Article #344-1 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from The Merry Men, and Other Tales and Fables, by Robert Louis Stevenson

She stepped aside and knelt down before the crucifix to pray, and I
stood by and looked now at her and now at the object of her adoration,
now at the living figure of the penitent, and now at the ghastly,
daubed countenance, the painted wounds, and the projected ribs of the
image. The silence was only broken by the wailing of some large birds
that circled sidelong, as if in surprise or alarm, about the summit of
the hills. Presently Olalla rose again, turned towards me, raised her
veil, and, still leaning with one hand on the shaft of the crucifix,
looked upon me with a pale and sorrowful countenance.

“I have laid my hand upon the cross,” she said. “The Padre says you are
no Christian; but look up for a moment with my eyes, and behold the
face of the Man of Sorrows. We are all such as He was—the inheritors of
sin; we must all bear and expiate a past which was not ours; there is
in all of us—ay, even in me—a sparkle of the divine. Like Him, we must
endure for a little while, until morning returns bringing peace. Suffer
me to pass on upon my way alone; it is thus that I shall be least
lonely, counting for my friend Him who is the friend of all the
distressed; it is thus that I shall be the most happy, having taken my
farewell of earthly happiness, and willingly accepted sorrow for my
portion.”

I looked at the face of the crucifix, and, though I was no friend to
images, and despised that imitative and grimacing art of which it was a
rude example, some sense of what the thing implied was carried home to
my intelligence. The face looked down upon me with a painful and deadly
contraction; but the rays of a glory encircled it, and reminded me that
the sacrifice was voluntary. It stood there, crowning the rock, as it
still stands on so many highway sides, vainly preaching to passers-by,
an emblem of sad and noble truths; that pleasure is not an end, but an
accident; that pain is the choice of the magnanimous; that it is best
to suffer all things and do well. I turned and went down the mountain
in silence; and when I looked back for the last time before the wood
closed about my path, I saw Olalla still leaning on the crucifix.

Explanation

This excerpt from The Merry Men, and Other Tales and Fables (1882) by Robert Louis Stevenson comes from the short story "Olalla"—a dark, psychological tale set in Spain, exploring themes of hereditary sin, religious penance, moral decay, and the burden of human suffering. The passage depicts a pivotal moment between the unnamed narrator (a skeptical, possibly atheistic foreigner) and Olalla, a woman consumed by guilt over her family’s corrupt legacy. Below is a detailed breakdown of the text, focusing on its imagery, themes, literary devices, and emotional weight, while also considering its broader significance in Stevenson’s work.

Context of the Scene

Olalla belongs to a noble but degenerate Spanish family, cursed by generations of moral and physical corruption. The narrator, a traveler, has encountered her in a decaying household where she tends to her dying, monstrous brother. In this scene, she has led him to a mountain shrine, where a crude crucifix stands as a symbol of her faith and despair. The moment is charged with religious fervor, existential dread, and a clash of worldviews—the narrator’s rational skepticism versus Olalla’s desperate spirituality.

Key Themes in the Excerpt

Hereditary Sin and Guilt
- Olalla’s speech revolves around the idea of inherited corruption: "We must all bear and expiate a past which was not ours."
- This reflects the story’s central concern with generational sin—Olalla’s family is doomed by the sins of their ancestors, and she sees herself as both victim and penitent.
- The crucifix becomes a symbol of her self-imposed suffering, mirroring Christ’s sacrifice for humanity’s sins.
Sacrifice and Redemption
- Olalla’s devotion to the crucifix is not just religious; it is masochistic. She finds solace in suffering, believing it purifies her.
- The narrator, though dismissive of "images," is momentarily moved by the idea of voluntary sacrifice—the crucifix’s "painful and deadly contraction" contrasted with the "rays of glory" around it.
- The passage suggests that pain is noble, a recurring Stevenson theme (see also Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where evil is tied to pleasure, and virtue to suffering).
Isolation and Loneliness
- Olalla’s request to "suffer me to pass on upon my way alone" underscores her self-imposed exile. She rejects earthly companionship, choosing instead the "friend of all the distressed" (Christ).
- The wailing birds circling the mountain heighten the sense of desolation, as if nature itself mourns her fate.
The Conflict Between Faith and Skepticism
- The narrator is a rational outsider, scornful of "imitative and grimacing art" (the crude crucifix). Yet, he is momentarily shaken by its symbolic power.
- Olalla’s plea—"look up for a moment with my eyes"—challenges him to see the world through faith, even if he cannot share it.
- The crucifix is described as "vainly preaching to passers-by", suggesting that its message is lost on most, but not entirely on the narrator.
The Transience of Human Happiness
- Olalla’s philosophy is ascetic: she has "taken farewell of earthly happiness" and embraced sorrow as her "portion."
- The crucifix’s lesson—"that pleasure is not an end, but an accident; that pain is the choice of the magnanimous"—echoes Stoic and Christian ideals of endurance.

Literary Devices and Stylistic Choices

Juxtaposition & Contrast
- Living vs. Dead: Olalla (the "living figure of the penitent") vs. the "ghastly, daubed countenance" of the crucifix.
- Beauty vs. Decay: Olalla’s "pale and sorrowful countenance" vs. the "projected ribs" of the emaciated Christ.
- Silence vs. Sound: The eerie quiet broken only by the "wailing of large birds"—a Gothic touch that amplifies the unease.
Symbolism
- The Crucifix:
  - A symbol of suffering and redemption, but also of futile preaching ("vainly preaching to passers-by").
  - Its "rays of glory" contrast with its grotesque appearance, suggesting that divine truth is often hidden in ugliness.
- The Mountain Shrine:
  - A place of isolation and revelation, where Olalla confronts her fate.
  - The height symbolizes both spiritual aspiration and distance from the corrupt world below.
Imagery
- Visual: The "painted wounds" and "projected ribs" of the crucifix are grotesque, reinforcing the story’s Gothic tone.
- Auditory: The "wailing birds" create a mournful, almost supernatural atmosphere.
- Tactile: Olalla "leaning on the crucifix" suggests physical and emotional dependence on her faith.
Irony
- The narrator, who "despised" religious images, is momentarily moved by one—ironic because his intellectual pride is undermined by emotion.
- The crucifix’s message is "noble" but "vain"—most people ignore it, yet it still has power over Olalla (and, briefly, the narrator).
Biblical Allusions
- "Man of Sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3) – Christ as the ultimate sufferer, with whom Olalla identifies.
- "Sparkle of the divine" – A reference to the Imago Dei (Genesis 1:27), suggesting that even in corruption, humanity retains a trace of godliness.

Significance of the Passage

Olalla’s Tragic Resignation
- Her speech is a farewell to hope. She does not seek redemption in life, only endurance until death ("until morning returns bringing peace").
- This reflects Stevenson’s pessimistic view of human nature in many works—people are often trapped by forces beyond their control (fate, heredity, sin).
The Narrator’s Ambiguous Reaction
- He is not converted, but the crucifix’s message lingers with him. This ambiguity is key—Stevenson often explores moments of moral uncertainty where characters are forced to confront beliefs they normally dismiss.
- His silent descent suggests respect, if not agreement, with Olalla’s worldview.
Gothic and Psychological Depth
- The scene is visually and emotionally striking, blending religious symbolism with psychological torment.
- Olalla’s self-flagellation (metaphorical, through her devotion to suffering) aligns with 19th-century anxieties about degeneration (a theme in Gothic literature).
Stevenson’s Philosophical Concerns
- The passage grapples with the problem of evil: If humanity is inherently sinful, is suffering the only path to virtue?
- It also questions the efficacy of faith—does the crucifix’s message change anything, or is it just a comforting illusion for the doomed?

Conclusion: Why This Moment Matters

This excerpt is a microcosm of the story’s central tensions:

Faith vs. Skepticism
Heredity vs. Free Will
Suffering vs. Redemption

Olalla’s **final pose—leaning on the crucifix as the narrator leaves—**is haunting. She is both a martyr and a prisoner, choosing a path of isolated penance rather than human connection. The narrator, though unchanged, is marked by the encounter, carrying the weight of her words with him.

Stevenson, known for his explorations of duality (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Treasure Island), uses this scene to probe the darkness within human nature—not through monstrous transformations, but through the quiet, devastating acceptance of guilt. The crucifix, though "rude" and "vain," becomes a powerful emblem of the human condition: we are all, in some way, inheritors of sin, seeking meaning in suffering.

Questions

Question 1

The narrator’s observation that the crucifix is "vainly preaching to passers-by" most strongly implies which of the following about the relationship between symbolic meaning and human reception?

A. The efficacy of spiritual symbols is contingent upon the observer’s capacity for interpretive vulnerability, however fleeting.
B. Religious artifacts are inherently powerless unless they conform to aesthetic standards of realism and craftsmanship.
C. The narrator’s skepticism is so entrenched that he dismisses the crucifix’s message as entirely irrelevant to moral philosophy.
D. Olalla’s devotion is a private delusion, wholly disconnected from the crucifix’s intended public function as a didactic tool.
E. The crucifix’s failure to persuade reflects an irreversible cultural decline in collective religious sentiment.

Question 2

Olalla’s assertion that "we must all bear and expiate a past which was not ours" is primarily structured as which of the following rhetorical strategies?

A. A paradoxical inversion of Christian doctrine, wherein inherited sin is recast as a form of existential absurdist burden.
B. An appeal to pathos that collapses the distinction between personal guilt and systemic corruption.
C. A syllogistic argument in which the premise of original sin necessitates the conclusion of universal penance.
D. A chiasmic framing of collective responsibility, where the individual’s agency is simultaneously asserted and surrendered.
E. A metaphorical extension of the crucifix’s physical wounds onto the psychological landscape of hereditary shame.

Question 3

The "wailing of some large birds" serves which of the following functions in the passage’s emotional and thematic architecture?

A. It underscores the narrator’s emotional detachment by introducing a naturalistic element that contrasts with Olalla’s spiritual fervor.
B. It functions as a pathetic fallacy, externalizing the latent grief of the landscape in response to Olalla’s unresolved penitence.
C. It destabilizes the scene’s solemnity by introducing an ambiguous, almost supernatural disruption to the silence.
D. It symbolizes the futility of Olalla’s devotion, as the birds’ cries mirror the crucifix’s "vain" preaching to an indifferent world.
E. It foreshadows the narrator’s eventual conversion by aligning the natural world with the sacrificial themes of the crucifixion.

Question 4

The narrator’s description of the crucifix’s face—"a painful and deadly contraction; but the rays of a glory encircled it"—is most effectively read as an example of which literary technique?

A. Antithesis, wherein the grotesque and the sublime are juxtaposed to highlight the irreconcilability of suffering and divinity.
B. Synesthesia, blending visual and tactile imagery to evoke the narrator’s visceral discomfort with religious iconography.
C. Allegory, where the crucifix’s physical attributes map directly onto the moral struggle between doubt and faith.
D. Ekphrasis, in which the verbal description of a visual artifact becomes a vehicle for exploring its conceptual and emotional resonance.
E. Bathos, as the shift from the "deadly contraction" to the "rays of glory" undercuts the gravity of the scene with unintended levity.

Question 5

Which of the following best captures the narrator’s implicit critique of Olalla’s worldview, as subtly embedded in the passage’s closing lines?

A. Her asceticism is a performative rejection of joy, revealing a deep-seated fear of human connection.
B. The crucifix’s "noble truths" are undermined by their reliance on an outdated moral framework that glorifies suffering.
C. Olalla’s resignation to sorrow is a logical outcome of her family’s corruption, rendering her agency illusory.
D. The scene’s Gothic elements—decay, isolation, and grotesquerie—expose her faith as a pathological response to trauma.
E. While he acknowledges the power of her conviction, he ultimately frames it as a private consolation rather than a universal truth.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The phrase "vainly preaching" suggests that the crucifix’s symbolic power is not inherently null, but rather dependent on the observer’s receptivity. The narrator, though skeptical, admits that "some sense of what the thing implied was carried home to my intelligence"—implying that its efficacy is contingent on a momentary susceptibility to its message. This aligns with A’s emphasis on "interpretive vulnerability, however fleeting."