Evan Huar

Author: Walter Scott
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Walter Scott was a renowned British historical novelist and poet in the 19th century. Ivanhoe tells the story of the knight Ivanhoe achieving glory and success in order to return to England and reclaim the throne for King Richard, who was imprisoned abroad. Against the backdrop of a grand historical setting, the battlefield of blood and fire, and the legendary love between knights and beauties, are vividly depicted. In addition to Ivanhoe, the book successfully portrays the heroic and battle-scarred King Richard and the chivalrous outlaw Robin Hood, among other famous historical figures. The book primarily draws on medieval folklore to narrate the heroic story of King Richard the Lionheart, who, after his failure in the Crusades, returns to England with only a handful of loyal old generals by his side. With almost nothing but his sword, he defeats the rebellion in his kingdom and regains the throne. Following his principle that "when events happen to the same person, his strange plots are often interconnected" (British Writers on Literature), Scott sets three main plots around the Lionheart's brief "domestic journey," endowing him with the divine bravery, wisdom, and intelligence that history did not record. First, the Ashby Tournament, which initially portrays the Lionheart's invincible bravery on the battlefield. Second, the attack on the castle of Torquilstone, which reveals the Lionheart's other side—a chivalrous and magnanimous hero who laughs heartily. Almost single-handedly, he brings the legendary outlaw Robin Hood and others into his fold and unexpectedly captures the castle. The third is the "Knights Templar Tournament," which depicts him resolving the historical conflict between the "Norman Conquerors" and the "Saxon nobles," while driving out the treacherous "Knights Templar" and eliminating the of domestic rule. With such achievements in both governance and military prowess, the book almost transforms the historically reckless and foolish "martial man" into an extraordinary "wise ruler." Richard is undoubtedly the most radiant character in the novel, and the description of the Black Knight's battle scenes is always the most moving part of the book. His performance at the Ashby Tournament is particularly extraordinary: a tall warrior clad in black armor and helmet seemed uninterested in the tournament. When someone attacked him, he defended himself but neither pursued the opponent nor attacked anyone else. However, when he realized his leader was in danger, the warrior suddenly changed his sluggish demeanor and charged forward with lightning speed to assist. The Bullhead raised his sword, but before he could strike, the Black Knight's sword struck his head, grazing his shiny helmet and nearly cutting the armor of his warhorse with equal force. Under this fierce blow, both the Bullhead and the horse fell to the ground, unconscious. "The lazy black" then turned his horse and rode toward Coningsby's Athelstan. Since his sword had broken during the battle with the Bullhead, he seized an axe from a Saxon giant and swung it as if it were his own weapon, striking Athelstan's helmet and knocking him unconscious to the ground. After finishing, the knight returned to the northern end of the arena with the same listless air. In this portrayal, the Lionheart is like Zhao Kuangyin in the Chinese storytelling epic Zhao Kuangyin's Romance, a dragon-stick that dominates the world and takes the enemy's head as easily as opening a pouch. The "knightly" aura of a ruler at the height of power is truly captivating. Scott was undoubtedly a master storyteller, and he was not content with mere direct description. To portray the Lionheart's "mysterious and awe-inspiring heroism," he meticulously crafted the narrative structure, employing suspense and surprise to entice the reader. The order of his appearance is deliberately designed to pique the reader's curiosity: first, the servants Garside and Rowena encounter the Templar knight Brian de Bois-Guilbert (a Crusader who betrayed the Lionheart) on the road; then the heroine Rowena appears, mentioning the Crusader Ivanhoe who accompanied the Lionheart on his campaign, revealing the Lionheart's wandering and mysterious absence to the readers (Bois-Guilbert's obsession with Rowena not only foreshadows Ivanhoe's later duel with him but also highlights the moral decay of the "Templar Knights," paving the way for their eventual expulsion by the Lionheart). Next, Ivanhoe appears as a "pilgrim" at Cedric's house, receives help from the Jew Isaac, borrows armor and a horse to participate in the Ashby Tournament. After defeating several strong opponents in succession, the Lionheart finally makes his grand entrance, "called out after much pleading and half-concealed," reluctant to reveal his true identity. In reality, the earlier portrayal of Ivanhoe's bravery and ferocity has become a foil for the Lionheart. Moreover, the author constantly shifts the narrative perspective, making the portrayal of the Lionheart even more dynamic. For example, during the battle for the castle of Torquilstone, Scott uses the voice of the young girl Rebecca, a bystander, to describe the fierce fight of the Black Knight alone against the strong enemy for Ivanhoe. Rebecca then looks out and exclaims in shock: "O holy prophet! The Bullhead and the Black Knight are fighting face to face at the gap! Oh, God, help the oppressed and the imprisoned!" She then lets out a scream, shouting: "He has fallen! He has fallen!" "Who has fallen?" Ivanhoe asks loudly, "For the sake of our Lady, tell me who has fallen!" "The Black Knight," Rebecca replies weakly, but then she shouts excitedly, "Oh, no! Oh, no! Glory to the Lord! He has risen again and is fighting, as if he has the strength of twenty men in one arm. His sword is broken—he has taken an axe from a peasant—and he strikes axe after axe, pressing hard on the Bullhead. The giant bends down, his steps faltering, like an oak tree about to be felled by a woodcutter—he has fallen—he has fallen!" "The Bullhead?" Ivanhoe asks. "Yes, the Bullhead!" "No!" Rebecca shouts in reply, "They have fought bravely. The Black Knight advances with his huge axe toward the side gate—his strike is thunderous, louder than the shouts of battle. Stones and timbers rain down on this warrior, but he treats them as if they were fluff and dandelion seeds!" Here, the author shifts from the usual omniscient perspective, keeping the reader and Ivanhoe in the dark, creating a special "alienation" effect (Brechtian), making the battlefield even more thrilling and the Lionheart's bravery vividly apparent. The narrative pace is extremely fast and tight, filled with imaginative tension. Although such narration may seem commonplace today, at the time it was considered a "genius's original creation," as Scott himself evaluated Lord Byron.
Of course, Scott's rapid writing pace (reportedly even faster than Balzac's) sometimes led to flaws, as he often relied on improvisation. For instance, whenever the protagonists fell into danger, someone would always come to the rescue, with a "Cheng Yaojin" emerging at the right moment, lacking basic logical necessity. Especially when Cedric, Rowena, and Rebecca were each in dire straits, the Lionheart just happened to begin attacking the castle—such coincidences are astonishing, and the battles begin without warning, with outlaws saving strangers they had never met. Athelstan's death and resurrection is another example. Although Scott explained it as being "due to the publisher's pressure," the explanation does not hold water. Similar examples of oversimplifying complex issues are abundant in the book, the most obvious being when the Lionheart declares "I am the King" at a critical moment—like a "royal decree" in The Legend of Lord Jin Gao, and the outlaws immediately bow and kowtow, completing the "reconquest" of the wilderness. Thus, critics often fault Scott, with some arguing that "Walter Scott's novels are far inferior to Fielding's works, as they lack the highest artistic characteristics and philosophical and moral depth." Others claim he "employed incredible romanticism, unilaterallying feudal landlords and rapacious Crusader soldiers" (The Great Tradition of English Literature by Annette T. Rubinstein), completely ignoring the conflicts between nobles, peasants, and bandits, instead creating a fictional romantic image of Robin Hood opposing some nobles while serving the Lionheart. This reflects the "monarchy-centered" ideology in Scott's creative worldview, catering to England's "constitutional monarchy" and the legitimacy of the monarchy, which was also a "England-centered" tendency unprecedented in his works (previously, he often took a "Scotland-centered" stance, opposing English nationalism and industrial civilization). This is the legacy of 17th-century neoclassicism in England, a "literary motivation" that the early 19th-century Romantic movement desperately sought to break free from.
Although Scott's novels inspired a large number of French Romantic masters to a significant extent, he cannot be considered a true Romantic novelist, as he lacked an inner spirit of rebellion. In reality, Scott was a member of the British Conservative Party (Whigs) politically and a "landlord" in Scotland economically, not a Scottish peasant. The moment he received his payment, he would immediately return to his newly established estate at Edinbrae and resume his semi-feudal landlord role. He was immersed in Scottish folk culture, including the feudal slave system—as seen in Ivanhoe, where the servant Garside refuses to leave Cedric and prefers to remain in his slave status for life. Thus, the "Scottish patriarchal pastoral life" is worth examining.