Washington Irving’s Views, Essay Example

Irving’s Views on Society

Taking into account the rich and vibrant life of Washington Irving both in the USA and in Europe, one can understand the changeable views on the society expressed by the author at various periods of his life. At first, he was a Federalist. As Uslu mentioned, Irving started his career in the midst of the national identity crisis when the nation underwent the transition from the Federalist republicanism to Jeffersonian democracy.[1] Hence, at the beginning of his writing career, Irving was a devoted Federalist, and believed that a loose, decentralized form of the government served the needs of the new pluralistic society formed in the USA best.[2] Federalists saw the need for the Constitution in safeguarding the liberty and independence of the American society created as a result of the successful American revolution. Hence, Irving as a Federalist believed in the need to defend the social gains of the Revolution; he saw the potential threat to the welfare of the USA not in the centralized power of the government, but in the excess of democracy that caused the public disturbances and unrest.[3]

Harvey claimed that in his work Rip Van Winkle, Irving voiced both positive and negative Republican thoughts about the American democracy.[4] Indeed, there are multiple references to the real-life events and figures in Rip Van Winkle; for instance, Uslu saw the anti-hero juxtaposed to George Washington in Van Winkle’s character.[5] In contrast to the brave and decisive Washington who managed to lead his nation to the victory in the fight for independence and autonomy, Van Winkle was an indecisive and mild person without any fixed set of beliefs, political inclinations, and opinions. Ushlu also noted that in the Rip Van Winkle character, Irving attacked the representative democracy for destroying the political aspects of the Republican character.[6] It is also notable that in his works, Irving was trying to promote loyalty to genteel nationalism, without sharp extremes required from the newly established nation at the dawn of the US existence.

Irving was a Republican until the changes his life underwent after his move to Europe where he spent a couple of years. After the initial trip required by his poor health state, Irving continued living in both the Old World and the New World, thus looking for a consensus between the European and American values, beliefs, and approaches to the organization of the society. Irving became known mostly for his political satire, which was quite risky at the time of his life, taking into account the cases of intimidation and imposed social conformity: “in A History, he criticizes European colonization and perceived American superiority over the Native Americans”; however “as a Federalist and admirer of England, Irving was wary of the republican government, especially throughout Jefferson’s presidency”[7]

However, as Braley noted, upon being invited to return to America from Europe to serve as the Secretary of the United States Legation, Irving fell under the powerful influence of Martin Van Buren and Louis McLane, the prominent Democrats of their age, which made Irving change his political views from federalist to Democrat in 1829.[8] “Beginning as a Federalist, Irving switched first to the National Republicans and then to Andrew Jackson’s Democrats, pioneering another American literary tradition: an alliance between elite cosmopolitan intellectuals and the Democratic Party”.[9] Nathaniel Hawthorne was another writer and thinker who would follow the path of Irving’s political evolution.

Among Irving’s views on society, one also has to trace his views on the family as an essential part of the American society; however, the key message of Irving is that in the turbulent period of the American nation’s creation and self-establishment, the social changes are very quick, with some families emerging at the forefront of the social life, and other families – vanishing from the social landscape of the USA.[10] Alongside with the generational change, Irving explores the difficulty of the political change, especially for elder people, in his work Rip Van Winkle, on the example of the main character who falls asleep under the British rule and wakes up on the first Election Day in the independent American Republic. Hence, Irving emphasized the traumatic absence of the past in the American society, and strived to the creation of the national identity, the authentic society, etc.

Irving’s Views on Social Contract

Washington Irving was a cosmopolite person in the full sense, since he spent his life in the middle, between the USA and Europe. Washington Irving was highly attracted by the social order in Europe, since he spent many years of his life in Britain and France, as well as other European countries. Hence, it is reasonable to admit that Irving’s views on social contract were strongly influenced by the British philosophy. Regarding the US, Irving believed that his native country was a young nation lacking the sense of the past, so it should seek the protection of Europe, namely the British Crown.[11]

As a Federalist, Washington Irving was highly critical regarding the notions of democracy and social contract; the skepticism regarding the potential of democracy to establish the true rule of the people, as well as the value of democratic institutions was inspired by Plato’s philosophical works on the threat of democracy leading to tyranny.[12] These views being propagated by the American thinkers such as John Adams and James Madison supported the Federalist approach to social contract and democracy, stating that the mass of uneducated and not politically knowledgeable people simply could not govern a state, and coupled with the strong support of anti-democratic views in Europe, Irving was a critic of democracy as well. Spending much time in Europe, Washington Irving could not help being influenced by the social contract theory of Locke according to which the divine right of kings to rule the state was argued and dismissed, but the rule of kings could be justified under the condition that the governed nation gave the consent to them.[13] Hence, Washington Irving held the belief that people should forgo some liberties they would enjoy during a democracy for the sake of seeing their basic rights to life, liberty, and property protected by the strong political power.[14]

The strongest influence over the mind of Federalists supporting the social contract between the nation and the monarch was exerted by the works of Locke and Rousseau; the principal thought of these documents was that in case the rulers failed to protect the basic rights of the population, they were overthrown, and the nation had the right to choose the new government. However, Rousseau was more democratic in his views on the social contract, stating that all people had the right to self-government, and to the choice of the rules by which they will live, and the judges who would enforce those rules over the nation.[15]

Irving’s Views on Education

Washington Irving, though considered the Father of the American Literature, did not show any enthusiasm or successes in his education, which may have affected his views on education he voiced later on. As Braley noted,

“During his childhood, Washington Irving was spoiled by his parents and siblings. He was an uninterested student attending average schools of little or no regard. Due in part to poor health, Irving failed to follow his brothers to Columbia University”.[16]

However, the major part of Irving’s education took place during his reading endeavors; reading was a hobby of Irving, and the future famous writer read much, being most fond of Burns, Addison, Goldsmith, Columbus, and other authors. It is also notable that Irving took a particular interest in the English literature, and was fascinated with the stories about the conquest of Mexico and other historical periods.

His initial occupation was a lawyer, but Washington Irving did not succeed much in this field. In contrast to older brothers, William and Peter, who attended Columbia College, Washington decided to go on a grand tour to Europe in 1804-1806 where his actual process of education took place. It is thus essential to note that Irving preferred real-life experience and cultural, intelligent education to the formal education in educational establishments. Since Irving started his literary career from working out the tension between the USA and Great Britain, one can also note that the focus of Irving was on the cultural sensitivity and knowledge, which he might emphasize in his views on education. Knowing one’s history, one’s culture, and one’s destiny was much more important for Irving than knowing exact sciences and languages.

Nevertheless, when discussing the views of Irving on education, one cannot help admitting that the issue of intelligence and wit was of key importance for the writer, in women as well. Irving’s creative activity has always been intensely studied on the subject of gender issues in his works; thus, it is notable that Irving also touched upon the issues of education in women:

“After all, it is the divinity within that makes the divinity without; and I have been more fascinated by a woman of talent and intelligence, though deficient in personal charms, than I have been by the most regular beauty”[17]

The present quotation shows that Irving placed much value on education, and noted that the women who in the 18^th-19^th century were most valued for their beauty, and were chosen as spouses only regarding their external characteristics were of no interest to Irving as an intelligent, educated man seeking much more from women.

The issue of education was not specified by Irving in any works of his; Irving did not provide any guidance for people regarding how they could become well-educated, and in which way their education should be obtained to be worthy and relevant to their epoch. However, one can note that Irving obviously appreciated the thirst for education, and saw the great minds as people doomed to success. “Great minds have purposes; others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them”.[18] Thus, the objective of a purposeful and strong person was, in accordance with Irving’s opinion, to develop his or her mind, and to grow intellectually for the sake of being able to accomplish great life goals.

It is clear that the belonging of Irving to the generation of the American Enlightenment could not help leaving a trace on his views on education. Washington Irving was naturally skeptical about the intellectual potential of the American society of the time in which he lived, mainly due to the fact that he has been closely communicating with both the American and the British society. Washington Irving recognized the germinal state of the American nation’s development, and obviously insisted on the need for the further intellectual development and enlightenment of the public. However, at the same time, Irving could see the civilized, long-standing, intelligent, and traditional English society, which brought about increased concerns regarding the potential of the American democracy to give the desired level of education and development to the newly born nation.

Irving’s Views on the American Character Identity

The contribution of Washington Irving to the development of the concept of the national character identity in the USA is enormous. Though Irving is mostly credited with his success in developing and introducing the new genre of a short story, there are many other achievements in the national field Irving attained during his literary career. Irving became famous for his political and social satire; however, even through these satirical works, Irving strove to working out the authentic national character, the image of an American person – in other words, to give the cultural grounding to the newly created nation without the history, and without its own literature. As Harvey admitted,

“Along with other writers of the time, he placed a special emphasis in his writings on the development of national character through the spiritual growth of the nation, which could possibly emerge as “better” than any of those of Europe”.[19]

As it has already been mentioned, Irving was born and worked in a very complicated period for the whole American nation; after the War for Independence, as well as the devastating 1812 war, the nation was lost regarding the ways of its development, its culture, heritage, past, present, and future. Even the political path of the US development was not clear, since the political course of the Federalist republicanism was substituted by the popularity of the Jeffersonian democracy.[20] Hence, the US nation lacked the vision of itself, the one that would inspire it, and would inform it about what characteristics it possessed. Despite the successful split from the British Crown, the USA still belonged to the Old World mentally, spiritually, culturally, etc. There were no distinct works of art or literature that would distinguish the American and British nations; hence, the USA badly needed its authentic national writers, and found one of them in Irving.

“Irving discovered and helped satisfy the raw new nation’s sense of history. His numerous works may be seen as his devoted attempts to build the new nation’s soul by recreating history and giving it living, breathing, imaginative life. For subjects, he chose the most dramatic aspects of American history: the discovery of the New World, the first president and national hero, and the westward exploration”[21]

As one can see from the present quotation, Irving was indeed an expert in the field of the US brief but vivid history. Though he had many skeptic points in terms of the social and political issues in the USA, he still was a man of his country, and he wrote for the sake of educating and informing the American population. For example, the work A History of New York, though not entirely concise in historical terms, made Irving highly popular in New York, since it was the first work dedicated to this American city.[22] “The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon also contained several stories of Irving’s native New York State which have become integral parts of American folk culture: “The Spectre Bridegroom,” “Rip Van Winkle,” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”.[23]

Nevertheless, when discussing the works of Irving, the opinions of the professional critics and experts are divided, mainly due to the change of Irving’s focus on the historian and romantic themes closer to the end of his writing career, as well as to themes that Irving preferred to discuss in his literary works. According to Reuben,

“there are also differing opinions on the importance of a national identity in Irving’s writings. Many believe that Irving recognized the potential of American writing to help establish the identity of Americans and sought to establish an American hero, but others contend that his writings show reservations about the emerging American system and include too many European analogies to reflect a true American Nationalism.”[24]

Hence, the fascination of Irving regarding the European patterns of life, as well as his fascination with England in all aspects of social and political life have played a negative role in the recognition of Irving as the true American writer who contributed to the establishment and formation of the national American character identity in the authentic American literary sources. There is a common recognition of the grand role Irving played in the depiction of some core American characters in his works such as Sketch Book (1819-1820), History of New York (1809), Tales of a Traveller (1824), etc. However, the numerous references to the British reality and British lifestyles have considerably diminished the role of Irving as a uniquely American author.

References

Didem Uslu. 2009. “Reflections of history on literature: The impact of American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin on Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”, Journal of Arts and Sciences, no. 12, 188.

Paul Reuben. 2011. “Chapter 3: Washington Irving”, PAL: Perspectives in American Literature – A Research and Reference Guide – An Ongoing Project. http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/irving.html. (accessed September 25, 2012).

“Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers, 1776-1820”. 2012. USA Embassy. http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit2.htm. (accessed September 25, 2012).

Elbert Hubbard. 1999. Elbert Hubbard’s Scrap Book: Containing the Inspired and Inspiring Selections Gathered During a Life Time of Discriminating Reading for His Own Use (Gretna: Pelican Publishing), 102.

Haley Seibel. n. d. “Washington Irving: Pioneer of American Literature and Critic of Social Conformity”, Saugus Centurions. http://www.sauguscenturions.com/klipfel/seibelirving.htm. (accessed September 25, 2012).

“Irving, Washington”. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Washington_Irving.aspx#4. (accessed September 25, 2012).

Shane Ralston. 2011. “American Enlightenment Thought”, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH1c. (accessed September 25, 2012).

Jay Jones. 2008. “Washington Irving: An American Original”, Foreign Affairs. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64341/walter-russell-mead/washington-irving-an-american-original. (accessed September 25, 2012).

Jennifer Harvey. 2011. “Washington Irving’s Political Views in Rip Van Winkle”, American Fiction – Suite 101. http://suite101.com/article/washington-irvings-political-views-in-rip-van-winkle-a364505. (accessed September 25, 2012).

US History. 2012. “Federalists”. U. S. History Online Textbook. http://www.ushistory.org/us/16a.asp. (accessed September 25, 2012).

Washington Irving. 2011. Works: Complete in 27 Volumes. Life and letters of Washington Irving (New York: Putnam), 122.

[1] A. Didem Uslu. 2009. “Reflections of history on literature: The impact of American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin on Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”, Journal of Arts and Sciences, no. 12, 188.

[2] US History. 2012. “Federalists”. U. S. History Online Textbook. http://www.ushistory.org/us/16a.asp. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Jennifer Harvey. 2011. “Washington Irving’s Political Views in Rip Van Winkle”, American Fiction – Suite 101. http://suite101.com/article/washington-irvings-political-views-in-rip-van-winkle-a364505. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[5] Uslu, “Reflections of history on literature: The impact of American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin on Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”, 188.

[6] Uslu, “Reflections of history on literature: The impact of American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin on Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”, 188.

[7] Haley Seibel. n. d. “Washington Irving: Pioneer of American Literature and Critic of Social Conformity”, Saugus Centurions. http://www.sauguscenturions.com/klipfel/seibelirving.htm. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[8] B. Paul Reuben. 2011. “Chapter 3: Washington Irving”, PAL: Perspectives in American Literature – A Research and Reference Guide – An Ongoing Project. http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap3/irving.html. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[9] Jay Jones. 2008. “Washington Irving: An American Original”, Foreign Affairs. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/64341/walter-russell-mead/washington-irving-an-american-original. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[10] Harvey, “Washington Irving’s Political Views in Rip Van Winkle”.

[11] Harvey, “Washington Irving’s Political Views in Rip Van Winkle”.

[12] J. Shane Ralston. 2011. “American Enlightenment Thought”, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH1c. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Reuben, “Chapter 3: Washington Irving”.

[17] Washington Irving. 2011. Works: Complete in 27 Volumes. Life and letters of Washington Irving (New York: Putnam), 122.

[18]Elbert Hubbard. 1999. Elbert Hubbard’s Scrap Book: Containing the Inspired and Inspiring Selections Gathered During a Life Time of Discriminating Reading for His Own Use (Gretna: Pelican Publishing), 102.

[19] Harvey, “Washington Irving’s Political Views in Rip Van Winkle”.

[20] Uslu, “Reflections of history on literature: The impact of American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin on Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle”, 188.

[21] “Democratic Origins and Revolutionary Writers, 1776-1820”. 2012. USA Embassy. http://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/oal/lit2.htm. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[22] “Irving, Washington”. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Washington_Irving.aspx#4. (accessed September 25, 2012).

[23] Ibid.

[24] Reuben, “Chapter 3: Washington Irving”.