Cecilia Melendez
The longer one lives and experiences life, the more opportunities one has to learn that there is often a gap between what people assume will make them happy and what actually will. Indeed, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson argues that the pursuit of happiness can prove to be very disappointing when people search for the wrong things. Johnson gives three reasons for this. First, Johnson presents his main character in Rasselas as living a pleasurable and comfortable life but is, nevertheless, painfully bored by it. As a result, his desires take him on an adventure to find “the choice of life” which he believes will provide happiness. Second, Johnson describes how people pursue wisdom and knowledge under the misconception that these things will provide happiness. Third, Johnson indicates that soul searching can aid one in the pursuit of happiness.
Since many of the views argued in Rasselas are connected to Johnson’s own experiences, a quick look at this life may prove useful. Samuel Johnson lived from 1709–1784. He was an author and a poet whose writings were greatly admired. A few of Johnson’s most popular works include The Dictionary, The Rambler, The Vanity of Human Wishes, and of course, The History of Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia. Although Johnson was considered to be a literary genius, he considered himself a wretched being. According to Fussell, Samuel Johnson “underwent something very like a religious conversion, effected by a single reading of William Law’s popular devotional book, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728).” From this time on, Boswell says religion was the object of Johnson’s thoughts.
Fussell goes on to say, “there was no ecstasy in Johnson’s new religious awareness: what it brought him instead was a torment and wretchedness as he agonized over his idleness and irregularity.” Johnson’s struggles were also spiritual. Consequently, he never felt as though he would ever meet God’s standards for a proper life.
Johnson’s religious background is reflected in his novel Rasselas. For example, Johnson’s description of Rasselas and Nekayah’s life in the Happy Valley is a reference to Adam and Eve’s in the Garden of Eden. Johnson points out that in the Happy Valley “All the diversities of the world were brought together, the blessings of nature were collected, and its evils extracted and excluded.” Also, the dissatisfaction with Rasselas and Nekayah’s perfect life echoes Adam and Eve’s. Most importantly, in Johnson’s conclusion to Rasselas, Nekayah states that “the choice of life is become less important; I hope hereafter to think only on the choice of eternity” (Rasselas 122). This statement gives a clear indication of Johnson’s views regarding the after life. He indicates that true happiness is found in the hope of eternal life.
According to Clifford, Johnson’s friends considered Rasselas, as “too gloomy and somber.”4 However, we must take into consideration the emotional conditions in which he wrote this novel. Anxious to earn money to pay for his mother’s funeral, Johnson wrote Rasselas in a week and this novel seems to reflect his feelings and struggles at that time.
Throughout much of his life, Johnson suffered from physical ailments as well as depression. He was tall and quite unattractive. At an early age, he was affected by scrofula, a tubercular infection of the lymph glands, causing partial blindness and scars on his face. An operation performed at a later time left further scaring on his neck and face. He was aggressive; he took great pride in his intelligence and reasoning, but occasionally, he feared he was losing his mind.
In Rasselas, Johnson describes the vain pursuit of happiness. First, the main characters are living a pleasurable and comfortable life and they are still unhappy. Ironically, they are weary of their life in the Happy Valley and begin their search for other ways of life that will provide happiness. Rasselas describes Happy Valley and he admits that he is “gratified with whatever the senses can enjoy,” yet he is discontent (Rasselas 4). The unimaginable comforts and pleasures that Happy Valley offers do not bring the expected satisfaction they were intended to. Johnson’s main character, Rasselas, complains, “I can discover within me no power of perception which is not glutted with its proper pleasure, yet I do not feel myself delighted” (6).
Although there is beauty all around, Rasselas wants to see more. Music is provided for harmony; however, there is still a void. Much of the time spent in the Happy Valley is filled with entertainment for all the senses to delight in. However, this cannot penetrate the soul of one who is searching for much more than fulfillment of the senses.
Rasselas does, however, find amusement with Iamlac, a poet, who is also confined to the Happy Valley. Imalac amuses the Prince with poetry and stories of the outside world which Rasselas has never entered. Intrigued, Rasselas becomes determined to leave the Happy Valley to provide hope for his weary soul.
Johnson describes how people pursue wisdom and knowledge with the misconception that this will provide happiness. For example, Rasselas is smitten by his encounter with the wise man and excitedly tells Imalac:
I have found . . . a man who can teach all that is necessary to be known, who, from unshaken throne of rational fortitude, looks down on the scenes of life changing beneath him. He speaks, and attention watches his lips. He reasons, and conviction closes his periods. This man shall be my future guide: I will learn his doctrines, and imitate his life. (Rasselas 47)
Rasselas is fascinated by the wise man, but later, when the wise man’s daughter dies and he is stricken with grief and despair, critic Richard Braverman points out, “the stoic philosopher with whom he is impressed violates the principles of his philosophy when he mourns uncontrollably the death of his daughter.”5 Rasselas’ innocence and lack of experience render him ignorant about the true and unavoidable effects of tragedies that occur in real life. Soon thereafter, Rasselas realizes that the intellectual knowledge of the wise is not enough to sustain him in times of calamity.
Rasselas’ innocent and naïve search takes him on a journey of unexpected disappointments. Rasselas has no insight into his own needs and observes, “that I know not what I want is the cause of my complaint” (Rasselas 8). Responding with practical knowledge, Imalac tells him “your complaints have no real cause . . . if you want nothing, how are you unhappy?” (7). Alhough Rasselas has all he needs, he is consumed with boredom and ingratitude. Rasselas is so concerned what he does not possess that he does not enjoy what he has. Johnson depicts Imalac with more wisdom than the stoic philosopher. Imalac continually gives the young Prince advice, none of which Rasselas takes too seriously.
Third, Johnson describes the amazing power of soul searching in helping one in the pursuit of happiness. Rasselas’ restlessness becomes apparent; the Happy Valley ceases to bring him pleasure. Soon his soul searching begins. He realizes that there is more to life than just indulging in the pleasures, beauty, and safety of the Happy Valley. He reflects on the animal world and compares their physical needs (hunger, thirst, and rest) to his own. In contrast, he observes the animals are satisfied when their physical needs are met, yet Rasselas’ gloomy disposition has no satisfaction in feeding his appetite because his soul was searching for something more. As Johnson points out, Rasselas grieves that “he has some desires distinct from sense which must be satisfied before he can be happy” (6). Rasselas’ spirit demonstrates his weariness and longing for enlightenment. Rasselas’ soul searching may reflect Samuel Johnson’s own. According to Hibbert, Johnson “became increasingly unhappy. He did not know what he wanted to do with his life.”
Although Johnson was known to have been melancholy, he must have felt some sense of contentment since he was doing what he enjoyed, which was writing. It is only natural to feel happy when we are fulfilling our desires. His melancholy was to a large degree, then, one of temperament. The definition of happiness is by no means the same for everyone. We all have different expectations and desires that need to be met in order to feel content. Happiness is not a state of continual elation as much as it is a feeling of satisfaction in doing what brings pleasure to our spirit.
I tend to agree with J. P. Hardy when he remarks, “the most permanent threat to human happiness arises from the mind’s own quixotic tendencies.” Our imagination plays an essential role in our ability to feel contentment. Happiness is a state of mind, not necessarily dependent upon circumstances. When ill circumstances befall us, what hope is there but to know that certain things are out of our control and we must accept the good with the bad? Consider the words of Solomon, “For as he [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).
Interestingly, Rasselas and Nekayah at last come to the end of their journey and return to Abyssinia. Upon examining many occupations and ways of life, Rasselas and Nekayah realize that their life in the Happy Valley was not so bad after all; then, Rasselas dreams of ruling over a small kingdom and Nekayah dreams of founding a women’s college. Imalac and the Astronomer, meanwhile, are happier and more accepting of their fate. As Johnson points out, they “were contented to be driven along a stream of life without directing their course to any particular port” (Rasselas 123). Unlike Rasselas and Nekayah, they are content with merely continuing on in life with no particular course. McIntosh points out “that Imalac and the Astronomer do not form schemes of happiness, and that their program, humdrum or not, may be exempt . . . from frustrations” of unattainable dreams.
I do, in short, believe Johnson viewed happiness as attainable but not as a fairytale. In fact, Johnson’s main character in Rasselas may be a reflection of his own. Johnson’s pursuit of happiness resulted in literary accomplishments, but also led him to pursue various occupations which were unsuitable for him. In comparison, Rasselas’ pursuit of happiness led him through different aspects and occupations of life that led him back to where he started. Similarly, each demonstrated that they were actively pursuing happiness. Finally, the gap between what makes people happy and what does not is clearly seen in Rasselas. The pursuit of unattainable goals like a perfect life is deceptive. While pleasures can be attained and hopes fulfilled, a prolonged search for happiness in the wrong things will leave us needlessly and bitterly disillusioned.
Works Cited
Clifford, James Lowry. Dictionary Johnson. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. Braverman, Richard. Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800. Edited by Marie Lazzari. Detroit, MI: Gale Group, 2000.
Fussell, Paul. Samuel Johnson and the Life of Writing. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971.
Hardy, J. P. Introduction. In Samuel Johnson, The History of Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Hibbert, Christopher. The Personal History of Samuel Johnson. New York: Harper & Row, 1971.
Johnson, Samuel. The History of Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia.New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
King James Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1945.
McIntosh, Carey. The Choice of Life: Samuel Johnson and the World of Fiction. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973.