Irving's The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” represents Irving’s second comic masterpiece, a ghostly tale about things that go bump in the night. The specter in question here is the mysterious Headless Horseman, said to be a Hessian trooper who lost his head in a nearby battle. Each night he roams the countryside in search of it. The unlikely hero in this tale is Ichabod Crane, an itinerant schoolmaster, whose name suits him perfectly: “He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together.”

Irving opens his tale with a marvelous and evocative description of the lush, charming Hudson Valley region of

He arranges to teach her psalmody and is therefore permitted to visit Katrina on a regular basis at her family’s prosperous farm. His interest in Katrina, however, is less than honorable. Ichabod wants to acquire her hereditary wealth and sell it off. His chief rival is a brawny local named Brom Bones, who loves Katrina for herself. The two men despise each other; Irving adroitly contrasts Yankee opportunism with Dutch diligence. Ichabod attends a party given by Katrina’s father one night and later, on his way home, meets the terrifying Headless Horseman (Brom Bones in disguise), who drives the superstitious victim out of Sleepy Hollow

The contrast between both men could not be greater. Ichabod is a skinny, shrewd, calculating, sterile (and comic) individual, devoid of human affections, who relies on wit in his attempt to defeat his erstwhile rival. He is also a very gullible individual who believes in the supernatural, thus providing his opponent with the weapon that will destroy him. Brom, on the other hand, is a swaggering, athletic type inclined to mischievous pranks, but he does have deep romantic feelings for the beauteous Katrina. Brom is desperate to win her love, but he realizes that he cannot physically challenge his rival to a fight; hence, he devises a stratagem to prey on the schoolmaster’s fear and drive him away from Sleepy