The Bottle Imp E-Book

Robert Louis Stevenson

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

In "The Bottle Imp," Robert Louis Stevenson explores themes of morality, desire, and the consequences of one's choices through a captivating narrative steeped in Pacific Island folklore. The novella's structure blends elements of fantasy and adventure, laden with rich descriptions and a vivid sense of place. Stevenson's literary style harkens back to the 19th-century tradition of moral tales, utilizing wit and irony to engage the reader while imparting profound lessons about the nature of greed and the human condition. The story revolves around a magical bottle that grants wishes but comes with a dire consequence, encapsulating the conflict between ambition and ethical dilemma. Born in 1850 in Edinburgh, Stevenson was deeply influenced by his Scottish heritage and a lifetime of travel, including visits to the Pacific Islands. His experiences with varying cultures and philosophies significantly informed his writing. The notion of the bottle'—a potent symbol of desire and peril'—speaks to Stevenson's enduring interest in the interplay of fascination and danger, a reflection of his own adventurous spirit and desire to challenge societal norms. Stevenson's "The Bottle Imp" is a compelling read for those intrigued by moral quandaries and the supernatural. This novella not only entertains but also provokes critical reflections on the human psyche, making it essential for scholars, students, and general readers alike who seek to understand the complexities of choice and consequence in life. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.

Leseprobe

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Bottle Imp

Enriched edition. A Tale of Greed, Wishes, and Eternal Consequences in the South Pacific

In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience.

Introduction, Studies and Commentaries by Brielle Kestridge

Edited and published by Good Press, 2021

[email protected]

EAN 4064066456849

Table of Contents

Introduction

Synopsis

Historical Context

Author Biography

The Bottle Imp

Analysis

Reflection

Memorable Quotes

Notes

Introduction

Table of Contents

A small enchanted bottle that grants any wish at a steadily falling price forces its owners to weigh desire against damnation, love against logic, hope against fear.

The Bottle Imp endures as a classic because it compresses a grand moral puzzle into the lucid shape of a folktale, balancing suspense with philosophical bite. Robert Louis Stevenson, master of swift narratives and shadowed consciences, crafts a fable that feels at once ancient and modern. Its central contrivance is so simple that it invites retelling, yet the consequences it unleashes continue to surprise. The story has shaped conversations about the Faustian bargain in modern fiction and remains a touchstone for writers who test the boundaries between realism and the supernatural. Its economy, charm, and rigor secure its permanent place.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Bottle Imp in 1891, during his Pacific years, and later collected it in Island Nights Entertainments in 1893. The tale is set primarily in Hawaiʻi and turns on the fate of a young man whose life changes when he encounters a bottle said to contain an imp that grants any wish. The premise is elegantly stated and quickly enacted, inviting readers into a moral and emotional trial. Without resorting to excess detail, Stevenson offers a concise, compelling setup that signals both adventure and inquiry, shaping a story that reads like a timeless legend with modern stakes.

At the heart of the narrative lies a rule that is both playful and terrifying. The bottle can be bought and sold, but always for less than it last fetched, and it cannot simply be discarded. Anyone who dies owning it is damned. This mechanical elegance drives the plot and presses on the characters with unique urgency. Each transaction narrows the options and sharpens the moral edge, raising questions about calculation, courage, and care for others. The charm of the premise is that it feels inevitable and yet fresh, a perfect engine for suspense and the testing of conscience.

Stevenson uses this contrivance to craft a moral fable that explores the costs of wish making and the paradoxes of responsibility. He invites readers to consider how love, fear, and reason compete under pressure, and whether a good end can justify perilous means. The story is plain in outline and rich in implication, avoiding doctrinaire answers while guiding us through a maze of choices. By harnessing a folkloric frame and imbuing it with psychological clarity, Stevenson builds a work that speaks across cultures and eras. The result is a narrative whose power lies in precision, restraint, and humane curiosity.

The style is characteristically lucid and quick, with prose that moves like a deftly told tale by a practiced storyteller. Stevenson conjures place with a few resonant details and privileges action tempered by reflection. He supplies enough atmosphere to make the supernatural feel close at hand, without smothering the reader in ornament. The tone alternates between intimacy and urgency, creating trust even as the stakes mount. This balance allows the fable to breathe. The setting is not mere backdrop but a living presence, shaping how characters see, speak, and choose. The story’s rhythm is spare, musical, and quietly relentless.

Temptation, love, and sacrifice form the primary constellation of themes, but they are joined by equally compelling concerns about chance, risk, and the ethics of exchange. The bottle’s rule makes every decision a wager, dramatizing how people measure gain against loss under imperfect information. Stevenson explores the tension between rational calculation and the claims of the heart, tracing how hope can be both a beacon and a snare. He also examines courage, not as bravado, but as endurance in moral uncertainty. The tale’s power lies in showing that destiny is shaped by the choices we make when our values collide.

Composed in the late Victorian era, the story reflects a world connected by trade routes, migration, and cultural encounter. Stevenson, writing during his residence in the South Pacific, places his fable in Hawaiʻi with empathy for local life and an ear for the cadences of oral storytelling. The result is not a travelogue but a narrative attuned to the dignity and particularity of its setting. The Pacific becomes a stage where old beliefs and modern pressures meet. This geographical and cultural context enriches the moral inquiry, reminding readers that desire and danger are always situated, never abstract.

The Bottle Imp has had lasting influence because it refines the Faustian bargain into a form both mathematically neat and emotionally potent. Its diminishing price rule has invited commentary from readers interested in ethics, probability, and the psychology of risk, while its humane focus ensures the puzzle never eclipses the people within it. The story is widely anthologized, frequently taught, and often cited in discussions of the supernatural short story. Its compactness makes it memorable, and its openness to interpretation keeps it alive. Generations of writers have drawn on its elegant mechanism to test characters under moral fire.

What makes the reading experience so gripping is the fusion of tenderness and dread. Stevenson brings us close to his characters’ hopes and vulnerabilities, then exposes them to a logic that cannot be evaded. Scenes unfold with clarity and mounting pressure, yet the narrative leaves room for wonder. The pleasures are many: a crystalline plot, vivid sense of place, and a tone that alternates between warmth and chill. The story rewards quick reading and deep rereading alike, revealing new facets of its moral geometry each time. It proves that concision can carry immense emotional and intellectual weight.

As a classic, the tale exemplifies how popular narrative can achieve lasting seriousness without sacrificing delight. It joins the lineage of cautionary legends while refusing simple moral arithmetic. The bottle’s danger is real, but so is the human capacity for ingenuity, loyalty, and resolve. Stevensons artistry lies in giving equal weight to peril and possibility, allowing readers to feel the full consequence of choice. This balance ensures that the story continues to speak across changing tastes and sensibilities. Its enduring status rests on a rare combination of clarity, tension, empathy, and the sense that fate can turn on a coin.

The Bottle Imp remains relevant because it addresses questions that never expire: What is the price of a wish, the shape of responsibility, the reach of love under threat. It evokes fear, wonder, and compassion while inviting readers to think hard about how values guide action. The themes of temptation, calculation, and sacrifice resonate in a world preoccupied with bargains of many kinds. Stevenson offers no easy answers, only a beautifully constructed test of character within an unforgettable setting. That is why new audiences continue to find it urgent and engaging, and why its spell endures beyond its final page.

Synopsis

Table of Contents

Set in the Pacific and rooted in Hawaiian life, the story follows Keawe, a young man who encounters a mysterious bottle said to contain an imp. The bottle’s owner explains strict rules: it grants any wish, but it must be sold for less than the price paid; it cannot be destroyed; and whoever dies possessing it is damned. The object’s blessings come shadowed by peril, and its value must continually fall. Intrigued by the promise and sobered by the conditions, Keawe weighs desire against danger, recognizing that any gain will carry a cost he may not foresee or control.

Keawe purchases the bottle and cautiously tests its power. A modest trial convinces him, and he dares to wish for a magnificent home and prosperity. His wish is fulfilled, yet the fulfillment is tangled with troubling coincidences, suggesting the imp’s gifts may be balanced by hidden losses. Disturbed by this moral arithmetic, Keawe sells the bottle to his friend Lopaka, carefully passing on the rules. Lopaka also prospers and confirms the bottle’s reliability, reinforcing the idea that the imp’s bargains work with unsettling precision. The men realize that every benefit arrives sealed to a corresponding, and possibly terrible, consequence.