[Victorian Web Home —> Visual arts —> Illustration —> Thomas Stothard —> Daniel Defoe —> Next]
Robinson Crusoe and Friday making a tent to lodge Friday's father and the Spaniard
Artist: Thomas Stothard
Engraver: C. Heath
1782, 1790
Copper-engraving
10.8 cm high by 8.2 cm wide
Source: Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, facing page 158.
[Click on image to enlarge it and mouse over text for links.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
Stothard initially provided fifteen plates in Harrison's 1782 edition, then a more comprehensive set for John Stockdale's 1790 edition.
I observed the poor affectionate creature, every two minutes, or perhaps less, all the while he was here, turn his head about to see if his father was in the same place and posture as he left him sitting; and at last he found he was not to be seen; at which he started up, and, without speaking a word, flew with that swiftness to him that one could scarce perceive his feet to touch the ground as he went; but when he came, he only found he had laid himself down to ease his limbs, so Friday came back to me presently; and then I spoke to the Spaniard to let Friday help him up if he could, and lead him to the boat, and then he should carry him to our dwelling, where I would take care of him. But Friday, a lusty, strong fellow, took the Spaniard upon his back, and carried him away to the boat, and set him down softly upon the side or gunnel of the canoe, with his feet in the inside of it; and then lifting him quite in, he set him close to his father; and presently stepping out again, launched the boat off, and paddled it along the shore faster than I could walk, though the wind blew pretty hard too; so he brought them both safe into our creek, and leaving them in the boat, ran away to fetch the other canoe. As he passed me I spoke to him, and asked him whither he went. He told me, "Go fetch more boat;" so away he went like the wind, for sure never man or horse ran like him; and he had the other canoe in the creek almost as soon as I got to it by land; so he wafted me over, and then went to help our new guests out of the boat, which he did; but they were neither of them able to walk; so that poor Friday knew not what to do.
To remedy this, I went to work in my thought, and calling to Friday to bid them sit down on the bank while he came to me, I soon made a kind of hand-barrow to lay them on, and Friday and I carried them both up together upon it between us; but when we got them to the outside of our wall, or fortification, we were at a worse loss than before, for it was impossible to get them over, and I was resolved not to break it down; so I set to work again, and Friday and I, in about two hours' time, made a very handsome tent, covered with old sails, and above that with boughs of trees, being in the space without our outward fence and between that and the grove of young wood which I had planted; and here we made them two beds of such things as I had; viz. of good rice-straw, with blankets laid upon it to lie on, and another to cover them, on each bed.
My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects; and it was a merry reflection, which I frequently made, how like a king I looked. First of all, the whole country was my own property, so that I had an undoubted right of dominion. Secondly, my people were perfectly subjected—I was absolutely lord and law-giver; they all owed their lives to me, and were ready to lay down their lives, if there had been occasion for it, for me. It was remarkable, too, I had but three subjects, and they were of three different religions—my man Friday was a Protestant, his father was a Pagan and a cannibal, and the Spaniard was a Papist. However, I allowed liberty of conscience throughout my dominions. But this is by the way. [Chapter XVI, "Rescue of the Prisoners from the Cannibals," pp. 158-159]
As David Blewett points out,
The third edition of this decade of revival [the 1790s] was the most sumptuous of the three. Published by John Stockdale in 1790 and accompanied, significantly, by Chalmers' Life and extravagant praise of Defoe, it was illustrated by a new set of fourteen drawings by Stothard. The transformation we have witnessed in Friday as he emerges from impersonality into the idealized primitive man is carried a stage further. No longer a figure of pathos or comedy, and certainly not of grotesque subservience, Friday now assumes the attributes of the Noble Savage, the idealized primitive so much discussed in the eighteenth century, who can take his place as the fit companion to Crusoe [PL IX]. [p. 33]
Stothard now creates a de facto familyfor Crusoe, who holds aloft a torch as the others quickly erect accommodation for the newest members. The muscular Friday works patiently in the foreground, an aboriginal only in terms of his hair and loin-cloth. Certainly he does not seem as animate and mercurial as Defoe describes him; rather, he seems lost in thought — marvelling, perhaps, at how fate has reunited him with his father thanks to the intervention of his god-like master. In the background is the outward fence of Crusoe's castle, apparently constructed of basket-work. The scene, although lacking in vigorous action, is interesting in terms of how quickly Crusoe has built relationships with these strangers, and how all four are working together to tame the wilderness and build a home — Europeans fitting into the natural environment rather than simply imposing their will upon it. Once again, Stothard idealizes the natural backdrop with delicately shaped leaves blending in a forest canopy and trees with slight trunks framing the scene harmoniously.
At the centre of this tranquil scene, in which representatives of the competing European powers work together for the common good, is Man Friday, a South American or Caribbean Indian who exemplifies physical perfection: "a comely handsome Fellow, perfectly well made; with straight strong Limbs." The picture in its total effect reflects Crusoe's assertion "My island was now peopled, and I thought myself very rich in subjects" (pp. 158-159). The illustration, in contrast to the text's monarchical view of Crusoe, represents the four men as an extended family.
Left: Centre: Cruikshank's suspense but static illustration of Crusoe's scouting the cannibals' position, Crusoe and Friday watch the Cannibals from hiding (1831). Centre: Sir John Gilbert's focussing on Crusoe and the European captive, Robinson Crusoe rescues the Spaniard (1860s). Right: The Cassell's image emphasizes Anglo-Spanish cooperation in the colonial enterprise as Crusoe tries to learn as much as possible about Spanish operations in the area, Crusoe conferring with the Spaniard (1863-64).
Phiz's full-page steel-engraving of the second rescue scene, but with considerably more peripheral action than Cruikshank's, Robinson Crusoe rescues the Spaniard (1864). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Blewett, David. "Robinson Crusoe, Friday, and the Noble Savage: The Illustration of the Rescue of Friday Scene in the Eighteenth Century." Man and Nature, Vol. 5 (1986), 29–49. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/man/1986-v5-man0238/1011850ar.pdf
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Written by Himself. Illustrated by Thomas Stothard; engraving by C. Heath. London: Bliss, Sands, and Foster, 1820.
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. (1831). Major's Edition. London: Chatto & Windus, 1890.
Last modified 12 February 2018