Anthony House
English 143-01
Fr. Ribeiro
28 February 2000

Rasselas' Answer to Vanity

In The Rambler, No. 129, Samuel Johnson charges that "it is the duty of every man to endeavour that something may be added by his industry to the hereditary aggregate of knowledge and happiness." By reminding his audience that "to add something, however little, everyone may hope," Johnson reveals his sympathy for those whose contributions are forgotten by history. His message addresses not only the preeminent Londoner of the eighteenth century, but the whole of humanity up to the present. He writes with a distinctly moral purpose, explicitly defining what in life is worthy and what is inadequate. In two works, particularly, Johnson treats life as a continuous struggle to contribute in some small way to the world at large. Both The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749) and Rasselas (1759) examine the intricacies of human existence, noting the emptiness of earthly desire and suggesting methods of overcoming life’s challenges. Still, each work remains unique. Though the two operate on the same premise, they differ in their solutions to life’s problems. Despite thematic similarities, Rasselas cannot justly be called a mere explication of his earlier Vanity of Human Wishes.

Certainly, Vanity and Rasselas are quite similar. They originate from a single author’s perspective. Johnson’s unique style is woven throughout both works, and his message in Vanity is largely echoed in Rasselas. In general, their themes overlap. The primary goal of both works is moral, and though they differ somewhat, that morality is for the most part consistent. Both works highlight the importance of the common man and emptiness of human endeavor. These shared features unite the works thematically.

Johnson’s affinity for the ordinary person is not unique to Vanity and Rasselas, though it is featured prominently in both works. Johnson lived in the midst of society and wrote from that perspective, and society is inhabited primarily by common folk. In Vanity, he addresses his sympathies for the regular person through his treatment of the lowly scholar. With heavy verbal irony, Johnson outlines the humble life of the scholar, seeking patronage and compromising her search for truth in efforts to achieve fame. He charges the scholar to "pause a while from letters, to be wise." In a message that hits close to home in a college classroom, Johnson reminds his audience that by separating herself from life, the scholar compromises her ability to contribute to the progress of humanity. Later in the poem, he comments on the state of humanity more directly, manifesting the sorrow inherent to all life and the fleeting blessing of youth, shared by the rich and poor alike.

In Rasselas, Johnson’s thematic integration of the common person is subtler. Imlac reminds the reader that "to a poet, nothing can be useless." Johnson speaks through Imlac, revealing his personal belief in the value of all humanity. Moreover, Rasselas expresses a strong desire to "judge with [his] own eyes of the various conditions of men." He is not content to stay in his "happy valley," free from want and fear. He longs to immerse himself in humanity, to discover how men and women live in the world at large. Certainly, on arriving at Cairo, the prince’s first observations call into question the happiness of the people in general. Rasselas’ struggle to make a "choice of life" is not unique. It is a process that everyone must experience at some point. In his search for a life-path, Rasselas is attempting to find himself. Johnson, by incorporating both Nekayah and Pekuah, makes manifest the universal implications of choosing—and, more importantly, of living—life.

More directly, both The Vanity of Human Wishes and Rasselas confront the emptiness of worldly desires. In Vanity, Johnson "survey[s] mankind from China to Peru," noting the universals of human experience. He decries the pursuit of earthly interests: wealth, power, and trade. Rather than simply dismissing the powerful, though, he notes the inordinate burdens they carry, reminding the reader that "When statutes glean the refuse of the sword, / How much more safe the vassal than the lord." He proceeds to chide the system of patronage that defined many aspects of life in the eighteenth century. Alluding to numerous figures, both historic and contemporary, Johnson exemplifies the danger inherent to pursuing temporal comforts with reckless abandon.

Johnson’s indictment of human vanity in Rasselas takes a more narrative form. The story of Rasselas is, in some ways, a case study of the themes presented in Vanity. On his quest, the prince encounters people in all walks of life. Imlac legitimately questions the seeming happiness of the people of Cairo. Rasselas decries those for whom debauchery is a way of life, realizing that "perpetual levity must end in ignorance." Conversely, he soon discovers the emptiness of pure reason and the certain misery of solitude. Echoing the warnings of Vanity, Rasselas finds that prosperity fails to assure lasting good will, since former "defenders may be persuaded to share the plunder." Everywhere the prince turns, he sees the "insufficiency of human enjoyments;" even the great pyramids are mere piles of stone, "erected only in compliance with that hunger of imagination which preys incessantly upon life." In Vanity, the failure manifests the emptiness of earthly desire. In Rasselas, though, those pursuing empty goals are often aware of their plight; they can thus attempt to change their course. This variation contributes to the distinctions between the two works.

Vanity and Rasselas differ, not only in form, but also in other, more significant ways. Certainly, Vanity’s imitation of classical poetry is easily differentiated from the narrative technique used in Rasselas. Still, such a difference has little bearing on theme. A careful study of the tone in which Johnson addresses common themes reveals subtle differences between the two works. While the problems Johnson reveals in Vanity and Rasselas are largely the same, the solutions he produces are unique.

In The Vanity of Human Wishes, only "celestial wisdom" can effectively combat the desperate condition of human life. He begins by charging his audience to "say how hope and fear…/O’erspread with snares the clouded maze of fate." Johnson proceeds, insisting that all earthly pursuits are hopeless; his examples reinforce that message. Johnson warns that "ills from beauty spring," contending that even common ‘blessings’ carry negative burdens. Without heavenly aid, he leaves humanity helpless and hopeless. In the final stanza, Johnson revives "hope and fear." In doing so, he reminds his audience of its initial challenge. He also begins to refute the desperation that otherwise dominates the poem. Johnson invokes the divine graces of faith, patience, and love. Only through these, Johnson insists, can humanity fill the emptiness of its earthly existence; all other means are doomed to failure. Johnson concludes by asserting that "celestial wisdom…makes the happiness she does not find." The Vanity of Human Wishes treats joy as preternatural, suggesting that the only means to attaining happiness is otherworldly.

In Rasselas, on the other hand, Johnson suggests that happiness is a distinct possibility, even within the boundaries of the human condition. Happiness is by no means assured, but it is attainable. Using the happy valley as an example, Rasselas warns that any attempt to create sustained mirth within a static environment is doomed to failure. Rasselas soon realizes that, without the contrasts of desire and fear, happiness is merely the bland absence of want. He longs "to see the miseries of the world, since the sight of them is necessary to happiness." Rasselas scours society assuming that "happiness is somewhere to be found." Unfortunately, it eludes him, and he laments the emptiness of human endeavors. His poet-guide admonishes him for having "neglected to live" whilst "making the choice of life." Imlac’s caution to the prince extends to the audience in general. Truly, Rasselas, in his efforts to find the perfect life, wasted time he could have spent living (albeit imperfectly). Still, the prince is no closer to happiness than when he left the valley. His attempts to find happiness through witnessing distress fail. The princess Nekayah provides him with a new paradigm through which to seek happiness. "None are happy," she says, "but by the anticipation of change: the change itself is nothing; when we have made it, the next wish is to change it again." Her contention assumes both the desire and the possibility for change to occur. It is not until the Nile floods, inundating Rasselas with its life-giving waters, that he is able to truly consider his choice of life. In the end, Rasselas realizes that his desire for his own "little kingdom" will never be fulfilled. He returns to Abyssinia, with a fuller understanding of happiness and the human condition.

The ability to grow and change through experience differentiates Rasselas from Vanity, which offers no such hope. The structure of Rasselas follows the tripartite methodology of the scholar Johnson prescribes in The Adventurer, No. 85: "to read, write, and converse in due proportions." The prince’s tenure in the happy valley parallels the scholar’s reading stage. It is here that, in the words of The Adventurer, Rasselas discovers "the fitness of consulting other understandings than [his] own;" his insatiable curiosity to see the world’s sufferings drives him to escape from the happy valley. His escape marks the end of ‘reading.’ According to Johnson, the writing phase principally admits the author’s learning from others. While in and around Cairo, Rasselas examines different men and their choices of life, ‘writing’ in his own mind his dissatisfaction with each. It is not until the prince reaches the conversant stage, though, that he truly experiences life. Rasselas takes Imlac’s admonition to heart. Sharing his experiences with those of Nekayah, Pekuah, and the astronomer, Rasselas is finally able to understand the nature of happiness. The prince’s ability to learn from the experiences and conversation of those around him separates Rasselas from Vanity. In Vanity, man’s state is desperate without reliance on divine virtue. Learning from earthly models only perpetuates emptiness. Happiness is made, not found. In Rasselas, though, happiness can indeed be found through a scholarly paradigm.

In both The Vanity of Human Wishes and Rasselas, Johnson addresses his audience from a clearly moral perspective. In his affinity for the common person, he exposes the emptiness of fame, fortune, beauty, and power. He reminds the reader that happiness is a fleeting, elusive experience. He provides two distinct paths to happiness, though, in the form of two trios. Vanity posits a passive solution. Faith, patience, and love descend from heaven to alleviate humanity’s desperation. In Rasselas, on the other hand, those who seek happiness through reading, writing, and conversing are blessed with wisdom. Humanity is active in Johnson’s later model. Certainly, the two are similar thematically, but the distinct solutions to humanity’s hopeless state reveal two unique messages. Regardless, Johnson clearly extends his message to all people, and these two works become more than mere words on paper. They are models for life as it was lived in his time and as it is lived today.