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Re: genre "robinsonade"

From: thomas mccormick <tom_amity~at~hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 05:03:23 +0000
To: jvf~at~Gilead.org.il

Brian Taves' remarks are most pertinent. I had an email exchange with a
well-known authority on Defoe, Prof. Backscheider, who pointed out to me
that the genre is so much, much older than Defoe, and that he was just one
link in a chain. To me, however, the interesting contributions of Mysterious
Island are [1] the way in which Verne deals with the theme of the
"mysterious Hand of Providence" (the Hand that supplies, e.g., Crusoe with
materiel by way of a convenient shipwreck) by partially embodying It in an
unseen presence, namely Captain Nemo; and [2] Verne's handling of the theme
of higher and lower sorts of being, e.g. Smith and Company and their
relation to their servants, Neb and Jup---and the similarities and
differences betwixt that and Defoe's treatment of the Crusoe/Friday
relationship. Many such themes pop in and out of the various robinsonades.

Since the robinsonade idea revolves around the castaway(s) bringing
civilization to the "deserted island", Brian Taves is certainly right to say
that Lighthouse at the End of the World partakes of that genre: here
civilization (Vasquez and Davis) do battle against savagery (the Kongre
gang) for possession of said island! Verne certainly rings the changes.

As for the continuation of the robinsonade genre into the 20th century,
there have been a number of science fiction robinsonades involving
crash-landings on other planets. I remember in particular an entertaining
s.f. film, circa 1950, called World Without End, which combined that theme
with the premise of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. It is indeed a genre
inexhaustible.

Tom

>From: Brian Taves <btav~at~loc.gov>
>Reply-To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
>To: Jules Verne Forum <jvf~at~Gilead.org.il>
>Subject: Re: genre "robinsonade"
>Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:12:06 -0400 (EDT)
>
>I'd suggest checking Martin Green's *The Robinson Crusoe Story*, which
>includes a long chapter on Mysterious Island. Some 20 years ago, while
>Prof Green was writing the book, I wrote a conference paper for a Modern
>Language Association panel he organized on the Robinsonade. A few years
>later I gave the paper again at the first meeting of the North American
>Jules Verne Society, and integrated the ideas into my introductory chapter
>in *The Jules Verne Encyclopedia*. I argued that all of the
>aforementioned examples in this discussion were part of the genre, as well
>as A Winter Amid the Ice and The Fur Country. Other stories, like The
>Children of Captain Grant and Mistress Branican, are Robinsonades told
>from the viewpoint of the rescuers. The theme also resonates in A
>15-Year-Old Captain, Spinx of Ice, The Chancellor, The Lighthouse at the
>End of the World, and Propellor Island.
>
>Castaway-shipwreck themes pervade Verne's oeuvre. Robinsonades can indeed
>be futuristic (Eternal Adam) or set in outer space (Servadac), and I think
>this is well established in popular culture: "Danger, Danger, Will
>Robinson!"
>
>Brian Taves
>Motion Picture/Broadcasting/Recorded Sound Division
>Library of Congress
>101 Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20540-4692
>Telephone: 202-707-9930; 202-707-2371 (fax)
>Email: btav~at~loc.gov
>
>
>Disclaimer--All opinions expressed are my own.
>
>
>
>On Sat, 9 Jul 2005, [iso-8859-2] Jan Rychlík wrote:
>
> > > Only twice did Jules Verne write a preface to a Voyage Extraordinaire,
>and
> > > both times the VE was a Robinsonade (2 ans, 2e patrie). He was clearly
> > > very fond of the genre.
> > >
> > > Garmt.
> >
> > In 2 ans Verne mentions Cooper's "Crater" as a robinsonade featuring a
> > whole community of robinsons. And In Magellanie was inspired by this
> > book, so perhaps it should be considered a robinsonade also.
> >
> > And don't you think that Hector Servadac is, in fact, a robinsonade too?
> >
> > Sincerely
> >
> > Jan Rychlik
> >
>
>On Fri, 8 Jul 2005, James Keeline wrote:
>
> > This genre has always fascinated me in concept though I have not read
> > nearly as many examples as I should. I don't have all of Verne's
> > examples yet.
>
>l'Ile mysterieuse, L'Ecole des Robinsons, Deux Ans de Vacances and Seconde
>Patrie are all in Zvi's Virtual Library (some in French only though). You
>could argue that En Magellanie/Les Naufrages du Jonathan is a Robinsonade
>too, but I think that's stretching it a bit.
>
>
>
Received on Sun 17 Jul 2005 - 08:03:40 IDT

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