The Merry Men (short story)
Encyclopedia
The Merry Men is a short story
by Robert Louis Stevenson
first published in 1882
in Cornhill Magazine
45-6 (June–July 1882). The story was later published in Stevenson's collection The Merry Men and Other Tales and Fables
(1887). It is set on the Isle of Earraid off the southwest tip of the larger island of Mull, which is located near the mainland of Argyll, Scotland, across from the town of Oban.
. Aros is the home of his uncle, Gordon Darnaway, a hard-hearted and alcoholic Presbyterian. Charles has come in search of sunken treasure, as he believes a ship of the Spanish Armada
sank in the bay under his uncle's home long before. Charles hopes to use the treasure to restore the Darnaways' fortunes and marry Gordon's daughter (and Charles' cousin) Mary Ellen.
Charles is rowed out to the promontory by the only other inhabitant, Gordon's servant Rorie. Charles is surprised to find both Rorie and Gordon anxious and full of foreboding, though both furtively evade his questions. He is further surprised to find his uncle's austere home decorated with expensive lamps and rugs. He realizes at once they must have come from a shipwreck, and feels uneasy about this looting of the dead. His cousin Mary Ellen confirms that a ship was recently cast away nearby, having been driven by a storm into the dreadful breakers
around the promontory, breakers that roar a hundred feet high around the rocks and are called "the Merry Men" due to the vast noise they make, like shrieking laughter.
Charles goes down to the shore on his treasure-hunt. While there he sees the shattered hull
of the wrecked ship, and also a fresh grave
. He realizes the grave must be for the body of a mariner washed ashore. He takes this as a bad omen
, but still sets out to the point where he thinks the Spanish ship must be. His first dive locates a weed-grown structure which appears to be the sunken ship, but a second dive shows it to be only a rock formation. He hauls himself along the weed-grown rocks, looking for signs of the wreck, until the signs of an approaching storm warn him to return to shore. As he makes for the surface his handhold breaks off in his grip; when he pulls himself on shore he looks at it and is horrified to recognize a human leg bone. He lays the bone on the sand, resolving to do no more hunting for the wreck.
On his way back to the house he sees a small boat, full of strangers, rowing around the bay. Watching them he is convinced that they too are searching for the sunken Spanish ship. He returns to tell his uncle that he saw a stranger on the shore, and is surprised by Gordon's panicked dread. Charles realizes that the mariner whose grave he saw came ashore alive, and that his uncle murdered him. Gordon runs out into the storm, with Charles after him, only to see the strangers' ship caught in the Merry Men and destroyed.
Further down the shore they find a man standing in the hull of the earlier wreck, a black man who speaks no language Charles knows. By sign language the stranger signifies that he is one of the strangers' party that was left behind, but Gordon, his guilty conscience overwhelming him, believes him to be the ghost of the man he murdered. Driven mad, Gordon flees into the storm and eventually flings himself into the sea, pursued by the silent stranger; both are swallowed up by the Merry Men.
. There was a long tradition in Scotland that the Devil appeared as a black man (Stevenson mentions this in a footnote to "Thrawn Janet", another story in the same collection.) Also, Gordon earlier claimed that the Sea was the work of the Devil.
A parallel can be drawn between this story and the later "Heart of Darkness
" by Joseph Conrad
, another story of an isolated man driven mad by Nature. Interestingly, Gordon's rant about the Devil living in the Sea ends with him moaning, "The horror! The horror of the sea!" ...which is echoed in Conrad in Kurtz
's last message: "The horror! The horror! Exterminate all the brutes!"
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
first published in 1882
1882 in literature
The year 1882 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*F. Anstey - Vice Versa*Walter Besant - The Revolt of Man*Bankim Chatterjee - Anandmath*Richard Doddridge Blackmore -Christowell*Wilkie Collins - After Dark...
in Cornhill Magazine
Cornhill Magazine
The Cornhill Magazine was a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London.Cornhill was founded by George Murray Smith in 1860 and was published until 1975. It was a literary journal with a selection of articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new novels...
45-6 (June–July 1882). The story was later published in Stevenson's collection The Merry Men and Other Tales and Fables
The Merry Men and Other Tales and Fables
The Merry Men and Other Tales and Fables is a collection of short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson.-Contents:* "The Merry Men"* "Will O' the Mill"* "Markheim"* "Thrawn Janet"* "Olalla"* "The Treasure of Franchard"-External links:*...
(1887). It is set on the Isle of Earraid off the southwest tip of the larger island of Mull, which is located near the mainland of Argyll, Scotland, across from the town of Oban.
Plot summary
The narrator, Charles Darnaway, a recent graduate of Edinburgh University, travels to the remote island of Aros off the north-west coast of ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Aros is the home of his uncle, Gordon Darnaway, a hard-hearted and alcoholic Presbyterian. Charles has come in search of sunken treasure, as he believes a ship of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
sank in the bay under his uncle's home long before. Charles hopes to use the treasure to restore the Darnaways' fortunes and marry Gordon's daughter (and Charles' cousin) Mary Ellen.
Charles is rowed out to the promontory by the only other inhabitant, Gordon's servant Rorie. Charles is surprised to find both Rorie and Gordon anxious and full of foreboding, though both furtively evade his questions. He is further surprised to find his uncle's austere home decorated with expensive lamps and rugs. He realizes at once they must have come from a shipwreck, and feels uneasy about this looting of the dead. His cousin Mary Ellen confirms that a ship was recently cast away nearby, having been driven by a storm into the dreadful breakers
Breaking wave
In fluid dynamics, a breaking wave is a wave whose amplitude reaches a critical level at which some process can suddenly start to occur that causes large amounts of wave energy to be transformed into turbulent kinetic energy...
around the promontory, breakers that roar a hundred feet high around the rocks and are called "the Merry Men" due to the vast noise they make, like shrieking laughter.
Charles goes down to the shore on his treasure-hunt. While there he sees the shattered hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
of the wrecked ship, and also a fresh grave
Grave (burial)
A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
. He realizes the grave must be for the body of a mariner washed ashore. He takes this as a bad omen
Omen
An omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change...
, but still sets out to the point where he thinks the Spanish ship must be. His first dive locates a weed-grown structure which appears to be the sunken ship, but a second dive shows it to be only a rock formation. He hauls himself along the weed-grown rocks, looking for signs of the wreck, until the signs of an approaching storm warn him to return to shore. As he makes for the surface his handhold breaks off in his grip; when he pulls himself on shore he looks at it and is horrified to recognize a human leg bone. He lays the bone on the sand, resolving to do no more hunting for the wreck.
On his way back to the house he sees a small boat, full of strangers, rowing around the bay. Watching them he is convinced that they too are searching for the sunken Spanish ship. He returns to tell his uncle that he saw a stranger on the shore, and is surprised by Gordon's panicked dread. Charles realizes that the mariner whose grave he saw came ashore alive, and that his uncle murdered him. Gordon runs out into the storm, with Charles after him, only to see the strangers' ship caught in the Merry Men and destroyed.
Further down the shore they find a man standing in the hull of the earlier wreck, a black man who speaks no language Charles knows. By sign language the stranger signifies that he is one of the strangers' party that was left behind, but Gordon, his guilty conscience overwhelming him, believes him to be the ghost of the man he murdered. Driven mad, Gordon flees into the storm and eventually flings himself into the sea, pursued by the silent stranger; both are swallowed up by the Merry Men.
Analysis
It is possible that the stranger from the Sea may be the DevilDevil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. There was a long tradition in Scotland that the Devil appeared as a black man (Stevenson mentions this in a footnote to "Thrawn Janet", another story in the same collection.) Also, Gordon earlier claimed that the Sea was the work of the Devil.
A parallel can be drawn between this story and the later "Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
" by Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, another story of an isolated man driven mad by Nature. Interestingly, Gordon's rant about the Devil living in the Sea ends with him moaning, "The horror! The horror of the sea!" ...which is echoed in Conrad in Kurtz
Kurtz (Heart of Darkness)
Mr. Kurtz is a central fictional character in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. A trader of ivory in Africa and commander of a trading post, he monopolises his position as a demigod among native Africans. Kurtz meets with the protagonist, Marlow, who returns him to the coast via steamboat...
's last message: "The horror! The horror! Exterminate all the brutes!"