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TRAVEL and ADVENTURE in the WORKS of ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON by Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department

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TRAVEL and ADVENTURE in the WORKS of ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON by Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE IN THE WORKS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON by Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Scottish Literature University of Glasgow. JULY 1984 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my deepest sense of indebtedness and gratitude to my supervisor, Alexander Scott, Esq., whose wholehearted support, invaluable advice and encouragement, penetrating observations and constructive criticism throughout the research have made this work possible; and whose influence on my thinking has been so deep that the effects, certainly, will remain as long as I live. I wish also to record my thanks to my dear wife, Naha, for her encouragement and for sharing with me a considerable interest in Stevenson's works. Finally, my thanks go to both Dr. Ferdous Abdel Hameed and Dr. Mohamed A. Imam, Department of English Literature and Language, Faculty of Education, Assuit University, Egypt, for their encouragement. SUMMARY In this study I examine R.L. Stevenson as a writer of essays, poems, and books of travel as well as a writer of adventure fiction; taking the word "adventure" to include both outdoor and indoor adventure. Choosing to be remembered in his epitaph as the sailor and the hunter, Stevenson is regarded as the most interesting literary wanderer in Scottish literature and among the most intriguing in English literature. Dogged by ill- health, he travelled from "one of the vilest climates under heaven" to more congenial climates in England, the Continent, the States, and finally the South Seas where he died and was buried. Besides, Stevenson liked to escape, especially in his youth, from the respectabilities of Victorian Edinburgh and from family trouble, seeking people and places whose nature was congenial to his own Bohemian nature. However, he had Edinburgh in his mind and heart wherever he went; becoming the more appreciative of Scotland the more he was away from her. Indeed his travels intensified his feelings for Scottish scenery and Scottish character. It is striking to note that Stevenson, while travelling in foreign countries and interesting himself in their landscapes, traditions, and customs, was content to travel in imagination back home, recalling his Scottish past, identifying himself with the Covenanters, and writing fiction with typically Scottish themes and settings. Chapter 1 is introductory. It deals with Stevenson's imaginative childhood and the early Scottish influences that helped to shape his character and affect his later writing-career. In Chapters 2 and 3, there is a detailed examination of his early essays and books of travel that record his own experiences in England, France and the States. The two chapters deal with "Roads", "Walking Tours", "A Winter's Walk in Carrick and Galloway", "Ordered South", "Fontainebleau", An Inland Voyage, Travels with a 'Donkey in the Cbennes, The Amateur Emigrant and The Silverado Squatters. Such writings serve as an interesting record of the author's views on life and outdoor experiences. Chapter 4 deals with the non-Scottish short fiction that was inspired by Stevenson's travels in France: "A Lodging for the Night","The Sire de Maletroit's Door", and "Providence and the Guitar"; along with "Will o' the Mill" which allegorically sums up the author's commitment to adventurous life, and the fantastic stories of New Arabian Nights which concern the adventures of the romantic hero, Prince Florizel of Bohemia, in London and Paris.PrinceOtto,which is in fact a long novel, is placed in this chapter because of its similarity to the theme of New Arabian Nights. Chapter 5 marks Stevenson's start in his early thirties to tackle such Scottish themes as derived from his own experiences in boyhood and youth. It deals with horror and supernatural stories such as "The Merry Men", "Thrawn Janet", "The Body Snatcher"; all reveal the author's obsession with the Scottish macabre and the idea of the presence of the Devil. This chapter also deals with "Olalla", "Mhrkheim", and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, all of which, though having non-Scottish settings, reflect Scottish themes (atavism, and man's tormented self in the struggle against evil) with which Stevenson had been preoccupied throughout his life. Termed "sophisticated adventure fiction", where characters go through something "horrible" beyond their normal experience, and where there are moral choices to be made and values to be declared, all these stories reflect Stevenson's interest in writing a kind of • "romance" that professedly turns its back upon realism and seeks to describe reality in the heightened, transposed, and artificial conditions of symbol and day-dream. It is interesting to investigate the powerful role which horror, madness and cruelty play in such romances. Chapter 6 deals with Treasure Island, one of the most famous adventure stories for boys. The author takes us on an exciting journey in a timeless, make-believe world in which bloody conflicts for hidden treasure are depicted. Belonging to the genre of "escapist" literature, the book established Stevenson's reputation as a distinguished novelist. This chapter also deals in passing with The Black Arrow; an adventure tale set in Medieval England during the time of the Wars of the Roses, which lacks the imaginative qualities of Treasure Island. Stevenson himself never liked the work, calling it "tushery". Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 chronologically attempt a detailed critical discussion of the nature and value of the Scottish novels: Kidnapped, The Master of Ballantrae, Catriona, Weir of Hermiston, and St. Ives. Though they provide an escape from contemporary life into the romantic, adventurous Scottish past, they owe their inspiration to sights and sounds that had impressed Stevenson as a child and a young man. For example, the islet of Erraid, which he had visited as a student of marine constructions, figures in Kidnapped, where David Balfour is lost for days before he manages to join Alan Breck in the wild Highlands; while Steven- son's Edinburgh and the countryside around it figure in Catriona, Weir of Hermiston, and St.Ives • All these stories demonstrate how much Stevenson owed to his sense of topography, history and psychology as "catalyst" for his emotions in exile. Chapter 11 deals with Stevenson's travels in the South Seas, as recorded in his interesting volume In the South Seas. It also sheds light on the nostalgic poems and letters sent to his friends in Scotland. In the last chapter, there is a discussion of the South Seas fiction such as The Wrecker, "The Beach of Falesa", and The Ebb-Tide. Reflecting the author's experiences in the Pacific where he had seen crimes and exploitation of the natives by white traders, these stories show us a new Stevenson: a portrayer of contemporary subjects that deal with the realities of depravity and evil. Writing about morally ambiguous characters and situations, Stevensom came to the realization that life was a complex affair and that evil was an integral part of human nature. AUTHOR'S NOTE All references to Stevenson's works are to the Waverley Edition, 26 vols., London, 1924 - 25. Unless otherwise mentioned, Stevenson's letters are from Sidney Colvin's edition of The Letters of R.L. Stevenson to his Family and Friends. 2 vols., London, 1901. In the case of Stevenson's poetry, Janet Adam Smith's edition of R.L. Stevenson : Collected Poems (London, 1950) has been used throughout, unless otherwise stated. CONTENTS PAGE Chapter 1. Background and Formative Years 1 Chapter 2.. Essays of Travel 30 Chapter 3. Books of Travel 53 Chapter 4. Stevenson's Non-Scottish Short Fiction: 1877 - 1885 84 Chapter 5. Stevenson and Scotland: Horror and Supernatural Stories 105 Chapter 6. Treasure Island and The Black Arrow 139 Chapter 7. Kidnapped 151 Chapter 8. The Master of Ballantrae 170 Chapter 9. Catriona 182 Chapter 10. Weir of Hermiston and St. Ives 194 Chapter 11. Stevenson in exile: In the South Seas 210 Chapter 12. The South Seas Fiction. 224 CONCLUSION 250 BIBLIOGRAPHY 257 CHAPTER ONE Background and Formative Years -1- It was on 13 November, 1850 that Edinburgh, the romantic "Athens of the North", saw the birth of Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson (later he dropped Balfour from his name and changed the spelling of Lewis to Louis). He came of a family of engineers who had a notable history in marine constructions around Scottish coasts. His father, Thomas Stevenson, a brilliant, respectable engineer, was President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His grandfather, Robert Stevenson, was known as the builder of the Bell Rock Light- house. His uncles, Alan and David Stevenson, were famous light- house engineers. It is interesting to note that, besides their contributions to Scottish lighthouses, "The three brothers were students of the English classics, and their books and scientific articles were written in a vigorous English style". 1Stevenson's mother, Margaret Isabella, came of a family of doctors and Calvinist parsons. She was the youngest daughter of the Rev. Lewis Balfour, Minister of Colinton, Edinburgh. Stevenson was always proud of his family, as may be seen in such writings as Records of A Family of Engineers and "The Manse". Stevenson's delight in travelling was inherited. His grandfather so loved his annual cruise around Scottish coasts that when told his death was fast approaching, he seemed to be more worried about the loss of the voyage than the coming of death. (Sir Walter Scott accompanied Robert Stevenson in 1814 in one of these cruises, of which The Pirate and The Lord of the Isles were a direct result.) The profession of Robert Stevenson combined romance and adventure, which may be seen in the following fragment written with fascination by his grandson: 1. Lord Guthrie, R.L. Stevenson: some personal recollections (Edinburgh, 1924), p.
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