The Devil and Tom Walker
Encyclopedia
"The Devil and Tom Walker" a short story by Washington Irving
that first appeared in his 1824 collection of stories titled Tales of a Traveller
. It was part of the "Money-Diggers" portion.
The story is very similar to that of the ancient German legend of Faust
.
Stephen Vincent Benet
drew much of his inspiration for "The Devil and Daniel Webster
" from this tale.
of a man who cherishes money more than his equally miserly wife. They lived in a tarnished looking house, that had stood long and had an air of starvation. This is until he takes a walk in the swamp at an old Indian fortress and starts up a conversation with the Devil incarnate (referred to as "Old Scratch
" in the story). "Scratch" is shown as a lumberjack
or a woodsman
chopping down trees, each with a prominent and wealthy colonialist name branded on the tree trunk. One rotted and soon to fallen tree has the name of a deacon
who grew wealthy "trading" with the Indians
. Another fallen trunk has that of a wealthy seaman rumored to be a pirate. Old Scratch strikes up a deal with Tom Walker: he offers the riches hidden in the swamp by Captain Kidd in exchange for Tom's soul. Tom agrees to think about it, and returns home.
Burdened with this secret, he mentions it to his wife. When he is not there, Tom's wife takes all the valuables in the house and goes to make a deal with Old Scratch. When Tom goes in search of his wife and property, all he can find of her is her heart and liver in her apron tied to a tree.
Tom Walker then agrees to the deal with Old Scratch, as his wife had been abusive towards him, and he considered her death at the hand of Old Scratch a good thing. Tom agrees to become a loan shark
, although Tom has "scruples" in becoming a slave trader.
Tom never tires of swindling people out of money, until he suddenly becomes fearful about the afterlife. He then starts to become fiercely dedicated to God, always keeping two Bibles at hand.
When, one day, a person who had borrowed money from him and is asking for clemency blames Tom for taking his money. Tom says, "The Devil take me if I have made but a farthing!" At this time, there are three loud knocks at the door. Tom is drawn towards the black-cloaked figure and realizes, in horror, that he has left his Bibles at his desk.
Tom Walker is then taken away by the Devil on the back of a black horse which rides toward the old fortress and disappears in lightning. Tom is never seen again. All his assets vanished and his house burned to the ground. His ghost haunts the site of the old fortress.
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
that first appeared in his 1824 collection of stories titled Tales of a Traveller
Tales of a Traveller
Tales of a Traveller, by Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. is a collection of essays and short stories written by Washington Irving. It was written while Irving was living in Europe, primarily in Germany and Paris, and was published under his Geoffrey Crayon pseudonym.-Contents:Following the introductory "To...
. It was part of the "Money-Diggers" portion.
The story is very similar to that of the ancient German legend of Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
.
Stephen Vincent Benet
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
drew much of his inspiration for "The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Devil and Daniel Webster
"The Devil and Daniel Webster" is a short story by Stephen Vincent Benét. This retelling of the classic German Faust tale is based on the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker", written by Washington Irving...
" from this tale.
Plot summary
Tom Walker is a greedy and selfish miserMiser
A miser, cheapskate, snipe-snout, penny pincher, piker, scrooge, skinflint or tightwad is a person who is reluctant to spend money, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities...
of a man who cherishes money more than his equally miserly wife. They lived in a tarnished looking house, that had stood long and had an air of starvation. This is until he takes a walk in the swamp at an old Indian fortress and starts up a conversation with the Devil incarnate (referred to as "Old Scratch
Old Scratch
Old Scratch or Mr. Scratch is a folk name for The Devil in the local legends of New England and pre-Civil War America. It is possible that the local legends containing this name were influenced by Faustian stories brought to North America by German immigrants.Old Scratch is also referred to in The...
" in the story). "Scratch" is shown as a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
or a woodsman
Woodsman
-History:Woodsmen or lumberjack competitions have their roots in competitions that took place in logging camps among loggers. As loggers were paid for piece work, the ability to perform a specific task more quickly, or with a degree of showmanship, was something to be admired...
chopping down trees, each with a prominent and wealthy colonialist name branded on the tree trunk. One rotted and soon to fallen tree has the name of a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
who grew wealthy "trading" with the Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Another fallen trunk has that of a wealthy seaman rumored to be a pirate. Old Scratch strikes up a deal with Tom Walker: he offers the riches hidden in the swamp by Captain Kidd in exchange for Tom's soul. Tom agrees to think about it, and returns home.
Burdened with this secret, he mentions it to his wife. When he is not there, Tom's wife takes all the valuables in the house and goes to make a deal with Old Scratch. When Tom goes in search of his wife and property, all he can find of her is her heart and liver in her apron tied to a tree.
Tom Walker then agrees to the deal with Old Scratch, as his wife had been abusive towards him, and he considered her death at the hand of Old Scratch a good thing. Tom agrees to become a loan shark
Loan shark
A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
, although Tom has "scruples" in becoming a slave trader.
Tom never tires of swindling people out of money, until he suddenly becomes fearful about the afterlife. He then starts to become fiercely dedicated to God, always keeping two Bibles at hand.
When, one day, a person who had borrowed money from him and is asking for clemency blames Tom for taking his money. Tom says, "The Devil take me if I have made but a farthing!" At this time, there are three loud knocks at the door. Tom is drawn towards the black-cloaked figure and realizes, in horror, that he has left his Bibles at his desk.
Tom Walker is then taken away by the Devil on the back of a black horse which rides toward the old fortress and disappears in lightning. Tom is never seen again. All his assets vanished and his house burned to the ground. His ghost haunts the site of the old fortress.