The Swiss Family Robinson
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| The Swiss Family Robinson | |
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| Author | Johann David Wyss |
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| Original title | Der Schweizerische Robinson |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Language | German |
| Genre(s) | Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Johann Rudolph Wyss (the author's son) |
| Publication date | 1812 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-037618-7 |
The Swiss Family Robinson (German: Der Schweizerische Robinson) is a novel, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family who are shipwrecked in the East Indies en route to Port Jackson, Australia.
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[edit] History
As written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss, and edited by his son Johann Rudolf 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's attitude towards education is in line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and many of the episodes have to do with Christian-oriented moral lessons (frugality, husbandry, resignation, cooperation, etc).[1] The adventures are presented as a series of lessons in natural history and the physical sciences and resemble other similar educational books for children in this period, for example, Charlotte Smith's Rural Walks: in Dialogues intended for the use of Young Persons (1795), Rambles Further: A continuation of Rural Walks (1796), A Natural History of Birds, intended chiefly for young persons (1807). However the novel differers in that it is based on the model of Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, a genuine adventure story.[1]
Over the years there have been many versions of the story with episodes added, changed or deleted. Perhaps the most well known English version is by William H. G. Kingston first published in 1879.[1] It is based on Isabelle de Montolieu's 1824 French adaptation Le Robinson suisse, ou, Journal d'un p�re de famille, naufrag� avec ses enfans in which were added further adventures of Fritz, Franz, Ernest and Jack.[1] Other English editions which claim to include the whole of the Wyss-Montolieu narrative are by W. H. Davenport Adams (1869-0) and Mrs H. B. Paull (1879). As Carpenter and Prichard write in The Oxford Companon 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 TV adaptations have often given them the surname Robinson, which is not a Swiss name, the "Robinson" of the title refers to Robinson Crusoe. The German name translates as the Swiss Robinson, implying a Swiss version of Robinson Crusoe rather than a Swiss family named Robinson.
[edit] Plot introduction
The Swiss Family Robinson follows a close family who has found themselves stranded on an island after a shipwreck. The story is told from the point of view of the father. The religious family is made up of their intelligent and resourceful father, a kind and caring mother, and their four sons named Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz. Fritz is the eldest son, 15 years old when the family lands on the island, and he is often tough on his brothers despite his good intentions. Ernest is the second oldest, and he is intelligent and well-formed, though indolent. Jack is the third oldest son, he is bold, but often thoughtless. Last is Franz, the youngest son, nearly 8 years old when the family first is stranded.
The story follows the family's many good fortunes after they survive a shipwreck in a storm. They find themselves stuck on a ship, after being abandoned by their shipmates, but not too far from shore. Luckily, the family discovers many supplies on the ship, including clothing, tools, fish hooks, guns and gun powder, and various useful animals. They find even more treasures on the endlessly fruitful island, and continue to prosper and make new and exciting discoveries.
There have been many adaptations of the novel with a wide variety of plots, characters, and endings. In the end they are all chiefly characterized by an improbable profusion of animals -- penguins, kangaroos, monkeys, and even a whale - conveniently gathered together on a tropical island for the purpose of educating the boys, and the reader.
[edit] Other adaptations
The novel has in one form or another been adapted in a number of versions.
- Al-Ṭurfa al-Šahiyya fī aḫbār al-ʿAʾila al-Swīsiyya - arabic translation (ca 1900)
- Swiss Family Robinson (1940 film)
- Swiss Cheese Family Robinson (Mighty Mouse episode, 1947)
- Swiss Family Robinson (1960 Disney film)
- The Swiss Family Robinson (1976)
- Mountain Family Robinson (1980)
- The New Swiss Family Robinson (1998 film) [3]
- The Adventures of Swiss Family Robinson (1998)
The adaptions into television series have also been numerous
- Lost in Space (1965) T.V show
- 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) anime series.
- English Family Robinson (1957)
There have been a number of adaptions into television 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)
- Swiss Family Robinson Lost in the Jungle (2000)
- Stranded (2002), aka "The Swiss Family Robinson"
- Swiss Family Robinson: The Remake (2007)
A comic book series updated the adventures to outer space
- Space Family Robinson (1962 to 1984)
In 1984, Tom Snyder Productions created a computer adventure game for the Apple II and Commodore 64. The player takes the role of Fritz, the eldest brother.
- Swiss Family Robinson (computer game)
[edit] References
- Weber, Marie-Hélène (1993). Robinson et robinsonnades : étude comparée de "Robinson Crusoe" de Defoe, "Le Robinson suisse" de J.R. Wyss, "L'Ile mystérieuse" de J. Verne, "Sa majesté des mouches" de W. Golding, "Vendredi ou les limbes du Pacifique" de M. Tournier, Ed.. Universitaires du Sud.
- Jules Verne wrote a sequel, Second Fatherland (Seconde Patrie, 1900), which 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.
- An Emerald Nuts commercial promoting natural energy depict the Swiss Family Robinson building things on a sleeping man.
- Mentioned in August Strindberg's play A Dream Play
- Wyss, Johann. The Swiss Family Robinson, ed John Seelye. Penguin Classics, 2007. The only unabridged complete text genuinely by Wyss (and his son) currently in print.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e "A Note on Wyss's Swiss Family Robinson, Montolieu's Le Robinson suisse, and Kingston's 1879 text" by Ellen Moody.
- ^ John Seelye, ed. The Swiss Family Robinson. Penguin Classics. 2007. ISBN 978-0-14-310499-5
- ^ The New Swiss Family Robinson at the Internet Movie Database
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Swiss Family Robinson, available at Internet Archive (original edition scanned books with illustrations in color)
- The Swiss Family Robinson, available at Google Books ((original edition scanned books with illustrations)
- The Swiss Family Robinson, available at Project Gutenberg. (plain text and HTML). Version unknown, ca. 1850, missing 2 pages of text.
- The Swiss Family Robinson, available at Project Gutenberg. (plain text). Kingston's 1879 translation.
- Information about the book and its many versions. [1]
- Map. An annotated map from a 1852 edition on Google Books. This is an accurate reproduction of the map included with the original German edition (later editions had different/changed maps, often showing it as an island).
