Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Englisches Seminar
Proseminar: Anfang und Ende des realistischen Erzählens im
englischen Roman des 18. Jahrhunderts
Winter Term 2005/2006

The Religion in Daniel Defoe´s Robinson Crusoe

Table of contents

1. Introduction 1

2. The religion in Robinson Crusoe 3

2.1. Robinson Crusoe′s character and religion before his arrival on the island 3

2.1.2. The original sin 3
2.1.3. The recurring circle of structure 5

2.2. Robinson Crusoe′s character and religion after his arrival on the island 7

2.2.1. First religious contacts 7
2.2.2 The conversion 8
2.2.3. Friday′s conversion 10

3. Life and religion of Daniel Defoe 11

4. Puritanical characteristics in Robinson Crusoe 13

5. Conclusion 15

6. Bibliography 16

1. Introduction

In 1719, Daniel Defoe published the novel The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. Defoe′s most famous and most successful work is regarded as the first realistic novel of the world literature. Therefore Defoe can be considered as the pioneer of the modern English novel (Nünning 1998: 124-127). This view is justified in the fact that Defoe uses a realistic way of narrating and turns away from the tradition of the fantastic and romance-like way which was predominant so far. Besides he chooses a middle-class person to be the protagonist, a life which the most part of his readers could identify with. Finally, Defoe applies a concrete determination of time and location in the novel which was unknown so far as well (Bode 2005: 43; Kley 2002: 2). The story, a fictional autobiography, is told by the fictitious person Robinson Crusoe who leaves his home to explore the world. After different journeys his ship gets shipwrecked and Robinson Crusoe reaches as the only survivor a remote and isolated island where he lives for the following 28 years until he gets rescued.

The novel is interpreted from different perspectives. Therefore it is regarded as an adventurous travelogue, as an economic parable or as a do-it-yourself-manual. The interpretation as an adventurous travelogue examines for example the topic of a lonely person in an unfamiliar land who develops different strategies to survive while the interpretation as an economic parable would emphasise Robinson Crusoe’s way of thinking rational and economical, e.g. while equipping his cave which functions as a kind of logistical store (Defoe 1719: 55). The interpretation as a do-it-yourself-manual could refer for example to the way of producing tools out of very scarce material (Defoe 1719: 54-55).

In this research paper, however, I will make use of another way of interpreting Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, namely to regard the novel as a religious allegory, i.e. I will examine the novel from the religious perspective. I will present the development in his relation to God and point out the importance of religion for Robinson Crusoe after his conversion, in each case demonstrated by suitable exemplary passages. Therefore, after beginning with an investigation of Crusoe’s character and his relation to religion before he arrives on the island I will turn to Crusoe’s time on the island which includes his first religious contacts as well as his conversion. In the whole novel the topic of providence emerges various times. I will point to this topic exemplary at suitable passages within this research paper. Finally, I will point out a connection between the novel Robinson Crusoe and the life and religion of Daniel Defoe. Therefore I will list some of the most important facts and events in the life of Daniel Defoe and present his personal religious opinion; in this connection the Puritanism plays an important role. Afterwards I will demonstrate which of Defoe′s religious views and opinions can be found in the novel.

2. The religion in Robinson Crusoe

2.1. Robinson Crusoe’s character and religion before arriving on the island

2.1.2. The original sin

Robinson Crusoe is born as a son of a respected merchant family. He has two older brothers; the first is killed as a Lieutenant at a battle while the other one is missed and never found again. All the more his parents want Robinson to be well educated and to get a respectable job: “My father, who was very ancient, had given me a competent Share of Learning, as far as House-Education, and a Country Free-School generally goes, and design’d me for the Law […]” (Defoe 1719: 4). However, Robinson Crusoe has other intentions and his head is “fill’d very early with rambling Thoughts” (ibid): “I would be satisfied with nothing but going to Sea, […], nay the Commands of my Father, and all the Entreaties and Perswasions of my Mother and other Friends […]” (ibid). However, nobody in Crusoe’s surroundings shows understanding for his intentions; above all, his father does not agree and directs his son to him to provide different arguments in order to persuade him not to go to sea. According to his father, his current, i.e. the middle station of life is the best one for Robinson to live in because the middle station guarantees certain future reliability (Frick 1988: 123).

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