The Swiss Family Robinson · Chapter
The Parable of the Great King explained
The family observes their first Sabbath on the island.
What happens
The family observes their first Sabbath on the island. The father delivers a lengthy parable about a Great King who establishes a colony on an earthly island as a place of probation for future citizens of a Heavenly City. He then applies the parable to each of his sons, drawing moral lessons about their character flaws. The chapter concludes with the mother revealing that she has a Bible in her enchanted bag, providing the family with the divine laws they had forgotten.
Themes in this chapter
Providence and Faith
The father's parable frames life on the island as a divine probation, with God as the Great King who provides for and judges the colonists, emphasizing faith and obedience.
Education and Moral Instruction
The entire chapter is devoted to the father's allegorical teaching, applying moral lessons to each son's character and stressing the importance of the Bible as a guide.
Gratitude and Contentment
The parable encourages gratitude for God's gifts and contentment with one's lot, while the family's Sabbath observance includes thanksgiving and reflection.
Characters to notice
- Father
Delivers the parable of the Great King and applies its moral lessons to each of his sons; expresses regret for forgetting to bring a Bible from the ship.
- Fritz
Addressed in the parable's application as one who might parade natural virtues like courage and strength, mistaking them for more essential qualities.
- Ernest
Addressed in the parable's application as one who might focus on unfruitful knowledge and neglect the heart and useful things in society.
- Jack
Addressed in the parable's application as one who might let his land lie fallow or sow tares instead of wheat; first to break the silence after the parable.
- Francis
Addressed in the parable's application alongside Jack as one who might neglect instruction and let bad thoughts grow.
- Mother
Absorbed in silent reflection during the sermon; reveals she has a Bible in her enchanted bag, providing the family with the divine laws.
Key passages
“Human creatures, said I, are the colonists of God; we are required to perform the business of probation for a certain period, and sooner or later are destined to be taken hence. Our final destination is Heaven, and a perfect happiness with the spirits of just men made perfect, and in the presence of the bountiful Father of us all. The piece of land entrusted to each is the soul! and according as he cultivates and ennobles it, or neglects or depraves it, will be his future reward or punishment.”
The father explains that humans are God's colonists on Earth, on probation before entering Heaven. Each person's soul is like a piece of land; how they cultivate it determines their eternal reward or punishment.
This is the moral application of the parable, directly linking the allegory to the family's situation and Christian doctrine.
“I cannot forgive myself for not having thought of bringing it from the vessel. Should we not be able to go another voyage, we shall forever be deprived of this divine doctrine. I can hardly imagine how it could be possible for me, a minister of the Holy Gospel, and the father of a family, to be so occupied about things for the comfort of our poor mortal bodies, and forget what might console and sustain our immortal souls, and which was so necessary for the conduct of my children!”
The father laments that he forgot to bring a Bible from the ship, feeling ashamed as a minister and father for prioritizing physical needs over spiritual ones.
This moment highlights the tension between practical survival and spiritual nourishment, resolved by the mother's enchanted bag.
