Michelle Glenn
Dr. White
LITR 5535
13 June 2002

The Prominence of Desire and Loss in Romantic Literature

            Romanticism is defined as “a sweeping but indispensable modern term applied to the profound shift in Western attitudes to art and human creativity that dominated much of European culture in the first half of the 19th century, and that has shaped most subsequent developments in literature--even those reacting against it” (Baldick).  Though the time period that American Romanticism spans is rather vast and many of the literary works that spark out of this movement are unique in themselves, various unifying elements are present in these texts that categorize them as Romantic works.  These elements, sometimes referred to as the “Romantic Spirit,” consist of principles such as idealism, rebellion, individualization, nostalgia, sublimity, and most importantly, desire and loss.  Because desire is generally the drive for Romance, desire and loss seems to be the foundation of American Romanticism.  In other words, each Romantic text contains some degree of desire and loss in it, with remnants of the other Romantic ideals.  Both the pattern and importance of desire and loss in Romantic texts can be recognized by examining Columbus’ letters entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage” and “Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage,” Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle,” and Edgar Allan Poe’s “Ligeia.”

            The pattern of desire and loss is perhaps the most prominent in the works of the Pre-Romantic writer, Christopher Columbus.  Columbus, under the ruling of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, is given permission to seek out “a commercially viable Atlantic route to Asia” (“Christopher Columbus” 11).  In doing so, he instead discovers the New World and is engulfed by a desire for it.  His letter to Luis de Santangel, “Regarding the First Voyage,” is written fresh upon his arrival to the New World.  Desire first presents itself in this letter by Columbus’ longing to conquer the land.  This can be seen as he states, “And there I found very many islands filled with people innumerable, and of them all I have taken possession for their highness, by proclamation made and with the royal standard unfurled, and no opposition was offered to me” (Columbus, “Luis” 12).  Certainly, it is noticeable that Columbus enjoys this conquering of the land, especially in the latter portion of the statement, as he seems to offer the information about having no opposition as a tribute to his own greatness.  Yet, his desire does not end here.  Despite his excitement over the discovery and naming of these islands, it is no longer enough for him, and desire for more land tugs at his heart.  Columbus, as if some land from afar is calling out to him, sends two of his men “inland to learn if there were a king or great cities” (Columbus, “Luis” 12).  When they return with no news of such a land, desire rears its head again.  Although he could have given up after their findings, Columbus decides not to do so.  Instead, he follows the island’s coastline eastward and discovers another island, which he names “Española” (Columbus, “Luis” 12).  Columbus views this island as the completeness of nature, meaning the total convergence of anything that people could hope for in their dreams.  He describes Española with an utmost longing or hunger for it.  This concept is illustrated when he says, “This island and all the others are very fertile to a limitless degree, and this island is extremely so.  In it there are many harbors on the coast of the sea, beyond comparison with others which I know in Christendom, and many rivers, good and large, which is marvelous” (Columbus, “Luis” 12).  The idea that the New World offers sights that are beyond comparison to anything that Columbus has seen at home is a very powerful one, at times, even encapsulating the reader into the dreamy state of desire that Columbus must be feeling for it.  This technique is accomplished by the Romantic language in the passage, such as the descriptions of the trees that “seem to touch the sky” and the palm that is “a wonder to behold” (Columbus, “Luis” 12).  Compared to that of the other islands, the description is rather long.  It is clear that Columbus is highly interested in everything that Española has to offer, and why would he not be?  The New World, with its “cultivatable lands,” “fruits in great diversity,” and “mines of metals” is perfect fulfillment to him (Columbus, “Luis” 13). 

            In a Romantic text, once a state of fulfillment has been achieved, what was once idealized can no longer be.  For this reason, various issues of loss often emerge.  In his second letter, “Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage,” the reader begins to see this phenomenon playing itself out in Columbus’ writing.  At this point in time, Columbus has lost everything, even the control that he once had.  Accordingly, loss is the topic of this letter.  The letter opens with Columbus writing, “Of Española, Paria, and the other lands, I never think without weeping.  I believed that their example would have been to the profit of others; on the contrary, they are in an exhausted state” (Columbus, “Ferdinand” 13).  America seemed to be fulfilling to him, but realism has deflated the Romanticism and Columbus has realized that the experience of America was not what he thought that it was going to be.  It appears that everything that was beautiful is now lost.  The reader no longer gets descriptions of the beauty and benefits that the New World has to offer.  Instead, he or she is presented with passages that depict the dark side of America.  Towards the end of his letter, Columbus writes, “Alone in my trouble, sick, in daily expectation of death, and encompassed about by a million savages, full of cruelty and our foes, and so separated from the holy Sacraments of Holy Church, my soul will be forgotten if it here leaves my body.  Weep for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice” (Columbus, “Ferdinand” 14).  The first letter, which ended stating that Española was “a marvel,” (Columbus, “Ferdinand” 13) showed Columbus’ true sense of satisfaction with the New World.  Much unlike this, the words at the end of this letter are quite harsh and they reek of despair and loss.  It is almost as if someone has removed his rose-colored glasses and Columbus is coming to terms with all that he has lost, including his honor and his perceptions of America as a Utopian society. 

            The reoccurring pattern of desire and loss in Romantic literature is also demonstrated by Washington Irving’s classic piece, “Rip Van Winkle.”  Though many people may be unfamiliar with this story, almost every person is familiar with its theme.  “Rip Van Winkle” is often described as being the story of America, as it discusses the issue of being born into one world and then growing up in another.  To tell this tale of desire and loss, Irving uses Rip Van Winkle, his main character.  Rip Van Winkle is described as “one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, which ever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound” (Irving 431).  Rip Van Winkle’s desire is idleness, a state that will allow him to enjoy the world to the fullest extent possible.  Yet, his wife is constantly nagging him to break his “habits of idleness,” (Irving 432) so much so that his whole persona is destroyed.  Rip Van Winkle becomes “at last reduced to despair; and his only alternative to escape from the labour of the farm and the clamour of his wife, [is] to take gun in hand, and stroll away into the woods” (Irving 432).  His desire now becomes the hope of getting away for a little while, a desire that he attains, to his utmost horror.

            After unconsciously strolling to a very high point of the mountain, Rip Van Winkle finds himself extremely fatigued and falls into a dreamy state of sleep.  Upon awakening, he notices the occurrence of several strange things.  This can be seen in the text that states, “As he approached the village, he met a number of people, but none that he knew, which somewhat surprised him, for he had thought himself acquainted with every one in the country round.  Their dress, too, was of a different fashion from that to which he was accustomed” (Irving 435).  At this point, Rip Van Winkle realizes that the physical aspects of the world have changed, even the dress of the people, which is often regarded as a staple of time progression.  Yet, it is not until later that he recognizes that everything about the world he was living in has changed.  This realization is evident in the text when the narrator comments, “There was, as usual, a crowd of folk about the door, but none that Rip recollected.  The very character of the people seemed changed.  There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility” (Irving 436).  Rip Van Winkle, the epitome of leisure, surely does not belong in this fast-paced world of change.  The once happy-hearted Rip Van Winkle has now lost the very world that he had once taken for granted.  He begins looking “in vain” (Irving 436) for people he is acquainted with and soon becomes nostalgic for all that he has lost.  The severity of Rip Van Winkle’s loss is described in detail, as the narrator states, “Rip’s heart died away, at the hearing of these sad changes in his home and friends, and finding himself thus alone in the world [ . . . ] he had no courage to ask after anymore friends, but cried out in despair, ‘does anybody here know Rip Van Winkle?’” (Irving 437).  Further along in the text, Rip Van Winkle appears to be suffering from a loss of his own person, or even his humanity.  Upon being questioned about who he is, “at his wit’s end,” he says, “I’m not myself- I’m somebody else- that’s me yonder- no that’s somebody else, got into my shoes- I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on the mountain, and they’ve changed my gun, and every thing’s changed, and I’m changed, and I can’t tell what’s my name, or who I am!” (Irving 437).  The reader begins to feel a sense of pity for Rip Van Winkle, hoping that something or someone will rescue him from the earth- shattering loss that he has just experienced.  This is, in fact, exactly what happens with the introduction of characters such as his daughter, son, and neighbor.  Yet, the pattern of desire and loss does not end here.  Rip Van Winkle’s story lives on in the community, as “not a man, woman, or child in the neighbourhood, but knew it by heart,” (Irving 439) and also in our society, through those individuals who have the privilege of reading it. 

            Another example of the desire and loss pattern present in American Romanticism can be seen when examining the work of Edgar Allan Poe, specifically the piece entitled “Ligeia.”  In this text, it is evident that the narrator has the utmost desire for Ligeia.  Though his memory constantly fails him, the narrator says that he will always remember one topic, “the person of Ligeia” (Poe 708).  The narrator’s memory of Ligeia is no coincidence, only a benefit of his strong desire for her.  Upon describing Ligeia, the narrator comments, “I examined the contour of the lofty and pale forehead-it was faultless-how cold indeed that word when applied to a majesty so divine!” (Poe 709).  Throughout the story, descriptions similar to this one, with such beauty and intensity, present themselves time and time again.  Interestingly, each description of Ligeia appears to be more intense, as if the simple task of talking about her is causing the narrator to recall his desire for Ligeia even more.  This concept is illustrated when the narrator is attempting to define his sentiment for Ligeia.  Though he cannot seem to define what he feels for her, the narrator explains, “I recognized it [the sentiment], let me repeat, sometimes in the commonest objects of the universe.  It has flashed upon me in the survey of a rapidly-growing vine- in the contemplation of a moth, a butterfly, a chrysalis, a stream of running water.  I have felt it in the ocean, in the falling of a meteor” (Poe 710).  Words are unable to describe his longing for Ligeia, and only acts of nature seem to suffice.   Her character is one of an “idealized nature,” (Poe 712) in that the narrator sees her as a living fulfillment of his every desire. 

            As is common in many of Poe’s stories, a character desires so much and never attains it.  This is the case with the narrator in “Ligeia” and his desire for a long and fulfilling life with Ligeia by his side.  After describing Ligeia to the reader, the narrator reveals that, “She died-and [he], crushed into the very dust with sorrow, could no longer endure the lonely desolation of [his] dwelling in the dim and decaying city by the Rhine” (Poe 712).  In these lines, the degree of his loss is apparent.  Yet, just as the language of desire in his descriptions of Ligeia became more noticeable with time, so too does the language of despair and loss in his discussing her death.  Further in the text, the narrator says,

After a few months, therefore, of weary and aimless wandering, I purchased, and put in some repair, an abbey, which I shall not name, in one of the wildest and least frequented portions of fair England.  The gloomy and dreary grandeur of the building, the almost savage aspect of the domain, the many melancholy and time-honored memories connected with both, had much in unison with the feelings of utter abandonment which had driven me into that remote and unsocial region of the country.” (Poe 712) 

  The images portrayed in this passage are no longer that of nature and beauty, as in those at the beginning of “Ligeia,” but rather, those of darkness and mourning.  The language is highly powerful, so dark that it even seems to step into the gothic realm.  At this point in the text, the reader simply cannot ignore the impact of his loss.  Perhaps, this is because the narrator’s language begins to exhibit correspondence, mirroring the loss that he is physically and emotionally undergoing. 

            Poe, being the magnificent writer that he is, does not allow his story to end here.  Instead, he puts the pattern of desire and loss into circulation once again.  After marrying a woman by the name of Rowena, the narrator finds himself desiring Ligeia once again.  This is evident as he says, “My memory flew back, (oh, with what intensity of regret!) to Ligeia, the beloved, the beautiful, the entombed” (Poe 714).  In the midst of his dreaming of Ligeia, Rowena becomes ill stricken and soon dies.  The narrator sits by Rowena’s deathbed, but can think of nothing but “a thousand memories of Ligeia” (Poe 715) because there has been an absence in his heart since the time of her death.  In thinking of Ligeia so much, the narrator begins to relive his loss.  This results in him hearing strange noises and seeing unexplainable events.  To his amazement, Rowena comes back to life!  When looking at her, he exclaims, “‘can I never-can I never be mistaken-these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes of the lady-of the lady Ligeia!’” (Poe 717).  His ultimate desire has been fulfilled, Ligeia has come back to him, and this is the reason that the story must now end. 

            Romanticism, though it encompasses many important ideals, seems to be largely defined by an inherent pattern of desire and loss.  Though a text does not have to exhibit this pattern in order to be considered to be Romantic, it is extremely difficult to find a Romantic work that does not address the issue of desire and loss on some level.  When examining the texts entitled “Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage,” “Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage,” “Rip Van Winkle,” and “Ligeia,” the pattern and crucial role that desire and loss plays in American Romanticism is quite evident. 

Works Cited

Baldick, Chris.  Romanticism.  1991.  Dept. of English, University of Georgia.  3 June 2002.  < http://www.english.uga.edu/~232/voc/romanticism.voc.html>. 

“Christopher Columbus, 1451- 1506.”  The Norton Anthology: American Literature.  Ed. Nina Baym.  Shorter 5th ed.  New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.  11.           

Columbus, Christopher.  “From Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage.”  The Norton Anthology: American Literature.  Ed. Nina Baym.  Shorter 5th ed.  New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.  13-14. 

- - - .  “From Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage.”  The Norton    Anthology: American Literature.  Ed. Nina Baym.  Shorter 5th ed.  New York: W. W.   Norton & Company, 1999.  11-13. 

Irving, Washington.  “Rip Van Winkle.”  The Norton Anthology: American Literature.  Ed. Nina Baym.  Shorter 5th ed.  New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.       428-40. 

Poe, Edgar Allan.  “Ligeia.”  The Norton Anthology: American Literature.  Ed. Nina Baym.    Shorter 5th ed.  New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.  708-17.