Samuel Johnson’s Rasselas: The Pursuit of Happiness and Eternity
Samuel Johnson’s *Rasselas*: Context and Creation
Johnson’s only novel, Rasselas, was written in the remarkable span of a single week in 1759, prior to the death of his mother. He claimed that he had to write it quickly in order to get money for her funeral. The novel deals with the theme of the human search for happiness, nonetheless ending with the affirmation that the “choice of eternity” is far more important.
Unlike the novels that appeared in the centuries that followed, Rasselas is openly didactic, seeking to provide moral instruction to the reader and promoting a Christian view of life. This approach blends religious ideas with profound concerns regarding human nature.
A Philosophical Journey in Pursuit of Happiness
Rasselas is fundamentally a journey in pursuit of happiness, resulting in a fantastic blend of adventure and philosophical inquiry. It is an extraordinary novel due to the basic human issues it addresses and the simple appeal of its story, focusing on universal themes such as love, marriage, and happiness.
Almost all the incidents and characters generate philosophical reflection, mostly upon the nature of happiness and the “choice of life.”
Johnson’s Recurring Moral and Philosophical Concerns
Johnson uses Rasselas’s quest for happiness as a vehicle for bringing forward moral and philosophical concerns, almost all of which he had addressed earlier in his writing. These concerns include:
- The restless and insatiable nature of mankind (our nature is permanently inquiring and asking questions).
- The differences between humans and animals.
- The aesthetic and social responsibilities of a writer (as a teacher).
- The pleasures and pains of marriage.
- The dangers of an overactive imagination.
The voices of the characters who debate these issues, particularly that of the authoritative Imlac, are strongly reminiscent of Johnson’s own distinctive voice in his non-fictional writing.
Setting and the Culture of Travel Writing
The Abyssinian and Egyptian settings of Rasselas were familiar territory for Johnson. A would-be traveler frustrated by poverty, he was eminently well-read in accounts of the wider world, and he had made his own contributions to what was a vibrant contemporary culture of travel writing.
His first published book was a travel account: A Voyage to Abyssinia (1735), a translation from a French version of an account by Father Jerónimo Lobo (1595–1678), a Portuguese Jesuit who spent many years in North Africa as a missionary. Johnson frequently read about the Jesuits.
Johnson wrote reviews of several travel works, and in the year that Rasselas was published, he contributed an introduction to a twenty-volume collection entitled The World Displayed: Or a Curious Collection of Voyages and Travels.
However, Johnson is not really concerned with providing an accurate depiction of the lands in which he chooses to set the tale.
Categorization and the Oriental Tale Tradition
The result is a work that defies easy categorization: Is it a novel, an oriental tale, a philosophical tale, a moral tale, a romance, a fable, or a satire?
In Britain, a fashion for oriental tales spanned the 18th century. The appeal and popularity of many oriental tales clearly rested upon their offering 18th-century readers the excitement of vicarious adventure (experiencing real adventure without maps or lists) and the opportunity to indulge in exotic fantasy worlds far removed from the everyday realities of European life.
Their plots are rich in incident and danger; they include lavish descriptions of sumptuous environments, and they often incorporate supernatural elements.
The Optimism of Human Existence
It is said that humans are the most optimistic beings on earth, because even though they know their life is finite, they still get up and enjoy life. Our reason tells us so.