Beauty of the past
“In that pleasant district of merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest, covering the greater part of the beautiful hills and valleys which lie between Sheffield and the pleasant town of Doncaster. The remains of this extensive wood are still to be seen at the noble seats of Wentworth, of Warncliffe Park, and around Rotherham. Here haunted of yore the fabulous Dragon of Wantley; here were fought many of the most desperate battles during the Civil Wars of the Roses; and here also flourished in ancient times those bands of gallant outlaws, whose deeds have been rendered so popular in English song”.
With these words the author opens the story of Ivanhoe. No surprise that he refers to the past, and contemporary times of the story are not so great, as people became more malicious, more hungry for material needs and pleasures. The author shows longing for the old times when nobility and honesty were of more value.
Dangerous forests
The times the story take place in were the times of lawlessness: it was dangerous to travel, because many gangs were in the forest to rob and kill people. This image is depicted throughout the entire story: “The travellers had now reached the verge of the wooded country, and were about to plunge into its recesses, held dangerous at that time from the number of outlaws whom oppression and poverty had driven to despair, and who occupied the forests in such large bands as could easily bid defiance to the feeble police of the period.” This is what the poor were forced to by robbery done by nobles and those in authorities.
A look of an ecclesiastic
The image of a person of high ecclesiastic rank is depicted in the novel with details: “his dress was that of a Cistercian Monk, but composed of materials much finer than those which the rule of that order admitted. His mantle and hood were of the best Flanders cloth, and fell in ample, and not ungraceful folds, around a handsome, though somewhat corpulent person. His countenance bore as little the marks of self-denial, as his habit indicated contempt of worldly splendour.” Thus the author shows how much differs what the monks say from what they do; they never lived like they called to live the poor – in complete devotedness to spiritual needs.
