Why do novels usually focus on human experience?

A novel is defined as an invented prose narrative that deals imaginatively with human experience. Novels focus on this subject because they serve as a medium for exploring the complexities of human life, personality, and relationships. Unlike the epic poem, which often focuses on heroic or aristocratic subjects, the novel typically examines humans as unheroic, imperfect, or even absurd beings.123

This focus on human experience allows novels to function as portals to different lives, which can foster empathy and social-emotional development in readers by asking them to view the world through another person's eyes. Many novelists prioritize the "inner life"—the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of characters—over external action, as seen in the psychological novel.456

Ultimately, because humankind shares a common physiology and fundamental life patterns, literature—and the novel in particular—uses these constant materials of real experience to create unique, meaningful narratives that resonate with the reader's own understanding of life.78