The story in one page
When a ship sinks in the Pacific, two young cousins, Dick and Emmeline, escape in a dinghy with Paddy Button, a sailor. They wash up on a lush, uninhabited island. Paddy dies, leaving the children to fend for themselves for years. They adapt to the landscape, mastering fishing and fire-starting while slowly evolving from companions into lovers. As they reach maturity, they exist in total isolation from the outside world. The story concludes when a passing schooner sights their small boat adrift at sea, carrying the pair and their infant, as they are found sleeping on the open water.
Who's who
- Dick
A practical, strong-willed cousin who becomes the pair's primary provider.
- Emmeline
An imaginative cousin who manages the household and observes their environment.
- Paddy Button
An aging, clumsy sailor who facilitates the children's initial survival.
- Lestrange
A man aboard the schooner that eventually discovers the castaways.
What it's really about
- Nature vs. Socialization
- Humans stripped of culture revert to instinctual behavior.
- Isolation
- Environment forces an accelerated path to adulthood.
Why it's memorable
- A sailor searching for the reflection of the moon in a bucket.
- The two lovers training a blue flowering creeper over their hut entrance.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
A passing schooner finds the pair drifting in a dinghy with their baby, mistaking them for sleeping natives.
For your book club
- How does the lack of adult guidance fundamentally alter the protagonists' development?
- Does the setting function as a sanctuary or a cage?