Date of Award
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Buckton, Oliver
Abstract
The South Seas Writing of Robert Louis Stevenson reveals a crisis in colonialism: Stevenson saw how colonial exploitation of natives for their island resources was corrupting the morality of imperial countries, while colonialism also brought disease and conflicts to the remote margins of empire. Stevenson exposes how unfounded was Victorian imperial ideology of cultural and religious superiority. He objects to the colonial powers' policies that tend to wipe out native cultures. His travel narratives and fiction not only voice this objection to colonial usurpation, but also stand up for the native peoples who strive to establish a literary voice of their own. In this way Stevenson anticipates the post-colonial age when colonized peoples fight for their independence, and when their own voices help establish their legitimate cultural heritage.
Extent
70 p.
Recommended Citation
MacLaren, Robert B., "Crisis in colonialism: The South Seas writing of Robert Louis Stevenson" (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009. 1030.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_5/1030
Identifier
FADT13336
Comments
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2006.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters