When I was in college, this question popped up a lot of times and most professors didn't seem to have a good answer for it. And I was a literature major, mind you.
Deep down, I always knew literature was quite important, not only for me or for professors but for everybody. Eventually I had to come up with an answer to give my friends who studied engineering. As a matter of fact, people from "practical" fields such as engineers, doctors, lawyers could always make us, insecure English majors, feel useless.
It amazed me to find engineers who actually appreciate literature and understand its importance while at the same time I heard literature professors saying the subject they teach had no real importance whatsoever.
With time, I've learn to find a couple of answers to why we should all study literature or at least read books. (By the way, I'm an advocate of reading good books and not necessarily a lot of books.) But these answers always came from other writers or thinkers.
The other day as I was reading Jane Austen's Persuasion I could find a more personal answer. The characters in this book are much less lovable than in other books such as Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Bottom line: it's difficult - if not impossible - to like them.
There's this one character, Mary, who is just so full of herself. She is so proud and thinks she is so much better than everyone else. And it's not charming pride, like Mr. Darcy's. It is ugly, mediocre and harmful pride.
Now, it's difficult for me to say this but, I saw a little bit of my own thoughts and behaviour in Mary. However, this is Ok. Because I could see that since what Mary does is uncalled for, lame and selfish - if my actions are similar to hers, they are also uncalled for, lame and selfish. With literature, or at least with good literature, we can see what we do as it really is. It's a wake up call.
This self examination can be done through a lot of different ways, not only literature. But sometimes, even if we are confronted with our own mistakes, we still feel that we are right. It's very difficult to admit that we are wrong, or selfish, or proud.
Inside our own heads we can always come up with some sort of excuse or justification for acting the way we do. But once you see someone doing the same things you do, suddenly it's not so pretty anymore. There is no excuse for the way Mary acts.
It's a little shocking, but it can produce changes. And I mean, life altering changes.
It's a little shocking, but it can produce changes. And I mean, life altering changes.
To tell you the truth, I was quite happy to figure out a more personal explanation to the importance of literature. Maybe if our college professors fail to provide us with a good answer, it's up to us - literature students and lovers, or as my Semantics professor said "language people" - to answer why literature matters.
What about you? What does literature mean to you?
