ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON’S NOVELS: NATURAL LANDSCAPE (Pages 100-103) by Mrs. R. Umamaheswari* and Mrs. K. VimalaDevi** in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

Robert Louis Stevenson’s use of natural landscape and imagery in his work, and how he differed in this respect from the Romantic and Victorian traditions with which he is associated. In Stevenson’s portrayal of landscape in his fiction, a movement towards modernist themes and techniques is apparent, particularly in relation to the development of character consciousness. In this study I will focus on Treasure Island, and Kidnapped. Stevenson uses landscape, at first simply to establish mood and foreshadow action in Treasure Island, but later relating it to the achievement of maturity and independence in an environment presented as morally relative. In Kidnapped, these themes are specifically politicized even in the use of landscape. Thus Stevenson is extending and in some ways subverting the Romantic- Victorian tradition of landscape imagery, which aimed to inspire contemplation, illuminate setting, and foreshadow the action.obert Louis Stevenson’s use of natural landscape and imagery in his work, and how he differed in this respect from the Romantic and Victorian traditions with which he is associated. In Stevenson’s portrayal of landscape in his fiction, a movement towards modernist themes and techniques is apparent, particularly in relation to the development of character consciousness. In this study I will focus on Treasure Island, and Kidnapped. Stevenson uses landscape, at first simply to establish mood and foreshadow action in Treasure Island, but later relating it to the achievement of maturity and independence in an environment presented as morally relative. In Kidnapped, these themes are specifically politicized even in the use of landscape. Thus Stevenson is extending and in some ways subverting the Romantic- Victorian tradition of landscape imagery, which aimed to inspire contemplation, illuminate setting, and foreshadow the action.Keywords: Romantic and Victorian traditions, natural landscape, modernist themes, maturity and independence , Treasure Island etc.