Since the publication of Said's "Culture and Imperialism" in 1993, the connection between Victorian novels and British colonies has become a focus of literary research. Said believed that Victorian novelists such as Scott were the creators of imperialist novels. In Scott's historical novels, the imperialist historical context is implicit, such as the impact of America on the Scottish economy in Rob Roy. However, the imperial discourse in Rob Roy is full of contradictions, with both anti imperialist and pro colonial elements. The novel questions the legitimacy of colonial activities through Nicole Jarvis' attitude, while using the metaphor of a happy marriage to symbolize the political union between England and the Soviet Union, while also constructing Scotland's unique national culture and resisting internal colonization in England. This contradiction reflects the paradox of Scottish national identity: under imperialist ideology, Scotland needs to join the Anglo Soviet coalition government to maintain opportunities for overseas colonial trade, and carry out overseas colonization as a colonized country of England. This contradictory identity gives Scott's novels an anti colonial perspective, providing initial thoughts on anti imperialism for the "Soviet Indian novels" and "Soviet design novels" of the 1820s.

1、 Scotland as a 'colonizer'

Through Said's "counterpoint reading" strategy, Scott's "Rob Roy" was re examined, revealing the imperialist ideology hidden in the text. The scene of Mr. Jarvis mixing cocktails implies Scotland's colonial activities on the other side of the Atlantic. However, Jarvi's abnormal words and actions when discussing his overseas plantations display factors that contradict Said's views, such as his unwillingness to explicitly say "Jamaica" but using the Scottish words "there" and "shrugging" to imply, as well as his evasive attitude when talking about how Captain Coffin obtained cocktail recipes from Caribbean pirates, indicating that he is well aware of the cruelty of British colonial activities in the Caribbean. This interpretation reveals that Scott's novels conceal the empire's guilt towards its colonial crimes.

2、 Scotland as a 'colonized'

In depth exploration of Scott's complex portrayal of Scottish national identity in Rob Roy. By analyzing the historical background of the 1707 Anglo Soviet Union alliance, Scotland's dual identity between colonization and being colonized was revealed. Scott attempts to preserve and reshape Scotland's cultural heritage by collecting folk songs and creating historical novels, embodying a form of cultural nationalism. In the novel, Scott utilizes elements of Celtic literary nationalism, such as Gaelic, bagpipes, and Scottish landscapes, to showcase Scottish customs and culture. Meanwhile, through plot arrangements such as the victory of the Highland clan and the survival of Rob Roy, Scott expressed his romantic fantasy of Scottish national independence. However, the ending of the novel foreshadows political unity through a marriage alliance, deconstructing the Scottish national independence demands and reflecting Scott's conflicting attitude between cultural nationalism and unionism. Scott's political stance leans towards conservative unionism, believing that Scotland's national interest lies in maintaining its alliance with England. This stance contrasts sharply with his efforts to maintain Scottish independence culturally, highlighting the paradox of Scottish national identity.

3、 Reflection on Imperialism

In Rob Roy, Scott portrays the paradox of Scottish national identity as a dual role of colonizer and colonized through the narrative of colonial time and space. The North American colonies in the novel have an irreplaceable status and concrete significance in reality, contrasting with the abstract outer space and time in Guy Mannering. Scott transformed the ambiguous narrative of the colonies into a clear narrative in "The Heart of Middle Lorraine", criticizing the slave trade through Enlightenment abolitionist discourse. The progressiveness of 'Rob Roy' lies in transforming the suspended Scottish overseas colonies from abstract to concrete, laying the foundation for Scott's later Scottish novels' 'colonial diaspora legends'. However, Scott's anti imperialist thinking was not thorough and was still limited by the Western centric perspective. The historical background of the Anglo Soviet alliance in the 18th century resulted in Scotland not only gaining colonial privileges, but also paying the price of being colonized. Although Scott's novels reflect on colonialism, they have not completely freed themselves from the shackles of Western centrism. This task can ultimately only be accomplished by postcolonial novelists.

4、 Conclusion

The heterogeneity of imperial discourse in Rob Roy reveals the limitations of the text and highlights the complexity of Scottish national identity. The novel not only exposes the cruelty of Scottish imperialism, but also metaphorically depicts the destruction of Scottish cultural identity by the alliance, but fails to draw a clear conclusion of anti imperialism or anti alliance. The opposition to English colonization in the novel reflects Scott's reflection on Scottish imperialism.