Sir Walter Scott's contribution to the creation of the historical novel cannot be overestimated. His works of a hundred and fifty years have been read out by more than one generation of readers. “Ivanhoe” is one of the most interesting things written by this author.
The historical setting of the novel
The Normans conquered about 150 years ago the ancestral lands of the Saxons in just one battle. The novel takes place in the XII century against the background of the struggle of two brothers for the throne. This is the legitimate king Richard I and his brother John, who, in fact, wants to usurp power in the kingdom. The Plantagenet dynasty has completely established itself on the island and ousted its indigenous inhabitants to the worst lands. The Saxon nobility wants to regain its former position. And the country finds itself in three opposing camps. Such is the alignment of forces at the beginning of the novel, where the main thing should be the image of Ivanhoe created by the imagination of the writer. The plot of the novel begins with the return of Aivengo to his homeland, where he does not know what awaits him.
Characteristic image of Ivanhoe
Wilfred Aivengo is deprived of his inheritance by his father Cedric, but deeply in love with his ward Rowena, whom Cedric is preparing a higher fate than marriage with his son. Aivengo is a Saxon knight who is loyal to Richard I, king of England, representative of the Plantagenet dynasty that came from France. From his overlord, he received a desire to follow the courteous laws of honor. Valor, courage, loyalty for him is not an empty phrase. This is the characteristic of the image of Ivanhoe as a whole.
Participating in the
crusades of Richard, he won great fame as a true defender of faith and Christianity. There, he covers himself with glory, but also causes hatred of the knight Boisguillebert, whom he defeated at a tournament in Palestine. This is one of the parties that characterized the image of Aivengo. He is the perfect embodiment of a chivalrous code of honor and heroism. For him, Richard the Lionheart is an example. The brave knight spent a long time fighting for the Holy Land. He is not a youth, but a true
noble husband who will not act in haste - this is the image of Aivengo before the reader. During the two-day tournament in Ashby, he was seriously injured, but, having gathered all his strength and endurance, he brought the tournament to victory. And then Aivengo, having not fully recovered, will set off to defend the honor of the Jewish girl Rebekah. This is another facet that is included in the image of Aivengo. The knight treats his king, whose valor and courage is impeccable, with a great deal of criticism because of his love affairs. The main character of the novel is one-loving, and he is not subject to any temptations. The image of Aivengo in the novel by Walter Scott is written quite uniformly. This character is positive, and it's hard enough to draw brightly.
Briand de Boisguillebert
This is a knight of the Knights Templar. Knights Templar are representatives of a powerful international military religious organization that supposedly devoted itself to the conquest of the Holy Land. But in fact, they often interfere in European politics. Brian de Boisguillebert is a formidable fighter who has endured many trials, dangers and turbulent passions. He is harsh and looks ominous. He does not recognize morality. He indulges his passions and temptations. So, knowing that the wealthy Jew Isaac is going to go to Sheffield, the knight does not disdain to simply attack him to rob. Greed, a lascivious attitude towards women, far from the lofty courtly representations of that time, characterize this character.
He is not shy about abducting the daughter of old Isaac, Rebecca, and seeking love from his captive. However, over the course of the novel, his image undergoes romantic changes thanks to his love for Rebekah. He, realizing that the girl would not answer his feelings, lost interest in life and died in a duel with Aivengo, but made his death conscious. This is the image of the knight of the order of the temple in Walter Scott's novel “Ivanhoe”. He is the opposite of the main character, but very interesting and bright.
Lady Rowena
It is difficult to analyze the image of the blonde lady of Rowena, because in the novel he is given a hint and without development. We learn a lot about her surroundings, and we can judge about her only indirectly. From the text we learn that she is fair and beautiful. It is also reported that the girl is a creature "soft, kind, gentle", although thanks to her upbringing she is very proud and serious.
Lady Rowena serves only as a pawn in the hands of men who are trying to manipulate it. So, Maurice de Brasi immediately wanted to marry her when he found out what her dowry was. Cedric wants to marry her with Athelstan so that they can give birth to a new strong royal Saxon generation. And nobody cares about the feelings of Lady Rowena herself. It is not perceived by men as a person with their own desires. Even Aivengo treats her as an object. When he returns to his homeland, he is in no hurry to please Lady Rowena with his appearance, but keeps everything from her in deep secret. Winning the tournament, Aivengo calls Rowena the queen of love and beauty, although she might have preferred a simple warm meeting.
Even when, at the end of the novel, Aivengo finally obtains Cedric's consent to the wedding, it turns out that the reader did not even see Aivengo courting his bride. We can only assume that there were once courtship, and Rowena had a feeling of love for Aivengo. This young man is a medieval romantic knight, and he needs a beautiful lady to express and fight for courtly love. This makes Rowena something like a pawn for the writer himself in order to maintain a love affair, and therefore attracts little interest, love and sympathy from the readership to it. The positive image of the writer failed. It is too sketchy.
Rebekah
It is not entirely fair to compare Rebekah and Rowena, because they play different roles in the novel. If the reader knows about the love of Rowena and Aivengo as a fait accompli and does not see any intrigue in it, then Rebekah’s relationship with Aivengo is given in development. Love beautiful black-haired Jewess does not find a response in the soul of the protagonist. Rebekah is a proud, courageous, courageous and free man, since she does not belong to the highest nobility. She is a person despised by virtue of her nationality. But a beautiful Jewish woman is almost always self-confident.
And whenever she is threatened with violence, she argues with the templar. Rebekah has the opportunity to choose her fate - to die with dignity at the Templars' court or to go to Spain and devote himself to work in the hospital. In the final scene, she gives Rovinj a casket of jewelry and rejects the offer to convert to Christianity and stay in England.
These are the main female images in Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe.
Conclusion
This novel immediately after its writing read out the most famous writers of all countries, not to mention the mass reader. Then he went into the category of children's literature. But a modern child is hardly interested in a novel. This colorfully described era of the early Middle Ages can cause interest in an adult thoughtful person who knows history and is prone to analysis.