ROMANTICISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE

WASHINGTON IRVING

1783-1859

Washington Irving is perhaps best known for his short stories, his most famous being “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip van Winkle”, but he was a prolific writer of essays, biographies, and other forms as well. He and James Fenimore Cooper were the first American writers to earn acclaim in Europe, and Irving is said to have mentored authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Edgar Allan Poe. He was the first romanticist in American literature. Irving has been called the father of the American short story.

Washington Irving was born in New York City as the youngest of 11 children. His father was a wealthy merchant, and his mother, an English woman, was the granddaughter of a clergyman. According to a story, George Washington met Irving, named after him, and gave his blessing. In the years to come Irving would write one of his greatest works, “THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON” (1855-59).

He studied privately law, but practiced only briefly. In 1802 he contributed to the “Morning Chronicle”, which was edited by his brother Peter. From 1804 to 1806 he travelled widely Europe. He visited Marseilles, Genoa, Sicily, where he saw the famous English naval officer, Nelson, and met Washington Allston, the painter, in Rome.

After return to the United States, Irving was engaged in business. He was a partner with his brothers in the family hardware[14] business, New York and Liverpool, England, and representative of the business in England until it collapsed in 1818. The same year Irving turned to literature as a profession.

Irving's success in social life and literature was shadowed by a personal tragedy. He was engaged to be married to Matilda Hoffmann who died at the age of seventeen, in 1809. Later he wrote in a private letter, addressed to Mrs. Forster, as an answer to her inquiry why he had not been married: "For years I could not talk on the subject of this hopeless regret; I could not even mention her name; but her image was continually before me, and I dreamt of her incessantly."

His most famous early success was in 1809 with the publication of “A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty”, which is the fictional history of the Knickerbocker family. Irving's success continued with “THE SKETCH BOOK OF GEOFFREY CRAYON, GENT.” (1819-20), a collection of stories, which allowed him to become a full-time writer. The stories were heavily influenced by the German folktales.

After the death of his mother, Irving decided to stay in Europe, where he remained for seventeen years from 1815 to 1832. He lived in Dresden (1822-23), London (1824) and Paris (1825). In England Irving had a romantic liaison[15] with Mary Shelley. Eventually he settled in Spain, where he worked for financial reasons for the U.S. Embassy in Madrid (1826-29). In 1829-32 Irving was a secretary to the American Legation under Martin Van Buren. During his stay in Spain, he wrote “COLUMBUS” (1828), “CONQUEST OF GRANADA” (1829), and “THE COMPANIONS OF COLUMBUS” (1831), all based on careful historical research. In 1829 he moved to London and published “ALHAMBRA” (1832), concerning the history and the legends of Moorish Spain.

In 1832 Irving returned to New York to an enthusiastic welcome as the first American author to have achieved international fame. He toured the southern and western United States and wrote “THE CAYON MISCELLANY” (1835) and “A TOUR OF THE PRAIRIES” (1835), an account of a journey, which extended from Fort Gibson, at that time a frontier post of the Far West, to the Cross Timbers in what is now Oklahoma.

From 1836 to 1842 Irving lived at Sunnyside manor house, Tarrytown-on-Hudson. Irving spent the last years of his life in Tarrytown except for his time serving as U.S. Ambassador to Spain (1842–46). From 1848 to 1859 he was President of Astor Library, later New York Public Library. Irving's later publications include “MAHOMET AND HIS SUCCESSORS” (1850), a careful presentation of the life, beliefs, and character of Mohammed, and his five-volume “The Life of George Washington”. Irving died in Tarrytown on November 28, 1859. Just before retiring for the night, the author had said: "Well, I must arrange my pillows for another weary night! If this could only end!" Irving's major works were published in 1860-61 in 21 volumes.

Irving’s achievements include:

1. Irving is the first belletrist in American literature, writing for pleasure at a time when writing was practical and for useful purposes.

2. He is the first American literary humorist.

3. He has written the first modern short stories.

4. He is the first to write history and biography as entertainment.

5. He introduced the nonfiction prose as a literary genre.

6. His use of the gothic looks forward to Poe.

CHECK YOUR KNOWLEDGE:

1. What family does Irving come from?

2. Where did Irving travel during his lie? How do these travels influence his life and writings?

3. What are Irving’s major works?

4. How is Irving considered an important 19^th century American storyteller?

"THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER" was first published in 1824 as part of Washington Irving's collection of short stories “Tales of a Traveller”. Gentleman Geoffrey Crayon, a fictional character created by the author, narrates the tale. He never refers to himself by name, however, but he states that the story has been a legend of the New England area for roughly a hundred years.

The story about an unpleasant man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for wealth is one of the works for which Irving is best remembered. Commonly referred to as a "comic New England Faust," the story bears many similarities to the German folktale of Faust, a man who trades his soul to the devil for a number of things, including love and money. Irving instills the tale with the moral ideals common to New England in the early nineteenth century. In an area settled by Quakers and Puritans, religious piety was of utmost importance to citizens, and the lesson of Tom Walker's ruin illustrated the sorrow that would befall unscrupulous sinners.

The plot

This story is based on an old German legend about a man who has sold his soul to the devil. Irving sets the scene in America in the neighbourhood of Boston. His story is about avarice and greed.

In a swamp near Boston, thickly overgrown with gloomy pines, Kidd, the pirate, buried a great amount of treasure. The devil who was always present at the hiding of money, took the treasure under his guardianship. Not far from the stamp there was a house in which there lived a fellow, of the name of Tom Walker. One evening on his way home through the treacherous[16] swamp, Tom came across a man sitting on a stump[17]. The man looked at Tom with large, red, evil eyes and asked Tom what he was doing on his grounds. Anyone would have been frightened at meeting the devil, out Tom had lived so long with his terrible wife, that he did not even fear the devil. They began to talk and in the course of conversation it became clear that the devil was a great patron of the slave dealers and the leader of churchmen when it came to persecuting “witches” and Quakers and members of other religious sects. The devil told Tom about Kidd’s buried money and promised to put it within Tom’s reach on certain conditions. In payment for the treasure Tom has to give his soul and has to increase the devil’s wealth as well. Tom begged leave to think the matter over. When he opened the secret to his wife, it awakened all her avarice and she made up her mind to speak to the devil herself. The woman never came back. Before taking her to hell, the devil must have had a tough time with her, because handfuls of hair had been plucked out of his body. Tom did not regret the loss of his wife. He even felt as if the devil had done him a kindness. He went to see him hoping to come to terms with him. At first devil wanted Tom to fit out a slave-ship. But Tom refused. Then the devil proposes he should become a money-lender. To this Tom did not object. Tom became a rich and mighty man. He built himself a house; he even set up a carriage, though he nearly starved the horses which drew it.

As Tom grew old he began to regret the bargain he had made with the devil and set to think how to cheat him. He became a violent church-goer. He always carried a small Bible in his coat pocket.

One day while one of his ruined debtors was begging Tom to put off the date for returning the money, they heard three loud knocks on the door. Tom was in his white morning gown and cap. He stepped to the door to see who was there. It was the devil in person. “Tom, you are come for”, he said. Tom shank back, but too late: he had forgotten his Bible. The devil whisked him on to the saddle of a horse and galloped away with him in the midst of a thunderstorm, carrying Tom’s soul to hell.

DISCUSSION:

1. Define the theme and the idea of the story.

2. Discuss the relationship between Tom Walker and his wife. Do you feel that they deserve each other? Do you feel that they both get what they deserve?

Writing option

It has been said that Tom Walker is a New England version of the Faust legend. Research the different versions of Faust and see whether or not the character of Tom Walker resembles Faust.

Irving also used other German folktales in his short stories, among them “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The story was probably based on a story by Karl Musäus (1735-1787), a German academic writer, who was among the first to collect local folktales. This story popularized the image of the headless horseman.

“THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW”

The valley known as Sleepy Hollow hides from the world in the high hills of New York State. A small river runs its clear water through the valley, and the only sound ever heard are those of a lost bird looking for its home in the hills.

There are many stories told about the quiet valley, but the story that people believe most is about a man who rides at night. The story says the man died many years ago during the American Revolutionary War. His head was shot off. And every night he rises from his burial place, jumps on his horse, and rides through the valley looking for his lost head.

Near Sleepy Hollow is a village called Tarry Town. It was settled many years ago by people from Holland. The village had a small school and one teacher named Ichabod Crane. Ichabod Crane was a good name for him because he looked like a crane. He was tall and thin like a crane bird. His shoulders were small, joined to long arms. His head was small, too, and flat on top. He had big ears, large glassy green eyes, and a long nose.

Ichabod did not make much money as a teacher. He was tall and thin, it is true, but he ate like a fat man. To help him pay for his food, he earned extra money teaching young people to sing. Every Sunday after church Ichabod taught singing.

Among the ladies Ichabod taught was one, Katrina Van Tassel. She was the only daughter of a rich Dutch farmer. She was a girl in bloom much like a round rosy-red apple. Ichabod had a soft and foolish heart for the ladies, and soon found himself interested in Miss Van Tassel.

Ichabod’s eyes opened wide when he saw the riches of Katrina’s farm – the miles of apple trees and wheat fields and hundreds of fat farm animals. He saw himself as master of the Van Tassel farm, with Katrina as his wife.

But there were many problems blocking the road to Katrina’s heart. One was a strong young man named Brom Van Brunt. Now Brom was a hero to all the young ladies. His shoulders were big, his back was wide and his hair was short and curly. He always won the horse races in Tarry Town and earned many prizes. Brom was never seen without a horse. Sometimes late at night Brom and his friends would rush through town, shouting loudly from the backs of their horses. Tired old ladies would awaken from their sleep and say, “aye, there goes Brom Van Brunt, leading his wild group again.”

Such was the enemy Ichabod had to defeat for Katrina’s heart. Stronger and wiser men would not have tried, but Ichabod had a plan. He could not fight his enemy in the open, so he did it silently and secretly. He made many visits to Katrina’s farm and made her think he was helping her to sing better. Time passed, and the town people thought Ichabod was winning. Brom’s horse was never seen at Katrina’s house on Sunday nights any more.

One day in autumn, Ichabod was asked to come to a big party at the Van Tassel home. He dressed in his best clothes, and a farmer loaned him an old horse for the long trip to the party. The house was filled with farmers and their wives, red-faced daughters and clean-washed sons. The tables were filled with different things to eat, and wine filled many glasses.

Brom Van Brunt rode to the party on his fastest horse called Daredevil. And all the young ladies smiled happily when they saw him. Soon music filled the rooms, and everyone began to dance and sing. Ichabod was happy, dancing with Katrina as Brom looked at them with a jealous heart.

The night passed, the music stopped, and the young people sat together to tell stories about the Revolutionary War. Soon stories about Sleepy Hollow were told. The most feared story was about the horse rider looking for his lost head. One farmer told how he raced the headless horseman. He ran his horse faster and faster, and the horseman followed over bush and stone until they came to the end of the valley. There the horseman suddenly stopped. Gone were his clothes and his skin. And all that was left was a man with white bones shining in the moonlight.

Stories ended, and the time came to leave the party. Ichabod seemed very happy until he said good night to Katrina. Did she end their romance? He left feeling very sad. Had Katrina been seeing Ichabod just to make Brom Van Brunt jealous and marry her?

Well, Ichabod began his long ride home on the hills that surround Tarry Town. He had never felt so lonely in his life. He began to whistle as he came close to the tree where a man had been killed years ago by rebels. He thought he saw something white move in the tree, but no – it was only the moonlight shining and moving on the tree.

Then he heard a noise. His body shook and he kicked his horse faster. The old horse tried to run, but almost fell in the river instead. Ichabod hit the horse again. The horse ran fast – then suddenly stopped, almost throwing Ichabod forward to the earth. There in the dark woods on the side of the river where the bushes grow low stood an ugly thing, big and black.

It did not move but seemed ready to jump like a giant monster. Ichabod’s hair stood straight up. It was too late to run, and in his fear he did the only thing he could – his shaking voice broke the silent valley: “Who are you?” the thing did not answer.

Ichabod’s horse began to move forward. The black thing began to move alongside of Ichabod’s horse in the dark. Ichabod felt his heart sink. Up a hill they moved, above the shadow of the trees.

For a moment the moon shone down, and to Ichabod’s horror he saw it was a horse and it had a rider. But the rider'’ head was not on his back -–it was in front of the rider, resting on the horse.

Ichabod kicked and hit his old horse with all his power. Up ahead was the old church bridge, where the headless horseman stops and returns to his burial place. He kicked his horse again. The horse jumped onto the bridge and raced over it like the sound of thunder.

Ichabod looked back to see if the headless man had stopped. He saw the man pick up his head and throw it with a powerful force. The head hit Ichabod in the face and knocked him off his horse to the dirt below.

They found Ichabod’s horse the next day, peacefully eating grass. They could not find Ichabod. They even found Ichabod’s hat in the dust near the bridge. The only other thing they found was lying near Ichabod’s hat. It was the broken pieces of a round orange pumpkin.

The town people talked about Ichabod for many weeks. They remembered the frightening stories of the valley, and finally came to believe that the headless horseman had carried Ichabod away. Much later and old farmer returned from a visit to New York City. He said he was sure he saw Ichabod there. He thought Ichabod silently left Sleepy Hollow because he had lost Katrina.

As for Katrina, her mother and father gave her a big wedding to marry Brom Van Brunt. Many people who went to the wedding saw that Brom smiled whenever Ichabod’s name was spoken. And they wondered why he laughed out loud when anyone talked about the broken pumpkin found lying near Ichabod’s old dusty hat.

VOCABULARY:

hollow – a valley jealous – envious in love

crane – tall wading bird with long legs and neck. to race – run after quickly

glassy – dull gone – disappeared

in bloom – state of flowering romance – love affair

to have a soft and foolish heart for – feel attraction to to kick – hit with the foot

somebody alongside – near

to rush – to run very quickly to rest on – to lie on

to loan – to lend to knock off – to knock down

daredevil – daring person disregarding the pumpkin – large rounded yellow or orange fruit

consequences or danger cooked as a vegetable

COMPREHENSION AND DISCUSSION:

1. According to the narrator, what makes Sleepy Hollow and its inhabitants unusual?

2. Why is Crane a suitable name for Sleepy Hollow’s schoolmaster?

3. How do the schoolmaster and his rival differ?

4. How were schoolmates like Crane paid, fed and housed at the time of this story? How do these factors relate to Crane’s interest in Katrina Van Tassel?

5. Who is Brom Van Brunt? Describe his appearance and personality using words from the story.

6. Name and describe the horses that Crane and Brom Brunt ride to the Van Tassel party.

7. Why is Crane upset when he leaves the party?

8. What news does an old farmer bring home from New York after Crane’s disappearance?

9. In your opinion, is the trick that Brom Van Brunt plays on Ichabod Crane cruel and unjustified? Or do you think Crane deserved what happened to him in some ways?

10. After his encounter with the horseman, Ichabod Crane leaves Sleepy Hollow. In your opinion, is the kind of humiliation Crane suffered sufficient reason to run away? What advice would you have given him?

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THE STORIES:

1. How do the legends make you feel? Scared? Angry? Happy?
2. What does the legend tell you about America?
3. Which characters in the legends were the most important? Most familiar?
4. Why would these legends be of interest to many people?

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1761