Note 30 — Chapter VI · Sinclair Lewis and the Average Man

The French philosopher and historian, M. Eugene Seillères, renewed entirely the study of romanticism in Europe by viewing it as what he calls l’impérialisme mystique, the imperialistic tendency toward individual supremacy. If we applied his definition to America, this country would stand as essentially unromantic, i.e., as the one which gives the individual the least chance for self-expansion beyond certain set limits. Hence the triumph of realism and middle-class standards in American literature. In the last fifteen or twenty years, on the other hand, the “revolt against the village” may well be interpreted as the sign of a new romantic upheaval among us, if we accept Mr. Seillères’ definitions.