From Missionary to Military Discourse: Economic Expansion and Rhetorical Shifting in the Nineteenth Century Adventure Story

Abstract

The essay aims at establishing the nature of the relationship between the development of the 19th century adventure story, the systematization of colonial enterprise and rise of imperialism and the construction of the concept of Britishness intended as a superior and missionary identity category. The analysis of Marryat’s Masterman Ready (1842), Ballantyne’s Coral Island (1857), Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1882) and Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines (1885) will show how the rhetorical pattern of the 19th century adventure story, with particular reference to space and characters, goes through transformations in accordance with the economic transitions the system undergoes shifting from missionary to militaristic discourse, from conversion to aggression.