that the Carfagen soldiers von them, then he got the holy cover of the Tanita temple, the symbol of the victory and von the Carfagen soldiers. For getting the holy cover of the Tanita goddess again, Salambo - the daugther of Hamilcar went to the camp of their enemy and there, she met with Mato and loved him. One day, when Mato was assleep, Salambo had taken this cover went secretly from there. Further only this, the Carfagen soldiers had tamed the superiority in this fight and killed the hired soldiers. They executed the chief of the rebelliouses Mato. And Salammbo couldn't endure to this grief and died.
Other French writer Moris Druon's «The novel about Aleksandr Macedonian or God» had been written in the genre of historical novel, too. In spite of Alexandr Macedonian in generally lived for thirty-three years, he was well-known as an invincible commander and conqueror, and he was considered «Zeus –Amon» by the people who lived on the Mediterranean shores, The «Crown Pharaoh» by Egyptians, «The King Tiara» by vavilons, one of the founder of the world by Jews. His Empire had surrounded very big territories like from Macedonia to India and Egypt.
Well known German writer Georg Ebers' historical novel named by «Ward» is about the events of the ancient era. So that, in this work talks about the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs' wars in the valley of Nile and their consecutive marches against the land of gold Nubia four thousand years ago. In this novel has been created the bright figures of the Pharaohs and high priests, mummy masters, gadgets and warriors and has been reflected issues like hate, love, betrayal and loyalty.
Italian writer Raffaello Giovagnoli's work named by «Spartaco» is one of the most beautiful examples of the historical novel genre. The reasons of the Spartac Rebellion which is counted the biggest slavery rebellion in the history, Spartac's struggle against existing slavery rules in Rome, his life which was full of victories and defeats are given in Raffaello Giovagnoli's work named by «Spartaco».
The notable Polish writer, Nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz's work named by «Where is your way?» («Quo vadis», 1994) was also written in the genre of historical novels. Here is mentioned the persecution of Christians and other historical events which happened in Roman history during the years of power of the Roman Emperor Nero (64-68 years).
The well-known Polish writer, Boleslav Proust's (1847—1912) «Pharaoh» (1897) is one of the most famous historical novels not only in the history of Polish literature, but also in the history of world literature. This novel is about the life story of Young Pharaoh Ramses which was full of wars, love and betrayal. Although Ramses faced the crushing defeats, tragic victims in this fight, he endured all dangers and intrigues which his fate prepared for him and he could protect his people and his government.
References
- Dolinin, A.A. (1988). Istoriia, odetaia v roman: Valter Skott i eho chitateli [The story is dressed in novel: Walter Scott and his readers]. Moscow: Kniha [In Russian].
- Fleishman, A. (1971). The English historical novel: Walter Scott to Virginia Woolf. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
- Baldick, Ch. (1990). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford, New York: Oxford univ. press.
- Trelych, E. (1994). Istorizm i eho problemy [Historicism and its problem]. Moscow: Yurist [in Russian].
- Lukacs, G. (1965). Der Historische Roman. Neuwiel und Berlin: Luchterhand Verlang.