There is no direct connection between Sleepy Hollow and Halloween of course. But the bountiful nature of the autumnal harvest season oozes over the pages of that short story. I mused before on the connection between abundance and fall that must have existed in the minds of our agrarian forebears. Fall is fun for us, a nice season, even nostalgia. But there must have been a time when fall was harvest and harvest was life itself. At least if it was a good harvest.
Plus, already this fledgling nation was showing signs of prosperity and abundance rarely seen in the annals of human history. Ichabod gets this. As he wanders his way toward Katrina's homestead and his fabled night ride, he's more than aware of the wonderful abundance that Fall has bought to the countryside. Sometimes I think an age in which the sight of fruit pies and apple orchards could invoke such pleasure and gladness would not have been a bad age indeed. Not that I begrudge the advancements, but perhaps we could find ways to turn back to the important pleasures without having to jettison everything since the steam engine.
MORAL
ReplyDeleteThe Moral is (I think, at least)
That Man is an UNGRATEFUL BEAST.
-- Hilaire Belloc
As the once wise man said, humans are part angel, party ally cat.
DeleteSide note: It seems that post WW II the members of other denominations that converted to Catholic were, in large part, impressed with the consistency and permanence of traditional belief. My own father, a Lutheran and who remained so, appreciated the common theology of both Churches and was most disturbed by the establishment of the ELCA, which he regarded as watered down Christianity. Today, we have fewer adult converts and I have heard from several that theology was not a prime mover. When people sincerely search for belief, they do because of principle not for a system that will twist itself into a pretzel in a futile attempt to please all.
ReplyDeleteYep. I wonder if I was a Protestant pastor today, if I would lose it all to enter the Church. It was already seen as a unique thing in the 2000s. Today, I can find few in the Church leadership who seem to care if I was Protestant, Catholic, or anything. I've often wondered what my response to the Church would be today. I'm not sure I would have done it, though as it stands, despite everything, I'm glad I did.
DeleteI agree completely, and like Griffey, I wonder if I would have converted if I had seen a Pope behaving like he was the star of a Jack Chick pamphlet, which is exactly what the whole Pachamama thing looked like. I think I would have -- I converted to be in communion with St. Peter, not with Pope John Paul II -- but I would have entered an Eastern Rite Church, so there would be a little distance.
Delete