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Excerpt ​

Excerpt from Essays of Travel, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Here, as in Scotland, many peasant families boast a son in holy orders.
And here also, the young men have a tendency to emigrate. It is
certainly not poverty that drives them to the great cities or across the
seas, for many peasant families, I was told, have a fortune of at least
40,000 francs. The lads go forth pricked with the spirit of adventure
and the desire to rise in life, and leave their homespun elders grumbling
and wondering over the event. Once, at a village called Laussonne, I met
one of these disappointed parents: a drake who had fathered a wild swan
and seen it take wing and disappear. The wild swan in question was now
an apothecary in Brazil. He had flown by way of Bordeaux, and first
landed in America, bareheaded and barefoot, and with a single halfpenny
in his pocket. And now he was an apothecary! Such a wonderful thing is
an adventurous life! I thought he might as well have stayed at home; but
you never can tell wherein a man’s life consists, nor in what he sets his
pleasure: one to drink, another to marry, a third to write scurrilous
articles and be repeatedly caned in public, and now this fourth, perhaps,
to be an apothecary in Brazil. As for his old father, he could conceive
no reason for the lad’s behaviour. ‘I had always bread for him,’ he
said; ‘he ran away to annoy me. He loved to annoy me. He had no
gratitude.’ But at heart he was swelling with pride over his travelled
offspring, and he produced a letter out of his pocket, where, as he said,
it was rotting, a mere lump of paper rags, and waved it gloriously in the
air. ‘This comes from America,’ he cried, ‘six thousand leagues away!’
And the wine-shop audience looked upon it with a certain thrill.

I soon became a popular figure, and was known for miles in the country.
Où’st que vous allez? was changed for me into Quoi, vous rentrez au
Monastier and in the town itself every urchin seemed to know my name,
although no living creature could pronounce it. There was one particular
group of lace-makers who brought out a chair for me whenever I went by,
and detained me from my walk to gossip. They were filled with curiosity
about England, its language, its religion, the dress of the women, and
were never weary of seeing the Queen’s head on English postage-stamps, or
seeking for French words in English Journals. The language, in
particular, filled them with surprise.

‘Do they speak patois in England?’ I was once asked; and when I told
them not, ‘Ah, then, French?’ said they.

Explanation ​

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Essays of Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson ​

Context of the Source ​

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, best known for works like Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped. His Essays of Travel (1892) is a collection of reflective, often humorous, and keenly observed pieces based on his journeys, particularly in France. The excerpt likely comes from his account of walking through the Cévennes region in south-central France, a journey later detailed in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879).

Stevenson’s travel writing blends personal anecdote, cultural observation, and philosophical musing. This passage captures his encounters with rural French peasants, their aspirations, and their curiosity about the wider world—contrasting their rootedness with the restless ambition of their youth.

Themes in the Excerpt ​

  1. The Call of Adventure vs. Traditional Life

    • The passage contrasts the stability of peasant life with the restless ambition of youth. The "wild swan" metaphor (a son who becomes an apothecary in Brazil) embodies the tension between generational expectations and individual desire.
    • The father represents traditional values—contentment with security ("I had always bread for him")—while the son embodies modern mobility, risk-taking, and the pursuit of an uncertain but exciting future.
    • Stevenson’s tone is ambivalent: he acknowledges the father’s bewilderment ("He had no gratitude") but also celebrates the son’s audacity ("Such a wonderful thing is an adventurous life!").

  2. The Unknowability of Human Desires

    • Stevenson reflects on the subjectivity of fulfillment: "you never can tell wherein a man’s life consists, nor in what he sets his pleasure."
    • He lists absurd, diverse motivations—drinking, marriage, writing scurrilous articles, or becoming an apothecary in Brazil—to emphasize that happiness is idiosyncratic and often incomprehensible to others.
    • The father’s inability to understand his son mirrors a broader generational and cultural gap.

  3. Pride and Ambivalence in Parenthood

    • The father’s outward grumbling ("He ran away to annoy me") masks hidden pride (waving the letter from Brazil).
    • The letter as a symbol: Though "rotting," it is a trophy of his son’s success, proving that adventure can lead to achievement. The audience’s "thrill" suggests communal awe at the exotic.

  4. Cultural Exchange and Curiosity

    • Stevenson becomes a local celebrity, his foreignness sparking fascination. The lace-makers’ questions about England reveal their isolation and eagerness to connect with the wider world.
    • Their assumption that English must be either patois (regional dialect) or French highlights their parochialism, but also their open-mindedness—they are eager to learn, even if their knowledge is limited.

  5. The Romanticization of Travel

    • Stevenson’s own role as a traveler-writer is implicit. He is both an observer and a participant, bridging cultures.
    • The passage glorifies movement (the son’s journey, Stevenson’s walks) while acknowledging the costs of leaving home (the father’s loneliness, the son’s initial destitution).

Literary Devices and Stylistic Features ​

  1. Metaphor and Animal Imagery

    • "A drake who had fathered a wild swan": The father is a domesticated duck, while the son is a wild, migratory bird. This contrasts stasis with flight, tradition with adventure.
    • The swan’s journey ("flew by way of Bordeaux," "landed in America barefoot") is mythic, evoking odysseys like Homer’s Odyssey or colonial migration narratives.

  2. Irony and Humor

    • The father’s contradiction: He claims his son left to "annoy" him but treasures the letter—revealing his pride.
    • The absurdity of human desires: Stevenson’s list of random life goals (drinking, marriage, writing scurrilous articles) is comically reductive, underscoring life’s unpredictability.
    • The lace-makers’ question—"Do they speak patois in England?"—is naïve but endearing, highlighting cultural gaps with humor.

  3. Dialogue and Vernacular

    • The father’s direct speech ("He loved to annoy me") makes him sympathetic yet stubborn.
    • The lace-makers’ dialect (Où’st que vous allez → Quoi, vous rentrez au Monastier) immerses the reader in local color, reinforcing the rural setting.
    • The mispronunciation of Stevenson’s name adds authenticity—he is an outsider, both celebrated and misunderstood.

  4. Juxtaposition

    • Wealth vs. Wanderlust: The peasants are not poor (40,000 francs was a substantial sum), yet their sons leave—not for survival, but for self-fulfillment.
    • Old vs. Young: The "homespun elders" (content, static) vs. the "lads" (restless, ambitious).
    • Local vs. Global: The village’s insularity (curiosity about postage stamps) vs. the son’s cosmopolitanism (Brazil, America).

  5. Symbolism

    • The letter from Brazil: Represents connection across distance, the tangible proof of adventure, and the father’s conflicted emotions.
    • The Queen’s head on postage stamps: A miniature of empire, fascinating to the lace-makers as a glimpse of a distant, powerful world.

Significance of the Passage ​

  1. Universal Generational Conflict

    • The tension between parents’ expectations and children’s ambitions is timeless. Stevenson captures the pain and pride of watching a child surpass the confines of their upbringing.

  2. The Romantic Ideal of the Wanderer

    • The passage celebrates the adventurous spirit, a key theme in Stevenson’s work (e.g., Treasure Island). The son’s journey is both foolish and heroic, embodying the Romantic ideal of self-discovery through risk.

  3. Cultural Relativism

    • Stevenson avoids judging either the father or the son. Instead, he presents their perspectives as equally valid, reflecting his cosmopolitan worldview.
    • The lace-makers’ curiosity shows how travel broadens minds—even if their knowledge is limited, their willingness to engage is commendable.

  4. Stevenson’s Role as a Mediator

    • As a Scottish traveler in France, Stevenson occupies a liminal space—neither fully local nor foreign. His observations are sympathetic but detached, allowing him to bridge cultural divides.

  5. The Allure of the Unknown

    • The passage suggests that human fulfillment often lies beyond the familiar. The son’s success in Brazil, the villagers’ fascination with England, and Stevenson’s own travels all point to a yearning for the wider world.

Conclusion: The Heart of the Excerpt ​

At its core, this passage is about the tension between roots and wings—the push and pull of stability and adventure. Stevenson does not glorify one over the other but instead finds beauty in both:

  • The father’s grumbling pride is touching because it is honest.
  • The son’s audacity is inspiring because it is unpredictable.
  • The villagers’ curiosity is charming because it is genuine.

The excerpt also reflects Stevenson’s own philosophy of life: that meaning is subjective, that adventure is valuable even if irrational, and that human connections—whether through letters, gossip, or shared stories—transcend distance.

In the end, the passage leaves us with a celebration of human diversity—the idea that while we may never fully understand each other’s choices, there is dignity in the pursuit of one’s own path, whether that path leads to a French village or a pharmacy in Brazil.