Great Lives Robinson Crusoe & Daniel Defoe
Summary
TLDRIn this episode, Lucy Irvin and Martin Popplewell share their experiences of living on a desert island, drawing parallels with Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe.' Lucy, a former Inland Revenue clerk, spent a year on an island between New Guinea and Australia, while Martin was inspired by 'The Blue Lagoon' to live the castaway life. They discuss the appeal of island living, the evolution of the castaway myth, and the significance of Defoe's work. The conversation touches on themes of loneliness, self-sufficiency, and the human desire for simplicity and control over one's environment.
Takeaways
- 📚 The script discusses the classic novel 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe, which turns 300 years old this year.
- 🏝️ The conversation explores the idea of 'Robinson Crusoe' being a real person and compares it to the experiences of the guests, Lucy Irvin and Martin Popplewell, who have lived on desert islands.
- 👨💻 Lucy Irvin, a writer who has authored books like 'Castaway', 'Run Away', and 'Far Away', shares her experience of living in a caravan in rural Bulgaria and her time on an island between New Guinea and Australia.
- 🎬 Martin Popplewell was inspired by the film 'The Blue Lagoon' to live on a desert island, which he did, experiencing the reality of island life.
- 📖 The script highlights the detailed and adventurous early life of Robinson Crusoe before his well-known island stay, including being a slave in Morocco and a plantation owner in Brazil.
- 🕵️♂️ Daniel Defoe's own life was full of adventure, including being a political pamphleteer, a trader, a spy, and experiencing significant historical events like the Great Fire of London and the Plague.
- 🏝️ The myth of the desert island as a place of simplicity and escape from the complexities of modern life is discussed, and how it has evolved in popular culture.
- 🤔 The script ponders whether some individuals, like Crusoe or Selkirk, have a higher tolerance for solitude and the challenges of living independently.
- 👥 The relationship between Crusoe and his companion Friday is examined, considering the dynamics of power, culture, and possibly affection.
- 🏡 The ending of 'Robinson Crusoe' is summarized, with Crusoe returning to civilization and later embarking on further adventures in a sequel.
Q & A
What is the significance of the year 1632 in the context of the script?
-The year 1632 is significant as it is the year when Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist of Daniel Defoe's novel 'The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe,' was born.
Why did Lucy Irvine respond to the advertisement for a 'writer seeks a wife'?
-Lucy Irvine responded to the advertisement because she was bored working for the Inland Revenue and was seeking a change, hoping for an adventure different from her routine life.
What misconceptions did Lucy Irvine have about the man who placed the advertisement?
-Lucy Irvine assumed that she would be a sort of 'girl Friday' and that the man was an experienced adventurer based on his advertisement, not knowing that he had a background in writing sensational publicity materials and editing a men's magazine.
How has the image of a deserted island evolved in popular culture according to the script?
-The image of a deserted island has evolved from representing limited horizons and simplicity to becoming a symbol of a different life, one that is seen as a form of escape from the complexities of modern society.
What is the connection between Daniel Defoe and Robinson Crusoe discussed in the script?
-The script suggests that Daniel Defoe, the author, lives on through his creation, Robinson Crusoe, as authors often do with their characters, and that the character of Crusoe might have been inspired by various real-life stories, including that of Alexander Selkirk.
Why did Martin Popplewell decide to live on a desert island?
-Martin Popplewell was captivated by the idea of living on a desert island after watching the film 'The Blue Lagoon' and decided to pursue that dream by advertising for a similar opportunity.
What is the significance of the number 28 in the context of Robinson Crusoe's story?
-The number 28 is significant as it represents the number of years Robinson Crusoe was stranded on the island, which is also the time between the restoration of the monarchy and the Glorious Revolution, reflecting Daniel Defoe's own historical context.
How did Daniel Defoe's personal experiences influence his writing?
-Daniel Defoe's personal experiences, including living through the Great Fire of London and the plague, being imprisoned for his political writings, and his various business ventures, greatly influenced his writing and the creation of his characters.
What is the role of Friday in Robinson Crusoe's life as depicted in the script?
-Friday is depicted as a companion to Robinson Crusoe, initially seen as inferior and someone to be civilized by Crusoe, but also as a character that Crusoe becomes fond of and who helps him survive on the island.
How does the script address the change in perception of solitude and isolation over time?
-The script addresses the change in perception by highlighting how the idea of being stranded on a desert island has morphed from a terrible fate to a desirable utopian concept, reflecting a cultural shift in attitudes towards solitude and self-sufficiency.
What are the personal reflections of Lucy Irvine and Martin Popplewell on their experiences living in isolation?
-Both Lucy Irvine and Martin Popplewell reflect that their experiences living in isolation have been transformative and have shaped their lives since, with Lucy finding benefits in the simplicity and Martin learning about the essentials of survival.
Outlines
🏝️ Introduction to Robinson Crusoe and Lucy Irvin's Island Life
The segment begins with a tribute to the classic novel 'Robinson Crusoe', highlighting its 300th anniversary. The host, Matthew Parris, introduces the concept of imagining Crusoe's story as real and contrasts it with the life of Lucy Irvin, a modern-day castaway. Lucy shares her current living situation in a caravan in Bulgaria, surrounded by rescued horses. She recounts her decision to leave a mundane job at the Inland Revenue to answer an advert for a 'writer seeks a wife' on a tropical island, which led to her year-long stay on an island between New Guinea and Australia. The conversation touches on the universal appeal of the desert island narrative and its influence on popular culture.
📚 Exploring the Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe
This part delves into the early life of Robinson Crusoe, as depicted in the novel, and the adventurous spirit that led him away from a conventional life. The discussion includes Crusoe's time as a slave in Morocco, his escape, and subsequent success as a plantation owner in Brazil. The conversation then shifts to the real-life experiences of Martin Popplewell, who was inspired by the film 'The Blue Lagoon' to live on a desert island. Martin shares his journey of island living, the challenges faced, and the fulfillment of his dream, drawing parallels with Crusoe's experiences.
📖 Daniel Defoe: The Man Behind Robinson Crusoe
The focus shifts to Daniel Defoe, the author of 'Robinson Crusoe', exploring his early life, experiences, and the influence they had on his writing. Defoe's diverse life, including living through the Great Fire of London and the plague, his bankruptcy, and imprisonment, are discussed. The conversation also touches on Defoe's writing style, his other works like 'Moll Flanders' and 'A Journal of the Plague Year', and his ventures into racy literature. The segment speculates on the inspirations behind 'Robinson Crusoe', including the possible influence of real-life castaway Alexander Selkirk's story.
🌴 The Allure of Island Living and the Castaway Myth
This section discusses the enduring appeal of the castaway narrative and the desire for a simpler, more independent life. Lucy and Martin share their personal experiences of living on a desert island, the challenges of solitude, and the transformative effect it had on their lives. The conversation explores the evolution of the castaway myth from a tale of survival and despair to one of utopian aspiration. The participants reflect on the cultural significance of the island as a symbol of escape and the human need for simplicity and self-sufficiency.
👥 Crusoe's Relationship with Friday and the End of His Adventures
The discussion in this segment centers on the relationship between Robinson Crusoe and his companion Friday, exploring the dynamics of their interaction and the cultural context of the time. It delves into the themes of power, dependency, and the colonial mindset as reflected in the novel. The conversation also addresses the absence of certain elements, like coconuts, in the story despite their significance in island survival. The segment concludes with a brief overview of the ending of 'Robinson Crusoe', including the sequel and Crusoe's further adventures.
🏡 Reflecting on the Impact of Island Living
In the final part, Lucy and Martin reflect on the impact of their island experiences on their lives and perspectives. They discuss the challenges of reintegrating into society after living in isolation and the valuable lessons learned from their time on the islands. The conversation wraps up with a recognition of the recklessness and foolishness of their decisions to live as castaways, yet both express no regrets, as the experiences have profoundly shaped their lives and abilities to cope with adversity.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Robinson Crusoe
💡Desert Island
💡Daniel Defoe
💡Castaway
💡Island Imagery
💡Solitude
💡Survival
💡Empire-Building
💡Friday
💡Self-Sufficiency
Highlights
The discussion explores the legacy of 'Robinson Crusoe', a novel celebrating its 300th anniversary this year.
Lucy Irvine shares her personal connection to desert islands, having lived on one for a year.
Martin Popplewell recounts his own desert island experience, inspired by the film 'The Blue Lagoon'.
The conversation delves into the historical context of Daniel Defoe's life and how it may have influenced 'Robinson Crusoe'.
Lucy Irvine discusses the appeal of the desert island as a symbol of simplicity and escape from complex modern life.
The panelists consider the evolution of the castaway narrative from a tale of survival to a utopian fantasy.
Martin Popplewell reflects on the psychological impact of living in isolation and the fear of returning to society.
Lucy Irvine expresses her discomfort with the relationship dynamics between Crusoe and Friday in the novel.
The discussion touches on the absence of certain elements, like coconuts, in 'Robinson Crusoe' despite their importance on desert islands.
The panelists compare their personal island experiences with the narrative of 'Robinson Crusoe' and its themes of self-sufficiency and mastery.
Lucy Irvine and Martin Popplewell share how their experiences have shaped their perspectives on life and their subsequent careers.
The conversation concludes with reflections on the enduring relevance and impact of 'Robinson Crusoe' on its readers.
Lucy and Martin discuss the challenges of reintegrating into society after living in isolation.
The panelists consider the role of the desert island narrative in literature and its influence on popular culture.
The discussion highlights the various adaptations and reinterpretations of 'Robinson Crusoe' over the years.
Transcripts
now an idea for his Matthew Parris with
the return of great lives and this week
it's a desert island special I was born
in the city of York in the year 1632 if
ever a man was born to be his own
destroyer than I was he against the good
advice of my father I went to see I
forgot the terror that possessed me in
my first voyage and voyaged into danger
and calamity again even after
deliverance from the Turks and landing
safe in the Brazil's where I made my
fortune my heart still yearned to wander
we all know that feeling my guests today
certainly do the clip you've just heard
comes from an astonishing tale the life
and adventures of Robinson Crusoe
written by himself that novel is 300
years old this year now let's play for a
while with the idea that Crusoe was real
because in truth we have two great lives
in this program Crusoe and his creator
Daniel Defoe who lives in a way through
his creation as authors often do
nominating him or rather them is the
heroine of her own Island adventure and
she is real the author of the books
castaway run away and far away
Lucy Irvin let's begin very simply Lucy
where are you speaking to us from today
these days I live in a caravan in rural
Bulgaria surrounded by rescued horses
but I've managed to get away from them
and I'm in the town of Stara Zagora in
south-central
boggy area has Bulgaria become a sort of
desert island for you very much so you
spent a year on - in an island between
New Guinea and Australia can you tell us
how and why you ended up there a short
version of that answer would be that I
was quite bored working for the Inland
Revenue as a clerk when I was 24 and I
went up one lunchtime to your local
library was skimming through adverts in
time out and I saw a rather riveting one
writer seeks a wife inverted commas for
a year on tropical island and I thought
well that'd be different of course
that's only the surface story wife in
inverted commas you assumed you were
going to be sleeping with him is that
right what I assumed was I'd be a sort
of girl Friday I wasn't particularly
emancipated in those days he was quite a
lot older 26 years older than me and a
writer and he'd already lived on other
islands including the one that they say
Alexander Selkirk lived on but she never
actually did and he sounded
experienced as though he knew what he
was talking about I didn't of course
know in those days that what he'd
written was sort of publicity things
Daniel Defoe with racy titles and that
when types public in brown paper
packages and that also he edited a man's
magazine a gentlemen's magazine called
Mayfair I assumed I made assumptions
about him that were incorrect and she
probably made assumptions about me that
we equally incorrect she works with
Inland Revenue so she must be terribly
straight-laced and have a bank account
and I wasn't really very straight-laced
and I'd done all sorts of curious things
before that the round island with a
single palm tree has become a staple of
cartoonists was Daniel Defoe do you
think tapping into an almost universal
human hankering or was it his book the
life and adventures of Robinson Crusoe
that spawned a whole genre of popular
fiction like Swiss Family Robinson or
Lord of the Flies and plenty of TV stuff
as well what we're doing first I'm sure
it it was the image I've thought about
this quite a lot I mean the book
definitely contributed hugely but that
image just says limited horizons
simplicity Wolf's beauty a different
life than life I'm living now and I
think it says that to many many people
the island as image is what has made the
whole desert island thing catch on let's
hear a bit more from Robinson Crusoe
must swim keep swimming
breathe must breathe
now swim swim
that was a reconstruction of the moment
poor shipwrecked crew so first hit dry
land with Roy Marsden as the old Crusoe
and Tom Bevan as the young man I'm
joined here in the studio by Martin
Popplewell
who over 30 years ago saw a film called
the blue lagoon and decided he wanted to
live on a desert island too and that's
exactly what he did how did that work
out for you Martin
well our arrival was a lot less
traumatic which we've just heard so in a
sense no less complicated the Blue
Lagoon I would say is actually a
Robinson odd it comes from that same
genre and I saw that film when I was 15
years old and was utterly captivated by
the idea of being stranded on a desert
island getting to one turned out to be a
lot more complicated I ended up
advertising in the same way that Lucy
was involved in an avert eyes meant and
going off to an island it didn't work
out with the first girl she left and
then another girl Friday came and joined
me and we kind of got to that sort of
experience which I was hoping to
recreate of building her own house and
living in part the whole ideal of living
on a desert island and tell me Martin
about Crusoe's early life something that
surprised me reading the book is how
much happened to him how much detail
there is before even get stays desert
island this is the thing I think when
people think of Robinson Crusoe they
just think of the island and nothing
else but there's a whole huge portion of
the book before that which starts with
him being told by his dad not to go off
and you know to get a sensible job be a
lawyer or whatever and then he ends up
going off on the first part of his
adventure which involves him being held
captive for two years as a slave himself
in Morocco
then he manages to escape with in fact
another slave and he ends up going to
the Brazil's as he puts it rather
crudely he kind of sells the slave that
he escaped with to the captain on the
boat he then spent some time in Brazil
becoming quite successful as a
plantation owned
and then goes off on another adventure
and that's where the bits that everybody
that everybody know yes I hadn't
realized how long he was deserted 28
years says the book and just how boring
it must have been
let me read an extract from early on
December the 24th much rain all night
and all day no stirring out December the
25th rain all day December the 26th no
rain and the earth much cooler than
before in pleasanter December the 27th
killed a young goat I have to say the
passage doesn't exactly sell it as a
page-turner does it well I think you've
been maybe a little bit mean and the
bits each exciting bit I mean it 28
years though as you point out is a
hugely long time if we're going to start
digging into some of the detail of Defoe
and Crusoe there could be some hidden
meaning in that 28 years because it
equals the time between the restoration
of the monarchy and Glorious Revolution
and that is important for Defoe but 28
years gosh you would go insane I mean
yes or you would change though
irrevocably that you couldn't just fit
into civilization again I think it would
be impossible to me that the fact that
he was able to go back and become a
businessman again and have new ventures
doesn't ring very true I think you're as
interested in Crusoe's creator Defoe as
you are in the character tell me a
little bit more about Daniel Defoe what
what do we know about his early life he
was born in extraordinary times into a
decentest family which did a very much
Church of England England it was quite a
difficult thing to be even as a young
child he had to go to a special school
and he was barred from going to Oxford
or Cambridge which his father would have
liked
so everything was dictated by religion
you begin to see where all that banging
on on the island comes from he lived
through the fire of London
apparently his house was one of only
three to be standing in his part of
London and then there was the plague so
I mean
this is a man who if he was really going
to be a castaway or on his own which
they seen many times was he was the
right person to do it he'd lived through
an awful lot before he even came to
maturity and possibly running away as
well because because Dafoe was bankrupt
a lot of the time he actually ended up
in jail a couple of times the most
famous incident for him ending up in
prison or came about because he was a
pamphleteer so in those days being a
pamphleteer meant you sort of put these
pages of the sort of 30 pages together
on a political issue or whatever and he
basically wrote a satirical attack on
the way the government was treating
dissenters Presbyterians and got charged
with seditious libel which put simply
means that he was writing so much could
lead to an uprising or an insurrection
found guilty and was put in the pillory
which basically meant the stalks which
they moved around to three different
locations in London and you could you
could end up getting serious injuries
people perhaps through and we call
callable savage to me that's an
extraordinary punishment with your head
bent forward and your arm stuck through
holes a bat must have ate tremendously
and for three days in three different
locations he strikes me reading some of
his workers have a bit of a sort of fun
17th century 18th century read top
journalist his output is amazing Moll
Flanders a Journal of the plague year a
tour through the whole island of Great
Britain the political history of the the
devil but what about the really racy
Pacey stuff that he started writing when
he was nearly seventy one of them was
entitled matrimonial Hold'em or a
treatise on the use and abuse of the
marriage bed
no that was [ __ ] journalist who wasn't
it I mean he put that title out there it
would immediately be drawn so Cora but
people were gagging to read it so then
it went out just with the treaty's name
and he says of his of himself no man has
tasted differing fortunes more and
thirteen times I have been rich and poor
absolutely right arrest her for life he
was a spy for a while too what wasn't
yes not a spy in the formless of James
Bond and he would basically go around
listening to what people were saying so
that this was before the active union
between England and Scotland are all
around about the time he was up there
listening to what people were saying and
reporting back to very senior people
within government in in in London as to
what was going on and what people were
saying or what people were thinking so
he was a spy in that sense but before
the spying before the rioting he was a
trader and he basically was involved in
in southern pants knickers and tights
hosiery I think his is the term also had
a brick factory randomly out in Tilbury
in Essex
he had a very very full and diverse life
you're listening to great lives with
Lucy Ervin and Martin Popplewell today
we're looking at the life of Daniel
Defoe Lucy was there an inspiration for
the life and adventures of Robinson
Crusoe written by himself was Daniel
Defoe basing this on anyone else his
experience
oh I'm sure he'd have collected lots and
lots of different stories from sailors
from people he met in jail and put them
all together and I'm sure that somewhere
along the line Alexander Selkirk story
came to him Alexander Selkirk was a
castaway who lived off the coast of
Chile for a while when he was genuinely
cast away for four years I think it was
Gerald my husband every year went and
left on the same island but I don't
think that Alexander Selkirk was the one
base for the story of Robinson Crusoe
and I understand that academicians feel
that it's absolutely impossible that
this was all taken from one person one
person's story do you think some people
like Crusoe or Selkirk or or you Lucy or
perhaps you Martin have a higher
threshold for for loneliness than than
others or do we do to ourselves that we
we can just be alone and not go crazy I
can do it now I think you know I did it
when I was much younger and for
shorter period of time and if I went
back there now I would go bonkers within
a few days a few years and so I think I
think you know your horizons when you're
young are much narrower I'm not sure
about Lucy but I couldn't go did you go
bonkers Lucy if I did I still am I'm
still doing it in a sense I mean when I
came back from to an island I spent some
time in a sense trying to be normal I
heard a family but as soon as that
family it was old enough to go off to a
desert island that's what I did because
I felt the benefits of that year that
I'd had on to an island was so great I
wanted my children to have such benefits
themselves and that's the story of the
year that I spent with my younger sons
out in the Solomon Islands on a five
acre spec read a little quote from one
of your your books with a little
pirouette of inner excitement I realized
just how much there was to look forward
to tomorrow the thought of being naked
all day and the Sun was delicious enough
but there was the whole of our new world
to explore
why are we so drawn to this tale of
those who choose to live so
independently why why is it taken root
in our culture and in them the way it
has I think it's because most people's
lives seemed to them at some stage at
least very complicated very demanding I
didn't know which way to turn and there
were so many possibilities so I was
looking for simplicity and I think a
great many people are it's about having
your own Kingdom can I just try to find
a bit that I absolutely love in what
it's inclusive can you give me say yes
absolutely
[Applause]
it would have made a stoic smile to see
me and my little family sit down to
dinner there was my Majesty The Prince
and Lord of the whole island
I had the lives of all my subjects at my
absolute command I could hang your give
me liberty take it away
no rebels among all my subjects I mean
this big Monica Voorhees surveys and
summers wrote that
oh is it yes a Selkirk himself in his
the solitude of Alexander Selkirk says I
am monarch of all I survey my right
there is none to dispute isn't there
something a little bit selfish Martin
about the idea of having your own little
kingdom as you put it when you read
Robinson Crusoe he is really miserable
at least initially he learns to love the
island and learns to rise how lucky is
but initially his technique I'm sure
what well exactly
exactly yeah but I can't help thinking
that when people probably read it as
well they would have thought how
horrible to have been stranded away
somewhere in the last 300 years
the idea has morphed from being
something which is terrible and a
terrible of fiction to being something
hugely desirable yes to being a utopian
idea and and it's wrong but it's a
really important thing to observe about
how the castaway myth has evolved in the
last 300 years I think people have
changed so much in their attitude to it
for instance I I didn't feel at all this
is my kingdom
I felt very humbled by being a minuscule
and inconsequential speck on an island
every evening I would walk out onto a
sand spit when the tide was low and I
would realize how how little and
unimportant
I was and how huge and terrifying and
also magnificent nature was if you like
I would say this is in harmony with
nature it's more like a being in awe of
something you can't control you can't
control it so this thing about forming a
kingdom on an island
it's like an attempt at controlling in
order to stay sane if you like and also
I mean it of its time isn't it it's
empire-building and if ever there was an
imperious imperialist cultural colonial
that has to be Robinson Crusoe
absolutely Lucy and let's hear another
extract from the book which this leads
us straight to this time it's about
cruises companion Friday the days after
the discovery of the footprint were a
turmoil of doubt and fear I hid in my
cave to freighted to venture forth
except on brief excursions I never went
without my gun although I didn't use it
for fear of alerting my enemies but took
to snaring game and fishing
each morning I climbed the hill behind
my cave and spying my island always
looking towards the west to see if there
were any visitors I see it clearly now
the footprint was a vision sent to be a
test of my faith for what mortal man can
leave one footprint on an entire Shore
fear a dangerous a thousand times more
terrifying than danger itself
the summit the air is good and fresh for
Sunshine's the sea is perfect my island
is a Garden of Eden Lucia
are you comfortable with Chris's
relationship with Friday no I'm not
comfortable with it but that's because
I'm a person of my time and Dafoe who
created Crusoe was a person of his time
and it was in the way of things for
Defoe to make his character Crusoe
immediately see this savage as inferior
to him and somebody to enslave and be
useful to him we have quite near the
beginning of their relationship the
moment when Friday puts Crusoe's foot on
his head and this is his ultimate act of
maybe rather wishful submission and
people must have seen a wonderful
satirical adaptation of the cruces story
called man Friday with starring Peter
O'Toole and his wonderful perfect for
desert island eyes in that he teaches
Friday to be exactly like an English
school boy there's a beautiful scene
where they're eating for the first time
together and of course fried is sitting
a bit down and if the body language is
all I master you slave and when he names
him Friday he gives Friday a name but he
doesn't have a name he's master I master
you Friday don't play about with your
spoon I wonder at Martin whether there
isn't just a missionary instinct at play
here what do you do sense any sort of
gay subtext to the relationship with
Friday in the book in Robinson Crusoe
there is nothing no reference at all
the only thing which does come out from
the book is Crusoe is really really fond
of Friday in a way that I would imagine
that he had an affection for him that I
suspect would have not have been the
same kind of fact
that a slave owner would have had all
the traders would necessarily have
expect exactly and it's also important
to point out that Friday was actually
not a black African he was from the sort
of the Caribbean from those islands
there what some scholars of Defoe have
said is that Defoe was homosexual
obviously we'll never know but there are
a number of people who have pointed to
that and it's interesting that you know
it wasn't a woman that he ended up being
on an island with it was a man the film
of Martin's experience out on a speck of
Micronesia was called the real castaway
and at one point he starts talking about
being terrified of going back because of
the sheer numbers of people options
choices people I remember being more
daunted about going back to the UK then
I felt going to my desert island maybe
it's because when you're living on a
desert island it's very very simple
it's a matter of about clocking the fact
that you perhaps haven't got enough
firewood and so you should perhaps going
collect some driftwood or make sure that
you open up some dry coconuts to add to
your fuel and so yes and I remember as
well we had occasional visitors from
another Island about ten miles away that
was the closest in the habited land but
they always came during the day and they
were friendly we knew them and we'd hear
the boats in the distance and we'd see
them approaching I remember one night
hearing this boat and Rachel my
companion we were terrified did you Lucy
develop this fear of other people while
you were on the island yes in fact
during part of the time when I was on
the island towards the end when Gerald
my husband was starting to mend engines
for local Islanders I started to resent
their coming I just wanted to go back to
being alone
actually that's what I did I said to
Jared look we've come here for a year I
want to stay here and Jared would go off
to another island and and he would stay
with the chief of Bardot and I would
stay alone on to him and also who
explored a different theme but along the
same lines as JM Coetzee who of course
wrote fo a book called foe which is all
about a woman landing on the island and
kind of living between Friday and
Robinson Crusoe and she actually has her
way with Crusoe and ends up going off
with Friday
it's a marvelous book actually but but
don't you think also that I mean it may
not have necessarily been that Crusoe
was gay or Friday gay but perhaps
because they were so dependent on each
other they had to form an unusually
close relationship what's interesting
there was what sorry to interrupt
they had to form a close relationship
but there's no there's no really the
book where Crusoe gets annoyed with
Friday we'll see don't know what
Friday's thinking and I just can't help
thinking my experiences of living on an
island think all of our experiences of
being on a holiday with friends if
you're cooped up with one other person
for a while you will probably end up
having a row about something and those
those roles matter to you but there's no
reference to them in Robinson Crusoe at
all the other thing just as an aside
which fascinated me there are no
reference to coconuts and when you are
on a desert island it's all about
coconuts you can drink them you can eat
them you can make alcohol out of them
you can make vinegar out of them you can
make thatch to put on your your roof to
keep you dry but there is no reference
to the coconut tree in in Robinson
Crusoe very briefly how does Crusoe's
story end so there are I suppose two
answers to this there's the end to the
Robinson Crusoe book and and he
crucially discovers that the island is
being visited by cannibals
some mutineers arrive and basically he
helps the captain get control of the
ship and then leaves and then there's
this rather sort of strange bit of the
book where he makes his way back to the
UK over the Pyrenees and he's chased by
I think about 300 wharves and it's all
mad I mean you just like thinking where
do these ideas come from that's the end
of the Robinson Crusoe first book he did
of course write a second book which I'll
give you the short version was called
Lee the further adventures of Rods
secrets oh yeah the sequel came out the
same year because it had been such a
success in 1719 the first one where he
goes off on on a whole / adventures poor
old Freud he gets killed he does
actually go back to his island
interestingly enough but ends up going
to Madagascar and Siberia and all sorts
of other places Defoe through the mouth
of Crusoe admits almost from the start
that his adventures were reckless and
foolish Lucey first and then Martin was
it silly what you did it was reckless
and foolish I don't know about silly but
I don't regret it one bit
it's informed every day of my life since
I could not do the very difficult work
that I'm doing at the moment in helping
animals in need among the Roma community
helping children and seeing horrible
sights every day of cruelty and so on I
couldn't do it without having Island
experience and I couldn't have coped
when my house burnt down two years after
I moved to port area it was just
automatic I went straight back into
castaway mode I'm gonna camp fine I
would completely agree with Lucy
reckless and an experience which is
defined absolutely without doubt
everything that has come after it that
knowledge that actually you don't need
very much to survive my thanks to Lucy
Ervin in Bulgaria and to Martin
Popplewell in the warmth and safety of
this London studio goodbye
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Robinson Crusoe | Summary & Analysis | Daniel Defoe
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