In this essay, I study the differences and similarities in the use of fantastic elements in Washington Irving’s short stories ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ (1820) and ‘Rip Van Winkle’ (1819) and James Hogg’s short stories ‘The Brownie of the Black Haggs‘ (1828), ‘The Mysterious Bride’ (1830) and ‘Seeking the Houdy’ (1830). Indeed, I strive to identify the differences and similarities related to the use of the fantastic by these two authors, studying it in relation to national character, didactic lessons and the Romantic tradition. By the means of a reading focused on the colonial and the national, I demonstrate the way in which these two authors’ take on the fantastical drastically differ and can be problematised in contemporary analysis.
The National Character and the Fantastical
In both Irving’s and Hogg’s short stories fantastical elements are used to create national character.
In Hogg’s stories, particularly, the link of Scottish culture is explicit; the fantastical elements are those of Scottish folklore. In his stories, there are creatures specific to Scottish folklore: for example, brownies (goblins) and fairies. Hogg’s choice to use fantastical elements specific for Scottish fairytales, then, makes the stories inherently Scottish. The use of Scottish English, especially in relation to the fantastical elements, as in ‘I kend then that I had either a witch or a mermaid ahint me’ (Hoggs 358) and ‘for hasna the deil, or the fairies, or the brownies, ta’en away our lady bodily’ (340), connects the story further to Scotland. These, then, are specifically Scottish stories happening to Scots characters speaking Scottish English. Furthermore, the setting highlights this yet further. Indeed, in ‘Seeking the Houdy’, all the places named are actual Scottish location (Irvine 354). Thus, the way the fantastical tales are related, who the characters are, and the setting of the stories all make them inherently Scottish. Furthermore, there is a Robert Burns quotation (344) and a reference to Sir Walter Scott (344) in ‘The Mysterious Bride’; and incorporating these authors that are considered emblems of Scottishness yet furthers the national connection. In this way, then, Hoggs seems to strive to celebrate Scottish tradition, reveling in the folklore of the nation.
In Irving’s stories, the relationship between the fantastical and the national is quite different. Here’, the use of fantastical is a portrayal of the Dutch settlers’ folklore. In the beginning of ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’ the town is described as follows:
‘Some say that the place was bewitched by a high German doctor, during the early days of the settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the prophet or wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. (Irving 292)
Thus, the mystic and the supernatural are connected to different nationalities – an element of mystery is created by the reference to a Native American ‘wizard’; after this, however, Native Americans are brushed aside. The narrator, furthermore, presents an alternative colonial origin for the mystic elements of the town: it might have been ‘bewitched’ by ‘a high German doctor’. This, the narrator settles in the ‘early days of settlement’, giving an impression of ancient origin, and legitimizing the colonial settlement as the beginning of an era, while mostly dismissing the native history. Here, worth noting is how the supernatural is explicitly tied to a colonial perspective; the chief is referred to as ‘Indian’, and the supernatural is historically contextualized as something that happened before the town was ‘discovered’. Thus, the supernatural is tied to that of colonial history, and indeed, it has been said that ‘the Colonial era is the birthplace of American horror’ (Davis).
Furthermore, the story focuses on the mythology of the Dutch settlers, and the narrator relates these to ‘the old Dutch wives’ (Irving 297) that tell stories of ‘marvelous tales of ghosts and goblins, and haunted fields, and haunted brooks, and haunted bridges, and haunted houses, and particularly of the headless horseman’ (297). Here, then, it becomes clear that the focus is on Dutch mythology, and that perhaps, the story is an attempt at highlighting or creating a new colonial history for the areas in which the Dutch have settled, rewriting the older native one. However, it seems to simultaneously mock it, as demonstrated later.
The protagonist of the story is Ichabod Crane from Connecticut (293). He, then, has a somewhat outsider’s perspective, but will nevertheless be influenced by the Dutch fantastic. Indeed, the picture is that of a British American falling victim to the Dutch superstitions that come alive in Sleepy Hollow. Rip van Winkle, however, is ascended from the Dutch settlers (34), but nevertheless, the reader is removed from the setting by use of an imbedded narrative; indeed, the story is framed in as follows:
The following Tale was found among the papers of the late Diedrich Knickerbocker, an old gentleman of New York, who was very curious in the Dutch history of the province, and the manners of the descendants from its primitive settlers. (33)
Thus, the Dutch people are presented as ancient, mythic and ‘primitive’. Similarly, in Sleepy Hollow, the protagonist is a ‘modern American’ settled in a ‘primitive’ community. Here, the history of the British colonizers, then, seems to be the norm, and the fantastical elements are tied to the ethical ‘other’ (in this case, the Dutch Americans). Indeed, one might establish a juxtaposition between the ‘rational Americans’ and the ‘primitive Dutch’, to which the supernatural is tied.
Here, then, we can establish the difference between the national portrayal in Hogg’s and Irving’s stories: in the former, the supernatural serves to celebrate Scottish culture, whereas in the latter, there is a certain element of ‘othering’ the Dutch settlers, and presenting them as less civilized than their British counterparts. Indeed, Irvin’s stories connect the fantastic to the ‘primitive other’, providing amusement to the British Americans and serving to establish a certain superiority to the Dutch Americans.
While the narrators in Hogg’s stories also distance themselves from the supernatural, it serves to communicate that he does not accept the stories as absolute truths; indeed, there are multiple instances in which the narrator reflects on the supernatural, as in ‘upon the whole, I scarcely believe the tale can be true’ (Hoggs 343), ‘what he was I do not know, and therefore will not pretend to say’ (340). This narrator, however, owns the stories as part of his heritage, i.e. by stating that he has heard it multiple times when young. This, then, is the difference between the two authors – Irving creates stories for British Americans, using Dutch (and, in passing, native American) mythology to amuse and establish a hierarchy, where Hoggs uses a similar narrative technique in order to relate and study his own heritage.
The Romantic and the Fantastical
Another means of the supernatural is to achieve an adventure element in all of the stories analysed, a typical feature in Romantic-era literature. Indeed, in ‘Rip van Winkle’ and ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, the protagonists are swept into an adventure by the means of the fantastic: in the former, by an element close to time-travel, and in the latter, an idea of the supernatural that leads into an escape. While neither of the stories provide a classical take of a hero conquering obstacles, both characters do survive the unusual setting into which the supernatural leads them. Rip van Winkle achieves the idle life he has dreamed of, whereas Ichabod Crane, after escaping what he believes to be the headless horseman, becomes an accomplished lawyer, journalist and a politician.
In Hogg’s short stories, the storyline correlates more of that of the Gothic than that of the Romantic – the heroes (or anti-heroes) of the stories often die at the end, as in ‘The Mysterious Bride’ and ‘The Brownie of the Black Haggs’, instead of conquering the obstacles. Nevertheless, the supernatural provides elements of adventure in these stories as well.
The Didactic: Absurd and Traditional Life Lessons
Folktales often serve a didactic purpose; i.e. cautionary tales include ‘a narrative that demonstrates the consequences of wrongdoing and thus reinforces moral and behavioral norms’ (Valk quoted in Haase 170). Irving’s stories seem to mock this trope, whereas Hogg’s stories employ it in a more traditional manner. Rip van Winkle, for example, is rewarded for his idleness; after magically sleeping for twenty years, he assumes the life he has always wanted: as an elderly person, he can enjoy a relaxed lifestyle, and as he has become a widow, his wife can no longer make him unhappy. Thus, the reward is an unusual one: old age and the death of his wife. In this way, Irving seems to use the fantastical elements in the story to give it a happy end. Similarly, Ichabod Crane flees his fellow suitor, is hit by a pumpkin, and in the end, prospers in his life. Irving’s stories, by first glance, seem to reward idleness (Millard) and cowardice, but taking into an account the rather elements of humour related to the fantastical elements, can perhaps be seen to challenge or satirise the didactic tradition of cautionary folktales. Indeed, it is Ichabod Crane’s belief in the supernatural that ultimately leads to his escape and him losing the possible marriage with the companion he desires.
In Hogg’s stories, the relationship between the didactic and the fantastical is a more traditional one: the hateful woman who mistreats the brownie is tortured to death (Hoggs 343), choosing the uncommonly beautiful mysterious lady (who is revealed to be a ghost in the end) instead of a good-hearted (if less attractive) woman as his wife leads a young man to his death (352-353). Thus, the didactic purpose of these stories is easy to determine. However, the narrator’s abovementioned reluctance to believe in the stories somewhat undermines the lessons. Perhaps this, then, serves to distance the reader from the supernatural, and see it as a metaphor rather than as a threat. However, the supernatural is also presented as an explanation to i.e. aggressive behavior (339) and an unhappy love affair (353).
Again, Hogg’s stories seem to honor the Scottish tradition while modernising its message, whereas Irving’s stories mock the tales associated with a ‘foreign other’. However, Irving’s take on the supernatural can be seen as an attempt to question the dramatic use of supernatural in Romantic-era fiction. Certainly, both authors aim to modernise their use of fantastic elements to make their stories suitable to the readers of their time: Irving makes light and aims to rationalise the assumed supernatural whereas Hoggs maintains the original didactic tradition of Scottish folklore but advises the reader not to necessarily take the supernatural elements of his stories literally.
To Conclude: A Post-Colonial Viewpoint
As demonstrated before, the fantastic serves many and varying purposes in Romantic-era literature. In Irving’s stories, the prevalent viewpoint is that of the British American and in Hogg’s stories that of a native Scotsman. These narrative perspectives, then, are explicitly connected to how the supernatural is related in the stories. In the former, the purpose seems to be to entertain the reader while simultaneously making light of and calling into question the folklore of the Dutch settlers, while nevertheless marking it as more relevant than Native American mythology. In Hogg’s case, the narrative is that of a Scottish person pondering and drawing from his national heritage. This, then, raises questions of othering in Irving’s stories; while the othering is directed to fellow colonisers, it is nevertheless suspicion of the ethnic ‘other’. However, this analysis does not contrast the two authors’ complete works, and thus, further analysis with more comprehensive material should be carried out in order to fully understand the differences between the use of the fantastic elements in the works of these two authors. Furthermore, it is worth noting that while this reading offers a post-colonial viewpoint on the fantastic, it is by no means exhaustive, and further study both on the colonial elements and different reading of the fantastical should be done.
Bibliography
Davis, Graeme. Colonial Horrors: Sleepy Hollow and Beyond. E-book, Pegasus Books, 2017.
Haase, Donald. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007.
Hogg, James. ‘Selected Short Fiction’. The Edinburgh Anthology of Scottish Literature Volume 1. Edited by Robert Irvine. Kennedy & Boyd, 2009, pp. 224-377.
Irving, Washington. The Sketch-Book. Edited by Susan Manning. Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford University Press, 2009.
Millard, Kenneth. ‘Washington Irving, American Romance and National Culture’ [lecture]. David Hume Tower. 13 Nov. 2019, University of Edinburgh.
