Reaction to the "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, there is a humorous tone created in the scene where Irving tells us about Ichabod Crane's desire for women. As this section begins, words such as, "terrors, phantoms, and darkness," foreshadow some evil conflict that Ichabod may encounter. As the scene progresses, it is evident that this evil conflict happens to be a woman. Irving uses situational irony to over exaggerate Ichabod's feelings towards women. Ichabod realizes that there is one exception to the generalization that all evils terminate with coming of daylight, "and he would have passed a pleasant life of it if his path had not been crossed by a woman." Ichabod cannot resist the temptation of a woman that the devil sets forth. He blames the devil for putting women in his path as evil lures and temptations. Women make his resistance to sin weaken and this manipulation could only be mastered by the devil himself. Women are compared to devilish beings in the quote," more perplexity to mortal man that ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together- In Ichabod's eyes, women are the ultimate evil temptation. It is very humorous that Irving compares the temptation of seemingly innocent beings, women, with the most evil figures, ghosts, goblins, and witches. He satirizes the way men think about women. Even today, men are tempted by the presence of women constantly and Irving addresses this issue very humorously through his excellent word choice.
In The Legend.
of Sleepy Hollow, the hollow is the setting for fear in Icabod's tall tales.
Irving reflected on the dark setting many times in this story. "The swamp was.
thickly grown with great gloomy pines and hemlocks." (Washington Irving. p. 57).
The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head.