Robinsonade ( ) is a

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by List of narrative techniques, literary technique, Tone (literature), tone, Media (communication), content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from mor ...

of fiction wherein the protagonist is suddenly separated from civilization, usually by being shipwrecked or marooned on a secluded and uninhabited island, and must improvise the means of their survival from the limited resources at hand. The genre takes its name from the 1719

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

'' Robinson Crusoe'' by

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

. The success of this novel spawned so many imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply as a "

desert island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

story" or a " castaway narrative". The word "robinsonade" was coined by the German writer Johann Gottfried Schnabel in the Preface of his 1731 work ' (''The Island Stronghold''). It is often viewed as a subgenre of survivalist fiction.

Common themes

Common themes of Robinsonade works include the protagonists being in a state of isolation (e.g. on a

or an uninhabited

planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

), a new beginning for the work's characters, self-reflection as a plot point, contact with

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, or alien life (colloquially, aliens), is life that originates from another world rather than on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been scientifically conclusively detected. Such life might range from simple forms ...

and social commentary.

Utopianism

Unlike

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

's ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

'' and romantic works which depicted nature as idyllic, ''Crusoe'' made it unforgiving and sparse. The protagonist survives by his wits and the qualities of his cultural upbringing, which also enable him to prevail in conflicts with fellow castaways or over local peoples he may encounter. However, he manages to wrest survival and even a certain amount of civilisation from the wilderness. Works that followed went both in the more utopian direction ('' The Swiss Family Robinson'') and the dystopian direction ('' Lord of the Flies'').

Inverted Crusoeism

The term ''inverted Crusoeism'' was coined by English writer J. G. Ballard. The paradigm of Robinson Crusoe has been a recurring topic in Ballard's work. Whereas the original Robinson Crusoe became a castaway against his own will, Ballard's protagonists often choose to maroon themselves; hence ''inverted Crusoeism'' (e.g., '' Concrete Island''). The concept provides a reason as to why people would deliberately maroon themselves on a remote island; in Ballard's work, becoming a castaway is as much a healing and empowering process as an entrapping one, enabling people to discover a more meaningful and vital existence.

Examples

Predating ''Robinson Crusoe''

Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen's 1668

picaresque novel The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...

Simplicius Simplicissimus ''Simplicius Simplicissimus'' () is a picaresque novel of the lower Baroque style, written in five books by German author Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen published in 1668, with the sequel ''Continuatio'' appearing in 1669. Inspired b ...

'' features a shipwrecked protagonist who lives alone on an island.

19th century

One of the best known robinsonades is '' The Swiss Family Robinson'' (1812–27) by Johann David Wyss, in which a shipwrecked clergyman, his wife, and his four sons manage not only to survive on their island but also to discover the good life.

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

strands his castaways in '' Mysterious Island'' (1874) with only one match, one grain of wheat, a metal dog collar, and two watches.

Robinsonade proper

The robinsonade proper also contains the following themes: * Progress through technology * A storyline following the triumphs and the rebuilding of civilisation * Economic achievement * Unfriendliness of nature

Science fiction Robinsonade

Genre SF robinsonades naturally tend to be set on uninhabited planets or satellites rather than islands. The Moon is the location of Ralph Morris's proto-SF ''The Life and Wonderful Adventures of John Daniel'' (1751), and of John W Campbell Jr's paean to human inventiveness, '' The Moon is Hell'' (1950). A classic example of an SF robinsonade which has all the elements of the robinsonade proper is Tom Godwin's ''The Survivors'', as well as J. G. Ballard's '' Concrete Island''. A more recent example is Andy Weir's 2011 '' The Martian''.

Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as '' How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as ...

' We Who Are About To... (1977) is a radical feminist objection to the entire genre. ''Sears List of Subject Headings'' recommends that librarians also catalog apocalyptic fiction —such as Cormac McCarthy's popular novel '' The Road'', or even Robert A. Heinlein's '' Starship Troopers''—as robinsonades.

Robinsonade in other media

People stranded on a desert island is a common trope in other genres as well. * Ryuzan Aki drew over 1,000 desert island

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

.『おーいたすけてくれ part 4―秋竜山の無人島まんが1000展』旺文社、1981年。 *'' Are You Lost?'' (manga) *''

The Admirable Crichton ''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie. Origins Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scotland, Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving E ...

'' (play) *'' Gilligan's Island'' (TV series) *'' Lost'' (TV series) *'' Cast Away'' (film) * Desert island joke

References

External links

*For historical examples, se
"Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe & the Robinsonades Digital Collection"
which has an overview of the genre along with over 200 versions of '' Robinson Crusoe'' and historical robinsonades openly and freely online with full text and zoomable page images from the Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature *For literary criticism on the subject, see "Chapter 7: Unmapping Adventures: Robinsons and Robinsonades" in ''Mapping Men and Empire: A Geography of Adventure'', by Richard Phillips, published in 1997, and ''Empire Islands: Castaways, Cannibals, and Fantasies of Conquest'', by Rebecca Weaver-Hightower, University of Minnesota P, 2007, . * * {{Robinson Crusoe Literary genres Robinson Crusoe Adventure fiction Maritime folklore