Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ivanhoe, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Merits of Chivalry
Disguise and Discovery
Inheritance and Displacement
The Vulnerability and Power of Women
History vs. Romance
Summary
Analysis
Prince John has suspected since the day before that the mysterious knight was one of his enemies, like his brother King Richard’s beloved friend Ivanhoe. De Bracy remarks that Front-de-Boeuf will be unhappy to have to relinquish his land, which Richard granted to Ivanhoe but which the prince gave to his own supporter during Richard I’s absence. The Normans in the crowd support Prince John’s right to dispose of English lands as he sees fit—since all of them either currently benefit from his largesse or hope to someday. Fitzurse, returning from the field, remarks that Ivanhoe poses little threat to Front-de-Boeuf as his wound may very well prove fatal. Although Ivanhoe represents a threat to the usurper Prince John, the rules of chivalry prevail, and the prince orders his own royal physicians to attend to Ivanhoe.
Ivanhoe’s sudden appearance casts light on the Normans’ abuse of power: not only has Prince John seized the throne in King Richard’s absence, but he has taken the lands which Richard gave to his supporters—who evidently include Saxons as well as Normans—and redistributed them to his own supporters. Unable to lay claim to the throne through his own virtue, he must resort to such low handed bribery. And much of the country’s lawlessness grows from this lack of morality on John’s part, since it allows self-interest to flourish.
Themes
But Prince John’s physicians won’t be needed, Fitzurse explains; Ivanhoe’s people have already taken him into their care. Fitzurse describes with appreciation the fortitude Rowena displayed upon discovering her beloved Ivanhoe in such a state. Prince John retorts that he’ll cheer her sorrows by wedding her to a Norman (claiming his right as sovereign to have the final say in noble marriages), and he selects De Bracy as the lucky groom. De Bracy says he appreciates Rowena’s beauty—and the large land holdings she will bring to her husband.
Although it seems like John’s change of heart might point toward the value of chivalry as an organizing principle, the prince delays so long that his empty offer of help becomes moot. And he immediately turns back to oppressing the Normans around him, asserting his right to force Rowena to marry one of his supporters. Although this will further indebt de Bracy to Prince John, it’s unlikely to endear him to the already-oppressed Saxon majority. And it denies Rowena the right to make her own choices in love.
Themes
Before Prince John can make immediately good on his threat, a messenger arrives with a sealed letter from the King of France warning him that “the devil is unchained.” He shows the letter to De Bracy and Fitzurse, who encourage him to wrap up the tournament expeditiously so that they can withdraw to York and prepare for King Richard’s return and the political showdown it will cause.
Prince John rules has displaced his brother with deceit; he cannot oppose King Richard in open contest because he lacks his brother’s chivalric virtue. The King of France sends him a waning because, historically, Prince John and King Philip II of France did conspire to keep Richard imprisoned, knowing that he would overtake Prince John in England and then try to reconquer his family’s territory in France if he were released.
Themes
Anxious to vent his frustration yet again, Prince John seizes the opportunity to pick on the yeoman archer (who now introduces himself as Locksley) who angered the prince on the previous day. John tells the crowd he will judge the archery contest before prematurely closing the tournament. Eight archers step forward, and Prince John compels Locksley to face the victor. Locksley easily bests the man, first by splitting an arrow he lodged in the bullseye, then by challenging him to hit a thin willow branch at 60 yards. Prince John declares Locksley the winner and invites him to join the royal guard, but Locksley declines, saying he has vowed to only serve King Richard.
Prince John, unable to assert himself against his brother King Richard, unleashes a petty attack on a middle-class Saxon, betraying his lack of leadership skills or moral sensibilities. But even this backfires on him, demonstrating yet again the inherent superiority of Saxons to their Norman oppressors. Locksley represents a proud band of Saxon nationalism similar to that of Cedric, which rejects the cruelty, pettiness, lawless ambition, and moral emptiness of the Normans, encapsulated in Prince John specifically.
Themes
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Locksley escapes Prince John’s full wrath only because other concerns distract the usurping monarch. As the prince prepares to retire from the lists, he sends a servant into town to borrow a large sum from Isaac.
Prince John’s urgent message to Isaac once again suggests his impotence; he lacks the financial resources to face his brother, and he requires bribes of money and power to attract supporters.
Themes
