Interestingly enough, the first thing that introduced me to Washington Irving's story was a play of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow performed by a local theatre. After coming out of an acting/improv class I was looking at the posters hanging on the wall outside the classroom when I saw one for a play called The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The poster had an eerie feel to it and I was intrigued. I then decided that I was going to go see it, and I did. I was amazed afterwards that the ending had surprised me and left me thinking. The performance of the actor, who had played Ichabod, would influence the way I perceived the character in the future. I related in a weird way to his version of Ichabod, and if he happens to be reading my blog post right now, I would like to thank him for introducing me to this story. I have kept the poster from that show to this very day, I have it in one of my old writing note-books as it brings back fond memories.
Afterwards, I decided I would check out the book. I read it once and I got the exact same feelings that I did from the play, and so I reread it and reread it over and over again...
Irving in writing this book combines a mixture of the Gothic and satire. There is no dialogue in the story, because it is told the way that a storyteller would tell a tale around a campfire, or even how a historian, who was not there to witness it, would have told it. At the beginning we are introduced to the character of Ichabod Crane and to Sleepy Hollow itself. The hollow is introduced in a mysterious way for it is haunted and something is causing the drowsy feeling that come over people when they enter it. The narrator even remarks "the place still continues under the sway of some witching power that holds a spell over the minds of the good people." (32) As for Ichabod's entrance it is a satirical one, which still manages to keep in tone with that of the gothic atmosphere and somehow doesn't feel out of place. Ichabod is unusual in appearance and "one might have mistaken him for a genius of famine descending upon the earth, or some scarecrow eloped from the cornfield." (35) The narrator then proceeds to insult Ichabod throughout the story, while also mentioning that he is the hero of a romantic tale.
The Gothic genre is often paired with the romance genre, because it has tragic heroes. For Ichabod that really isn't the case. He is tragic in a self-indulgent way, but not a tragic hero with any ties to a Byronic past.
In a very storyteller-like fashion we are introduced to the Headless Horseman (or the Galloping Hessian) who had his head knocked off by a canon ball. The Headless Horseman has often been portrayed in modern media as cutting off people's heads left and right. While we don't know that didn't happen to Ichabod, the townsfolk are never necessarily plagued by the fear that they might be next. Instead they live with the Horseman as a legend that is retold at parties. The story has its own eeriness, which is further embellished by the encounters some townsfolk say they have had with the Horseman, barely getting away with their lives.
| (Image from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headless_Horseman#/media/File:John_Quidor_-_The_Headless_Horseman_Pursuing_Ichabod_Crane_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg ) |
The Headless Horseman is believed to be based on a lot of different historical events and legends. One inspiration is believed to be the legend of the Irish Dullahan, about a headless horseman and sometimes even a headless horse. It is believed that "Irving took the concept of the Dullahan and added elements that would be more frightening for his target audience, Americans. Irving uses the name of an actual town in the United States and his villain is called the "Galloping Hessian"-- a reference to the real German soldiers hired by the British to fight in the Revolutionary War known for their extreme violence." -- Dr. Emily Zarka, The Original Headless Horseman. Many movie adaptations show the Horseman holding a pumpkin as he rides, but the original text doesn't mention this. Irving's Horseman won't slash your eyes out, but it does seem to have an uncanny resemblance to the Dullahan. As Irving wrote, "[Ichabod's] horror was more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on [the horseman's] shoulders was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle." (69) In Irving's story, a pumpkin is not seen until the end, when shards of a pumpkin are found sitting next to the schoolmaster's hat. It is also believed Irving was inspired by a battle from the Revolutionary War, for it is documented that there was indeed a Hessian who lost his head to a cannon ball. Roger Lucklurst wrote in his article that at "the Battle of White Plains, the British commanders sent forward their Hessian horsemen – merciless German mercenaries with a fearful reputation. On virtually the first cannon fusillade, one of these mercenaries had his head shot off. He was hastily buried in the churchyard of Sleepy Hollow, since the Dutch church had a feel of the homeland." - The Horror of the Headless Horseman. Because the readers of Irving's novella would understand and relate to this event in American history, this would add to their fear of the Horseman.
The last part of the book is even more interesting and mysterious to read, because of the additional elements of history and legend that Irving brings into his stories. Like a ghost story around the campfire, Irving leaves the end ambiguous. I often hear people express disappointment upon picking up this book, or even decide to turn away from it because the story might be gory or even brutal. However, what is scary about this book is where your imagination can take you, not what the Headless Horseman actually does to Ichabod, because we don't know, it is left unanswered. And it is perfectly deliciously spooky left that way. We don't need the Headless Horseman chopping off people's heads left and right in order for it to be scary. Not knowing what the Headless Horseman actually does is scarier, I mean they are so many possibilities. If we actually found out what happened to Ichabod, would the story still hold the same mysteries and even eeriness? I think not. Your imagination can do powerful things and Irving tapped into how it could be used to scare you. And the unknown, as we know very well at this moment, is very scary on its own, because you never known what will happen or what indeed has happened.
If we are going to focus on something else, rather than Ichabod's disappearance, we should focus on the satire of the story. The narrator is firmly not in favor of Ichabod, despite calling him a romantic hero for the story. The subplot while still managing to keep the eerie feeling of the hollow itself, does have a humorous take on the romantic side of things, if we are to call it that. The romance all and all is not taken very seriously by the narrator.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=50&offset=0&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1&search=the+legend+of+sleepy+hollow&advancedSearch-current=%7B%7D#/media/File:Washington_Irving's_Illustrations_of_the_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow,_Designed_and_Etched_by_F.O.C._Darley_for_the_Members_of_the_American_Art_Union,_1850_MET_MM89542.jpg)
For example, the main character has been named "Ichabod" which means "No Glory," perhaps foreshadowing what will happen to him in the future. The narrator delights in contrasting Ichabod's "quest" in wooing Katrina Van Tassel with the knights of yore and many romantic heroes. His "only study was how to gain the affections of the peerless daughter of Van Tassel. In this enterprise, however, he had more real difficulties than generally fell to the lot of knight-errant of Yore, who seldom had anything but giants, enchanters, fiery dragons, and suchlike easily conquered adversaries to contend with." (46) Ichabod has to deal with others issues which are of far less epic proportions (even if he views himself as an epic hero). One of which is Brom "Bones" and the fact that Brom likes to play tricks on Ichabod to sabotage any relationship he may have Katrina Van Tassel. And it isn't quite as fair a competition as one may think. Brom decides to play some immature and unfair tricks on Ichabod, such as training a dog to bark whenever Ichabod is teaching singing lessons, or stuffing up Ichabod's chimney in the schoolhouse causing the schoolhouse to be filled with smoke.
The satire comes out the most during the times when Ichabod and Brom are fighting over who has the right to Katrina's hand in marriage. She has a lot of money, and both of them would gain a lot in marrying her. However, even when it seems like Ichabod might win this battle of sorts, the narrator is taking the time to describe how badly Ichabod dances, "Ichabod prided himself upon his dancing as much as upon his vocal powers. Not a limb, not a fibre about him was idle; and to have seen his loosely hung frame in full motion, clattering about the room, you would have thought Saint Vitus himself, the blessed patron of dance, was figuring before you in person." (59) The narrator delights in making Ichabod take on the persona of a fool in situations where it seems Ichabod has gotten higher ground. Even when Ichabod wins, he never actually does.
| When Ichabod is not trying to woo Katrina he is often spending time with the women of the village talking about gossip and telling ghost stories. By doing this Irving brought the familiarness of the town to life. That the town is alive in not only the horrors of the night, but alive in the way that everyone in the town seems to know each other and delight in the gossip spread around, adds a richer atmosphere. Ichabod is never exactly free from gossip ever, and even when he vanishes he becomes firmly a part of the town gossip and is even turned into a ghost story in his own right. |
| (Image from wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichabod_Crane#/media/File:What_fearful_shapes_and_shadows_beset_his_path_-_The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow_(1899),_frontispiece_-_BL.jpg) |
I have often see portrayals of Ichabod where he is presented as silly and scared, scared enough that he doesn't even want to come across a ghost, but that is not the case. Always when people read ghost stories or listen to ghost stories there is a small part of them that actually want to come across this apparition to experience it. I must say he is not alone in that, because I sometimes imagine what it would be like to come across an apparition, and if it ever happened what I would do. While Ichabod is superstitious, a part of him also delights in the supernatural. During his walks home he half-expects to come across the Galloping Hessian upon his path. Ichabod would "look over his shoulder, lest he should some uncouth being trampling close behind him. And how often was he thrown into complete dismay by some rushing blast, howling amongst the trees, in the idea that it was the Galloping Hessian on one of his nightly scourings!" (41) And while he might have been frightened, he is interestingly frightened in a way that he desires to be scared by it, and perhaps have a new story to share with the townsfolk. When the Galloping Hessian isn't there, he is rather disappointed that it wasn't who he thought it was going to be.
Despite The Legend of Sleepy Hollow being written as a satire, where things tend to be over-exaggerated and sometimes too comical to seem real, I often felt like the characters are real people and not comical archetypes. Irving creates characters that show an interesting side of human nature. The complexity of the story, is perhaps why it is so hard to make a good film version of it. The novella lives between comical and realistic and is stuck firmly in between the two. Disney decided to go with the extremely satirical route in their animated movie, but it took the scare and atmosphere out of the story. Other versions have sometimes gotten it more balanced, but couldn't figure out how to keep the humor present while telling a ghost story.
Somehow The Legend of Sleepy Hollow manages to be in the middle between two genres and seemingly maintains the satire and humor, while also telling a story that is going to give you chills. Even during the scariest part of the book, Irving puts a bit of humor in. And I tend to notice that depending on how you read it, the atmosphere and the scary elements can be the most present or the satire can be, or it can even be a blend of both. It really depends how you read it. This is even why in writing this review I feel like I'm not deciding what part of the story I should focus on, because both the satire and the atmosphere of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are present in the story, it just depends on where you look.
My overall rating:
