The novel, of course, is an unequaled medium for the exploration of human social and emotional life.  There is evidence (Studies by Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada) that shows that just as the brain responds to depictions of smells and textures and movements while reading fiction as if they were the real thing, the brain also treats the interactions among fictional characters as something like real-life social encounters.  Perhaps that is why people, myself included, get so upset when their favorite fictional characters dies.