Introduction
The literary works of American authors of the nineteenth century are focused on the description of morality as it is understood by them, and Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne are no exceptions to the rule. In their respective pieces, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Scarlet Letter,” Irving and Hawthorne reflect on the events from this perspective, and it leads to the similarity of values incorporated in their narratives. Therefore, despite the general differences in themes, these two examples can be viewed as stories, which are intended to communicate about the same spheres of human life. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Scarlet Letter” discuss human nature and contrast right and wrong, religion and science, and artificiality and naturalness as principal values conveyed by their authors.
Human Nature
The principal characteristic of the two stories is their orientation on describing events from the point of view of human nature, which controls all deeds of the characters. In other words, this aspect is considered something unchangeable and solid, which one can hardly affect. Thus, in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the main character, Ichabod Crane, is portrayed as a selfish and greedy man. This representation is contrasted by his alleged virtue confirmed by inhabitants of the village who believe he is intelligent since he was viewed as “inferior in learning only to the parson” (Irving, 1987, p. 13). Meanwhile, the true nature of Ichabod remains unrevealed to them, whereas the reader clearly sees his motivation in courting Katrina (Irving, 1987). This circumstance implies that this character’s conflict is in the seemingly good reputation and actual needs. In this way, the respectable looks are opposed by inherent vice, and the latter explicitly describes his values or, in this case, the lack of thereof. This specificity of the story is typical for Hawthorne, too, since his depiction of human nature is not much different from that of Irving.
Hence, in “The Scarlet Letter,” this aspect is demonstrated by the contrast between people’s natural instincts, which are positive for their prosperous living, and their flaws. These two notions are interrelated in the novel since they are used to reflect on the propensity to sin and the need to fit in society. In this situation, the similarity of “The Scarlet Letter” with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is in the presence of selfish desires in Roger Chillingworth, who does not take into account the feelings of Hester (Hawthorne, 1991). For him, revenge is the only option because he solely cares about himself in the way Ichabod thinks only about his personal benefits of marrying Katrina. From this perspective, the intention of Chillingworth to “dug into the poor clergyman’s heart, like a miner searching for gold” demonstrates the conflict between his seemingly good reputation and his true nature (Hawthorne, 1991, p. 109). Throughout the narrative, he is trying to pretend to be a good man while, in fact, being full of hatred, not love. Thus, the two works incorporate the proper values and their distortion with regard to imaginary virtue.
Right and Wrong
The notions deriving from the discussion of human nature are the perceived right and wrong, which are also included in both stories. Thus, in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” they are seen in the behavior of Ichabod Crane at the end of the narrative. After meeting what he believed to be the headless horseman from the village legends, which he loved, the man disappears and does not even bother to gather his belongings after falling off his horse (Irving, 1987). This scene shows the difference between the expected conduct of an allegedly smart school teacher and his actual deeds, which are far from adequate to the situation. From this point of view, “the bundle which contained all his worldly effect” found in the forest serves as the proof of Ichabod’s cowardice (Irving, 1987, p. 64). In this way, the illusionary perception of the man’s bravery was destroyed. In other words, right and wrong are distinguished by people’s opinions about a person and his actual characteristics, which do not correspond to them.
Similarly, in “The Scarlet Letter,” these two concepts are examined through the lens of decisions made by the characters. One of the people who displayed cowardice as Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s inability to admit his sins of adultery. When he faces the situation in which he either has to confess to them or avoid confrontation with the community and keep his relationship with Hester secret, he chooses the latter (Hawthorne, 1991). By doing so, he makes a mistake and betrays himself and his dignity as a man.
In contrast to him, Hester does not hesitate when the people around her judge her behavior and refuses to say who the father of her daughter is. She thereby demonstrates the “wondrous strength and generosity of a woman’s heart” (Hawthorne, 1991, p. 68). Furthermore, this occasion significantly affects the continuous suffering of Dimmesdale, which seems more severe than that of Hester (Hawthorne, 1991). In this case, the actions of the woman are opposed to the Reverend’s conduct, and they highlight the difference between right and wrong. As in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” it is also connected to the need for people to be brave and decisive in life and keep their dignity rather than remain unhappy in deception.
Religion and Science
The following combination of values incorporated in both stories is the conflict between religion and science. In other words, it is the contrast between well-informed opinions based on evidence and blind faith in phenomena, which cannot be empirically proved. In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the latter is demonstrated by Ichabod’s belief and strong interest in mysterious events and stories about ghosts (Irving, 1987). In turn, the former is in the rationality of Brom Bones, another suitor of Katrina (Irving, 1987). The two men are the examples of these stances, and their perpetual confrontation in life seems inevitable. Thus, the propensity of Ichabod to believe in supernatural occasions makes him more vulnerable than his rival, who manages to scare him away from the village (Irving, 1987). The mystery fades, and even the disappearance of the teacher is subsequently explained by “an old farmer, who had been down to New York on a visit” and found the man there (Irving, 1987, p. 67). This ending implies the victory of science over superstitions, which cannot survive a close examination.
The values represented by these two extremes are also incorporated in “The Scarlet Letter” and, more specifically, in its main characters. For instance, Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is the man associated with a scientific approach to life because he is intelligent and “acquainted with the medical science” (Hawthorne, 1991, p. 101). This description indicates his practicality, and the fact that he traveled to America not because of his religious convictions but for work confirms this stance (Hawthorne, 1991). On the contrary, Reverend Dimmesdale is a person of religion, and this circumstance allows setting him against Chillingworth (Hawthorne, 1991). Hence, the presence of people from the two mentioned fields in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Scarlet Letter” adds to the list of incorporated values in these stories. In fact, they support the ongoing debate regarding the methods of cognition, and the failure of people to find a compromise in this respect is transmitted to literary works of the period.
Artificiality and Naturalness
The final combination of values shared by the two authors is represented by the attention to the theme of artificiality and naturalness. To put it another way, these values are attributed to the varying environments, and the world created by people is opposed to the rules of nature. In “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” this conflict is described by Ichabod’s attitudes toward nature, which he sees as an abundant source of food, and the villagers’ views of it as rich farming land, birds, and animals (Irving, 1987). Thus, Ichabod’s relationship with it can be described as poor since he thinks not about its beauty but solely about personal benefits, which, in his perception, he can receive by marrying Katrina (Irving, 1987). In turn, others do not support this perspective and perceive the natural surroundings from an aesthetic point of view (Irving, 1987). The outcomes of these two stances are clear since the one of Ichabod leads to the complete failure of his plans.
Meanwhile, the same dominance of nature over artificiality is included in “The Scarlet Letter,” but it relates more to societal rules and natural desires. In the book, Hester tries to convince Reverend Dimmesdale to leave the town because she sees it as a temporary phenomenon, whereas her love is eternal (Hawthorne, 1991). In this way, she claims that the rules of their community do not correlate with nature and, therefore, are artificial and unreasonable. However, Dimmesdale’s opinion is quite the opposite, as can be seen from the attempts to conceal his sins and act like a respectable man (Hawthorne, 1991). It means that the two characters are opposed to each other in the matter of naturalness and artificiality in the way Ichabod and the villagers face conflict in this regard. Therefore, both stories reflect on this aspect of human life and people’s place in the world while emphasizing the dominant importance of nature over society.
Conclusion
To summarize, both Hawthorne and Irving, despite the use of varying themes in their literary works, discuss similar values. First, they refer to human nature as a source of vice, which is opposed to people’s reputable looks and deeds. Second, the authors present their perspectives on right and wrong while the former is courage and the latter is cowardice in making decisions in life with positive and adverse outcomes, respectively. Third, the conflict between religion and science is an integral part of their stories, whereas the latter seems more credible. Fourth, naturalness and artificiality are seen in human desires and societal limitations. Thus, it can be concluded that Hawthorne and Irving have a number of shared values.
References
Irving, W. (1987). The legend of Sleepy Hollow. Aerie Books, Ltd.
Hawthorne, N. (1991). The scarlet letter. (R. C. Murfin, Ed.). Macmillan Education.