But if we rule the commitment of presenting the truth of reality higher than the feelings and pleasures of the audience, the value of aesthetic perfection and escapism, then many, what most people consider, great works of art would lose their groundwork for this categorization. Sometimes sentimentalists may want to evoke certain emotions, maintain an illusion and thus entertain highlighted thoughts about an object or a time. It may be true that through idealizing this time a false reality is created and sentimentalists seek consolation by believing these false realities. But these idealizations serve to evoke feelings of greatness and longing, and thus enable the reader to feel the grief and despair at the loss of it with the female protagonist. In describing this time with a sense of longing and nostalgia out of Scarlett O’Hara’s view, Mitchell idealizes this home and the time of slavery and oppression for a part of the population of the United States. Margaret Mitchells work “ Gone with the wind “ takes the reader to the lost era of southern grandeur, plantations and grand festivities. Adler once said: “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” This raises the question if purely descriptive, real and “true” writing can evoke such deep feelings in the reader or if highlighting features in fictional representations and thus creating another “sentimental” reality is what makes writing a great piece of art. Sentimentality - Illusion or inspiration?
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