by Alexander Lourenco

Created on: July 29, 2008

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of those tales that is firmly entrenched in the American canon of myth. Even if you have never read the actual tale, you know as if by heart the details of the story: you can recount Ichabod Crane's ill-fated ride in the moonlight and the terrible, maybe supernatural creature that stalks him. The tale is made all the more mysterious to us by its association to the Revolutionary War; a period already romanticized in our collective consciousness is given an added dimension of mystery and intrigue by a ghostly tale set among it.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is set in Tarry Town, New York, around the year 1790. This was a period very close to the Revolutionary War, a time where the newfound independence of the colonies was still being formed and constructed into the nation that we know today. This was a time also, however, of balls and dances, a time of aristocracy decreed by wealth; a time where money talked and might made right. In this light, Irving's tale could be seen as a cautionary one. Ichabod Crane is attempting to woo Katrina Van Tassel, and his education leads him to court her surprisingly well considering his less-than-stellar appearance and odd mannerisms. He outwits and outplays his rival for Katrina's affections, Brom Bones, at every possible opportunity, and Brom's attempts to humiliate him are met with no success at all.

The decisive stroke for Ichabod Crane comes when Miss Van Tassel declines his marriage proposal and he rides home at night. He encounters the Headless Horseman, a creature of darkness who pursues him and is only stymied by his aversion to water once Ichabod crosses a river. It is a powerful moment because it shows us how fear and superstition can trump even the most intelligent of men; Ichabod Crane, a schoolmaster and intellectual, is reduced to fleeing and disappearing in the face of the unknown and terrifying.

The setting of all this in the historic and formative periods of our nation suggest at an interesting interaction between intelligence and fear. It is strongly implied that the Headless Horseman was in fact simply Brom Bones in disguise; a mundane opponent that Ichabod Crane had already faced and defeated was able to overcome him simply by changing his appearance and attacking Crane's fear rather than his intellect. This idea strongly resonates in the late 18th century, as the founding fathers were struggling to reconcile the people's fears and dreams with their intellect in forming a nation; it resonates today as well.

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