Visiting Robert Louis Stevenson

May 28 2016 | From: WakeUpKiwi / RLS / Various



In early 2014 while visiting Samoa, I visited the home and burial place of Robert Louis Stevenson. RLS, as he is affectionately known, (especially on Samoa) is not just the author of Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Search the website, and you’ll find he’s also a poet, a playwright, a Gothicist, a historian, an anthropologist, a Victorian, and a Postmodernist. In short, an outstanding modern writer, constantly experimenting.







A personal visit to the home of this man in Samoa revealed some interesting details, some of which I have been able to research into further, and others not so much. It is clear, however, that there is more going on with RLS than meets the eye at first glance.



I have been waiting more than two years to round this piece out into an article that could answer more questions that it had generated.



I have to conceed that at this point it seems we have all that we are going to be able to gain in terms of further insight on this matter. Perhaps submitting this information to a wider audience will in some way assist in flushing out further information that will help to complete the fascinating story or Robert Louis Stevenson; his charachter, his inspirations and his insights.



There is much to be read about Robert Louis Stevenson and there is a very good website that is dedicated to that very purpose. Inspired by some very interesting details noted on a visit to the home and last resting place of the man, I felt compelled to put this piece together.



There is something to be said for spending time in the home of a person of historical note, observing their possessions, examples of their work and indeed in this case, standing in the very spot from where they transitioned from this world to the next.



To be clear, this article is in no way intended to be a sleight on the man. There are some very interesting details regarding Robert Louios Stevenson, both known and occult (secretive). All this piece intends to do is share some insights from a personal visit and perspective.











RLS was apparently a Freemason which would not have been uncommon for an aristocrat of his time:







Indeed the existence of good and evil in the world is the one of the most common themes in literature and art in general. In the Masonic Opera “The Magic Flute”, Papageno, accompanies Tamino into the chamber of reflection and is there put to test. Papageno fails these tests miserably, but surprisingly is rewarded nonetheless "Brother Robert Louis Stevenson in his novel “Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” portrays the paradoxical nature of humankind through his main character, who manifests both good and evil personalities.Indeed the existence of good and evil in the world is the one of the most common themes in literature and art in general. In the Masonic Opera “The Magic Flute”, Papageno, accompanies Tamino into the chamber of reflection and is there put to test. Papageno fails these tests miserably, but surprisingly is rewarded nonetheless [xii] , an obvious paradox."



Western Samoa is a beautiful tropical sovereign nation in the Northern Pacific Ocean, in the vicinity of the New Zealand dependency / protectorate states; the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and Nauru.











The Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, as it is now known is actually the estate of RLS, located effectively at number 1, Robert Louis Stevenson Road, Apia, Samoa.











On January 10 1890 RLS, signed the deed of purchase for the Vailima estate. The formal driveway and exotic tropical gardens of the estate are both beautiful and timeless.











Although the driveway would have probably been gravel back in the day, today it is immaculately kept and presented with respect and pride. Surely it appears today much as it would have in the early 1900's.











Overview of RLS, Samoa and Vailima



His observations on the culture and on his experiences on his South Seas travels are to be found in the South Sea letters, published in Magazines in 1891 (and then in book form as In the South Seas in 1896). A historical account of colonial interference and conflict in Samoa was published as A Footnote to History (1892).



He also returns to Scottish history and settings with Catriona (or David Balfour) (1893) and the unfinished Weir of Hermiston (1896). Another unfinished work on which he expended much effort was St Ives (1897), a picaresque adventure with many Scottish scenes.











RLS chose Samoa because he liked the people, it was not too “civilized” and had a regular mail service (essential for his connections with agents, editors and publishers). Because of the great cost of the Vailima house and the extended family that lived there, RLS often felt under pressure to keep writing.



Despite this, his work of the 1890s continued to be of great interest and variety. “The Beach of Falesá” (1892) and The Ebb-Tide (1894) confront the results of colonisation and mark a new Realistic turn in his writing. The same setting and approach can also be seen in the form of the adventure novel, The Wrecker (1892). “The Bottle Imp” (1891) presents a Pacific-wide community as the setting for a fascinating moral fable.











While visiting the estate a number of esoteric symbols were noticeable in photographs, artwork, furniture and indeed at the burial site itself. In an attempt to decipher some of the more obscure references I contacted Jordan Maxwell and James Robert Wright, who are both well versed in Freemasonic symbolism.











James Robert Wright relayed to me that while there is definitely some esoteric symbology in play, especially on the 'circle hand painting', that he was unable to discern exactly what that particular symbology means.











Part of the reason for the delay in the publising this article is that I had been attempting to make contact with people who could identify the symbology that appears in the images I captured. I have managed to make some inroads in this regard but if any readers are able to offer further insights then that would be welcomed.











Some people have made references to potential links between RLS and the Order of the Golden Dawn but these seem difficult to verify. It is however possible that some of the very clear esoteric symbology present may be indeed related to such secret orders as Aleister Crowley's Golden Dawn and or other such secretive orders.









An early edition copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde





Life and Publications Summary



Robert Lewis (later: “Louis”) Balfour Stevenson was born in Edinburgh , Scotlandon 13 November 1850. His father Thomas belonged to a family of engineers who had built many of the deep-sea lighthouses around the rocky coast of Scotland. His mother, Margaret Isabella Balfour, came from a family of lawyers and church ministers. In 1857 the family moved to 17 Heriot Row, a solid, respectable house in Edinburgh’s New Town.



At the age of seventeen he enrolled at Edinburgh University to study engineering, with the aim – his father hoped – of following him in the family firm. However, he abandoned this course of studies and made the compromise of studying law.



He “passed advocate” in 1875 but did not practice since by now he knew he wanted to be a writer. In the university’s summer vacations he went to France to be in the company of other young artists, both writers and painters. His first published work was an essay called "Roads' and his first published volumes were works of travel writing.





Early Published Works



His first published volume, An Inland Voyage (1878), is an account of the journey he made by canoe from Antwerp to northern France, in which prominence is given to the author and his thoughts. A companion work, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), gives us more of his thoughts on life and human society and continues in consolidating the image of the debonair narrator that we also find in his essays and letters (which can be classed among his best works).



