Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson’s Background Born November 3, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was an only son. Died December 3, 1894. He was 44 when he died.

Conflict #1- Family Expectations For generations, Stevenson family had been lighthouse engineers. Family wanted Robert to become an engineer, too. Robert wanted to write. He studied law as a compromise.

Conflict #2- Parental Beliefs Stevenson rejected his parents’ religion and bourgeois hypocrisy. Bourgeois: a person of the middle class, such as a merchant, businessman, or salaried worker with a higher status than a farmer or a laborer and a lower status than an aristocrat or a person of great wealth; common, ordinary.

Conflict #2- Parental Beliefs Stevenson pursued a bohemian lifestyle. Bohemian: a free and easy, unconventional sort of life adopted by artists, writers, and others.

Conflict #3- Finding Love Stevenson was plagued by illness his entire life. At 23, Stevenson developed respiratory illness. Recovered on French Rivera.

Conflict #3- Finding Love While in France, fell in love with Fanny Osbourne, an American. Fanny was married, but separated. Robert courted her for 2 years, despite his parents’ disapproval.

Conflict #3- Finding Love Fanny moved back to California. Robert followed her and they married. Robert’s family finally accepted the marriage and offered much-need financial help. Robert and Fanny moved back to Scotland.

Travels Influence Literature Stevenson traveled to many places, which he wrote about in his literature. Places include France, England, Samoa, and the United States.

Travels Influence Literature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde set in London, England. Treasure Island set in Samoa. Kidnapped set in the United States.

Conclusion Robert Louis Stevenson died on December 3, 1894, at the age of 44. He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, which killed him instantly. He went to the wine cellar to get a bottle of burgundy, uncorked it in the kitchen, and abruptly cried to his wife, “What’s the matter with me, what is this strangeness, has my face changed?”