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"Ivanhoe"
The action of the novel is set in medieval England during the Crusades. The author has introduced characters from all classes of feudal society and has shown how class interests give rise to a bitter struggle. The central conflict of the novel lies in the struggle of the Anglo-Sax6n land-owners against the Norman barons, who cannot come to an understanding. The breach between them is widened by their speaking different languages. Scott shows what a wretched thing it is to have no rights in the land of one's birth. There is no peace among the Norman conquerors either. The struggle for pow^ does not cease. Prince John tries to usurp the throne 6T his Brother Richard, at that time engaged in a Crusade- The characters of the two brothers show the two tendencies that caused the Normans to split: one side wished to seize all the land and subdue the Anglo-Saxons completely, while the other tended to co-operate with the. remaining Anglo-Saxon land-owners. The latter tendency was progressive, because it led to the birth of a new nation.
At the head of the remaining Anglo-Saxon knights we find a thane, Cedlric the Saxon. He hopes to restore their independence by putting a Saxon king and queen on the throne. The queen is to be Rowena a young lady said to. be descended from Alfred the Great, and the future king, Athelstane of Coningsburgh. But Cedric has a son, Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who upsets his father's plans by falling in love with Rowena-Cedric disinherits his son, and Ivanhoe goes on a Crusade where he meets King Richard, and they become friends. On their return to England, Richard with the help of the Saxons and the free archers of Robin Hood, fights for his crown against Prince John and wins. Cedric finally understands how impossible it is to restore Saxon power and becomes reconciled to the Normans.
The two chief events of the novel are the great tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouche and the siege of Torquilstone, the castle of Sir Reginald Front-de-BoBuf. A wonderful gallery of characters is set before our eyes; they may be classified into three groups, according to the manner of their portrayal.
The first group is formed by those characters which are typical of the historical period described by Scott. Such are Cedric me Saxon, Athelstane of Coningsburgh, Prince John and the Normans, Isaac of York, and others. Each of them is endowed with a psychology typical of his epoch and social standing. We may say that all these characters are drawn realistically. Let us see, for instance, how Scott depicts two serfs, Gurth the swineherd and Wamba the jester. The former, conscious of being oppressed, is hostile to his master, Cedric the Saxon; however, when need arises, he remains true to feudal ethics and fights for the rescue of his master; for this he is granted his freedom, which he accepts with great joy. The clever and sharp-tongued Wamba (In writing of him Scott was doubtlessly influenced by Shakespeare's fools) prefers to remain a serf when freedom is offered to him.
This action of granting freedom to a serf is not an attempt of the author to idealize feudal relations; it helps the reader to understand his deep penetration into class psychology. Gurth is a peasant, a toiler, and such men always long to be free and work on their own land, Wamba, on the other hand, is a servant –one of a privileged kind. but still a servant. He is, most probably, a hereditary jester: his father was named Witless (foolish) which is doubtless a jester's nickname. Wamba's psychology has been formed by his servile position, and if he received his freedom, he would gain practically nothing, for he is not fit to tilt the soil and knows no trade.
The second group of characters comprises those described in the romantic manner. These are the fierce Templar, Sir Brian de Bois. Guilbert, Rebecca, and Ulrica, that sinister and tragic old woman.. The fatal passion which Sir Brian experiences for the beautiful Re-hecea puts him among the demonic romantic heroes, and;, villain though he is, his deep and fiery emotions inspire respect and even admiration in the reader. And the least interesting representatives of the group, as usually happens in Scott's works, are. the hero and heroine, Wilfred of Ivanhoe and the Lady Rowena.
The: characters of the third group are those created in the folklore tradition. It goes without saying that Robin Hood, Friar Tuck and other outlaws are among their number. But the interesting thing is that the figure of King Richard is drawn in the same tradition. We may state with absolute assurance that a king of that kind never existed in all the history of the world, in him Scott gives substance to the dream which the common people cherished for many centuries: their ideal of what a really good king should be. That is why King Richard resembles the hero of a legend or a ballad rather than a character in. a novel.
The book is written with the great descriptive skill for which Scott is justly famous. We feel drawn into the atmosphere of the period and very soon become convinced that life in the 12th century was such as we see it on the pages of the book.
All the typical features of Scott's creative method are concentrated in "Ivanhoe".