It's really amazing how rereading a book after twenty years can give you such a different perspective on the story.  Having just reread Swiss Family Robinson (see Orrin's review) and being surprised by the relative heavy-handedness of the Christian rhetoric, I figured I may as well revisit Robinson Crusoe.  Now I recall this story from childhood as a thrilling adventure of man conquering nature and surviving in the wild, but little more than that.  Imagine my surprise when this too turned out to be essentially a Christian allegory.  In looking for links to go with this review I found an excellent essay, by Philip Zaleski in First Things, which treats many of the issues I would have raised and does so far better than I could have; I strongly recommend it.

I agree with much of what Zaleski says, with one caveat.  I think that there are legitimate reasons to have bowdlerized versions of books like this and Swiss Family Robinson.  Most of us are first exposed to these classics when we are kids and non-Christian parents could have understandable concerns about their children coping with the Christian themes which really dominate the unexpurgated versions of these books.  Personally, I found it beautiful and compelling when Crusoe has his epiphany:

    This was the first time that I could say, in the true Sense of the Words, that I pray'd in all my Life;
    for now I pray'd with a Sense of my Condition, and with a true Scripture View of Hope founded on
    the Encouragement of the Word of God; and from this Time, I may Say, I began to have Hope that
    God would hear me.

This image of a man stranded and alone facing the wilderness, but making peace with himself and with God, is one of the most sublime in all of Western Literature.  But it is part and parcel of a very Protestant text that some might find off-putting.  It is certainly better to have kids at least read a diluted version of the text, than never read it because of these parental worries.

However, it is inappropriate to use the bastardized versions when these books are being taught in High School and College.  There, when readers are sufficiently mature to understand concepts even if they disagree with them, it does a disservice to the author, the text, the student and most importantly to the importance of ideas themselves, to have them avoid the central themes which the novel is intended to express.

This, one of the earliest English novels, remains one of the best; it's popularity easy to understand.  I encourage you to return to it, particularly if you haven't read it in several decades.  It is a much richer and more interesting book than the one you may recall reading--lo, those many moons ago.

(Reviewed:02-May-00)

Grade: (A) Orrin C. Judd

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