Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman and Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow": A Curious Case of
Cultural Cross-Fertilization?
Author(s): Catharine Theimer Nepomnyashchy
Source: Slavic Review, Vol. 58, No. 2, Special Issue: Aleksandr Pushkin 1799-1999 (Summer, 1999),
pp. 337-351
Published by: {aaass}
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2673075
Accessed: 13-03-2015 22:34 UTC
REFERENCES
Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2673075?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents
You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies and are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to Slavic Review.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Pushkin's The BronzeHorsemanand Irving's
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow": A Curious
Case of Cultural Cross-Fertilization?
Catharine Theimer Nepomnyashchy
Yankee... .] A nicknamegivento Americans;itsmeaningis unknownto us.
-A. S. Pushkin,"Dzhon Tenner"
As is well known, "influence" studies have fallen into disrepute in recent
decades in western literarycriticism.Linda Hutcheon rightlypoints out
that this development constitutes an inevitable corollary to Roland
Barthes's announcement of the "death of the author" in 1968,1 shifting
the site of meaning away from the flesh-and-blood author onto the interaction between text and reader, placing at issue "the locus of textual appropriation. On the one hand, we are dealing with authorial intent and
with the historical issue of sources and influences; on the other, it is a
question of readerinterpretationwhereby visible sources become signs of
plagiarism, and influences yield to 'intertextual' echoes."2 Hardly surprisingly,this Franco-American trend has made relativelyfew inroads in
Russian criticism,for,afterdecades of Soviet privilegingof the conceit of
the writeras the source and arbiter of the meaning of his (or her) works,
the author remains very much alive in Russian culture and criticism.
While an exploration of the fascinating cultural implications of this divergence lies beyond the scope of this study,I would simplyargue against
dismissingthis "aberration" as an instance of the, sadly,all too frequently
invoked Russian "backwardness." Rather we should regard it as a healthy
corrective to the universalist claims of western literarytheory.We know,
afterall, that a real historical person "makes" the literarywork, even if,as
Wolfgang Iser maintains, it is "the convergence of text and reader [that]
brings the literarywork into existence."3 Writersare, afterall, readers as
well, and they react to what they read, as we all do, incorporating it into
their own writing,in the process transformingit, arguing with it, making
17 vols. (Moscow,
Epigraph:A. S. Pushkin,"Dzhon Tenner,"Polnoesobraniesochinenii,
1937-1959), 12:132 (hereafterPSS, 17 vols.). The articlewasoriginallypublishedin Sovrebk. 3 (1836): 205-56, signed "The Reviewer."I have combined the wordyankee
mennik,
Pushkinuses in Englishin the concludingsentenceof the articlewiththe "editor's"footnote accompanyingtheword.
1. See Roland Barthes,"The Death of theAuthor,"in hisImage-Music- Text,trans.
StephenHeath (New York,1977), 142- 48.
2. Linda Hutcheon, "LiteraryBorrowing. . . and Stealing: Plagiarism,Sources,
EnglishStudiesin Canada 12,no. 2 (1986): 230 (emphasisin the
Influences,and Intertexts,"
original).
3. WolfgangIser,"The Reading Process:A PhenomenologicalApproach,"inJane P.
toPost-Structuralism
(Baltimore,
Criticism:
FromFormalism
Tompkins,ed., Reader-Response
1980), 50.
SlavicReview58, no. 2 (Summer1999)
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
338
Slavic Review
it theirown. Moreover,whilean examinationof the processof craftinga
literaryworkcertainlyhas value in itsown right,thejuxtapositionof "genetically"related literaryartifactsenriches the critic's-and reader'sexperienceofboth texts.Takingthesepremisesas mystarting
point,I will
suggest that Pushkin'swritingof his masterworkMednyivsadnik(The
bronze horseman) was informedby his reading of WashingtonIrving's
"The Legend of SleepyHollow."
Irving'sstorywas publishedas the concludingpiece in TheSketchbook
Gent.(1819 -1820), the firstworkthatIrving,who origofGeoffrey
Crayon,
inallytook up writingas "the gentlemanlyexercise of the pen,"4 unabashedlypublishedto amelioratehis tenuousfinancialpositionand esAmericanwriterto achieve
tablishhimselfas a professionalwriter.The first
an internationalreputation,Irvingis nonethelesscreditedwithpossessing
but a limitedliterarytalent.5Yetalong withthe other"standout" piece in
this traveler'scompendium, "Rip Van Winkle,""The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow"continuesto exercisetheAmericanimaginationto thisday.6
At firstglance, Irving'scomic tale and Pushkin'ssomberpoemawould
seem to have littlein common."The Legend ofSleepyHollow"focuseson
an itinerantConnecticutYankeenamed Ichabod Crane who has takenup
thepost of schoolmasterin the New Yorkcommunityof SleepyHollow,a
prosperousDutch settlementin a valleybytheHudson River.A voracious
consumerofthelocal plenty,despitetheawkwardlankinessbetokenedby
hissurname,and a credulousenthusiastofsupernaturaltalesand legends
whose favoritebook is Cotton Mather's HistoryofNew England Witchcraft,
Ichabod occupies a cosy,ifnomadic,niche in the community:
When the school hourswereover,he was even the companion and playmate of the largerboys;and on holydayafternoonswould convoysome
of the smallerones home, who happened to have prettysisters,or good
housewivesformothers,notedforthecomfortsofthecupboard.Indeed,
itbehooved himto keep on good termswithhispupils.The revenuearisingfromhis school was small,and would have been scarcelysufficient
to
furnishhimwithdailybread,forhe was a huge feeder,and thoughlank,
had thedilatingpowersofan Anaconda; butto help out hismaintenance,
he was,accordingto countrycustomin thoseparts,boarded and lodged
at thehouses ofthefarmers,
whosechildrenhe instructed.
Withthesehe
lived successivelya week at a time,thusgoing the rounds of the neighborhood, withall his worldlyeffectstied up in a cottonhandkerchief.7
4. HenryA. Pochmann,"WashingtonIrving:Amateuror Professional?"in Clarence
Gohdes, ed., Essayson American
Literature
in HonorofJayB. Hubbell(Durham, 1967), 66.
5. See, forexample,ibid., 75; andJohn Clendenning,"Irvingand the GothicTradition,"in AndrewB. Myers,ed., A Century
on theWorks
ofCommentary
ofWashington
Irving
(1860-1974) (Tarrytown,
N.Y, 1976), 387.
6. The 1949 Disneyanimatedversionof "The Legend ofSleepyHollow" (narratedby
BingCrosby)not onlykepttheworkalivein theAmnerican
culturalconsciousnessbut also
to the enduringappeal of Irving'stale.
standsas testimony
7. WashingtonIrving,TheSketchbook
ofGeoffrey
Crayon,
Gent.,in Haskell Springer,ed.,
TheComplete
Works
ofWashington
Irvinggen. ed. RichardDilworthRust(Boston,1978), 275.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Bronze Horseman and "The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
339
Ichabod, however,reserveshis amorous attentionsforone KatrinaVan
Tassel,thedaughterofa flourishing
Dutch farmer,enticedbyherfather's
abundantpossessionsand thebounteousfertility
ofhis lands. He findshe
has a formidablerivalforKatrina'saffections
in the local bully,BromVan
Brunt(nicknamedBrom Bones), who prowlsthe neighborhoodwithhis
gangofSleepyHollow boysplayingpranksand generallyhell-raising.
One
fatefulevening,Ichabod goes to a partyat theVan Tasselfarmand findshis
suitrejected.On his wayhome on a decrepitborrowednag, he encountersthegeniuslociof SleepyHollow,the Headless Horseman,purportedly
theghostofa Hessian soldierdecapitatedbya cannon ball duringa battle
in theRevolutionary
Warwho hauntstheprecinctsofSleepyHollow seekinghislosthead. The specterpursuesIchabod throughthenight,and the
next day thereis no traceof the hapless schoolmasterin SleepyHollow,
leavingBromVan Bruntfreeto wed thefarmer'sdaughter.The narrative
leaves us withtwoversionsof Ichabod's fate:eitherhe has indeed been
spiritedawaybythe supernaturalrideror, scared out of his witsbyBrom
Van Bruntdressedup as theHeadless Hessian and humiliatedbyKatrina's
rejection,"he had changed his quartersto a distantpartof the country;
had keptschool and studiedlaw at the same time,had been admittedto
the bar,turnedpolitician,electioneered,writtenforthe newspapers,and
finallyhad been made ajustice oftheTen Pound Court."8 EitherwayIchabod survivesin the old wives'talesof SleepyHollow lore.
As a point of departureformydiscussionof the striking,
if not immediatelyobvious,convergencesbetweenIrving'sworkand Pushkin's,I
would liketo invokeRomanjakobson'saccountofwhathe termsthemyth
of the destructivestatuein Pushkin'sworks-specificallyKamennyi
gost'
and "Skazkao zolotompetushke"
(The stoneguest), TheBronzeHorseman,
(The tale of the golden cockerel)-in his "The Statuein Pushkin'sPoetic
Jakobson offersus a paradigm and typologyfor Pushkin's
Mythology."
appropriationsof otherworks,and, moreover,a paradigmthatemerges
fromthe intersectionof the poet's personalexperiences,poetic structure
and image,and, at least implicitly,
social and politicalcontext.Jakobson
relatesthe significant
structural
parallelsrevolvingaround a statuein the
threePushkinworkshe surveys,all datingto the early1830s,to the biographicalfactsof Pushkin'slifeduringthe period of theircomposition,
specificallyto the problems that attended the poet's marriageand his
I shall
wife'sambiguousrelationshipwiththe tsar.For the sake of brevity,
merelyciteJakobson'stopic sentences,whichisolate the mostsignificant
he identifiesamong the plots of the three Pushkin
points of similarity
worksand, more important,establisha structuralmodel forPushkin'sliteraryappropriations:
1. A man is weary,he settlesdown, he longsfor rest,and thismotifis intertwinedwithdesirefora woman.
thebeingwhichis inseparablyconnectedwiththe
2. The statue,moreprecisely
has
a
poweroverthisdesiredwoman.
statue,
supernatural,unfathomable
8. Ibid., 295-96.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
340
Slavic Review
3. Aftera vain resistancethe man perishesthroughthe intervention
of the
statue, which has miraculouslyset itselfinto motion,and the woman
vanishes.9
Also pertinent isJakobson's comment defending his thesis against the possible objection that Pushkin's works are borrowed from foreign sources:
Someone mayobject thatwe are not dealing withcompletelyindependent themes-The GoldenCockerel
is actuallyan elaboration of Irving's
"Legend oftheArabianAstrologer";TheStoneGuestis a variationon a traditionallegend and borrowsdiversedetailsfromMoliere'sFestindepierre
and the librettoof Mozart'sDonJuan.In fact,however,a comparisonof
Puskin'spoems withtheirforeignmodels clearlydemonstratesthe originalityof his myth.From his models he selectsonlyelementsconsistent
withhisownconception,and he transforms
in hisownwaywhatevercontradictsit.10
I am concerned with this particular passage fromJakobson'sargument for
two reasons. Firstof all,Jakobson here gives an efficientstatementdescribing how Pushkin employs his sources: he reshapes the source material to
conform to his own personal "myth."Second, we should note the significant absence in Jakobson's list of a foreign source for Pushkin's masterwork. Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" seems to fillthis gap."
Both "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and The BronzeHorseman are
constructed around the following pattern (which, while deviating somewhat fromJakobson's paradigm, adheres to the basic principle of structural borrowing it exemplifies): the central character, a petty official,
constructsdreams of futurehappiness dependent on marriage with a desired woman. In the course of the story,these dreams are shattered. The
stories both culminate in a scene in which the "hero" confrontshis "rival,"
the figure responsible for bringing to an end the desired relationship, in
the guise of a supernatural horseman, brought to life either from death
(the Headless Horseman) or out of a state of inanimateness (the statue of
Peter the Great).12 The protagonists, Ichabod and Evgenii, flee their ap9. RomanJakobson,PuskinandHis Sculptural
Myth,
trans.and ed.JohnBurbank(The
Hague, 1975), 4, 5, 6 (emphasisin the original).
10. Ibid., 9-10 (emphasisin the original).
11. No dearth of sources have been put forwardfor Pushkin'sBronzeHorseman.
Pushkinhimself,in his forewordand notes to the poem, mentionsthe historianVasilii
NikolaevichBerkh,the ItalianjournalistFrancescoAlgarotti,and the poets Prince Petr
AndreevichViazemskii,Adam Mickiewicz,and V G. Ruban as havinginspiredlinesor sectionsof the poem. Criticsand poets have added to thislist,includingValeriiBriusov,who
remarkedthat"theimage of the statuecome alive mighthave been suggestedto Pushkin
byM. Iu. Viel'gorskii'sstoryabout a certainmarvelousdream."See ValeriiBriusov,"Mednyivsadnik,"in his Sobraniesochinenii,
7 vols. (Moscow,1975), 7:53. WaclawLednickihas
gone so faras to speak ofthe "mosaiccharacterofthepoem" in relationto itssources.WaclawLednicki,Pushkin's
BronzeHorseman:TheStoryofa Masterpiece
(Berkeley,1955), 19. To
date, however,no one has proposed a source thatmightaccount forthe plot structureof
the poem as a whole. For a recentoverviewof possible sourcesthathave been suggested
forthe poem, see AndrewKahn,Pushkin's
TheBronzeHorseman(London, 1998), 98-108.
12. In thiscontext,Lednickimakesthefollowingobservationin his discussionof The
BronzeHorseman:"This motifof the animationof a statueor a portraitwas especiallypop-
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Bronze Horseman and "The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
341
parently fantastic pursuers through the night. In the aftermath of this
adventure, both, in the end, disappear from the scene, exiled from the
precincts over which the horsemen reign. Despite evident differencesin
tonalityand treatmentthat mask their similarity,then, the tales followisomorphous plot lines. There are also some strikingcoincidences in detail
between the two tales, a comparison of which suggests how Pushkin may
have adapted the material provided byIrving,not only to his own personal
associations (as Jakobson proposes), but also to the historical and social
realities of his cultural context.
Both Irving and Pushkin begin by locating the action in relation to a
historicallyimportant river,thus setting the stage for the clash between
historical forces played out in each work at the moment of confrontation
between protagonist and horseman. As The BronzeHorsemanopens, Peter
stands "Na beregu pustynnykhvoln" (Upon the bank by barren waves),
looking out over the Neva.13 "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" opens with
the sentence:
In thebosom ofone ofthosespaciouscoveswhichindenttheeastern
shore of the Hudson, at thatbroad expansion of the riverdenominated
bythe ancientDutch navigatorsthe Tappan Zee, and wheretheyalways
prudentlyshortenedsail, and implored the protectionof St. Nicholas
whentheycrossed,therelies a smallmarkettownor ruralport,whichby
some is called Greensburgh,but whichis more generallyand properly
knownbythe name ofTarryTown.14
We firstnote Pushkin's economy and Irving's loquaciousness, a contrast
that may go a long way toward explaining whythe similaritiesbetween the
two tales have previously been overlooked. More important, the references to the Neva and the Hudson define a basic semiotic framework
withinwhich the conflict in each work unfolds. The river serves not only
as a point of entryfor Europe to what had hithertobeen wilderness but as
a permeable boundary as well, marking the limit of the privileged space
that serves as the locus of each tale and also allowing the ingress of potentiallydisruptiveoutsiders. Irvingemphasizes the centralityof spatial locus by identifyinghis tale in the title by the geographical locale in which
it takes place: "The Legend of SleepyHollow." Pushkin, in like fashion, subtitleshis workPeterburgskaiapovest'
(A Petersburg tale). Moreover, arguably
the statue of the Bronze Horseman itself,fromwhich the poema draws its
title,functions as a metonym of place.15
ular among the romantics,since it servedto illustratetheiridea of the irrationalmagicof
art.Hoffmann,Maturin,Washington
Irving,Gogol, Odoevsky,Lermontov,and manyoth17 (emphasismine).
BronzeHorseman,
ers exploitedthisold motif."Lednicki,Pushkin's
13. A. S. Pushkin,Mednyivsadnik,in PSS, 17 vols.,5:135; A. S. Pushkin,"The Bronze
in ChristineRydel,ed., TheArdisAnthology
of
Horseman,"trans.CatharineNepomnyashchy,
RussianRomanticism
(AnnArbor,1984), 151 (hereafterPushkin,"The BronzeHorseman").
14. Irving,Sketchbook,
272.
mertvets
15. Interestingly,
one translationappeared under the titleBezgolovyi
(The
headless dead man) thusfocusingattention-as does the titleTheBronzeHorseman-on
the supernaturalcharacteras the centralfigurein the work.On the significanceof titles
Myth,3- 4. For an overviewof
in Pushkin'sworks,see Jakobson,Puskinand His Sculptural
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
342
SlavicReview
Both Evgenii and Ichabod, in the parallel passages in which theyelaborate their visions of future marital bliss, reveal their powers of imagination. While Evgenii's musings ("Zhenit'sia? Nu.... za chem zhe net? ... "
[Get married? Well . . . why shouldn't I? . . . ]), in which he envisions the
course of his life to the grave, are pointedly prosaic, this passage is prefaced by the remark, "i razmechtalsia kak poet" (and, like a poet, set to
musing),16 cautioning us not to dismiss his abilityto dream too lightly.In
the corresponding passage from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," Ichabod
reveals himself as a restlessYankee, his heart set more on the bounty Katrina represents than on the young woman herself. He confuses Katrina
with the property owned by her father and dreams of the liquidation of
these holdings, the transformationof the place into movable assets, disclosing an imagination as fertileas the land he covets:
As theenrapturedIchabod fanciedall this,and as he rolledhisgreat
green eyesoverthe fatmeadowlands,the richfieldsofwheat,of rye,of
buckwheat,and Indian corn, and the orchardsburthenedwithruddy
fruit,which surroundedthe warm tenementof Van Tassel, his heart
yearnedafterthedamselwhowasto inheritthesedomains,and hisimaginationexpanded withthe idea, how theymightbe readilyturnedinto
cash, and the moneyinvestedin immensetractsof wildland, and shingle palaces in the wilderness.Nay,his busyfancyalreadyrealized his
hopes, and presentedto him the bloomingKatrina,witha whole family
of children,mounted on the top of a waggon loaded withhousehold
trumpery,
withpotsand kettlesdanglingbeneath;and he beheld himself
bestridinga pacingmare,witha coltat herheels,settingoutforKentucky,
Tennessee,or the Lord knowswhere.'7
Both Evgenii's and Ichabod's dreams of course come to naught, defeated
by the competing visions of their more powerful rivals.
In this context I would finallypoint to what to my mind is the most
significantconvergence between the Pushkin and Irving works: the nature and function of the "supernatural" horsemen. In both cases, the
figurerepresents an incursion of the past into the present. Moreover, the
Headless Hessian, like the Falconet statue of Peter the Great, embodies a
historical moment of revolutionary social upheaval, the effectsof which
shape contemporary lifejust as the Petrine "revolution" has created not
only the physical setting but the social context that determines the sad
course of Evgenii's life and demise. The confrontationsbetween Ichabod
and the Headless Horseman, on the one hand, and between Evgenii and
Peter, on the other, thus represent a clash of historical forces that,despite
appearances, leaves the "victor"and his "victory"in an ethicallyand even
ontologically and aestheticallyambiguous position. Before exploring this
contention further,however,let me firstlay out the evidence that Pushkin
in fact read "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
readingsof TheBronzeHorsemian
thathave focusedon theimage ofPetersburgin thepoem,
TheBronzeHorseman,
89-97.
see Kahn,Pushkin's
16. PSS, 17 vols.,5:139; Pushkin,"The Bronze Horseman,"152.
17. Irving,Sketchbook,
279-80.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Hollow"
The Bronze Horseman and "TheLegendofSleepy
343
Recognitionof the indebtednessof otherofPushkin'sworksto Irving
datesback to thepoet'slifetime.'8
The Americanwriterenjoyeda tremendous voguein Russiain the1820sand 1830s,19and therewerethoseanmong
theoriginalreviewers
ofPushkin'sPovesti
Belkina(The talesofBelkin)who
were quick to note the similaritiesin prose technique between the two
authors.In the twentieth
scholarshave establishedmore specific
century,
instancesofinfluence.In a 1926 article,the SovietcomparatistM. P. Alekseev tracedthe conceptionof Pushkin'sunfinishedprose fragment"Istoriiasela Goriukhina"(The historyof the villageof Goriukhino)to Irving's A Historyof New York,and in more recent years scholars have
postulatedsourcesforPushkin'sTalesofBelkinin Irving'sTheSketchbook
of
Gent.(in which,ofcourse,"The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
Geoffrey
Crayon,
also appears).20 Whileothercommentatorshave been concerned,in this
context,exclusivelywithPushkin'sprose, Anna Akhmatova,in a wellknownarticleoriginallypublishedin 1933,extendedthe issue intoPushkin'spoetry,identifying
Irving's"The Legend of the ArabianAstrologer"
as the sourceforPushkin's"The Tale of the Golden Cockerel."'"
Althoughthereis no hard evidence thatPushkinread "The Legend
ofSleepyHollow,"thepoet would seem to have had ample opportunity
to
do so. WellbeforethefirstRussiantranslationofIrving'sworks,hisSketchbookbecame availableto the upper crustof the Russianreadingpublic in
an 1822 Frenchtranslationof the fourthedition of Irving'sworkbyAlbane Delpeux and ComteJosephVilletard.22
Moreover,in Aprilof 1823,
18. PushkinmentionsIrvingonlyonce in passingin hiscriticalworks,in "Dzhon Tenner."(ForarticlesconcerningPushkin'scitationofIrvingin 'JohnTanner,"see thelastnote
in thisarticle.)For a possiblesecond referenceto IrvingbyPushkin,see A. N. Nikoliukin,
Literaturnye
sviaziRossiii SShA:Stanovlenie
literaturnykh
kontaktov
(Moscow,1981), 238.
19. For a detailed discussionof Irving'sreception in Russia, see Nikoliukin,Literaturnye
sviaziRossiii SShA,especiallythe chapters"VashingtonIrvingi rannie perevody
amerikanskikh
pisatelei"(180-223) and "Pushkini amerikanskaialiteratura"(224-55).
over
20. For an overviewof thisdebate, seeJohn C. Fiske,"The SovietControversy
Pushkinand WashingtonIrving,"Comtaparative
Literature
8, no. 1 (1955): 25-31.
21. Mostnotably,the SovietscholarN. Ia. Berkovskiiin 1962 identifiedIrving'sstory
"The SpectreBridegroom,"also fromthe Sketchbook,
as a source for Pushkin's"Metel"'
(The snowstorm)suggestingthatin the Belkintale Pushkinis "polemicizing"withIrving.
N. Ia. Berkovskii,
"O povestiakhBelkina,"in Stat'io literature
(Leningrad,1962), 289-92.
His argumentis developed and modifiedbyMichael R. Katz, "Pushkin'sCreativeAssimilationof Zhukovsky
and Irving,"in StanleyBrodwin,ed., ThaeOld and NewWorld
RomanticismofWashington
Irving(New York,1986), 81-89. See also David M. Bethea and Sergei
" PMLA
Davydov,"Pushkin'sSaturnineCupid: The Poeticsof Parodyin TheTalesofBelkin,
96 (1981): 8-21; A. Akhmatova,"PosledniaiaskazkaPushkina,"Zvezda,1933, no. 1: 16176; M. P. Alekseev,"Istoriiasela Goriukhina,"Pushkin:Stat'i i materialy,
pt. 2 (Odessa,
1926), 70-87; Carl R. Proffer,
"WashingtonIrvingin Russia:Pushkin,Gogol, Marlinsky,"
Literature
Comparative
20, no. 4 (1968): 329- 42.
etlitteraires,
ou
22. A copyof thistranslationin twovolumes,entitledEsquissesmorales
surlesMoeurs,lesUsagesetla Litterature
was among
Observations
desAngloisetdesAme'ricains,
thebooksbyIrvingcontainedin Pushkin'slibrary.Unfortunately
theevidenceprovidedby
Pushkin'spossessionof the book remainsinconclusive."The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
(translatedas "La legende de la vallee somnifere")appears on pages 271-326 of the secThe information
ond volumeoftheDelpeux and Villetardtranslation.
givenin B. L. Modzalevskii'sannotatedlistingof Pushkin'slibraryseems to indicatethat,while the firstvol-
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
344
Slavic Review
TheEnglishLiteraryJournal
ofMoscow,which published parallel textsin English and French, printed an article entitled "The Literature of North
America," which included an extensive paraphrase of and excerpts from
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The firstRussian translationof "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was published in issues 11 and 12 of Moskovskii
telegraf
for 1826. The translator,although not credited in the issues of the
journal containing the translation,was thejournal's editor Nikolai Polevoi,
and the translationwas reprinted in his Povestii literaturnye
otryvki(Novellas and literaryexcerpts).23 Pushkin might have read the Irving work in
any of these editions.
Although the most persuasive evidence supporting the contention that
Irvingmay have in some sense provided Pushkin witha morphological impetus for his writingof The BronzeHorsemanremains circumstantial,it is
nonetheless convincing. Not only have scholars already argued cogently
for Irving's Sketchbook
as a source for other Pushkin works, but Pushkin
wrote all those workson which the influence of Irvinghas been postulated
during roughly the same period, the years bounded by the Boldino autumnsof 1830 and 1834. (The BronzeHorsemanwas writtenduring Pushkin's
stayat Boldino in November of 1833.) During these years, Pushkin began
to evince increasing interestin prose composition, and Irving'sworksseem
to have served him as one source of inspiration. Thus, to return tojakobson, in his article discussed above, elaborating on Akhmatova's argument
for Irving as a source for "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel," he suggests
that Irving's "The Legend of the Arabian Astrologer" might in fact have
supplied Pushkin with the epithet "the bronze horseman" as well:
In the model the astrologertellsthe sovereignabout a metal cockerel,
buthe makeshima "bronzehorseman."Puskinread Irving'stalein 1833,
and hisfirstattemptat writingitin verseadjoins thefirstdraftsofthePetersburgstoryabout Evgenijin his manuscript.The figureof thebronze
horsemanbecame the main characterof thatpoetic story,and onlythe
cast cockerelremainedforthe tale,whichwas not realized untila year
later. The combination"bronze tsar,"not "bronze horseman,"as one
reads in Irving,appears in Mickiewicz's"Monumentof Peterthe Great,"
whichinspiredPuskin'sdescriptionoftheFalconetstatue.Sometimesanotherauthor'sworkwhichis thestarting
pointforone ofPuskin'screations
simultaneously
providesa stimulusforanotherof his relatedworks.24
ume is completelyopened, the second volumeis opened onlythroughpage 300. The inscriptionon thebook (thereare no marginalnotes) indicatesthatthe twovolumesof the
translation
weregivento PushkinbyA. I. Turgenev,who was,likePushkin,an avidreader.
Therefore,the pages mayin facthave been opened byTurgenevratherthanPushkin.For
a listof the books by Irvingin Pushkin'slibrary,see B. L. Modzalevskii,"BibliotekaA. S.
Pushkina,"Pushkini egosovremenniki:
Materialyi issledovaniia,
vols. 9-10 (St. Petersburg,
1910), 255-57. It is worthnotingin thiscontextthatN. V. Izmailov,in his commentaryto
involvedin tryTheBronzeHorseman,
has pointed out the perhaps unresolvabledifficulty
ing to identifyall of the apparentlylarge number of books Pushkin took withhim to
Boldino in the autumnof 1833 and liststhoseworksthathe definitively
had in his possession. See A. S. Pushkin,Mednyivsadnik,ed. N. V. Izmailov(Leningrad,1978), 181.
23. NikolaiPolevoi,Povestii literaturnye
otryvki
(Moscow,1829).
24. Jakobson,Puskinand His Sculptural
Myth,10.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Bronze Horseman and "The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
345
Jakobson'sargumenthere becomes all the more significant
in the lightof
mypostulationthatanotherIrvingworkwas crucialto the conceptionof
The BronzeHorseman.
Whilethe evidencethatPushkinread "The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
is, to mymind,compelling,I also believe thatpreciselybecause the two
worksrepresentanalogous momentsin the evolutionof theirrespective
indigenousliterarytraditions,theirjuxtapositionwould be rewardingon
itsownmeritsquiteapartfromthequestionof"influence."In otherwords,
invokingthe distinctionwithwhichI opened thisarticle,I willswitchmy
focusat thispointfrominfluenceto intertextuality.
In thiscontext,theenduringappeal ofPushkin'sand Irving'sworksin theirhomelandsbespeaks
the successwithwhicheach writergave artisticexpressionto the "insoluble antinomies"shapinghis nativecultureas well as his writingcareer.25
Tellingly,
the historiesof the criticalreceptionsof TheBronzeHorseman
and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" have each been characterizedby a
persistentdifferenceof opinion,centeringon the confrontation
between
protagonistand horseman.In both cases the relatedissuesof "whowins"
and, concomitantly,
ofwhatthetworivals,beyondtheirownpersons,represent,has occupied centerstage. Criticaldebates have focused on how
the worksexplore the consequences of historicalrupture-the Petrine
"revolution"
and theAmericanRevolution-as theyshape the livesof the
tales' "present-day"
protagonists.Thus, scholarsof TheBronzeHorseman
have been virtually
unanimousin viewingthe showdownbetweenEvgenii
and thestatueofPetertheGreatas representing
theinevitableclashofinterestsbetweenthe individualand the state,whiledisagreeingsharplyon
the question of whichof the twofiguresprevails(ethicallyifnot historilie.26ScholarsofIrving's"Legcally)and overwherePushkin'ssympathies
end" havebeen equallydividedin locatingtheauthor'sbiaswitheitherIchabod or BromBones as incarnationsofforcesshapingtheyoungAmerican
culture.I would suggestthatit maywell have been preciselythe literary
embodimentof historicalstrainswithcompetingclaimsto legitimacythat
in his TheInterpretation
ofCultures
25. CliffordGeertz,"Ideologyas a CulturalSystem,"
(New York,1973), 203.
ValeriiBriusovidentifiedthree
26. Here, of course,I am somewhatoversimplifying.
major trendsin criticism,
pointingout thatfromthe beginningcriticshad been inclined
symbolsof twoprinciples."See
"tosee in theimagesofEvgeniiand Peterpersonifications,
ValeriiBriusov,"Mednyivsadnik,"in his Moi Pushkin(Moscow-Leningrad,1929), 64-65.
articleon whathe termsthe "dialogicconfrontation"
David Bethea,in his own thoughtful
betweenthe traditionsofEuropean statuaryand Russianheraldryin TheBronzeHorseman,
beginsbysummarizingBriusov'sargumentand pointingout thatmostcriticsof thepoem
Belinskij,ValerijBrjusovwas one of the firstto see an
have tended to "takesides": "After
emergingshape to scholarshipon Puskin'sMednyivsadnik(Bronze Horseman). He outlined threedominanttensionsresponsibleforthe ideological meaningof the work:coland rebellionversusdespotism.
lectiveversusindividualwill,paganismversusChristianity,
[.. .] These tensions,whichsubsequentgenerationsof readershave tended to resolveby
accentingone or the othermemberof the opposing pairs,correspondroughlyto interpretationson the 'social,' 'religious,'and 'political'levels."David M. Bethea, "The Role of
in David M. Bethea, ed., PuskinToday(BloomingtheEquesin Puskin'sBronzeHorseman,"
ton, 1993), 117,99.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
346
Slavic Review
attracted Pushkin to Irving's fiction.27Key concerns in Irving scholarship,
then, offera new perspective fromwhich to read The BronzeHorseman.
As in the case of The BronzeHorseman,there has been relativelylittle
dispute in the scholarship devoted to Irving's "Legend" over the opposed
sociohistorical vectors, tensions created by the emergence of the new
American republic, the story dramatizes. To cite Lloyd M. Daigrepont:
"Generally,criticshave probed the tale's portrayalof the conflictbetween
civilization (or progress) and the idyllicdream of a new Eden in the American landscape."28 In one of the passages from "Legend" most frequently
adduced by criticsin this connection, Irving's tale figuresthis opposition
in terms of the threat posed to the peaceful landscape by flood waters:
I mentionthispeacefulspot [SleepyHollow] withall possiblelaud;
forit is in such littleretiredDutch valleys,foundhere and thereembosomed in thegreatstateofNewYork,thatpopulation,manners,and cusofmigrationand improvement,
toms,remainfixed;whilethegreattorrent
which is makingsuch incessantchanges in other partsof this restless
country,sweepsbythemunobserved.29
In this context, Donald Ringe directs particular attention to "a fundamental regional conflict-the mutual hostilitybetween New York and
New England. [...] Ichabod Crane is clearly a Connecticut Yankee invading-and threatening-a New York Dutch society."30In his most succinct
statement of the competing values that feed this regional enmity,Ringe
argues that "to oppose the material values they see in the Yankee desire
for change, improvement, and profit,the New York writersaffirma stable
society that places its emphasis on order, tradition, and the familyvalues
thataccompany social stability."'31In the same vein, Robert V Wells plumbs
Irving's work for "signs of what was going to happen in the nineteenth
century when a commercial, industrial world replaced more traditional
agrarian patterns."32In sum, then, critics have seen Ichabod Crane and
Brom Bones, rivalsfor the hand of Katrina Van Tassel-"whose virtuesare
worthyoffurtherstudy.Whilecrit27. I would add here in passinga subjectcertainly
in termsof
ics have been inclinedin the cases of both worksto cast theirinterpretations
binaryoppositions,in each case thereis a "thirdterm"thatstandsin ambiguousrelationand thecomshipto thehorseman-the elementalforceofnaturein TheBronzeHorseman
plex of associationssurroundingthe Hessian mercenaryin "Legend."Note,forexample,
thatRichardGregghas contendedin relationto TheBronzeHorseman:"The basic dynamics of the poem is, then ternary(not binary,as is commonlyclaimed)." RichardGregg,
Slavicand East
"The Natureof Natureand the Natureof Eugene in TheBronzeHorseman,"
it is preciselythisstructuraltenEuropeanJournal
1, no. 2 (Summer 1977): 170. Ai-guably
sion betweenbinaryand ternaryrelationshipsthatgivesthe twomuch of theirinterpretiverichness.
28. LloydM. Daigrepont,"Ichabod Crane: IngloriousMan ofLetters,"EarlyAmerican
Literature
19, no. 1 (Spring1984): 68.
29. Irving,Sketchbook,
274 (emphasismine).
30. Donald A. Ringe,"NewYorkand New England:Irving'sCriticismofAmericanSoLiterature
38, no. 4 (January1967): 455.
ciety,"American
31. Ibid., 459.
32. RobertV Wells,"WhileRip Napped: Social Change in Late Eighteenth-Century
NewYork,"NewYork
History
71, no. 1 (January1990): 18-19. I should note thatin thisparticularpartof his article,Wellsis actuallytalkingabout "RipVan Winkle."His articleas a
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Bronze Horseman and "TheLegendofSleepy
Hollow"
347
those of the settled landscape itself"33-as embodiments of two competing social orders, one that cultivatesland and lore and the other that consumes it, the formerdestined by historyto be "washed away."
Many criticsof Irving's "Legend," however, go beyond sociohistorical
analysis to view the storyas more specificallyconcerned with the plight of
American literatureand the American writercaught in the forces of social
transformation.Certainly,"Legend" invitessuch approaches, for it is very
much a tale about tales,just as Sleepy Hollow itselfis a place defined by
the origination and preservation of stories:
Fromthelistlessrepose oftheplace, and thepeculiarcharacterofits
inhabitants,who are descendantsfromthe originalDutch settlers,this
sequesteredglen has long been knownby the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW, and itsrusticlads are called theSleepyHollow Boysthroughoutall
the neighbouringcountry.A drowsy,dreamyinfluenceseems to hang
over the land, and to pervade the veryatmosphere.Some say thatthe
place was bewitchedby a high German doctor duringthe earlydaysof
the settlement;
others,thatan old Indian chief,theprophetor wizardof
his tribe,held his powwowstherebeforethe countrywas discoveredby
MasterHendrickHudson. Certainit is, the place stillcontinuesunder
the swayof some witchingpower,thatholds a spell overthemindsof the
good people, causingthemto walkin a continualreverie.Theyare given
to all kindsof marvellousbeliefs;are subjectto trancesand visions,and
frequently
see strangesights,and hear music and voices in the air. The
whole neighbourhoodabounds withlocal tales,haunted spots,and twilightsuperstitions;
starsshoot and meteorsglare ofteneracross the valley than in anyotherpart of the country,and the nightmare,withher
whole nine fold,seems to make it the favouritescene of her gambols.34
Yet, as is suggested later in the narrative,Sleepy Hollow stands threatened
by the "torrentof migration"shaping life in the New America:
Local tales and superstitionsthrivebest in these sheltered,long settled
retreats;but are trampledunder foot,by the shiftingthrongthatforms
the population of most of our countryplaces. Besides, thereis no encouragementforghostsin mostof our villages,fortheyhave scarcehad
timeto finishtheirfirstnap, and turnthemselvesin theirgraves,before
theirsurviving
friendshave travelledawayfromthe neighbourhood,so
thatwhen theyturnout of a nightto walkthe rounds,theyhave no acquaintanceleftto call upon. This is perhapsthereasonwhywe so seldom
hear of ghostsexcept in our long establishedDutch communities.35
Drawing on such passages in Irving's tale, scholars have tended to view
the storyas a parable of American literaryculture, a figurationof the cultural tensions that shaped Irving's own career as a writer.Most frequently,
Ichabod Crane emerges from such exegeses as a writeror "erzatz man of
of
whole,however,exploreshow both of Irving'sstoriesreflectthe social transformation
postrevolutionary
NewYork.
33. Allen Guttmann,'WashingtonIrvingand the ConservativeImagination,"AmeficanLiterature
36, no. 2 (May 1964): 171.
34. Irving,Sketchbook,
272-73.
35. Ibid., 289.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
348
Slavic Review
letters"36
definedand ultimately
defeatedbythe bipolartensionscreated
bytheculturalgrowingpains ofthenewnation:theabsence ofa pastcomparable to the richculturallegacyof Europe,37the concomitantthreatto
the stability
of ethniccommunitiesrichin folkloreposed bythe mobility
of a frontier-oriented
life,the passingof the European patronagesystem
and the growingcommercialism(and even "feminization")
of American
literature,and the challenge posed to imaginationby a Protestantethic
privilegingpracticalityand utility.38
One critichas suggestedthat it is
Brom Bones who is the truebearer of the new Americancreativity
and
all
thattheconfrontation
thusbecomes a contestofrivalartists.39
Virtually
these commentators,
however,are united in viewingthe tale as havinga
(perhaps unduly)optimisticendingas concernsthe prospectsforthe futureofAmericanliterature.
We mightdo wellto emulateIrving'scriticsin suggestingthattheprevailingsociopolitical,historical,and even religiousreadingsof TheBronze
Horsemanmayyetnot exhaustthe interpretive
possibilitiesof the poem. I
have arguedelsewherethatthereis sufficient
evidencein Pushkin'spoem
I willnot repeatthatargument
thatEvgeniimaybe read as a poet figure.40
here,butwillmerelyadduce briefly
theevidenceI believesupportsa readingthatviewsEvgeniias a "writer"
caughtin thesamenetofconstraints
that
conditionedPushkin'sown literaryendeavors.Pace anynumberof scholI am not suggestingthatEvgeniibe read "auars on TheBronzeHorseman,
tobiographically"
(althoughautobiographicalparallelsbetweenPushkin
and his protagonistsupportmyargument).41 Evgenii"is"no more PushkinthanthecomicallypreposterousIchabod Crane "is"WashingtonIrving.
Rather,I am suggestingthatPushkinplaced Evgeniiin a situationwithunquestionableresonanceswithhis ownliterarycontext.
36. Daigrepont,"Ichabod Crane,"74.
37. Irvinghimselfcast a jealous eye on the culturalrichesof Europe's past in "The
(8-9):
Author'sAccountof Himself"thatopens TheSketchbook
-no, neverneed an Americanlook beyondhis owncountryforthesublimeand
beautifulof naturalscenery.
But Europe held forththe charmsofstoriedand poeticalassociation.There
of highlycultivatedsowere to be seen the masterpiecesof art,the refinements
ciety,the quaint peculiaritiesofancientand local custom.Mynativecountrywas
fullof youthfulpromise:Europe was rich in the accumulated treasuresof age.
38. See, for example, Terence Martin,"Rip, Ichabod, and the AmericanImagina'The Legtion,"American
Literature
31 (1959): 137-49; Daniel Hoffman,"Prefigurations:
Fiction(New York,1961), 83 -96;
end of SleepyHollow,"'in hisFormandFablein American
and theInnerLife,"American
QuarRobertA. Bone, "Irving'sHeadless Hessian: Prosperity
terly
15, no. 2, pt. 1 (Summer1963): 167-75; Daigrepont,"Ichabod Crane,"68-81.
39. Daigrepont,"Ichabod Crane,"75-77.
"The Poet, History,and the Supernat40. See CatharineTheimerNepomnyashchy,
in AmyMandelkerand
ural: A Note on Pugkin's'The Poet' and TheBronzeHorseman,"
Essaysin HonorofVicRobertaReeder, eds., TheSupernatural
in Slavicand BalticLiterature:
torTerras(Columbus,Ohio, 1988), 34-46.
41. "Autobiographical"
readingsof Evgeniireston the postulationof a "genetic"relationship between The BronzeHorsemanand poetic fragments,most notably "Rodoslovnaia moego geroia" (The genealogyof myhero) and "Moia rodoslovnaia"(Mygenealogy), Pushkindraftedduringthe early1830s. See, forexample, Lednicki,Pushkin's
BronzeHorseman.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Bronze Horseman and "The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
349
In this regard we must firstrecognize that the confrontation between
Evgenii and the tsar, autocrat and subject, constitutes at least as much a
writer'sproblem-that is, specificallya defining condition of the literary
culture of Pushkin's day-as it does a purely political issue. Pushkin's own
tormented relationship with the tsar is too well documented to demand
revisitationhere, except to recall the extent to which it dominated Pushkin'sliteraryfortunes.In this respect, TheBronzeHorsemanoffersa characteristiccase in point. Pushkin was counting on the profitsfrom the sale of
the works he hoped to produce at Boldino in the autumn of 1833 to ease
his ever precarious financial position, as evidenced by the letterhe wrote
to the tsar on 30 Julyof that year requesting leave to absent himselffrom
the capital:
In thecourse of the past twoyearsI have been occupied withhistorI must
ical researchalone, not writinga singleline of thepurelyliterary.
spend a monthor twoin completeisolation,in orderto restup frommy
veryimportantoccupationsand to finisha book I began a long timeago,
and whichwillbringme moneyI need. I am myselfsorryto wastetime
on vain pursuits,butwhatcan I do? Theyalone bringme independence
and a means of livingwithmyfamilyin Petersburg,where mylabors,
thanksto the sovereign,have a more importantand usefulgoal.42
Nicholas I's fundamental objections to the publication of TheBronzeHorseman dashed Pushkin's hopes. Thus, while Irving lamented the absence of
aristocratic patronage of the arts left at the mercy of the growing commercialism of American literature,Pushkin in essence found himself between these two worlds: his dependence on the tsar (a vestige of the old
patronage system)and his need to live primarilyoffhis own worksin a cultural economy that favored potboiler prose over "gentleman poets."43
Moreover, Pushkin's distaste for the "rabble" of the reading public, given
voice most famouslyin such works as his "Razgovor knigoprodavtsa s poetom" (Conversation between the bookseller and the poet), are echoed in
The BronzeHorsemanas well. If Evgenii is to be viewed as a representative
of the "people," then the callous indifference of the Petersburg narod to
his fate appears all the more jarring, particularlyPushkin's insistence on
its mercantile nature:
B flOpA5OK
HnpeKHL4 BCe BOI-JIJO.
Y)Ke no yJiHUaMCBo6OAHbIM
C CBOHM 6eCHyBCTBHeM XOJ1OAHbIM
X0,1J1
HapOg.
M41HOBHbIli
r10A,
FIOK14HYB CBOLI HOIHOI4 HpHIOT,
42. PSS, 17 vols.,15:70.
43. It is notable in thiscontextthatboth Irvingand Pushkinbegan as "gentleman"
Whatmightbe viewedas a nostalgiafor
and wereforcedto become "professionals."
writers
a more aristocraticpast is registeredin the names of both of theirprotagonists.Daniel
Hoffmanobservesin thisconnection:"Ichabod Crane is a sorrysymboloflearning,ofculof a decayed religiousfaith,of an outwornorderin theworld.His
ture,of sophistication,
veryname suggestsdecrepitude:'And she named him Ichabod, saying,The gloryis de94. In like fashion,the
partedfromIsrael' (I Sam. iv. 21)." Hoffman,"Prefigurations,"
name Evgenii,brokendownintoitsGreekroots,suggests"wellborn,"whichonlyservesto
underscorebycontrastthe lowlystateintowhichPushkin'sprotagonisthas fallen.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
350
SlavicReview
Ha c-iyK6yiLuei.Toprauii
OTBaKHbIi,
He yHbIBaA, OTKpbIBaJI
HeBoi oFpa6JIeHHbI1nABaJ1,
C6Hpa5cbCBOL
y6bITOK BaKHbIL
Ha 6JIHmHeM
BbIMecTL4Tb.
(And orderwas again restored./ Withcold insensitivity
/ The masses
walkedupon the streets/ So recentlyfreedbythewaters./ Emergingfrom
theirpast night'sshelters,/ Officialshurriedto theirjobs. / The fearless
merchant,not despairing,/ Opened up hisplunderedcellar/ And counted
up his heavylosses / Forwhichhe planned to wreakrevenge.)44
In the final analysis,Evgenii is a "writer,"a clerk who "serves" (sluzhit) the
state for money, a sad comedown for the scion of a noble familythat once
"shone beneath Karamzin's pen" (podperom
Karamzina... prozvuchalo)
and
a sad commentary on the writer'sabasement, not only before the public,
but also before the state for his livelihood.45
Let us then turn to the crucial confrontationbetween Evgenii and the
statue. Firstof all, we should note that Evgenii's challenge to the statue
"Dobro, stroitel' chudotvornyi! ... Uzho tebe!" (Justwait, proud miracle
creator!) -constitutes the sole instance of direct speech in the poem, and
his words are specificallyaddressed to Peter the Great as the miraculous
builder of the city,the poser, dare I say, of a creative challenge.46 The
Bronze Horseman's response to Evgenii's challenge lends itselfto two possible interpretations:either the statue reallycomes alive or the event transpires only in Evgenii's imagination. I would argue, however, that the latter, "naturalistic"explanation yields a richer reading of the poem. If the
statue comes alive only in Evgenii's mind, then the poor clerk becomes a
poet surrogate who not only forces a reaction from the hitherto impassive
statue but in essence "rewrites"Peter in the Gothic mode, "displacing" the
statue out of material realityinto the realm of the poet's fantasy.It would
seem, then, that the poema presents us with two symmetrical creative
acts-Peter's at the beginning and Evgenii's at the end-the juxtaposition ofwhich suggestsa mode of being forthe writerin the autocratic state.
Thus, Pushkin seems to suggest, the creative imagination may yield to political reality on the historical plane-Peter's city will remain standing
long afterEvgenii's fleetingmoment of poetic inspiration has passed. Yet,
at the same time, the artisticact-intangible though its fruitsmay behas the power to transform,to "displace" the matterof the historicalworld.
In the confrontation between poet and tsar,the poet emerges victorious
in the invisible space of the mind.
Let me conclude by reiteratingthat,hardly surprisingly,both Pushkin
and Irving address in what are among their most enduring works the
forces that shaped and circumscribed their own careers as writers,stand44. PSS, 17 vols.,5:145; Pushkin,"The Bronze Horseman,"154. We should also note
thatthe shipsPeter's"windowinto Europe" bringsto his imperialcityare, at least byimplication,merchant
ships.
45. PSS, 17 vols.,5:138; Pushkin,"The Bronze Horseman,"152.
46. PSS, 17 vols.,5:148; Pushkin,"The Bronze Horseman,"155.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Bronze Horseman and "The Legend ofSleepyHollow"
351
ing at thebeginningof the emergenceof theirnationalliteratureson the
worldstage,hauntedbythespecteroftheovertowering
legacyofthewestern European culturalpast.Clearlythe threatsposed to literaturebytheir
respectivecultureswere different,as historyhas generouslydemonstrated.Equally clearly,Pushkin'sknowledgeof Americawas limitedand
hisattitudetowardthenewdemocracy,as he would expressitseveralyears
aftercompletingTheBronzeHorsemanand onlyshortlybeforehis death,
mixedgrudgingadmirationwithdistincthostility.47
Yetin Irving,itwould
seem, he found a kindredspirit,or, perhaps more to the point,a fellow
writercaught,like himself,in the growingpains of a youngliteraryculture to whichhe, like Pushkinafterhim,gave enduringshape through
his works.
47. Pushkinread his best documentedsourceson the United States-John Tanner,
A Narrative
oftheCaptivity
and Adventures
ofJohn
TannerduringThirty
YearsResidence
among
en
theAmerican
Indians (French translation,1835); Alexisde Tocqueville,De la democratie
Amerique(firsttwovolumes, 1836); and Gustavede Beaumont,Marie,ou l'esclavageaux
Etats-Unis(1836)- onlyaftercompletingTheBronzeHorseman.On Pushkin'sattitudestowardAmericaand specifically
on his 'JohnTanner"article,see J.Thomas Shaw,"Pushkin
on Americaand His PrincipalSources: His 'JohnTanner,"' in his Collected
Works,
vol. 1,
Pushkin:Poetand AMan
ofLetters
and His Prose(Los Angeles,1995), 231-59; GlynnBarratt,
"Pushkin'sAmerica:A Surveyof the Sources,"CanadianSlavonicPapers15, no. 3 (Autumn
1973): 274-97; B. Mar'ianov,"Ob odnom primechaniik stat'eA. S. Pushkina'Dzhon Tenner,"' Russkaialiteratura,
1962, no. 1:64-67; Mark Al'tshuller,"Pushkino problemakh
demokratii('Dzhon Tenner'),"RussianLanguageJournal
38, nos. 129-30 (Winter-Spring
1984): 69-78; and M. P. Alekseev,"K stat'e Pushkina 'Dzhon Tenner,"'in his Pushkini
mirovaialiteratura
(Leningrad,1987), 542-48. Lednicki,in supportof his hypothesisthat
TheBronzeHorsemanexpressesPushkin'sbeliefthatPeter the Great'sreformscaused the
decline of the old Russiannobility,citesan articlePushkinwrotein 1832 deploringboth
the "chate de la noblesse"in Russia and democracyin America:"The table of rankshas
been sweepingawaythenobilityfor150 yearsnow,and itis thepresentemperorwho is the
firstto have put up a dike,stillveryweak,againstthe torrentof a democracyworsethan
actuel
etc'estI'Empereur
thatofAmerica"( Voiladejd150 ans quela tableofranksbalayela noblesse
qui lepremier
contre
le debordement
d'unedemocratie
a poseune digue,bienfaibleencore,
pireque
cellede l'Amerique)
. Lednicki,Pushkin's
BronzeHorseman,
65.
This content downloaded from 129.237.35.237 on Fri, 13 Mar 2015 22:34:07 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions