Pavilion on the Links

Pavilion on the Links This short story has received some very positive critical responses and is considered one of the best short stories that Stevenson wrote. He was recognized as the master of this genre and as one critic notes, Stevenson was a "...master of the short story proper." The story is in essence a tale of intrigue and mystery, as well as a romantic tale.

The plot of the story involves, among others, a criminal banker and his daughter, two very different characters who are in love with the daughter, Italian secret societies, fraud and murder. The often dark and sinister gothic atmosphere of the story adds to the sense of mystery. As is the case with many of his other stories and novels, one of Stevenson's central themes is the duality that exists in human nature. Many of his novels like the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde explores the opposites in human nature and the battle between good and evil that exists in human existence. This theme as well as others will be explored in the following analysis of the Pavilion on the Links. 2.2. Summary This short story was first published in 1886 and is often referred to novella rather than a short story.

This story is described in one study as a "….tale of Sicilian vengeance and English love that is full of haunting mystery and the deadly fear of unknown assassins… " The following is a brief outline of the plot and sequence of the main events in the story. The story begins when the narrator, Frank Cassilis, befriends a strange and troubled young man, R. Northmour of Graden Easter in Scotland, while they are at college together. This leads to the two spending time together on Graden Easter in Scotland.

They stay in the pavilion adjacent to the mansion house of Graden and spend four months in the pavilion together before Northmour's bad temper forces the narrator to leave. Cassilis returns to the area nine years later and he camps out near the pavilion. A number of mysterious events begin to unfold during his stay. Responding to signs of lights in the windows of the pavilion he assumes that Northmour has returned and he wants to surprise him. However, what is occurring is much more mysterious and unusual.

When he enters the house he finds that the rooms have been prepared for quests. This deepens the mystery as Northmour is averse to company and socializing. The mystery is partially resolved when people begin arriving from a schooner in the bay. The narrator observes them from a hiding place and sees that it is an old, tall man, a young woman and Northmour who are staying at the house. However when he greets Northmour he is attacked by his friend who wounds him slightly with a knife.

This deepens the mystery and increases the sense of intrigue and danger that is central to the story. The woman has a direct affect on the narrator and he feels intensely attracted to her. They meet when he stops her from entering the dangerous quicksand in the area. He knows instinctively that this is the woman whom he will marry When they meet again she warns him that his life is in danger -- but not from Northmour. She reveals the situation that she and her father are in.

She is Clara Huddlestone. Her father, Bernard Huddlestone, is a banker who has fraudulently misappropriated a large sum of money and is fleeing the law as well as certain creditors who are after both the money and his life. Huddlestone is in fact being pursued by a sinister Italian political society to whom he owes a great deal of money. He has turned for help to Northmour who was courting his daughter at the time.

Northmour has taken them aboard his schooner in order to hide them in the deserted pavilion. He does this mainly because he has been promised the hand of Clara for his assistance. Cassilis encounters the Italians who are after Huddleston. The sense of danger and intrigue is further increased when Cassilis discovers the footprints of a stranger who has perished in the quicksand near the pavilion.

From his hat that remains it is clear that the stranger was one of the Italians and he realizes that they are in danger of being attacked. The plot continues and the tension and intrigue increases. The story is made even more tense by the complicated rivalry and jealousy between the two men, Cassilis and Northmour, for the hand of Clara.

The theme of duality or the contrasting aspects in people, which is also to be found in many of Stevenson's works, is also evident in the way that Northmour shows different and often conflicting sides of his character. Although he is misanthropic and violent he is also to a great extent a gentleman and refuses to leave the others and save his own life. Cassilis and Northmour become friends again in the face of the danger from the Italians.

But this does not decrease the romantic tension and Northmour says that he will take Clara as his bride after the danger is past. However, it is possible as well that they will all perish in the pavilion. The attack from the Italians eventually takes place. The Italians make it clear that they will spare the lives of the others if they receive Bernard Huddlestone. Huddleston pleads with them to protect him and this compromise is refused by Northmour. The Italians then set the house on fire.

Huddlestone leaves the pavilion first and is shot by the Italians. Carla, Northmour and Cassilis escape the pavilion and reach the camp in the Hemlock Den. Northmour attacks Cassilis. However, Northmour suddenly changes his attitude and helps Cassilis to revive Clara. He then leaves on his schooner. The last we hear of him is that he is killed years later while fighting for the Italians. 2.3. Main Themes 2.3.1. Duality and Identity A central theme in many of Stevenson's books and stories is the issue of duality.

This refers to the opposing tendencies or conflicting personality traits that can be found within the same person. For example, the same individual can be both cruel and kind and good and evil can coexist within the same person. This is a theme that seems to have fascinated Stevenson as is evident from his many books that deal with this duality in human nature. An obvious example is the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where we have two very opposing forces within the same person.

This theme also leads to the question of identity. If there are different and conflicting personality traits within the same person, what does this mean in terms of a single and cohesive identity - or is identity more flexible and fluid that is generally thought. This question could also be applied to Markheim. We encounter this sense of duality and opposites in human beings throughout the Pavilion on the Links. When Cassilis first sees his wife-to be, Clara, he describes her as follows.

She was extremely pale; but in the light of the lantern her face was so marred by strong and changing shadows, that she might equally well have been as ugly as sin or as beautiful as I afterwards found her to be. We can interpret this as follows: human nature can be beautiful and ugly, moral or immoral, good or evil. It is very difficult at first glance to determine the identity and nature of another human being.

This also implies the view that we find in this and many others stories that human nature and human identity is extremely complex and that, in fact, there may be completely different and opposing tendencies within the same human being This sense of the duality of human nature is especially the case with regard to the character of Northmour.

As Cassilis observes, "My wife and I, a man and a woman, have often agreed to wonder how a person could be, at the same time, so handsome and so repulsive as Northmour." In other words, he seems to have at least two identities. On the one hand he can be gentlemanly and honorable and on the other hand violent and aggressive in his actions and thoughts. We can also briefly refer to other works to support this view.

As one critic of Stevenson's works states; "Stevenson shows this in quotes such as 'man is not truly one, but truly two'.

Thus, all human beings have a 'dual nature', and in each of us rages a constant battle between the two halves for preeminence." This sense of duality in human beings is described as "…the hallmark of Stevenson's body of work - most blatantly expressed in Jekyll and Hyde, but present also in Kidnapped and the Master of Ballantrae." One can understand this as a view of human nature which shows a deep conflict between good and evil -- which we see in the character of Northmour in this story.

At times Northmour seems to lose control of himself and become almost uncontrollably violent for almost no reason. We encounter this facet of his character at the beginning of the story when the two friends part company. It is as if there is a dark side to his nature which he has to be kept under control. The following quotation from the story clearly shows this aspect of his character.

He leaped from his chair and grappled me; I had to fight, without exaggeration, for my life; and it was only with a great effort that I mastered him, for he was near as strong in body as myself, and seemed filled with the devil. In the above quotation the inner evil, the other side of Northmour is revealed. This character therefore, like many others characters in the works of Stevenson, symbolizes the reality of the conflict between good and evil in human nature.

As Cassilis remarks in the story; He had the appearance of a finished gentleman; his face bore every mark of intelligence and courage; but you had only to look at him, even in his most amiable moment, to see that he had the temper of a slaver captain. I never knew a character that was both explosive and revengeful to the same degree The duality that exists in this character can be seen when he discovers that Frank and Clara want to be married.

On the one hand, although he had entered into an agreement to protect the father to obtain the hand of the daughter in marriage, he does not desert them when he finds out they are in love and in the hour of their danger. This shows a great deal of integrity, which seems to in opposition to the other more negative traits of his character. There are other examples of dualism and opposites in the short story.

Besides the contrast between Northmour and Cassilis there is also the difference between the characters of Clara and her father. While she is presented as being the epitome of beauty, wholesome honesty and integrity, her father is portrayed as the opposite of these qualities. When we are introduced to Bernard Huddleston he comes across as a decidedly unpleasant person who seems to be sickly, cowardly and insincere.

Cassilis' response to meeting Huddleston and his aversion to the man clearly reveal the qualities of this character."I gave him my hand, of course, because I could not help it; but the sympathy I had been prepared to feel for Clara's father was immediately soured by his appearance, and the wheedling, unreal tones in which he spoke." The father is almost the opposite of the forthright and morally upright daughter. 2.3.2. Romance and Mystery Romance and love act as a counterpoint to the mayhem and tension in the story.

Romance is also another opposite in the complex that reflects the theme of duality in this work. This refers to the instinctive and intuitive love relationship that takes place between Clara and Frank and is also linked to the sense of mystery that pervades this short story. Mystery is everywhere from the very beginning to the end of the story.

We are continually confronted by the unusual and the strange in different guises; whether it takes the form of the oppositions in human nature or in the obscure and sinister Italians. Within this context of mystery and suspense, love blossoms between Frank and Clara. It is as if the author is suggesting that love is able to develops and thrive in the most unlikely and difficult of situations. However, we could also argue that love itself is a great mystery without any rational explanation.

The mystery of love is captured in the way that Frank Cassilis is entranced by the Clara's features. "…when I thus saw her face-to-face, her eyes set steadily and imperiously upon mine, I was filled with admiration and astonishment, and thought her even more beautiful than I had looked to find her." The narrator remarks on the strangeness and mystery of love.

Was not this strange? So swiftly and wisely does Nature prepare our hearts for these great lifelong intimacies, that both my wife and I had been given a presentiment on this the second day of our acquaintance. I had even then hoped that she would seek me; she had felt sure that she would find me.) From the above it is clear that love and relationships are also mysterious and extraordinary. 2.4. Conclusion The above overview and analysis of this short story brings to light a number.