Ory - Irving vs Rowlandson

The images of nature in Washington Irving’s stories as well as in Cooper’s The Pioneers offer a new perspective on the perception of wilderness following the Puritans. Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative portrays the woods and its inhabitants as savage creatures that represent the depraved nature of humans who have not been enlightened to God’s principles. Her emotions towards the  wilderness are ones of fear, pain, and disgust, and she describes her environment as “the vast and desolate wilderness.”  Rowlandson and the Puritans viewed the wilderness as a manifestation of hell itself, and though some elements of anxiety towards the wilderness can be found in Irving’s stories, the atmosphere as he describes offers a fascinating mystical viewpoint.

            Both Irving’s protagonists venture into the wilderness with animal companions and encounter supernatural or legendary beings during their passage through the forests. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the attitude towards the wilderness retains some of the Puritan sentiments, “From the listless repose of the place, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow. Some say that the place was bewitched during the early days of the Dutch settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson.” The Amerindian curse mentioned evokes Rowlandson’s encounters with her captors and echoes some of the fear that the Puritans harbored towards the forest and its native inhabitants. Though Ichabod Crane himself seems enchanted by the beauty and mystery of nature. “Around him nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance.”  Here, it becomes clear that the cultural notions surrounding the wilderness have changed in a positive way.  

Irving’s other protagonist, Rip Van Winkle, sees the forest as an escape from the wrath of his wife, and he enjoys venturing into the depths of the Catskills, described as “fairy mountains.” “Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair; and his only alternative, to escape from the labor of the farm and clamor of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods.”  In both stories, nature is seen as powerful though shrouded in mystery.

Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane do not leave the forest unscathed, rather they encounter frightening and unknown beings within the wilderness that significantly alter their lives, similar to Rowlandson’s encounter with the Amerindians. Rowlandson’s journey through the woods led her metaphorically towards God, while Crane, trying to evade the headless horseman, gallops towards the safety of the church. “An opening in the trees now cheered him with the hopes that the church bridge was at hand. He saw the whitewashed walls of the church dimly glaring under the trees beyond…’If I can but reach that bridge,’ thought Ichabod, ‘I am safe.’”

The fates of both Ichabod Crane and Rip Van Winkle demonstrate that a cautiousness towards the wilderness is still engrained in the psyche, though the stories myth-like tone add curiosity and allure to the forest. Though the mentality has moved away from the Puritans condemnation of the wilderness and its inhabitants, Irving’s stories still contain a lingering sense of danger that shrouds the wilderness in mystery.