Assignment 4
What do you think a reader is to take away from The Man of Feeling? Does Mackenzie
mean Harley to be a model for the reader’s emotional engagement with the text? Do you
admire Harley? Or do you consider him foolish? Is it possible for us as readers today to
“feel” along with Harley?
MacKenzie’s The Man of Feeling like Stern’s A Sentimental Journey was a particular
difficult read, at least for me. The novel is a series of fragmented episodes of the life of
Harley. In each episode, Harley encounters beggars, prostitutes and helps them in any way
he can. The lack of structure of the story makes it particularly difficult to follow and I
continuously found myself disengaged and having to go back and re-read much of the
short novel.
Harley is certainly an admirable character, unlike any other heroes one encounters in this
century. Harley is a charitable being, one who feels for the sufferings of others and truly
helps them . Harley is modest and magnanimous. Harley’s humility is understandable. He
was an orphaned child who grew up without constraints and an unregulated education.
Harley, for me, was a bit of a Romantic. For a 21st century reader, however, there is little
one can take away from The Man of Feeling. I certainly did not “ feel” along with Harley