The Way of All Flesh (1873-1884, this edition 2004) was published posthumously in 1903, and is regarded as the first 20th century novel – and one that has been continuously available in print. It is British author Samuel Butler’s semi-autobiographical account of life in Victorian England.
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) starts with the earliest memories of the narrator when he was five years old in 1807, and notices 80-year-old Ernest Pontifex. At the time of writing, the narrator is also 80 years old.
This is the story of the Pontifex family, spanning four generations, from grandfather Ernest to his great-grandchildren. On the death of Ernest’s wife at 84, Ernest, a man of tradition, ‘sent around a penny loaf to every inhabitant of the village according to custom … the loaf was called a dole.’ He died a year later at the age of 85, knowing in the morning that he would be dead by sunset.
Ernest’s son George – ‘rich, universally respected and of an excellent natural constitution’ – had five children. The narrator fell in love with the youngest child, Alethea. Mention is made of George’s five children and their children. Here the story focuses mainly on George’s child Theobald, his wife Christina, and their son Ernest. And so, full circle, this is the story of young Ernest Pontifex, and his relationship with his father.
Young Ernest is the narrator’s godson, whom the narrator calls his hero. In discussing Ernest’s early life, the narrator says, ‘And so matters went on till my hero was nearly fourteen years old … he belonged to a debatable class between the sub-reputable and the upper disreputable, with perhaps rather more leaning to the latter except so far as vices of meanness were concerned, from which he was fairly free.’
The narrator tells of young Ernest’s harsh upbringing by a cruel father, his education and hobbies, interests and influences, triumphs and failures, financial management, romances, and career aspirations as he moves from childhood into adulthood.
The narrator also mentions Alethea (Ernest’s aunt) – ‘considering how great her influence upon my hero’s destiny proved to be.’ She was a strong woman who had clear ideas about how to ‘make the rest of her life as happy as she could.’ She liked men, but not marriage. She wanted to be rich.
The narrator finishes with his summary of Ernest Pontifex. He says that the only bone of contention between old Ernest and his godson Young Ernest was Young Ernest’s writing, and his ‘stupid’ books: ‘I want him to write like other people, and not to offend so many of his readers; he says he can no more change his manner of writing than the colour of his hair.’
It often gets confusing about which Ernest is which, and keeping track of all the children. This story is about family heritage and legacy, the influence of the church, vice and virtue, societal expectations, and the appropriate actions of men and women ‘of character’ in society. Satirical in parts, historically interesting in other parts, with an easy-flowing style and depth of character development, I thoroughly enjoyed this book written over 100 years ago.
MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
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