Part 8 shows how novelists like Kafka and Tolstoi explored,
thanks to the novel, aspects of the human psyche decades before
science started looking them. They showed how our opinions vary
and evolve throughout our lives, and how at any one point, we try
to make the best decisions based on incomplete information. We
should be careful when judging the past with our 20/20
hindsight.
Part 9 deals with artists and their attempts to control their
legacy. Stravisnky and Janacek fought long and hard against those
who would make changes to their works, often removing the novelty
they had introduced. Kafka's efforts to nail down his legacy were
spoiled by his executor, who published anything and everything he
had ever written, including pieces Kafka thought were not ready,
like "The Trial". Proust talked about how novelists show a
different personality through their novels than that revealed in
their lives, so seeking to interpret the novel as a key to the
author's life is to miss the artistry.