Rasselas (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Samuel Johnson
- First Published: 1759
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Philosophical
- Time of Work: Eighteenth century
- Setting: Abyssinia and Cairo
- Genres: Long fiction, Philosophical realism
- Subjects: Africa or Africans, Philosophy or philosophers, Escapes, Marriage, Eighteenth century, Inheritance or succession, Egypt or Egyptians, Princes or princesses
- Locales: Cairo, Egypt, Abyssinia
Characters Discussed
Rasselas (RAS-eh-luhs), fourth son of the king of Abyssinia. Like his brothers and sisters, he is reared in the luxury of Happy Valley, a remote mountain-rimmed vale whose only entrance is closed by a guarded gate. The royal children live a life of pleasure and entertainment, which everyone but Rasselas finds sufficient. In his twenty-sixth year, he finds his mind unchallenged by this life of pleasure, in which every want is met or anticipated. Feeling that he is something more than a beast of the field, content with sensory pleasure, he lives with his...
[The entire page is 1026 words long]
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