The Swiss Family Robinson
The
Swiss Family Robinson (German: Der
Schweizerische Robinson) is a novel by Johann
David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port
Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwrecked in the East
Indies.
History
Written
by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss,
edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss
and illustrated by another son, Johann Emmanuel Wyss, the novel was intended to
teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the
natural world and self-reliance. Wyss' attitude towards its education is in
line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and many chapters involve Christian-oriented moral lessons
such as frugality,
husbandry, acceptance,
and cooperation.[1]
Wyss
presents adventures as lessons in natural
history and physical
science. This resembles other educational
books for young ones published about the same time. These include Charlotte Turner Smith's Rural Walks: in Dialogues intended for the use of
Young Persons (1795), Rambles Farther: A continuation of Rural Walks
(1796), A Natural History of Birds, intended chiefly for young persons
(1807). But Wyss' novel is also modeled after Daniel
Defoe's Robinson
Crusoe, an adventure story about a
shipwrecked sailor first published in 1719 and the source of the
"Robinson" in the title "Swiss Family Robinson".[1]
The
book presents a geographically impossible array of large mammals and plants
that probably could never have existed together on a single island, for the
children's education, nourishment, clothing and convenience.
Over
the years there have been many versions of the story with episodes added,
changed, or deleted. Perhaps the best-known English version is by William H. G. Kingston, first published in 1879.[1] It is based on Isabelle de Montolieu's 1813 French adaptation and 1824 continuation (from
chapter 37) Le Robinson suisse, ou, Journal d'un père de famille, naufragé
avec ses enfants in which were added further adventures of Fritz, Franz,
Ernest, and Jack.[1] Other English editions that claim to include the whole of
the Wyss-Montolieu narrative are by W. H. Davenport Adams (1869–1910) and Mrs
H. B. Paull (1879). As Carpenter and Prichard write in The Oxford Companion
to Children's Literature (Oxford, 1995), "with all the expansions and
contractions over the past two centuries (this includes a long history of
abridgments, condensations, Christianizing, and Disney products), Wyss's
original narrative has long since been obscured."[1] The closest English translation to the original is William
Godwin's 1816 translation, reprinted by
Penguin Classics.[2]
Although
movie and television adaptations typically name the family "Robinson",
it is not a Swiss name. The German title translates as The Swiss Robinson
which identifies the novel as part of the Robinsonade genre, rather than a story about a family named Robinson.
Plot
The
novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great
storm. The ship's crew evacuate without them, and William and Elizabeth and
their four children (Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Franz) are left to survive alone.
As the ship tosses about, the father – William – prays that God will spare
them.
The
ship survives the night and the family finds themselves within sight of a
tropical desert island.
The next morning, they decide to get to the island they can see beyond the
reef. With much effort, they construct a vessel out of tubs. After they fill
the tubs with food and ammunition and all other articles of value they can
safely carry, they row toward the island. Two dogs from the ship named Turk and
Juno swim beside them. The ship's cargo of livestock (including a cow, a donkey,
two goats, six sheep, a ram, a pig, chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons), guns
and powder, carpentry tools, books, a disassembled pinnace,
and provisions have survived.
Upon
reaching the island, the family set up a makeshift camp. William knows that
they must prepare for a long time on the island and his thoughts are as much on
provisions for the future as for their immediate wants. William and his oldest
son Fritz spend the next day exploring the island.
The
family spends the next few days securing themselves against hunger. William and
Fritz make several trips to the ship in their efforts to bring ashore
everything useful from the vessel. The domesticated animals on the ship are
towed back to the island. There is also a great store of firearms and
ammunition, hammocks for sleeping, carpenter's tools, lumber, cooking utensils,
silverware, and dishes. Initially they construct a treehouse, but as time passes
(and after Elizabeth is injured climbing the stairs down from it), they settle
in a more permanent dwelling in part of a cave. Fritz rescues a young
Englishwoman (Jenny Montrose) shipwrecked elsewhere on their island.
The
book covers more than ten years. William and older boys explore various
environments and develop homes and gardens in various sites about the island.
In the end, the father wonders if they will ever again see the rest of
humanity. Eventually a British ship that is in search of Jenny Montrose anchors
near the island and is discovered by the family. The captain is given the
journal containing the story of their life on the island which is eventually
published. Several members of the family choose to continue to live tranquilly
on their island while several of them return to Europe with the British.
Characters
The
principal characters of the book (including Isabelle de Montolieu's adaptations and continuation) are:
- William – The patriarch of the Robinson family. He is the narrator of the story and leads the family. He knows an enormous amount of information on almost everything the family comes across, demonstrating bravery and self-reliance.
- Elizabeth – The loving mother of the Robinson family. She is intelligent and resourceful, arming herself even before leaving the ship with a "magic bag" filled with supplies, including sewing materials and seeds for food crops. She is also a remarkably versatile cook, taking on anything from porcupine soup to roast penguin.
- Fritz – The oldest of the four boys, he is 15. Fritz is intelligent but impetuous. He is the strongest and accompanies his father on many quests.
- Ernest – The second oldest of the boys, he is 13. Ernest is the most intelligent, but a less physically active boy, often described by his father as "indolent". Like Fritz however, he comes to be an excellent shot.
- Jack – The third oldest of the boys, 11 years old. He is thoughtless, bold, vivacious, and the quickest of the group.
- Franz (sometimes translated as Francis) – The youngest of the boys, he is 8 years old when the story opens. He usually stays home with his mother.
- Turk – The family's English dog.
- Juno – The family's Danish dog.
- Nip (also called Knips or Nips in some editions) – An orphan monkey adopted by the family after their dogs Turk and Juno have killed his mother. The family uses him to test for poisonous fruits.
- Fangs – A jackal that was tamed by the family.
- Jenny Montrose (called Emily in some editions) – An English girl found on Smoking Rock near the end of the novel. She is shy but is soon adopted into the family (Not a character in the original German, Emily was invented by Isabelle de Montolieu).
In
the novel the family is not called "Robinson" as their surname is not
mentioned. However, in 1900, Jules
Verne published The Castaways of the Flag (alternatively known as Second Fatherland), where he
revisits the original shipwreck. In this sequel, of the family’s final years on
the original island, the family is called Zermatt.[3]
Other adaptations
The
novels in one form or another have also been adapted numerous times, sometimes
changing location and/or time period:
Book sequels
- Willis the Pilot: a sequel to The Swiss family Robinson; or, Adventures of an emigrant family wrecked on an unknown coast of the Pacific Ocean (1858) has been attributed to Johann Wyss or to Johanna Spyri, author of Heidi.
- Second Fatherland (Seconde Patrie, 1900), by Jules Verne takes up the story at the point where Wyss's tale left off. It has also been published in two volumes, Their Island Home and Castaways of the Flag.
- Return to Robinson Island (2015), by T. J. Hoisington, based on the original 1812 Swiss Family Robinson novel.[4]
Audio adaptations
In
1963, the novel was dramatized by the Tale Spinners for Children series (United Artists Records UAC 11059) performed by the Famous Theatre Company.
Film versions
- Al-Ṭurfa al-Šahiyya fī aḫbār al-ʿAʾila al-Swīsiyya, Arabic translation (c. 1900)
- Swiss Family Robinson (1940 film)
- Swiss Cheese Family Robinson (Mighty Mouse short, 1947)
- Swiss Family Robinson (1960 Walt Disney live-action film)
- The Swiss Family Robinson (1976)
- Lost in Space (1998)
Made-for-TV movies
- The Swiss Family Robinson (1958)
- The Swiss Family Robinson (1973)
- The Swiss Family Robinson (1973)
- The Swiss Family Robinson (1975)
- Beverly Hills Family Robinson (1998)
- The New Swiss Family Robinson (1998) — Starring Jane Seymour, James Keach, and David Carradine
- Stranded (2002)
Television series
- English Family Robinson (1957)
- Lost in Space (1965–1968) – A science fiction adaptation in which the Robinsons are a family of explorers whose spacecraft goes off course. Identical concept to, but not based upon, the Space Family Robinson comic book listed below.
- Swiss Family Robinson (1974) — Canadian series starring Chris Wiggins
- Swiss Family Robinson (1975) — American series starring Martin Milner
- The Swiss Family Robinson: Flone of the Mysterious Island (1981) — An anime series.
- The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998) — New Zealand series starring Richard Thomas
- Lost in Space (2018– present) – A Netflix adaptation of the 1965 Lost in Space.
Comic book series
- Space Family Robinson (1962–1984) – science fiction adaptation
- "Swiss Family Mouse n' Sons" (c. 1962) - straight adaptation with the Disney characters playing the roles
Stage adaptations
- Swiss Family Robinson written by Jerry Montoya and performed at B Street Theatre in Sacramento, California in 2009.
Computer adventure game
- Swiss Family Robinson created in 1984 by Tom Snyder Productions for the Apple II and Commodore 64, published under the Windham Classics label. The player takes the role of Fritz, the eldest brother.
Parody
- The New Swiss Family Robinson by Owen Wister (1882).
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