Scott’s Englishman, Harry Wakefield, also possesses his own national pride, yet the author brings it forth in a different way. Instead of using visual and oral descriptors, Scott characterizes the Englishman’s nationalism through the events of the story. The most prominent event is the scene at the alehouse where Harry sits in company with his fellow Englishmen. While not actually voicing his views against Scotts, Harry holds fairly close company with a few vocal English border residents. When Robin enters the inn, Harry’s newly met acquaintances make some fairly derogatory statements. The landlord suggests, “better that the wind blew fewer dealers from the north,”(240) and instead of putting a stop to the insults, the Henry ultimately supports them by challenging Robin to a boxing match. Perhaps much of the tension between the two protagonists could have been averted if the argument hadn’t taken place in an inn full of Englishmen jeering, “That’s right, Harry – go it – serve him out,”(241) but Sir Walter Scott places Harry in the middle of the commotion to show the reader how strong his loyalties are to his fellow countrymen; and when push comes to shove, the Highlander and the Englishman have perhaps a bit more pride than is good for them.
Yet, while both main characters share a pride for their respective lands, Scott deliberately characterizes Harry and Robin as being very different people. The author depicts the Highlander, for example, as a man who has a fairly level head while harboring lofty ambitions. Robin Oig has traveled through many parts of Scotland and England and has acquired a good deal of experience in cross-culture interactions. The author notes that Robin has acquired enough tact to keep his “pride of birth” to himself, stating that the Highlander’s his social graces are well in tune with what others might consider “pretentious” (225). It can also be seen in the story that he is slow to anger and apprehensive about being swept into a conflict. Upon entering the alehouse, Robin is bombarded with insults and treated with disrespect, but remains cool and delivers calm answers to many of the remarks made, noting, “It is… fat Englishmen who eat up our Scots cattle.”(240) Yet, underneath his witty remarks, Robin is driven by the knowledge of his ancestry. Sir Walter Scott spends a good deal of time explaining the Highlander’s relation to the famed Rob Roy and notes that Robin hopes to someday “conduct business in his own account, in a manner becoming his birth.”(225) Yet Scott also notes that Robin keeps the rights of his birth as a “miser’s treasure”(225) by not normally revealing it, so when the Highlander requests they fight with swords “like a gentlemans,”(243) the reader sees that thoughts of his elevated position are brought to the forefront when the Highlander is insulted. Overall, Sir Walter Scott describes Robin as a calm and collected man who is nonetheless driven by the knowledge of his eminent forebear.
On the other hand, Scott spends no less time illustrating the unique characteristics of Robin’s comrade, Harry Wakefield. Harry Wakefield, like Robin Oig, is a skilled drover; and while they both share the same care in accomplishing the labors of their day’s work, the narrator describes Harry as a man more prone to gaming and enjoyment than Robin Oig. As the story puts it, “his days of work were dedicated to steady and persevering labour” but “his holidays were holidays indeed” (230). Harry is also characterized as having a singularly large build, well suited for physical contests. This trait plays a key role in the plot of the story as the Englishman is equipped to deal Robin a severe blow; knocking his opponent to the floor, and worse, wounding the Highlander’s pride. Yet, even more important to this scene and the entire story is Harry’s hot temperament. Scott first presents the Englishman as “irascible, sometimes to the verge of being quarrelsome; and perhaps not the less inclined to bring his disputes to a pugilistic decision” (231). Harry later exhibits his readiness to come to blows by refusing to let the Highlander leave without a fight. Ultimately, the Englishman’s quick temper and physical size set him apart from the characteristically calm Robin Oig.
In conclusion, Scott’s description of Robin Oig and Harry Wakefield in “The Two Drovers” focuses on the characters’ equally strong pride for their native lands along with their individual talents and dispositions. These differences, propelled by the force of pride, culminate in a true tragedy. Harry Wakefield, with his short fuse and strong fist and Robin Oig, with his Scottish pride and secret ambitions both posses too much pride to back down from a heated situation, and ultimately die as a result of a simple misunderstanding.
