Public-domain classics · six sentences each
Classics in Six
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Method

How we read, and what the figures can’t tell you.

Every figure on this site is computed from the full public-domain text of the novel. Here is exactly how, and where the method falls short.

VADER sentiment · 40 slices for tone · 20 slices for names · Paragraph co-occurrence

  • 01The text.We download the plain-text edition from Project Gutenberg, strip the Gutenberg header and footer, and start at the first chapter (or the opening letters, for Frankenstein). Contents pages are removed; author-written front matter is kept only where it belongs to the novel.Step 1
  • 02The arc.We split the book into 40 slices of equal word count. Each sentence gets a VADER compound score from −1 to +1; a slice scores the average of its sentences. The line is a centered five-slice moving average.Step 2 · Figure 1
  • 03The names.For five central characters we list every name and title the book uses for them, then count whole-word matches in 20 equal slices. Ambiguous names are resolved by reading the passage, or left out.Step 3 · Figure 2
  • 04The network.For the eight most-named characters we count the paragraphs in which both of a pair are named. Each paragraph counts once per pair. We keep links seen in at least three paragraphs, at most the 15 strongest.Step 4 · Figure 3

Limits

Read the figures as clues, not verdicts.

Tone of the wording, not events

VADER scores words such as “happy”, “dreadful” and “not bad”. A calm description of a terrible event can score positive, and a polite quarrel can score higher than it feels. The arc shows how the language feels, slice by slice, not what happens.

Pronouns are not counted

We count names, not “he”, “she” or “I”. Narrators who tell their own story, such as Victor Frankenstein, Nick Carraway, Ishmael and Jane Eyre, look quieter than they are.

The nameless creature

Frankenstein's creature has no name, so we count the words others use for him: monster, fiend, dæmon, wretch and the creature. A few of those hits refer to something else; we list them in our working notes and accept the small error rather than guess.

A modern scorer, an old vocabulary

VADER was built for modern English, especially short social-media posts. Nineteenth-century words can carry different weight, and irony is invisible to it. We use it because it is open, transparent and the same for every book, so books can be compared fairly.

Slices are equal in words, not chapters

A slice can start mid-chapter. Labels such as “Ch 46” name the chapters a slice mostly covers.

Texts and names

Which edition, which names.

The exact texts we read, and every name and title we counted for each character.

BookGutenberg textWordsChaptersNote
Pride and Prejudice#1342121,85061
Frankenstein#4144571,87623The 1818 first edition text, not the 1831 revision
Jane Eyre#1260186,16338
Moby-Dick#2701209,384135Melville's Etymology and Extracts set aside
Dracula#345161,05727
The Great Gatsby#6431748,4029
Pride and Prejudice: names we counted
  • Elizabeth BennetElizabeth, Lizzy, Eliza, Miss Eliza, Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Miss Elizabeth
  • Mr DarcyDarcy, Mr. Darcy, Fitzwilliam Darcy
  • Jane BennetJane, Jane Bennet, Mrs. Bingley
  • Mr BingleyBingley, Mr. Bingley, Charles Bingley
  • Mr WickhamWickham, Mr. Wickham, George Wickham
Frankenstein: names we counted
  • Victor FrankensteinVictor, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, V. FRANKENSTEIN, VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN, VICTOR
  • The creaturemonster, fiend, Fiend, dæmon, the wretch, the creature, thy creature, my creature
  • ElizabethElizabeth, Elizabeth Lavenza, ELIZABETH LAVENZA
  • Henry ClervalClerval, Henry, Henry Clerval
  • Justine MoritzJustine, Justine Moritz
Jane Eyre: names we counted
  • Jane EyreJane, Jane Eyre, Miss Eyre, Eyre, Janet, Miss Jane, Jane Rochester
  • Mr RochesterRochester, Mr. Rochester, Edward, Edward Rochester, Edward Fairfax Rochester, Fairfax Rochester
  • St John RiversSt. John, St. John Rivers, Mr. Rivers, Mr. St. John
  • Mrs ReedMrs. Reed, Aunt Reed, aunt Reed
  • Helen BurnsHelen, Helen Burns, Burns
Moby-Dick: names we counted
  • Captain AhabAhab, Captain Ahab
  • QueequegQueequeg
  • StarbuckStarbuck, Mr. Starbuck
  • StubbStubb, Mr. Stubb
  • Moby DickMoby Dick, Moby-Dick, White Whale, white whale
Dracula: names we counted
  • Count DraculaDracula, Count Dracula, Count, Count de Ville
  • Abraham Van HelsingVan Helsing, Dr. Van Helsing, Abraham Van Helsing, Professor, Professor Van Helsing
  • Mina HarkerMina, Madam Mina, Mrs. Harker, Miss Murray, Mina Murray, Mina Harker, Wilhelmina
  • Jonathan HarkerJonathan, Harker, Mr. Harker, Jonathan Harker
  • Lucy WestenraLucy, Miss Lucy, Lucy Westenra, Miss Westenra
The Great Gatsby: names we counted
  • Jay GatsbyGatsby, Jay Gatsby, Mr. Gatsby, Jay, James Gatz, Gatz, Jimmy
  • Daisy BuchananDaisy, Daisy Buchanan, Daisy Fay, Mrs. Buchanan
  • Tom BuchananTom, Tom Buchanan, Buchanan, Mr. Buchanan
  • Nick CarrawayNick, Nick Carraway, Carraway, Mr. Carraway
  • Jordan BakerJordan, Jordan Baker, Miss Baker