Robert Falconer, Chapters 1 - 9
The first and last sentences of our novel strike the fatherhood theme: Robert’s quest for his father begins under the distorted view that his grannie holds of him, and ends with his discovery of his true father. MacDonald’s emphasis on the necessity to discover the true nature of God, with all of the implications and doctrines that naturally follow, is central to all his writings, and our novel contains many passages that speak eloquently to the theme.
Novels that depict the main character as growing up and trying to find the correct orientation to life are termed Bildungsroman by literary scholars, and Robert Faulkner is a fine example of this genre. We see Robert as an orphan growing up under the auspices of a well-meaning but very strict grandmother who is possessed by a seriously incorrect understanding of the nature of God. His mother died when he was very young, and his delinquent father has abandoned him. His journey of growing up is one of finding his true father, both earthly and heavenly, and seeing him rightly.
The opening chapters present a vivid picture of Robert as a fourteen-year-old boy living with an oppressive grandmother and longing for a mysteriously absent father in a town very like Huntly, MacDonald’s home town. Much of the novel reflects MacDonald’s own experiences, and although one does not want to call the novel autobiographical, it is impossible to draw the line accurately between the personal and the fictional. MacDonald’s mother died when he was eight, and he had a close relationship his a very stern grandmother, but his own father was a very admirable Christian man who acted as both father and mother to his motherless children. MacDonald had a very close relationship him, and his emphasis in all his writings on the nature of God as our loving Heavenly Father is fed from his experience of his earthly father.
In any case, Robert Faulkner is certainly one of his better works. Our interest will center on how Robert’s various experiences as a young boy work to shape his sterling Christian character as a man. Robert’s actions in regard to Shargar are nicely indicative of Robert’s young character. His rough conversation with him indicates his own sense of superiority and enjoyment in exercising power, quite natural traits but not in themselves admirable. But the more basic desire to relieve Shargar’s discomfort and obtain for him overnight lodging and food shows his early interest in others and his desire to do them good. The manner in which Robert’s indignation arose against his fellow school mates for their bullying treatment of Shargar, coming to his defense and securing his release, had its share, we read, “in the development of his higher nature.” And his love for the music of the violin suggests much about his sensibilities.
Robert’s grandmother Faulkner is described at length, with her stern Calvinist understanding of the nature of God leading her to the firm conviction that all that is enjoyable in life are frivolities strictly forbidden. Its effect upon Robert is profound, producing within him much agony and distress which eventually leads him into a much truer understanding of God’s nature, as we shall see.
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Comments
Perhaps the book has a lot to do with double-ness and its different manifestations. Like Jesus' parable of the two sons, where one says "Father I go" and doesn't , the other "I'm not going" but does, all of the characters have some double-ness: the seeming inconsistencies between word and action, between origins and fruit.
One interesting example is the contrast between Shargar and his half-brother Lord Rothie. The former is raised in squalor by a dishonest and violent mother and yet is patient under persecution and humble in his interactions with others, to the point of disregarding his own personhood. The latter, presumably, was raised in luxury in a fine house with at least the appearance of uprightness, and yet he prowls proudly and restlessly about seeking his own entertainment with no apparent sense of the dignity of others.