Travel Essays · Chapter
Monterey explained
Stevenson reflects on the transformation of Monterey from a quaint, native town to a resort for wealth and fashion, lamenting the loss of its character and the mistreatment of the Indians of Carmel.
What happens
Stevenson reflects on the transformation of Monterey from a quaint, native town to a resort for wealth and fashion, lamenting the loss of its character and the mistreatment of the Indians of Carmel. He describes the destructive forest fires, the political influence of demagogue Kearney, and the encroaching American commercialism that threatens the land and its people.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and the Sublime
Stevenson vividly describes the forest fires, the pitch-pine trees, and the climate of Monterey, emphasizing the power and fragility of the natural landscape.
Social Class and Inequality
The contrast between the 'poor, quaint, penniless native gentlemen' and the 'millionaire vulgarians,' as well as the exploitation of Indian lands and the truck system, highlight class and racial injustices.
Mortality and the Passage of Time
The chapter is written in a 'paulo-past tense,' lamenting the irreversible changes to Monterey and the vanishing of its old ways, much like the burning forests and the decaying mission.
Characters to notice
- Mr. Dennis Kearney
Visited Monterey with his battle-cry against Chinese labour, railroad monopolists, and land-thieves, advising the Montereyans to 'hang David Jacks.'
- Indians
The Indians of Carmel, whose lands are encroached upon, gather once a year for a service at the ruined mission, singing Gregorian music with joy.
- The Chinese
Mentioned in the context of Kearney's campaign against Chinese labour; also described as part of the local scene with joss-sticks and opium pipes.
- The Americans
The 'millionaire vulgarians of the Big Bonanza' and 'greedy land-thieves' who have succeeded the Jesuits and threaten the native way of life.
- The Priest
The padre who drives over from Monterey once a year to hold service at the Carmel mission.
Key passages
“The Monterey of last year exists no longer. A huge hotel has sprung up in the desert by the railway.”
The Monterey of the past is gone, replaced by a large hotel built near the railway in what was once empty land.
Stevenson marks the rapid transformation of the town due to tourism and development.
“So ugly a thing may our Anglo-Saxon Protestantism appear beside the doings of the Society of Jesus.”
Our Anglo-Saxon Protestant ways seem ugly when compared to the work of the Jesuit missionaries.
A critique of the destructive impact of American expansionism versus the earlier Catholic missions.
“The fire passes through the underbrush at a run. Every here and there a tree flares up instantaneously from root to summit, scattering tufts of flame, and is quenched, it seems, as quickly.”
The fire moves swiftly through the brush, and trees burst into flames from root to top, throwing off fiery tufts, then appear to go out just as fast.
A vivid description of the rapid and deceptive nature of forest fires in California.