Robert Hoffman

February 28. 2005 

Romanticism: The Creation of New Reality 

            The Romantic Era of the 1800s made an everlasting impact on Western culture. The American writers of the Romantic era developed their inspirations from both the European writings of the time as well as writers of previous time eras. The categorization of American Romantic authors in a specific time and place is a one-sided approach because Romantic ideals and philosophy are a process of creation. Their origins and roots extend countless centuries before the official Romantic era begins, and continue to this day with the nascent forms of thought and physical creation. The Romantic writer's creation philosophy is mystical in nature, is utopian in reality, and visually portrays human cultures in a feral environment.

            Since the attraction of Romanticism is to create a new reality, writers continually develop stories based on this concept. The Romantic philosophy, which stresses the importance of intuitions, feelings, and emotions to create reality within individuals, seeks to explore new and better ways of explaining the human experience of existence. Humans extended the limits of their individual consciousness in order to experience new mystical thoughts and insights, and these revelations allowed them to rise above the common, everyday experiences of ordinary life. The ultimate result is the creation of new types of reality in order to portray characters in a particular environment, and to free oneself from the doldrums of customary living. Furthermore, the forces of creation have always been a mystery to humanity. Humans have wondered and conjectured how creation occurs, and if this process is the result of random chance or a designer. Finally, the writers with profound philosophical wisdom of the Romantic era see the process of becoming as the outcome of two antagonistic forces.

            In one of the earliest writings of humanity titled Genesis, there are antecedent kernels of Romantic philosophy. The book of Genesis, which Moses is the author according to traditional churches, tries to explain the unexplainable force of creation. The lines in Genesis "and the spirit of God moved on the face of the waters", and the process of instantaneous creation that followed suggest a supernatural experience that exceeds the bounds of reason. Out of some invisible force called God that moves, physical creation appears instantly as God wills it. Thus, all physical creation is explained by a omnipresent creator.

Creation not only takes place in the physical world, but also in the invisible world of thought. In addition to the material universe, creation is continually going on in human consciousness that is independent of space and time. The entire story of creation demonstrates intuitive thinking that transcends reasoning. In addition, God placed Adam and Eve in a "garden eastward of Eden". The garden is a creation that represents a utopian setting where humanity should live. The idea of the world being one large beautiful garden with fruit trees, shade, and a perfect climate represents the creation of a paradise for humans. Therefore, in the book of Genesis, the mystical experience of creation and the anagogic interpretation of the scriptures reveal traces of Romantic philosophy by demonstrating the super sensuous and transcending ordinary experience.

In similar fashion, The Iroquois Creation Story describes the work of an invisible creator in the generation of the physical world. The very first line of this work describes two worlds that are pre-existing called the upper and the lower. Humans belong to the upper world, but also have the lower world among them. The story describes the work of the "good mind" which implies that the Iroquois believed in an invisible creator that existed everywhere in the universe. In addition, they understood that good and evil opposite forces work together as "good mind" and "bad mind". The outcome of this opposition is the triumph of good. The Iroquois knew intuitively that there is a hierarchy of all types of creation, and the work of creation continues at every moment of existence. Accordingly, The Iroquois Creation Story, mystical and transcendental like Genesis, describes how the physical world achieves being, and is in the process of becoming.

            In addition, there are vestiges of Romanticism philosophy creating new reality in Christopher Columbus's descriptions of Espinola written in 1593. The ideal of a perfect paradise and humanity's need to return to such simplicity is prevalent in the Romantic philosophy. The dissatisfaction of modern society and the longing to return to a more primitive, rural state represents the Romantics reaction against the modern industrial revolution. In their view, modern society is corrupt with its social institutions, pollutes the physical environment, and is built on wrong foundations. Instead of constructing society based on the laws of nature, the prevailing economic system determines what type of social system people live in. The Romantic view rejects this false foundation, and urges individuals to return to the primeval source of existence.  Although Columbus writes the story two hundred years before the official beginning of the Romantic era, readers can tell how the writing anticipates its birth. While exploring the western hemisphere, Columbus discovered new lands that were unspoiled by modern society. These pristine lands yielded abundant fruit crops, and gave him idyllic thoughts of returning to a simpler, better life for all of humanity. Columbus describes these lands as stunningly beautiful gardens, and the landscape as having breathtaking beauty. He gives detailed descriptions of the shapes of the vegetation, and their ultimate connection to other parts of nature. Columbus, for example, while viewing Espanola remarked:

"Its lands are high, and there are in it many sierras and very lofty mountains beyond comparison with the island of Tenerife. All are most beautiful, of a thousand shapes, and all are accessible and filled with trees of a thousand kinds and tall, and they seem to touch the sky…I saw them as green and as lovely as they are in Spain in May, and some of them were flowering, some bearing fruit, and some in another stage according to their nature…and there are birds of many kinds and fruits in great diversity…Espanola is a marvel" (27).

Thus, the desire to create a new world to escape from the unimaginative, dull activities of everyday modern life, and the longing to return to a more pristine environment permeates the writings of Columbus.

            Similar to Columbus, Washington Irving effectively exemplifies the Romantic idea of creating a new reality because of dissatisfaction with the present in the story "Rip Van Winkle". Rip is a kind, but indolent man who has no aspiration to work and support his family. Rip is married to a woman who enjoys caviling and carping about every issue and event. This termagant makes him feel very unhappy at home, and he escapes to the beauty of nature in the Catskill Mountains to find peace, happiness, and a new world. The new world that Rip creates in the tranquility of nature is the complete opposite of his home life. He is a man that longs for the quietness and calm that is non-existent in his family. He describes the picturesque view of nature from a precipice he is sitting on overlooking the valley:

"He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far, far below him moving on its silent majestic course, the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging bark, here and there sleeping on its glassy bosom, and at last losing itself in the blue highlands" (452).

After a mysterious encounter with a stranger, Rip transforms into a different person, and appears among strangers in amphitheater with a flagon of liquor. As he tastes the liquor he is serving, reverts to his original life, but twenty years later. Like Columbus, the new life that Rip experienced is a reaction of his unending dissatisfaction of his current one, and his longing to remove himself from his displeasure. Although Columbus believed in general there is a need to return to a pristine type of life, Irving emphasized the unhappiness of family life that creates a longing for a new reality. Hence, Washington Irving's thoroughly effectual story about a man who creates a new reality for himself and Columbus's earnest belief of returning to a paradise gives readers glimpses of the philosophy of Romantic creation.

            Finally, the idea of Romantic creation converges to the novel The Last of the Mohicans by James Cooper. Romantic writers philosophically define creation as the outcome of two opposing forces. Author James Cooper uses this idea to create a realistic image of humans in a pristine, but untamed setting.  In addition, he gives a truthful portrayal of the human condition that originates from a conflict of cultures. In this story, Cooper places the characters within the frontier hinterland of upstate New York near the Canadian border. Yvonne Hopkins concludes in her mid-term fall 2003 exam that "Cooper's most significant contribution arises from his ability to create a vivid sense of the almost symbiotic relationship between man and his environment". Although the characters depend on the land for their subsistence, the environment is a harsh one, and the vicissitudes of life imperil survival every moment of existence.  The result of these opposite forces and conditions is the creation of human culture and society. The individuals in this type of environment demonstrate all the atavistic instincts of survival to preserve and carry on life. An Indian scout made the comment "When men struggle for the single life God has given them,...even their own kind seem no more than the beasts in the woods" (51).  There are many horrific battles between the French and English people, as well as Indians against Indians and against white people. Some of these struggles and encounters were inexpressibly grim in nature because of the aggressive clashes and loss of life. Cooper, for example, describes a clash between Hawkeye and an Indian. While aiming his rifle "Hawkeye slowly rose among the shrubs, and poured out its fatal contents. The foremost Indian bounded like a stricken deer, and fell headlong among the clefts of the island" (85). However, between these barbarous battles, there are interludes of peace and calm of the natural world. Cooper describes nature with visual detail of the sights and sounds of the frontier. For example, he picturesquely describes the setting near the cavern:

"A heavy evening breeze swept along the surface of the river, and seemed to drive the roar of the falls into the recesses of their own cavern, whence it issued heavily and constant, like thunder rumbling beyond the distant hills. The moon had risen, and its light was already glancing here and there on the waters above them…"

Thus, Cooper creates his characters by placing them in extreme opposition to both their adversaries and the environment.

Since creation is a process, Cooper effectively shows how humanity is becoming something greater than what it is today.  Cooper hints that some characters in Last of the Mohicans have spiritual qualities. Readers receive a glimpse of the humanity of the future with higher quality thoughts, morals, and values.  These attributes show the high esteem humans put on certain practices and views about life. Hawkeye shows profound insights, for example, when he states "We took wives who bore us children; we worshipped the Great Spirit "(31)…"Life is an obligation which friends often owe each other in the wilderness" (90). Cooper effectively creates an image of an impending humanistic future being born by showing extreme differences among the characters, and between the characters and the landscape. Despite the challenging environment and the combative, atavistic instincts of humans, there are glimpses of an ever-better humanity shown. This view is upheld by Sheila Newel when she states in her fall 2003 mid-term exam "Cooper creates good Indians"…it humanizes the Indians and suggests some Indians have a good nature". Therefore, The Last of the Mohicans by James Cooper ingeniously shows Romantic creation by the effective use of contrast and opposition throughout the novel.