Contextual Documents for Child's Hobomok

[Channing, E.T.]. “Essay on American Language and Literature.” North American Review 1 (1815): 307-14.

In this review, which comprises some of the USA’s earliest literary criticism, Channing offers an explanation for why America is so deficient in the literary art. He says that “national literature seems to be . . . the legitimate product of a national language” (312) and that, because America has been transplanted from other nations, its literature reduced merely to imitation rather than to originality. Only a native language, tied to the land from which it sprung, can give justice to the majestic beauty of the American continent. As a solution, Channing suggests that English American authors investigate and adapt “the oral literature of its aborigines” (314-14). This suggestion was taken up by many authors, including Child, who purposefully integrated the Indian presence and folklore into their historical fictions, often representing/imitating their language through dialogue.

Cobb, Lyman. “Diminution of the Indian Tribes.” Cobb's juvenile reader no. 3 : containing interesting, historical, moral, and instructive reading lessons, composed of words of a greater number of syllables than the lessons in Nos. I and II, and a greater variety of composition, both in prose and poetry, selected from the writings of the best American and English authors : to which are prefixed observations on the principles of good reading : designed for the use of larger children in families and schools. Pittsburg: Luke Loomis, 1831. 72–74. 4 Apr. 2009 .

---. “The Indian and the American Officer.” Cobb's Juvenile Reader no. 3. 174–177.

In the above sections of Cobb’s Juvenile Reader, the author makes use of the opportunity to educated white American children about the nature of the people whom they have displaced. The first selection listed, “Diminution of the Indian Tribes” paints a picture of a pitiable and weak race who simply could not survive in the presence of all-powerful civilization, and who were doomed to passively disappear in the shadow of Western greatness. The Indians are described as the most brave and worthy of human-kind, adopting much of Irving’s “noble savage” imagery and language. Little to no direct mention is made of the oppression which the Europeans exerted upon the Natives; instead, the reader receives the impression that the Indians are disappearing quietly, accepting with tragic despair the unalterable destiny of extinction. The second selection, “The Indian and American Officer” tells the tale of a young European prisoner of war who is saved and adopted by an Indian chief, to replace his recently dead son. The Indian teaches the young officer the ways of the Indians, and then peacefully releases him with deep emotions and tears, saying that he no longer loves to look at the blossoming tree. The implication is that Indians actually respect and love their white invaders, and have decided to acquiesce to their Lordship, seeing their own time on earth as over. Although this reader was published several years after Child’s Hobomok, it is an artifact which reflects the general sentiment toward and perspective of the Native Americans being propagated during Child’s time, in which the Indians were being forcibly exterminated by the United States government.

Eastburn, James Wallis, and Robert Sands. Yamoyden, A Tale of the Wars of King Philip: in Six Cantos. New York: Clayton and Kingsland P, 1820.

Yamoyden was an epic poem which was highly acclaimed by the North American Review for its successful adaptation of American themes to the historical Romance style of Sir Walter Scott. At the same time, the poem was criticized for the sentimental light it threw upon Indians and miscegenation. Eastburn and Sands tell the story of a white woman who falls in love with an American Indian, and marries him in rebellion against her father. King Phillip’s War is depicted with much sympathy for the Indians, but the romance is tragic. Nora and Yamoyden die in each other’s arms, and the father of the rebellious woman forgives her and promises to raise the couple’s child. The plot highly influenced Child’s construction of Hobomok, which often sites Yamoyden in its epigraphs.

Irving, Washington. “Traits of Indian Character.” The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. vol. 2. 1820. 6 Apr. 2009 <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Indians/traits.html>.

This treatise actively defends the rights of Indians, attacking the common view that Indians are either animalistic or infantile, defending the Native Americans’ right to their own land. Irving acknowledges the degeneracy of Indians on the skirts of white settlements, “corrupted and enfeebled by the vices of society without being benefited by its civilization. . . . Their spirits are humiliated and debased by a sense of inferiority, and their native courage cowed and daunted by the superior knowledge and power of their enlightened neighbors.” The “true” nature of the American Indian is painted by Irving as dignified and self-sufficient. While the portrait is flattering, it is also noticeably romanticized by Irving: “There is something in the character and habits of the North American savage, taken in connection with the scenery over which he is accustomed to range, its vast lakes, boundless forests, majestic rivers, and trackless plains, that is, to my mind, wonderfully striking and sublime. He is formed for the wilderness as the Arab is for the desert. His nature is stern, simple, and enduring; fitted to grapple with difficulties, and to support privations.” This idealized understanding of the “noble savage” which connect the Native with sublime nature has been both popularized and criticized by different circles of Americans over the last century. It is, however, the understanding which Child adopts in Hobomok.

---. [Excerpt]. A History of New York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. 1809. 6 Apr. 2009 .

In this excerpt from the fifth chapter of Irving’s 1820 book, the author uses a parable about the lunar-alien colonization of the earth to illustrate the evils and injustices of Europ’s colonization of America. He compares the moon-dwellers, “defended with impenetrable armor-- armed with concentrated sunbeams” to the white conquerors, armed with “all the terrors of glittering steel and tremendous gunpowder.” The name of the Pope, by which the Europeans originally conquered and subdued the people, is compared to the alien’s “most gracious and philosophic excellency, the man in the moon,” who gives his lunar servants permission to use all means to subdue the disgusting “sublunary” beings the aliens have discovered, and convert them from Christians to “absolute lunatics.” This passage seemed pertinent to Child’s novel for several reasons. Irving’s anti-colonial sentiments clearly value the technological, but not religious characteristics of Western culture, and identify the perceived “enlightenment” of the conlinizers as the source of European oppression. The piece is also noteworthy for its particular comparison of cultural differences through the imagery of the earth and moon. In Hobomok, the earth, moon, sun and stars play a significant roll in the novels religious and spiritual contemplations, and the light produced by the heavenly beings is often compared to variations of epistemology, philosophy and understanding. Similarly, Irving employs the imagery of heavenly beings, as well as the light from them, in his parable against colonization. Irvin’s lunar-aliens’ response to the complaining earthlings--“Miserable barbarians! ungrateful wretches! . . . does not our moon give you light every night?”—reflects Western bigotry which sees its own “light” (epistemological understanding) so great, even to surpass the sun. Child makes similar assertions in Hobomok, arguing that Truth, like the sun, shines its light of understanding on all, while all other forms of light/”truth” are only secondary reflections.

Reese, William S. and George Miles. “The Illustrating Traveler: Encountering Native Americans: 1780s­-1829s.” Beinecke Rare Books & Manuscript Library. 4 Sep. 1996. Yale University. 4 Apr. 2009 <http://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/native1.htm>.

This online collection compiles illustrations from travel narratives published in various countries which sought to provide a scientific study of the Native Americans. All the illustrations predate Child’s 1824 Hobomok, and reflect a less romanticized view of the Native Americans. Usually placed within or around man-made structures, the Native Americans tend to appear more “civilized” and less savage. When comparing these images to the sketches of Irving, Thomas Cole, and other Romantic artists who usually place the American in a majestic outdoor setting—implying a spiritual connection between Indians and nature—one can see how the “noble savage” image of the Native American developed—an image which Child contributes to in Hobomok.

Emanuel Swedenborg. The Dialights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love. 1768. 6 Apr. 2009 .

---. Indexes to the Apocalypse revealed: I. Of words, names, and things. II. Of the memorable relations. III. Of passages of scripture. Relating to the science of correspondences, spiritual instruction, and the study of the word. London: R. Hindmarsh, 1797.

Child was highly influenced by the works of Emanuel Swedenborg. His was the first theology she encountered which offered a viable alternative to the Calvinism of her parents and the Unitarianism of her brother, neither of which she could accept. In 1822 she joined Boston’s Swedenborgian New Church. Child specifically mentioned Swedenborg’s theory of correspondences and conjugal love in her letters as ideas which inspired her. Although she did not find complete satisfaction in this theology, it still aligned in many ways with her own beliefs which she presents in Hobomok.

Artifact Inventory

1) When, where, and by whom was your text first printed?

1824, Boston, by Hilliard & co.

2) How often was your text reprinted? List all of the reprints using MLA citation style. Do not confuse dates of publisher’s/printer’s birth and death with reprint dates.

The National Union Catalogue Pre-1956 only contained two listings: the first 1824 publication and the Ann Arbor, Mich. 1962 University microfilm scan of that book, as held by the American Culture Series. Worldcat listed a second scholarly collections that now hold/include the Ann Arbor microfilm, two other collections which hold a Woodbridge, Conn. Microfilm copy, as well as two physical printings and one internet publication. The physical printings are by Garrett P and Rutgers. From what I can tell, the Rutgers edition has gone through 9 printings between 1986 and 2001, with no changes. I tried to order the below citations in as chronological an order as possible.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. Boston: Hilliard & co., 1824.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. American Fiction Ser. New York: Garrett P, 1970.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. Boston: Hilliard & co., 1824. American Culture Ser. (1975): microfilm 198.7.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. Boston: Hilliard & co., 1824. American Prose Fiction Ser. (1975): microfilm reel 261.3.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. Boston: Hilliard & co., 1824. Write American Fiction 1 (1970-1978): microfilm reel C-5 no. 520.

Child, Lydia Maria, and Carolyn L. Karcher. Hobomok and Other Writings on Indians. 1986. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2001.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. Boston: Hilliard & co., 1824. Selected Americana from Sabin Dictionary (1989): 3 microfiches.

Child, Lydia Maria. Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times. Boston: Hilliard & co., 1824. The Electronic Archive of Early American

Fiction, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the U of Virginia Library. 27 Mar. 2006. <http://uclibs.org/PID/101863>.

Even though it was Child’s first printed work, it surprised me that there was only one edition of Hobomok ever printed in the 19^th century. Reviews from that time both critique and praise the novel, but it must not have been popular enough for a second printing. Even in the last century there has really been only one printed edition which has lasted and it is from the 1970’s. The novel is indeed rather obscure. In contrast, the NUC shows that many of Child’s other works–political, domestic, and fictional–were printed over and over again, even dozens of time, both in her lifetime and currently. The best attribution to this difference in popularity is most likely due to the fact that Hobomok was her first attempt, and, as scholars note, was not the best of her writing.

3) What was the actual size of your novel in inches or centimeters? (That is, consider it as a material object.) What information can you find about its physical presence? Do you think it was expensive or inexpensive?

It is 18 cm long, but I was not able to find an exact measurement of the width or height. The Book is 188 pages, and based on the e-bay seller’s photo, rather thin, perhaps 2 cm. It has a leather binding, which leads me to believe that it would have cost more than a plain paperback, unless the owner had the volume bound him/herself, which seems more likely.

Being Child’s first novel, printed in a time when novels were now accepted (based on the James McHenry quote from that year) and also less expensive because of printing practices etc, it seems that Hobomok would have been cheap. I am at a loss as to why I cannot find any printing/ publication history, as of yet, about Hobomok. I probably could if I searched through her letters, or got a more recent biography of Child (the only one in UCF’s literature section is from 1980—I should probably search in the history section).

4) View the original title page using the digital database or microfilm. What is included there?[1] Transcribe the exact words of all of the information listed on the title page.

The title page includes the title, an author attribution, a quotation and the publication information.

[very large font] HOBOMOK, │[medium large font] A TALE OF EARLY TIMES. │[medium font] BY AN AMERICAN │ [centered long horizontal dash] │ [left justified, indented right margin, small font] Then all this youthful paradise around, │ and all the broad and boundless mainland, lay │ cooled by the interminable wood, that fround │ O’re mount and vale. [right justified] Bryant. │ [centered long horizontal dash] │ [smaller centered horizontal dash with center swell] │[medium font] BOSTON : │ PUBLISHED BY CUMMINGS, HILLARD AND CO. │ [small font] PRINTED BY HILLARD AND METCALF. │ 1824.

It is interesting to note that Child calls herself “An American” – making her nationality, not her gender, status or state, the center of her identity. In the preface, she interestingly identify the author as a man.

The subtitle, “A tale of early times” focuses the novel not on sentiment or domesticity, but on history, even invoking a nostalgic/glamorous past which Scott so often plays upon.

The poem included has a rather Romantic ring to it, in its praise of nature. But this ring is distinctly American as opposed to British because of its reference to the “broad and boundless mainland”; England is an island. The poem places the focus, not on people, civilizations or relationships, but on the land itself. In this light, she intends to direct her audience to a novel that is based on history of a sublime place.

It is significant that the name of the Publishers is much larger than the name of the printer.

5) If there is more than one edition, compare the title pages. Note any differences here.

There seems to be only one original edition. The modern printing is in a collection of Child’s works on Indians and bears a drawing of a Native American.

6) What miscellaneous front matter exists? Describe it: Frontispiece, Engravings, Preface, Dedication, Other

The only front matter is a Preface which takes up two pages—the front and back of a leaf. The second page of the preface, on the left of the spread, is paginated [iv] (indicating that pagination began with the title page). The very next page, on the right of the same spread, begins chapter 1 (no pagination). The next page, on the left is paginated [6], showing continuous pagination, with only a change from roman to Arabic numerals.

The content of the preface explains the fictitious origins and true purpose of the novel. The speaker in the preface, who calls himself Frederic, has a conversation with his friend about writing “a New England novel” based on their American early history. Frederic despairs of the idea because Scott and Cooper have so conquered the genre. However the friend still feels that there is some, lowly potential. The friend thus writes the MS and, with many doubts, leaves it with the Fredric, who, after reading the novel, immediately suggests publication.

By using the guise of an editor in the preface, Child is able to distance herself from her own voice, expressing her hopes, fears and disappointments regarding her novel through the third person perspective. She is also able to flatter and praise herself without appearing conceited.

The discussion on the first page of the preface about literature of the day is very interesting, and provides the motive and aim of the novel. The author almost resentfully describes the wild success of Walter Scott and Cooper, an while admitting New England history to be “barren and uninteresting,” is purposed on at least attempting an imitation, though it be a very poor one.

Probably the most interesting aspect of the preface is the fact that through it, Child presents herself as a man. By doing this, although she may express fears of failure and literary rejection, she demands that such judgment be made by merit of her writing alone, and not according to her gender. She also avoids having to make many of the humble excuses often expected of female authors for their “scribbling” and spares herself and the rest of her sex self-inflicted deprecation.

The fact that there is no dedication might remind us that reading was becoming more of an industry/trade, and perhaps less a pastime of gentry/aristocracy who needed to follow formal social conventions of groveling to patrons.

7) How long is your novel? Is it broken into volumes and chapters or is it one big chunk? How many volumes and/or chapters? Is the print large and easy to read or dense, with many words on each page and lines close together.

The novel is 188 pages (including the preface and title page).

It is broken into a preface and twenty chapters, each marked with a roman numeral and a quotation at the beginning. The chapters are relatively short—usually around 5-10 pages.

The type-setting is pleasant, with adequate margins and spacing, making for easy reading. Each chapter begins on its own, new page, leaving several inches at the top and spacing. With the exception of one pictorial symbol in the end of the book (the name-symbol of Hobomok), the book is without any special illustration or decoration. None the less, the volume is crisp, light, and pleasing to the eye

The clean simplicity of the book seems to point to both the improved printing conditions of the day, as well as the lack of wealth and status on Child’s part to merit anything particularly fancy.

8) What back matter exists (following the end of the novel, usually signified by the word “finis”)? Sometimes lists of subscribers or other works from this printer or bookseller are mentioned here.

The English words “the end” as oppose to the French word “finis” may be yet another nod to the particularly American/New England-ness that Child is tying to invoke.

That there are no lists of subscribers could be an indication of the early 19^th century changes in publication, or it could indicate that Child had the money to print on her own.

Several of her later works, such as History of Women and The Mother's Book were published by C.S. Francis & Co. and advertised in the back of Letters from New York, and presumably other C.S. Francis & Co. publications.

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