Katrina Van Tassel was introduced as the only child of a wealthy farmer. She was described by Ichabod Crane, who had a huge appetite for food, as “plump as a partridge; ripe and melting and rosy cheeked as one of her father’s peaches.” Katrina was presented as a flirt even in the way she dressed as she wore “a mixture of ancient and modern fashions” and she had the “prettiest foot and ankle in the county.” Ichabod craved her so much that he wanted to swallow her, not for her looks but for her father’s farm and wealth. Ichabod had a rival, Brom Van Brunt, nicknamed Brom Bones, who was his biggest threat. Brom was known for his strength, “He was always ready for either a fight or a frolic; but had more mischief than ill-will in his composition.”
