Cynthia Garza
Dr. Craig White
Literature 5535
14 June 2002 

Hero: A Romantic Viewpoint

He ro n.  a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.  Though this is the definition of hero according to Random House Webster’s Dictionary, the Romantic interpretation of hero is quite different. A Romantic hero is usually somewhat innocent and carefree, separate from the masses, and is almost always on some type of journey.  This hero is idealistic, non-conforming, and rarely lives in the “here and now,” but, on the contrary, is well rounded, skilled in some fashion, and able to communicate with all walks of life.  Romantic heroes are found in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Washington Irving.

Edith and Edgar are the hero and heroine of “The May-Pole of Merry Mount” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Though the people of Merry Mount are themselves romantic, these two characters typify authentic Romantic qualities.  In this short story, May is a time for renewal, merriment, and celebration.  This season is full of color, laughter, and animal-like costumes.  “Within the ring of the monsters, appeared the two airiest forms…” (624).  Edith and Edgar, the focus of the festivities, are getting married and are adorned with vibrant garments; therefore, are the most beautiful and admired of the Merry Mount group.  They are both young and innocent, which is also an attribute of Romantic heroes.  While waiting for the ceremony to begin, Edgar glances at Edith and is surprised by her disposition.  He questions her “pensive” look and explains to her “that nothing of futurity will be brighter than the mere remembrance of what is now passing”(625).  Edith then acknowledges that she and Edgar share the same thought and fear that perhaps Merry Mount is not genuine in their happiness.  This mutual opinion further proves that the Romantic hero is often separate from the masses.  “No sooner had their hearts glowed with real passion, than they were sensible of something vague and unsubstantial in their former pleasures, and felt a dreary presentiment of inevitable change” (625).  Though this line is clearly a foreshadowing of the future of Merry Mount, it is also an example of how, like Roderick, they are dissatisfied with the present.  Here, Hawthorne deviates from the story of Lord and Lady May to give the reader a brief history of the feud between Merry Mount and the Puritans.  “With the setting sun” the celebration comes to an end and the Puritans have taken over the crowd.  Endicott, “the Puritan of Puritans” destroys the May-Pole with his sword and the revelers are amazed.  While Peter Palfrey, the Puritan lieutenant, sorts through the crowd and almost glows with excitement at the punishments designated to the people of Merry Mount, he discovers Edith and Edgar.  “But never had their youthful beauty seemed so pure and high, as when its glow was chastened by adversity” (629).  The couple seemed more heroic now than ever –they gleamed even in misery.  “Yet the deepening twilight could not altogether conceal, that the iron man was softened; he smiled, at the fair spectacle of early love; he almost sighed, for the inevitable blight of early hopes” (629).  This clearly demonstrates how a Romantic hero, even when portrayed as a Pagan, can appeal to even the most unlikely person, Endicott-the purest of all Puritans.  Through this line of the short story, it is obvious that the Romantic heroes remain innocent and almost childlike: “they went heavenward, supporting each other along the difficult path which it was their lot to tread, and never wasted one regretful thought on the vanities of Merry Mount” (630).  Hawthorne’s heroes, Edith and Edgar, are innocent youths who lived in a dream world and are embarking on a new journey.  In addition, they exhibit borderless communication.

 In “The Fall of the House of Usher” Poe illustrates another type of Romantic hero, Roderick Usher.  Roderick, a mentally ill man, is beginning to resemble his equally gothic house.  In this short story, Roderick invites his childhood friend to visit him.  His friend, who is also the narrator, comes to lift Roderick’s spirits and discovers a strange and hallucinogenic man that cannot seem to shake his feelings of gloom.  Although Roderick fulfills the requirements of the Romantic hero, Poe creates a character in great contrast with that of Hawthorne’s Lord and Lady May or Irving’s Rip Van Winkle.  “A cadaverousness of complexion: an eye large, liquid, and luminous beyond comparison; lips somewhat thin and very pallid, but of a surpassingly beautiful curve; a nose of a delicate Hebrew model…,” “hair of a more than web-like softness,” and “ghastly pallor of the skin” are phrases the narrator uses to describe Roderick (720).  These physical descriptions of Roderick satisfy the gothic style of the Romantic hero.  Roderick encompasses the very meaning of haunted mental space: “He suffered much from a morbid acuteness of the senses; the most insipid food was almost endurable; he could wear only garments of certain texture; the odors of all flowers were oppressive; his eyes were tortured by even a faint light; and there were but peculiar sounds, and these from stringed instruments, which did not inspire him with horror (721).  In Roderick’s statement “…I dread the events of the future…” the common heroic thread is found –wanting to be anywhere, but in “the here and now” (721).  The narrator discovers that Roderick’s sister, Madeline, is ill and learns that at her death Roderick will become the last of the Ushers, hence his depressed disposition.   “Skilled physicians” were unable to diagnose the nature of Madeline’s illness; so the narrator found ways to distract his friend from his impending grief.  “One evening, having informed me abruptly that the lady Madeline was no more,” he and Roderick bury her (725).  The friend notices that Roderick is acting strangely, “as if listening to some imaginary sound” (727). This is another example of how the Romantic hero in a gothic setting can also be afflicted with “haunted mental spaces.”  This point in the story is also the turning point of the hero’s journey.  “Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart?”(730). Roderick has taken the last turn in his quest of discovering that his worst nightmare has come true –they buried his sister alive and the noises he has been overcome with have been that of his sister’s struggle to escape.   Madeline dies while attacking Roderick, just as he dies from fear.  The story ends with the house and its companions crashing to the ground.  Roderick Usher, Poe’s Romantic hero, is haunted mentally and physically, is separate from the masses, and is continually dissatisfied with the “here and now.”

"A simple good natured fellow, of the name of Rip Van Winkle” (430).  Rip, the central character in Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”, exudes the qualities of a truly Romantic hero.  He is described as having a “meekness of spirit” (430).  This example proves an almost anti-meaning to the traditional hero, who is strong in courage.  Though he was not hardworking, “the children…would shout with joy whenever he approached…and not a dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood.” (430).  Rip, like the common Romantic hero, was able to communicate with all kinds, even dogs.  Rip was described as a man who “… would never refuse to assist a neighbour in the roughest toil,” “…a foremost man at all country frolicks,” and “in a word, Rip was ready to attend anybody’s business but his own…”(430).  In his mind, he would rather be anywhere but where he is supposed to be.  He is constantly trying to escape the wrath of his wife.  “If left to himself, he would have whistled life away in perfect contentment…” (431).  This attitude was considered very heroic and Irving even goes as far as to transfer these attributes to Rip’s best friend and confidant, his dog Wolf.  His dog “was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods…” (431).  The dog’s only fear was Dame Van Winkle.  A connection with nature is also associated with Romanticism.  Hence, Rip’s sanction was found in nature and he would often “stroll away into the woods” (432).  One day in an attempt to escape from work, he wandered into the woods and fell asleep against a tree.  When he awoke, many years had passed and his whole life had changed.  In a search for himself, “he doubted his own identity, and whether he was himself or another man” (437).  This journey in finding himself is purely romantic.  Irving’s work exemplifies the heroic characteristics present in romantic literature.  Rip Van Winkle is the very essence of a Romantic hero: is childlike, has a deep connection with nature, is an escapist, is able to communicate with almost anyone or anything, and travels on a journey.

In conclusion, not all definitions of hero can be found in the dictionary.  Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe offer three contrasting portraits of a Romantic hero.  Rip, Edith and Edgar, and Roderick may not fill Webster’s shoes of criteria, but their wardrobe is truly Romantic.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel.  “The May-Pole of Merry Mount.”  The Norton Anthology of American Literature.  Ed. Nina Bayn.  New York: Norton & Company, 1999.  623-630.

Irving, Washington.  “Rip Van Winkle.”  The Norton Anthology of American Literature.  Ed. Nina Bayn.  New York: Norton & Company, 1999.  429-439.  

Poe, Edgar Allan.  “The Fall of the House of Usher.”  The Norton Anthology of American Literature.  Ed. Nina Bayn.  New York: Norton & Company, 1999.  717-730.