这些作品中的想象力等同于同理心。我们无法体验其他人经历的一切，但是我们甚至可以理解小说中最可怕的人。一本好的小说是显示个人的复杂性，并为所有这些角色提供了足够的空间。这样，一部小说被称为民主，不是它提倡民主，但天生就是这样。同理心是核心的核心，就像许多其他伟大的小说 - 最大的罪恶是对他人的问题和痛苦视而不见。看不见他们意味着否认他们的存在。
(Imagination in these works is equated with empathy; we can't experience all that others have gone through, but we can understand even the most monstrous individuals in works of fiction. A good novel is one that shows the complexity of individuals, and creates enough space for all these characters to have a voice; in this way a novel is called democratic-not that it advocates democracy but that by nature it is so. Empathy lies at the heart of , like so many other great novels-the biggest sin is to be blind to others' problems and pains. Not seeing them means denying their existence.)