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Passing on the baton…. Scott reminiscing (letter of 1827).
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Scott reminiscing (letter of 1827) “I was a lad of fifteen in 1786-7, when he came first to Edinburgh, but had sense and feeling enough to be much interested in his poetry, and would have given the world to know him; but I had very little acquaintance with any literary people, and still less with the gentry of the west country, the two sets that he most frequented. Mr Thomas Grierson was at that time a clerk of my father's. He knew Burns, and promised to ask him to his lodgings to dinner, but had no opportunity to keep his word, otherwise I might have seen more of this distinguished man. As it was, I saw him one day at the late venerable Professor Fergusson's, where there were several gentlemen of literary reputation, among whom I remember the celebrated Mr Dugald Stewart. Of course we youngsters sate silent, looked and listened.”
Today’s session • Considers the career and impact of Sir Walter Scott’s fiction • Looks in some detail at one of Scott’s short stories ‘The Two Drovers.’
Brief biography 1771 Born to a prominent lawyer, heir to an established Borders family 1772 Contracts polio – sent to family farm in the Borders where he grows up immersed in oral tradition; also encounters Allan Ramsay’s work 1779 Well enough to start school in Edinburgh; learns Latin; reads classics 1784-6 Studies law at Edinburgh University; then begins practising as a lawyer 1799-1814 Recognised as a major ballad editor and narrative poet: eg Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Lay of the Last Minstrel, Lady of the Lake, Marmion…
‘The Lady of the Lake’ (1810) • Historical backdrop: • feud between King James V and the Clan Douglas • Civil strife between Lowland (James V) and Highlands (Roderick Dhu of the Clan Alpine) • Personal narrative: • Love rivalry for ‘Fair Ellen’ between ‘James Fitz James’, Roderick Dhu and Malcolm Graeme • Uses a romanticised version of Scottish history to drive a personal narrative…or vice versa?
From ‘The Lady of the Lake’ (1810) Fitz-James knew every wily train A lady's fickle heart to gain, But here he knew and felt them vain. There shot no glance from Ellen's eye, To give her steadfast speech the lie; In maiden confidence she stood, Though mantled in her cheek the blood And told her love with such a sigh Of deep and hopeless agony, As death had sealed her Malcolm's doom And she sat sorrowing on his tomb. Hope vanished from Fitz-James's eye, But not with hope fled sympathy. He proffered to attend her side, As brother would a sister guide.
Scott’s success as a poet • 25000 copies of The Lady of the Lake sold in 6 months • Critical as well as a popular success • Started vogue for visiting the Lake Katrine in Trossachs in the Highlands
Lingering echoes… Boat Song Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances! Honored and blessed be the ever-green Pine! Long may the tree, in his banner that glances, Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line! Heaven send it happy dew, Earth lend it sap anew, Gayly to bourgeon and broadly to grow, While every Highland glen Sends our shout back again, 'Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho! ieroe!'
But… • 1809 Scott leaves his publisher Archibald Constable, and enters a secret deal with James Ballantyne and Co., who were to publish The Lady of the Lake. • 1811 Scott buys Cartley Hole Farm and begins to build his ambitious estate, Abbotsford, there. • 1813 Ballantyne and Co threatened with bankruptcy.
The birth of Scott the novelist • 1814 Anonymous publication of Waverley, or ‘Tis 60 years Since • Historical backdrop • 1745 Jacobite Uprising: Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Highland Clans versus England (and much of Lowland Scotland) • Personal narrative • Story of Edward Waverley, a romantic English soldier, stationed in Scotland in 1745; He is attracted by the doomed Jacobite cause (embodied by beautiful Flora MacIvor) but ultimately settles sensible Unionism, symbolised by the lovely Rose Bradwardine.
Scottophilia • First edition of Waverley (1000 copies) sells out within two days of publication • Eight more ‘Waverley’ novels follow, including Rob Roy (1817). • Scott’s anonymity is largely broken: 'Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. -- It is not fair. He has Fame and Profit enough as a Poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people's mouths.-- I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it -- but fear I must.' (Jane Austen, in a letter to Anna Austen, 28 September 1814)
Later career • ‘English’ historical novels • Ivanhoe • Kennilworth • ‘Scottish’ historical novels • The Abbot • Redgauntlet • ‘Foreign’ historical novels • Quentin Durward (France) • The Talisman (Palestine)
1829 Magnum Opus edition of Waverley novels • Affordable set • Revised text • New introductions and notes by Scott
The Magnum Opus • Between 1829 and 1833, 48 volumes of Scot’s fiction was issued once a month, with introductions and notes by the author. • The project was intended to reduce the debt of more than £126,000 that crippled Scott during the financial crash between 1825 and 1826. • Credit had dried up and banks were demanding loans be repaid at once. The most successful and most famous writer owed debts equivalent to around £12 million today. • One volume a month was published between 1829 and 1833, and sold for five shillings, equivalent to £12 today. • “Such was the interest in everything he did that they sold in huge numbers – 30,000 volumes a month. The profits were great and when Scott died in 1832 the debt had already been reduced by half.” – David Hewitt of Aberdeen University.
Changed literary landscape • The eclipse of poetry by fiction • The rise of the novel as a respectable literary genre • The rise of a mass market for affordable fiction (Edinburgh as a publishing centre) • The invention of the best-selling author and novel-writing as a profession…
Focus on ‘The Two Drovers’ • Story from Chronicles of the Canongate (1827) • First work Scott openly acknowledged. • Linked stories set between 1750-1800, narrated by ‘Chrystal Croftangry’.
Issues in Scott’s story • Two sets of values: Lowland (English) and Highland (Scottish Gael) • Differing codes of honour
‘The Two Drovers’ • Opening pages establish a ‘cultural ethnography’ of Highland life: • Costume • Language • Traditions • Rituals • Beliefs
The journey • Highlander travels south (cfWaverley: Englishman travels north) • Cattle market as a multicultural melting-pot: site for companionship & tolerance based on shared economic interests • BUT… misunderstanding > murder. • What went wrong?
Culture clash • Scott’s representation of ‘face’ • To save face, Harry must beat Robin • To save face, Robin must then kill Harry. • The ethnographical introduction frames the episode and invites a ‘cultural’ interpretation.
My learned friend for the prosecution (Eduardo Morais de Castro) Your honor, here I stand in this house where justice must always prevail. But before that, we must examine carefully every little aspect of each case, for no man should be convicted without proof. In this case however, it is very clear to every soul in this room that Mr. Oig M’Combich is guilty of murdering Mr. Wakefield in cold blood. The most important fact to that matter: Mr. Oig M’Combich covered a great distance in order to take into his possession a specific weapon. I have here in my hands Mr. Morrison’s testimony which says that Mr. Oig M’Combich came to him filled with anger asking desperately to have his dirk back.
My learned friend for the prosecution (Eduardo Morais de Castro) Mr. Morrison tried helplessly to persuade him, for the man, and here I quote, “had the devil in his eyes”. It is true that Mr. Wakefield and some of the local inhabitants hurt the defendant both physically and morally. In spite of that, Mr. Oig M’Combich did not react out of instinct or impulse. He left the place and had a few hours to come to his senses and look for proper justice. Instead, not only did he plan but also practised the despicable act of ending the life of his so called brother. Your honor, we are no longer in the dark days of the centuries that came before us. Men must not make justice with their own hands. This is why we serve our community and therefore I request the right punishment for Mr. Oig M’Combich: the death sentence. UNUM CASTIGABIS, CENTUM EMENDABIS!
My learned friend for the defence(Adriane da Silva Ribeiro) “Gentlemen of the jury, I comprehend the seriousness of the case. But I also comprehend this man’s come from a land where “revenge” is in people’s blood. And who, among us, could say we do not have the same blood? Who among us could say that has never thought of vengeance once in a life-time? Who could say that has never had a feeling of revenge about a person? … I beg you all to think about the answers to these questions before thinking about the crime. We all know Robin Oig M’Combich committed a serious one. I am not denying it. As well as we all know he had tried to reconquer the dead man’s friendship; however, he has just gotten no mercy, no compassion. He has just gotten injury and offense from his - what I should say - “friend”.
My learned friend for the defence(Adriane da Silva Ribeiro) I know the law has its force, as well as I know we all suffer bad emotions, which encourage us to act with no reason, a feeling which cannot be described in Latin, nor in Gaelic, nor even in English. Thus, I beg you to think of one more doubt of mine… we all know he took a life of a gentleman, but should we act likewise? Should we commit the same crime? If I were you, I would take a look at the law again, chapter 9, which says “ultio non generat ultionis”. And as the law of the human beings, gentlemen like us, describes, I would give him my mercy and also some job to do in our lands, with no payment; he would never be a highlander again. Then, his feeling of regret would last in his mind and heart forever. No punishment would be greater for his crime.”
Literature and the law • Final pages = a shift in style • Scots-rich dialogue > Latinate legal prose. • Judge voices clichéd cultural assumptions about the Highlands BUT also argues for cultural relativism. • Still, the dominant, ‘civilised’ culture must prevail…or must it?
Your verdict…27 submissions • 11: Robin should 16: There should hang. be clemency.
Scott’s Legacy • Invention of the historical novel: space for the exploration of the personal and the political. • Exploitation of Scotland’s history and culture as material for fictions of doomed romanticism. • International (and enduring) popular interest in Scotland as a site of mountain, flood, romantic heroism, passion, men in kilts… • Translations of Scott into many languages (but particularly French…)
For further exploration • http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/
Next week’s task • Mid-semester essay preparation. • Choose a poem from the advanced reading selection for the Mid-Semester Essay Preparation and plan an essay on it. • Sketch out 200 words. • Preparation for next week’s discussion.
