Naturalism from Forest to Village in William Gilmore Simms's “The Arm-chair of Tustenuggee”

Abstract

William Gilmore Simms's “The Arm-chair of Tustenuggee: A Legend of the Catawba” (1840) frames the lives of colonial Catawba Indians in a naturalistic environment extending from the wild to the domestic; nonetheless, Simms also manages to incorporate elements of realism and romanticism in the tale to provide a blend of perspectives that complement one another. Perhaps most importantly in the context of 19th-century Native American literary studies, the story humanizes the native, providing a tale that realistically and humorously points out aspects of human conflict to which all people are susceptible. This work, among others by Simms dealing with the Native American that are discussed in this essay, effectively counters the generalization that colonial works invariably stereotype the native as noble savage.