| Basic Concept: Primitivism and the
Noble Savage
"Primitivism" is a belief that arose during the European Romantic Movement that held that, because God is revealed in nature, people who live in the wilderness are closer to God; that they live purer lives. . The "Noble Savage" is an idealized stereotype of indigenous people as found throughout the world. Its features include the exaltation of the character in wilderness settings, an exaggeration of physical prowess, a simplistic interpretation of the indigenous world view, and an assignment of lofty virtues and innocence to the common man. . The roots of the concept of the Noble Savage are to be found, according to Hoxie Neale Fairchild (The Noble Savage), in 1) the histories and chronicles of the European explorers and 2) Romantic philosophies. The term "Noble Savage," itself, was coined in the 18th century by Jean Jacques Rouseau in his famous essay, "Social Contract." To Rousseau, the Noble Savage represented the "natural man," that individual in an initial purer state, uncorrupted by contact with the complexities and compromises of society, living in nature according to nature's own rhythms and patterns (according to "natural law"). . In America, the concept of the Noble Savage complements the early nineteenth-century fascination with the American frontier. The idealized aborigine personified the mystery, the primitive power, and the spirituality assigned to the pristine forests. In his text, The Great Frontier,
Walter Prescott Webb notes the four options European colonists faced in
dealing with the "Indian problem": 1) inter-marriage, 2) social integration,
3) segregation, or 4) genocide. With few exceptions, United States
government policy and practice adopted the latter two options. The
Anglo population, however, registered a nervous ambivalence on the subject
of the indigenous populations. In a disdain stemming from his early
encounters in the American West, Mark Twain once noted, "Take the beggar
instinct out of the Goshoot Indian, and he wouldn't 'go' anymore than a
clock without a pendulum. The Goshoot Indian hoards dirt--for days,
weeks, generations." While Mark Twain came to change his attitudes
about indigenous people, in doing so, his vacillation reflects the same
anxiety. Ironically, while some Anglo-Americans supported the removal
of indigenous people for the American frontier, others, through the arts,
came to idealize them in painting and literature. The
fullest exploration of the Noble Savage appears in the Leatherstocking
Tales of James Fenimore Cooper.
 |