Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Preface
- 1 The American historical romance: a prospectus
- 2 The Waverley-model and the rise of historical romance
- 3 Historical romance and the stadialist model of progress
- 4 The regionalism of historical romance
- 5 Hawthorne and the ironies of New England history
- 6 Melville: the red comets return
- 7 The hero and heroine of historical romance
- 8 The historical romance of the South
- 9 Retrospect: departures and returns
- Notes
- Index
8 - The historical romance of the South
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Dedication
- Preface
- 1 The American historical romance: a prospectus
- 2 The Waverley-model and the rise of historical romance
- 3 Historical romance and the stadialist model of progress
- 4 The regionalism of historical romance
- 5 Hawthorne and the ironies of New England history
- 6 Melville: the red comets return
- 7 The hero and heroine of historical romance
- 8 The historical romance of the South
- 9 Retrospect: departures and returns
- Notes
- Index
Summary
Was Scott responsible for the American Civil War?
Sir Walter had so large a hand in making Southern character, as it existed before the war, that he is in great measure responsible for the war. It seems a little harsh toward a dead man to say that we never should have had any war but for Sir Walter; and yet something of a plausible argument might, perhaps, be made in support of that wild proposition. The Southerner of the American revolution owned slaves; so did the Southerner of the Civil War; but the former resembles the latter as an Englishman resembles a Frenchman. The change of character can be traced rather more easily to Sir Walter's influence than to that of any other thing or person.
Mark Twain's “wild proposition” has a certain plausibility and attractiveness. For to pin the blame for the war on Scott's “enchantments” is to make an ambitious claim for the power and importance of literature. I am going to argue in favor of a somewhat more modest version of this claim later on, but it must be said at the outset that of course Mark Twain's proposition is wild. Many factors, both literary and non-literary, contributed to the formation of Southern character and to the act of secession which brought on the war.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The American Historical Romance , pp. 272 - 333Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1987