Ivanhoe is a novel written by Scott with the background of English history. The story took place in England in the12nd century, when the Anglo-Saxon? The Saxons and Normans who conquered them across the English Channel had deep-rooted national contradictions.
Indigenous people with strong national consciousness are unwilling to submit to the Normans, but some people flaunt chivalry and take loyalty to the Norman dynasty as their greatest glory. Saxon aristocrat Cedric and his son Ivanhoe are just the representatives of these two kinds of people.
In addition to ethnic contradictions, there are also fierce life-and-death struggles within the ruling class. King Rechard Ⅰ was ambitious and led a crusade composed of soldiers from Christian countries. Ivanhoe also took part in the expedition, so his father kicked him out of the house. Richard I did not achieve the goal of conquering pagan countries, but was captured by the Austrian on his way home.
His younger brother, John, is eyeing the throne in an attempt to usurp the throne and seize power. Cedric also hopes to unite as many forces as possible to restore the Saxon dynasty. Richard I waited for the chance to escape. After returning to China, he won the support of some Norman and Ivanhoe, and stabilized the throne. Cedric also assessed the situation and decided to compromise with the ruling class headed by the king.
Although Ivanhoe is the protagonist of this novel, the author did not make great efforts to describe him with pen and ink. In the author's pen, he is a key figure running through the whole novel and plays a role in threading the needle. When Charles I, the lion-hearted king, lost in the Crusades, Ivanhoe was one of the few old generals who stayed with him. With the help of Ivanhoe and several other old generals, Charles I finally regained the throne. In this process, Ivanhoe is a hero with a sense of justice, which Scott shaped as the embodiment of chivalry. However, in the process of shaping, readers can also see the feudal color of chivalry from Ivanhoe, which greatly reduces the fullness of Ivanhoe's image and lacks the necessary personality, making Ivanhoe lose his distinctive personality characteristics? .
Robin Hood, the most successful character in the novel, is a legend. Robin Hood was originally a legend in folk songs. The author processes and refines the folklore material, making it a heroic rebel image with fierce fighting spirit.
When Robin Hood first appeared, he was a unruly farmer who was besieging the feudal Lord De? In Bev Castle, he stood out and demonstrated his extraordinary leadership skills. Later, when he first appeared at the tournament under the pseudonym of Locksley, he not only shocked the aristocratic feudal lords present with his stunt of "piercing the Yang with a hundred paces", but also attracted the attention of many audiences with his impassioned speech, and repeatedly clashed with Prince John.
Compared with the arrow, he defeated Herbert and then quietly left, fully demonstrating the heroic spirit of all-powerful and the clear attitude of being loyal to Richard and never serving John. He often turned into a fugitive at night and returned the money that serfs were deprived of, showing his chivalrous character.
When he attacked Ghiris Dongbaobao, his hatred of feudal lords was clearly described and highlighted.
Besides Robin Hood, Rebecca is also one of the most touching and vivid images in the novel. In the process of shaping this oppressed and discriminated Jewish girl, the author adopts some romantic methods to idealize her, so as to highlight her deep and strong feelings, strong and firm personality, and at the same time, she also confides her deep sympathy for the discriminated Jewish nation.
On the one hand, the author reflects the tragic experience of the disadvantaged women in feudal society, on the other hand, through her series of actions, she gradually shows her distinct character of not being afraid of violence, not bowing to evil forces, being honest and kind, being open and aboveboard, being soft and firm, being generous and brave in the face of evil forces and daring to resist in her own way.
Rebecca's image completely subverts her parents' contempt and selflessness for money. She is proficient in medical skills and treats the poor for free; Although she fell into the hands of Norman knight Briante twice, she was indomitable. She saved Ivanhoe's life with her brilliant medical skills and helped Ivanhoe tide over the difficulties many times in the dark. The author devoted all his sympathy and praise to the portrayal of this Jewish woman, so this image has great social and typical significance.
When Scott wrote Charles I, the lionhearted king, he drew almost entirely from stories and ballads about him circulated in England, so the mystery and romance in these legendary stories and ballads were well inherited by Scott in his historical novels. In the process of shaping the lion-hearted king, Scott pays attention to the courage and generosity of the lion-hearted king. For example, he comes and goes without a trace in the grand tournament, and then he may find himself drinking in the seclusion of the monastery.
In addition, Lion Heart King also played an important role in solving the contradiction between Saxon and Norman. In his eyes, there is no such nationalist prejudice, so he treats everyone equally, precisely because he is deeply loved by the Saxons. Scott chose those legendary and chivalrous materials to add to Ivanhoe's creative process when he created the image of the king with a lion's heart. He came and went without a trace, treated wine as a song, fought alone and upheld justice, all of which well rendered the romantic temperament of Charles I.
In terms of economic life, land was the basis for people to settle down in feudal society. The Jews could not get this basic material guarantee because of their status as guests, so they had to turn to the industry and commerce and loans that were despised by the agricultural society at that time. Isaac, a Jew in Ivanhoe, and his people are all businessmen in the city without exception. But over time, in the hearts of Christians, businessmen, or profiteers, have become the national characteristics of Jews. From the Renaissance to many modern literary works, we can easily see the deep imprint left by this concept.
It is true that, like the wealthy businessman Isaac, some Jewish businessmen have made remarkable achievements in their business activities. However, money only brought temporary peace, but it also stimulated the greed of the powerful people, who tried their best to extract more oil and water from the Jews. This is because, according to the Germanic Covenant (which had a great influence on European feudal society), "Jews, as Hakka, can only survive in European society if they are attached to their owners." This kind of personal attachment determines that Jews do not have the minimum personal freedom and civil rights, and their property and even life are not guaranteed, so they are completely speechless in social life.
In terms of spiritual life, Jews in a helpless position are particularly unfortunate. Because Jews stick to their national beliefs, they are regarded as dissidents by Christians who advocate Jesus and as evil factors that affect their sacred authority by Christian churches. These radical Christians regard the whole Jewish race as their sworn enemies.
If the hatred of ordinary Christians for Jews stems from their one-sided understanding of religion, then the Christian church, which knows its way well, seems to have ulterior motives for its open anti-Semitic attitude. In order to break away from the mother Judaism and expand the influence of Christianity, the church spared no effort to belittle and expel Judaism, and even the heresy of "killing a Jew can get God's blessing" appeared. This undoubtedly provided a legal religious cloak for anti-Semitism, and made the people's bullying of Jews get the acquiescence and connivance of the church.
In the second half of Ivanhoe, we can see that the cardinal, as the head of the church, has no sympathy for Rebecca, a Jewish girl kidnapped by his men. On the contrary, because of his contempt and prejudice against Jews, he fabricated charges and killed Rebecca. This episode immediately reminds people of the cruel policies adopted by the inquisitions in medieval Europe to eliminate the so-called pagans who refused to convert.
Contradictions inside and outside ethnic groups have always been the fuse of political division and people's suffering. Under the complicated historical background and sharp ethnic contradictions, it is still the poor and innocent people who suffer.
/kloc-at the end of 0/2 century, the contradictions and disputes between nobles became more and more serious. For example, the interests disputes and spears of aristocratic power represented by Prince John Flanders Bev and Cedric never stopped. In order to safeguard their dignity and interests, they launched a vigorous national independence war.
As a victim of political marriage, love is also mentioned in Ivanhoe, and Scott shows people the contradiction between nobles from a special perspective.
With the mediation of King Richard and Prince John, Cedric, an aristocrat, sacrificed his son's love for a political transaction, and the political contradiction was sharp and profound. This decadent traditional feudal thought was the cause of this corrupt politics, which began to deprive humanity and the sense of freedom of love, and was the result of intensified contradictions.