Overview
Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Bottle Imp" (1891) is a moral fable set in 19th-century Hawaii about a cursed bottle granting unlimited wishes but damning its owner's soul to hell unless sold for less than purchased—a price that decreases with each transaction until escape becomes impossible.
Historical and Literary Context
- Late 19th century marked by European imperialism expanding across Africa, Asia, and Pacific islands
- Hawaii transitioning from exotic paradise to colonized territory in Western eyes
- Stevenson wrote while living in Samoa, blending Christian beliefs with indigenous Pacific mythologies
- Story emerged from local tales of spirits trapped in jars and magical objects
- Reflects Stevenson's fascination with human contradictions: good versus evil, desire versus consequence
- Structured as Faustian pact set in tropical paradise with moral warning
The Bottle's Rules and Powers
- Grants any wish the owner desires: wealth, health, love, power
- Contains a demon that buzzes inside like a caged bee
- Must be purchased with real money; buyer must know it's cursed
- Each sale must occur at lower price than previous purchase
- Owner who dies with bottle goes straight to hell
- Transaction only valid when buyer understands the curse
Story Arc
- Keawe, young Hawaiian sailor, envies magnificent house in Honolulu
- Melancholy foreigner sells him cursed bottle for $50
- Keawe wishes for beautiful house; inherits fortune from distant relative fulfilling exact wish
- Falls in love with Kokua, wise and compassionate woman; they plan marriage
- Discovers leprosy symptoms, buys bottle again for two cents, cures himself
- Marries Kokua but now owns bottle worth only one penny—unsellable
Chain of Ownership
| Owner | Price Paid | Outcome |
|---|
| Unknown millionaire | Not specified | Sold to sad foreigner |
| Sad foreigner in Honolulu | Not specified | Sold to Keawe for $50 |
| Keawe (first time) | $50 | Sold to anonymous buyers |
| Anonymous owners | Between $50 and 2 cents | Passed between multiple hands |
| Keawe (second time) | 2 cents | Cured of leprosy, stuck with bottle at 1 penny |
| Desperate sailor (via Kokua) | 1 penny | Refuses to resell |
| French boatswain | 1 penny | Accepts damnation, final owner |
Kokua's Sacrifice and Resolution
- Kokua secretly arranges sale to desperate alcoholic sailor willing to accept damnation
- Keawe horrified by her sacrifice, attempts to recover bottle from sailor
- Sailor refuses to resell, trapped with unpriceable bottle worth one penny
- French boatswain appears—hardened man without faith or hope
- Boatswain accepts bottle for one penny, saying "I'm going to hell anyway"
- Final transaction frees both Keawe and Kokua from curse
- Couple reconciles on porch of gleaming house, bound by sacrificial love
Themes and Moral Lessons
- Desire without limits carries inevitable consequences
- Material wealth obtained through shortcuts exacts spiritual price
- True love measured through willingness to sacrifice for another
- Sin exists not only in direct action but in responsibility assumed
- Ambiguity between legal technicality and moral culpability
- Power and temptation corrupt when pursued without restraint
- Sacrifice and redemption possible even in darkest circumstances
- Story functions as allegory for human fragility and noble dreams turned dangerous