Ichabod Crane: Irving's Unlikable but Appealing Character

One somewhat unusual main character is the unlikable character. 

Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is such a character. He is a "Yankee," which at the time wasn't entirely a positive term. (Think "yuppie.") He is interested mostly in money. He is superstitious. He is, in fact, the wonderful illustration by Norman Rockwell!

The interesting aspect of Irving's text is that Ichabod is not only the central figure--not merely a despised figure like Malvolio--but Irving treats him more objectively than Shakespeare treats Malvolio. I think Shakespeare was taking out his frustrations on lecturing social media types with Malvolio. 

But Ichabod is who he is for the sake of the story, not as a repository of ill-will. 

Generally speaking, he is an outlier amongst main characters. Most writers--and readers--prefer characters they like or characters they can defend. So even when Grendel or Dracula is made the main character, he is then defended. 

A variation on Ichabod is when the main character or narrator isn't the main actor in the story. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout manages to hold her own with Atticus and Tom Robinson. But in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde does anyone remember that the narrator is actually the lawyer, Mr. Utterson? 

I personally would like to see the story told from the lawyer's point of view. But in truth, most readers consider the titular characters to be THE characters. 

A final word about Ichabod: despite most audiences preferring a protagonist they like, even Disney followed Irving's lead. In the Wishbone series, Wishbone plays Ichabod, not Brom Bones. While not particularly likable, the character holds up, giving animators and actors traits and attitudes and behaviors to play with.


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