Kimberly Jones
Literature 5535: "American Romanticism"
Dr. Craig White
Fall 2000

The Gothic Genre in the Texts of Mary Rowlandson, Washington Irving, and James Fenimore Cooper

Romantic literature embodies a multitude of characteristics that evoke feeling and emotion by focusing on aspects such as nature, imagination, and the idealistic notions of the individual. The aesthetic attributes exhibited in Romantic literature tend to emphasize the abstract, subconscious, and supernatural, as opposed to the concrete and realistic. Often complementing Romantic literature, the Gothic genre consists of texts that seem to affect the senses and surround one with an air of mysticism, which is accomplished through techniques such as dark settings that serve as a canvas for allusions to hauntings and supernatural occurrences. The dark, eerie atmosphere also supports the notion of hidden pasts and secrets. While a sense of melancholy is threaded throughout the Gothic genre, a balance seems to be created by the use of contrast. The juxtaposition of light and dark as well as good and evil serves a dramatic effect, and these values are interspersed throughout texts that can be classified as possessing Gothic characteristics. These dichotomies are discerned in pre-Romantic authors such as Mary Rowlandson and Washington Irving, who both focus on the Gothic setting of the wilderness or forest. The Gothic elements exhibited in Mary Rowlandson’s A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mary Rowlandson and Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleep Hollow are also evident in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans. The contrasts and haunting elements presented in the pre-Romantic works of Rowlandson and Irving are further developed by Cooper as he presents contradictions and melancholy aspects against the backdrop of the dark, Gothic forest.

The actual capture of Mary Rowlandson that is depicted in her narrative is a horrifying, terror-ridden experience, which is the ideal foundation for the Gothic genre. Following her seizure by the Indians, she notes that "this was the dolefulest night that ever my eyes saw. On the roaring, and singing, which made the place a lively resemblance of hell" (Rowlandson 150). Rowlandson establishes in the beginning of the text that her view of her captors is one of fear and disgust. In her eyes, the Indians are demonic creatures that do not even maintain any semblance of being human. By doing so, she is painting an image of entities from another realm than that of which the conscious mind is aware. Rowlandson consistently refers to the Indians as barbarous and savage beings. She states, "Then they set me upon a horse with my wounded child in my lap, and there being no furniture upon the horse’s back, as we were going down a steep hill we both fell over the horse’s head, and they, like inhumane creatures, laughed, and rejoiced to see it" (Rowlandson 157). Rowlandson has established the Indians as mysterious beasts that serve as the antithesis to her religious values.

Throughout Rowlandson’s narrative, there is a clear placement of spiritual and religious practices to contrast the actions of the "savage" Indians. Rowlandson reflects on the fact that "it is a solemn sight to see Christians lying in their blood, some here, and some there, like a company of sheep torn by wolves, all of them stripped naked by a company of hell-hounds, roaring, singing, ranting, and insulting as if they would have torn our very hearts out" (Rowlandson 150). Through the preceding statement, Rowlandson clearly depicts a line between good and evil where the white, Christian settlers represent what is "good". She is contrasting the civilized, religious man against the uncivilized, barbaric Indian, which is a theme that is also developed in The Last of the Mohicans. The contrast of light and dark can also be identified through the actual structure of the text. The beginning pages of the narrative are inundated with dark, horrific images, while the final pages exhibit the idea of freedom and enlightenment. Rowlandson states in her conclusion, "O the wonderful power of God that I have seen, and the experience that I have had" (Rowlandson 160). Despite the fact that she views her experience as being in the midst of "roaring lions and savage bears", she is awakened to the fact that "not one of the Indians offered the least abuse of unchastity, in word of actions" (Rowlandson 160). There is a sense of an emergence from the darkness of her captivity in the wilderness into somewhat of a spiritual light.

A more exaggerated play on contrast and the wilderness in the Gothic genre is found in Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The notion of dark versus light is introduced in the text when the narrator expands on a hunting escapade in the forest and states, "I had wandered into it at noon time, when all nature is peculiarly quiet, and was startled by the roar of my own gun." This statement foreshadows the advent of an element or entity that is going to disrupt the "drowsy, dreamy" atmosphere of Sleepy Hollow (Irving 910). While Rowlandson depicts the Indians as demonic beasts, there is still awareness on the part of the reader of the reality of her situation in regard to the fact that she has been captured. However, Irving immediately creates an atmosphere that only exists on an imaginary level, which proves to be successful in developing a text that is reminiscent of the Gothic genre.

The notion of haunted woods is quickly portrayed in the text, which creates a sense of apprehension regarding the fact that a being from another realm is more than likely going to be a relevant aspect of the text. This entity is alluded to when the narrator states, "The dominant spirit that haunts the enchanted region, and seems to be commander of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head" (Irving 910). The mentioning of the existence of a supernatural being is immediately followed by a lengthy description of Ichabod Crane. Again, the idea of good versus evil is depicted through the fact that Ichabod Crane is presented as a psalmist whose "voice resounded far above all the rest of the congregation" (Irving 912). The text adheres to the Gothic genre by having Ichabod Crane, the religious psalmist, face a being not from this world. It is even stated in the text that Ichabod sings psalms to "drive away evil spirits" (Irving 912). Toward the end of the story, when Ichabod is about to come upon the supposed headless horseman, a passage occurs, in which a tree is described as "gnarled and fantastic", which serves as a good example of Gothic language. Also, as Ichabod Crane walks through the forest, "the night became darker and darker; the stars seemed to sink deeper in the sky" (Irving 925). There is an allusion in this text that is similar to the Rowlandson text in regard to the fact that the idea of light and religion are connected. When Ichabod Crane is fleeing from his pursuer, "an opening in the trees now cheered him with the hopes that the Church Bridge was at hand" (Irving 925). Up to this point, Ichabod has nearly succumbed to the gloom and darkness, yet the Church Bridge provides a moment of solace. Even though it was folklore that a ghost is unable to cross water, the naming of the bridge as "The Church Bridge" seems to be a religious reference.

While Ichabod Crane is trying to escape from a ghostly apparition that he believes to be from another realm, Cooper’s depicted demons are certain Indians, which are the same beings as those portrayed by Rowlandson. Yet, Cooper takes contrasting good and evil to a level not reached by either Irving or Rowlandson. Instead of focusing on all Indians as savages, Cooper creates a good and evil comparison between the Iroquois, Delawares and Hurons. Hawkeye describes the Hurons as "a thievish race" (Cooper 37). Of course, Magua, the villainous Huron depicted in the text, furthers the accepted notion of the Indians through his cunning actions. However, one of the most vivid depictions of the Indians as demons is during the violent scene when one of the Indians kills an infant of one of the women at the fort. "The savage spurned the worthless rags, and perceiving that the shawl had already become a prize to another, his bantering, his sullen smile, changing to a gleam of ferocity, he dashed the head of the infant against a rock" (Cooper 175). Yet, Chingachgook and Uncas are presented as noble beings who are respected by Alice, Cora, Heyward, and David who, in the beginning, believe all Indians to be responsible for "cruel murders and terrific scenes of torture" (Cooper 53). In The Last of the Mohicans, the Indians, often referred to as savages and demons, serve as the supernatural aspect that aids in assigning the text as part of the Gothic genre. Despite the fact that Chingachgook and Uncas are portrayed as courageous and trustworthy individuals, Cooper still creates the platform for the idea of the savage, dark, uncivilized Indian against the white, Christian, civilized man. Of course, in the tradition of the Gothic genre, this is played out in a wilderness setting that presents itself in multiple passages. One passage in particular states, "The sun had now fallen low towards the distant mountains, and as their journey lay through the interminable forest, the heat was no longer oppressive" (Cooper 124). Cooper uses the idea of shadows in the text, which serves to accentuate the idea of light and dark. For example, there is an instance where Alice moves "from the shadow of a building into the light of the moon" (Cooper 130). In the same vein that Cooper’s text can be related to Rowlandson’s in regard to depicting Indians as savages, Cooper and Irving both depict the idea of a haunted past.

Alice and Cora are presented in the manner of a dark lady and fair lady scenario. Alice is consistently referenced as the "fair one", while Cora is described as a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman. It seems fitting that she is harboring a secret regarding her heritage, which surrounds the fact that she is of a mixed racial background. True to the Gothic genre, there is something melancholy about Cora’s character from the beginning pages of the text.< Even though character development is not a focus of the novel, it can still be discerned that something is not being revealed about Cora’s past, even before the fact that she is descended from "that unfortunate class, who are so basely enslaved" is revealed (Cooper 159). Cora consistently deviates from the typical feminine sensibilities depicted in nineteenth century novels, which leads the reader to believe that her independence, strength, and the fact that the author gives her a voice serve to differentiate her from her "fair" sister.

Even though Rowlandson and Irving eloquently depict the dark, gloomy backgrounds typical in the Gothic genre, Cooper is successful in taking the wilderness atmosphere and incorporating the contrast between good and evil among men as opposed to the idea of man versus the spiritual realm. The Indians are still portrayed as fierce, savage demons; however, there is a more humane side of the Indians that is also exhibited through Chingachgook and Uncas. Nevertheless, there is never a moment in the text that the reader does not feel the heavy weight of the wilderness that almost seems to swallow, engulf, and oppress the characters at times through the description by Cooper of its density. At the same time the "dark and powerful frames of the savages" are always looming in this dark, dense forest, and function as components that strengthen the Gothic elements in the novel (Cooper 233).