The Bottle Imp
Encyclopedia
The Bottle Imp is a short story by the Scottish
author Robert Louis Stevenson
usually found in the short story collection Island Nights' Entertainments
. It was first published in the New York Herald
(Feb-March 1891) and Black and White London
(March–April 1891).
native of Hawaiʻi, Keawe, who buys a strange bottle from a sad, elderly gentleman who credits the bottle with fortune, and promises that an imp
residing in the bottle will also grant Keawe his every desire.
Of course, there is a catch — the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin
(not paper money or a bank cheque/check). The bottle may not be thrown or given away. If an owner of the bottle dies without having sold it in the prescribed manner, that person's soul
will burn for eternity
in Hell
.
The bottle was said to have been brought to Earth by the Devil
and first purchased by Prester John
for millions of dollars; it was owned by Napoleon
and Captain James Cook
and accounted for their great successes, but each sold it — leading both of them to meet a nasty end as a consequence. By the time of the story the price has diminished to eighty dollars, and it declines rapidly thereafter to a matter of pennies.
Keawe buys the bottle and instantly wishes his money to be refunded, to convince himself he hadn't been suckered. When his pockets fill with coins, he realizes the bottle does indeed have unholy power. He finds he cannot abandon it or sell it for a profit, so he wishes for his heart's desire: a big, fancy mansion. He then sells the bottle to a friend (after explaining the risks) and returns to Hawaii.
Upon his return, Keawe's wish has been granted, but at a price: his beloved uncle and cousins have been killed in a boating accident, leaving Keawe sole heir to his uncle's fortune. Keawe is horrified, but uses the money to build his house, before selling the bottle to a friend.
Keawe lives a happy life, but there is something missing. Walking along the beach one night, he meets a beautiful woman, Kokua. They soon fall in love and become engaged. Keawe's happiness is shattered on the night of his betrothal, when he discovers that he has contracted the then-incurable disease of leprosy
. He must give up his house and wife, and live in Kalaupapa—a remote community for lepers—unless he can recover the bottle and use it to cure himself.
Keawe begins this quest by tracking down the friend to whom he sold the bottle, but the friend has become suddenly wealthy and left Hawaii. Keawe traces the path of the bottle through many buyers and eventually finds the current owner, a Haole
of Beritania Street, Honolulu, who has bad news: he only paid two cents
for it. If Keawe buys it for one cent, he won't be able to resell it.
Keawe decides to buy the bottle anyway, and indeed cures himself. Now, however, he is understandably despondent: how can he possibly enjoy life, knowing his doom? His wife mistakes his depression for regret at their marriage, and asks for a divorce. Keawe confesses to her his secret.
His wife suggests they sail to Tahiti
, where the colonists of French Polynesia
use centime
s, a coin worth one-fifth of an American cent. When they arrive, however, the suspicious natives won't touch the cursed bottle. Since he would never sell the bottle to her knowingly, Kokua decides to save her husband by bribing an old sailor to buy the bottle for four centimes, and she will secretly buy it back for three. Now Keawe is happy, but she carries the curse.
Keawe discovers what his wife has done, and resolves to sacrifice himself for her in the same manner. He arranges for a brutish boatswain
to buy the bottle for two centimes, promising he will buy it back for one, thus sealing his doom. However, the drunken sailor refuses to part with it, and is unafraid of the prospect of hell. "I reckon I'm going anyway," he says.
Keawe returns to his wife, both of them free from the curse, and the reader is encouraged to believe that they live happily ever after.
as well.
The novel reflects Stevenson's impressions gained during his five-month visit of the Kingdom of Hawaii
in 1889. Part of the storyline takes place in the little town Hoʻokena at the Kona
coast of the island of Hawaii
, which the author visited. In a scene which takes place in Honolulu
Stevenson mentions Heinrich Berger, the bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band
. The name of Keawe's wife refers to the Hawaiian word kōkua, which means help. In 1889 Stevenson also visited the leper colony
on the island of Molokaʻi and met Father Damien
there. Therefore he had a first-hand experience from the fate of lepers. Several times Stevenson uses the Hawaiian word Haole, which is the usual term for caucasians
, for example describing the last owner of the bottle.
The story could be considered as both a continuation of and a rather light-hearted counterpoint to the theme of selling one's soul to The Devil
, manifested in the numerous depictions of Doctor Faust as well as in such stories as "The Devil and Tom Walker
" by Washington Irving
and "The Devil and Daniel Webster
" by Stephen Vincent Benet
.
. Clearly no rational person would buy it for one cent as this would make it impossible for it to be sold at a loss. However, it follows that no rational person would buy it for two cents either if it is later to be sold on to a rational person for a loss. By induction, the bottle cannot be sold for any price in a perfectly rational world. And yet, the actions of the people in the story do not seem particularly unwise.
The story shows that the paradox can be resolved by the existence of one of three types of characters:
based on Stevenson's story was released in 1917. The screenplay
was adapted by Charles Maigne
. The film was directed by Marshall Neilan
, and starred Sessue Hayakawa
, Lehua Waipahu, H. Komshi, George Kuwa, Guy Oliver
and James Neill
.
. Originally designed in German by Günter Cornett, it is called Flaschenteufel. It was first published in 1995 by Bambus Spieleverlag, and was re-released by Z-Man Games
in 2010 under the name "Bottle Imp."
ing from 1 to 37. A card will be either one of three colors which act like suits and there is no trump
.
At the beginning of the game, the token is not attached to any player. Card #19 is the price of the bottle. The rest of the cards are dealt out equally to all players. After hands are dealt, each player discards one card, passes one card left and one card right.
The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. Players must play a matching color card if they have one, otherwise they may play any card. If a trick contains no cards lower than the price of the bottle then the highest card takes the trick. If a trick contains a card lower than the price of the bottle, then the highest card lower than the price takes the trick. That player gets the bottle token and the card used to win the trick becomes the new price. Tricks are led by the winner of the previous trick.
Players keep the cards won in tricks. Cards used to "purchase" the bottle are returned to the player who played them when a new price is set. Play continues until all cards are played.
At the end of the round, players who do not have the bottle score the face value of all cards they won. The player who ends the round with the bottle loses the sum of the cards discarded at the beginning of play. Play continues until a player reaches 500 points total.
(ASLS) produces a free biannual ezine on classic and contemporary Scottish literature
called The Bottle Imp, which takes its name from Robert Louis Stevenson
's short story. The first issue was published in May 2007.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
author Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
usually found in the short story collection Island Nights' Entertainments
Island Nights' Entertainments
Island Nights' Entertainments is a collection of short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1893...
. It was first published in the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
(Feb-March 1891) and Black and White London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(March–April 1891).
Plot
The story is about a working classWorking class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
native of Hawaiʻi, Keawe, who buys a strange bottle from a sad, elderly gentleman who credits the bottle with fortune, and promises that an imp
Imp
An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.-Folklore:...
residing in the bottle will also grant Keawe his every desire.
Of course, there is a catch — the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
(not paper money or a bank cheque/check). The bottle may not be thrown or given away. If an owner of the bottle dies without having sold it in the prescribed manner, that person's soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
will burn for eternity
Eternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
.
The bottle was said to have been brought to Earth by the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
and first purchased by Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
for millions of dollars; it was owned by Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
and accounted for their great successes, but each sold it — leading both of them to meet a nasty end as a consequence. By the time of the story the price has diminished to eighty dollars, and it declines rapidly thereafter to a matter of pennies.
Keawe buys the bottle and instantly wishes his money to be refunded, to convince himself he hadn't been suckered. When his pockets fill with coins, he realizes the bottle does indeed have unholy power. He finds he cannot abandon it or sell it for a profit, so he wishes for his heart's desire: a big, fancy mansion. He then sells the bottle to a friend (after explaining the risks) and returns to Hawaii.
Upon his return, Keawe's wish has been granted, but at a price: his beloved uncle and cousins have been killed in a boating accident, leaving Keawe sole heir to his uncle's fortune. Keawe is horrified, but uses the money to build his house, before selling the bottle to a friend.
Keawe lives a happy life, but there is something missing. Walking along the beach one night, he meets a beautiful woman, Kokua. They soon fall in love and become engaged. Keawe's happiness is shattered on the night of his betrothal, when he discovers that he has contracted the then-incurable disease of leprosy
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
. He must give up his house and wife, and live in Kalaupapa—a remote community for lepers—unless he can recover the bottle and use it to cure himself.
Keawe begins this quest by tracking down the friend to whom he sold the bottle, but the friend has become suddenly wealthy and left Hawaii. Keawe traces the path of the bottle through many buyers and eventually finds the current owner, a Haole
Haole
Haole , in the Hawaiian language, is generally used to refer to an individual that fits one of the following: "White person, American, Englishman, Caucasian; American, English; formerly, any foreigner; foreign, introduced, of foreign origin, as plants, pigs, chickens"...
of Beritania Street, Honolulu, who has bad news: he only paid two cents
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
for it. If Keawe buys it for one cent, he won't be able to resell it.
Keawe decides to buy the bottle anyway, and indeed cures himself. Now, however, he is understandably despondent: how can he possibly enjoy life, knowing his doom? His wife mistakes his depression for regret at their marriage, and asks for a divorce. Keawe confesses to her his secret.
His wife suggests they sail to Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
, where the colonists of French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
use centime
Centime
Centime is French for "cent", and is used in English as the name of the fraction currency in several Francophone countries ....
s, a coin worth one-fifth of an American cent. When they arrive, however, the suspicious natives won't touch the cursed bottle. Since he would never sell the bottle to her knowingly, Kokua decides to save her husband by bribing an old sailor to buy the bottle for four centimes, and she will secretly buy it back for three. Now Keawe is happy, but she carries the curse.
Keawe discovers what his wife has done, and resolves to sacrifice himself for her in the same manner. He arranges for a brutish boatswain
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
to buy the bottle for two centimes, promising he will buy it back for one, thus sealing his doom. However, the drunken sailor refuses to part with it, and is unafraid of the prospect of hell. "I reckon I'm going anyway," he says.
Keawe returns to his wife, both of them free from the curse, and the reader is encouraged to believe that they live happily ever after.
Historical and cultural background
The theme of the bottle imp can be found in the German legend Spiritus familiaris by the Brothers GrimmBrothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
as well.
The novel reflects Stevenson's impressions gained during his five-month visit of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
in 1889. Part of the storyline takes place in the little town Hoʻokena at the Kona
Kona District, Hawaii
Kona is the name of a moku or district on the Big Island of Hawaii in the State of Hawaii. In the current system of administration of Hawaii County, the moku of Kona is divided into North Kona District and South Kona District . The term "Kona" is sometimes used to refer to its largest town,...
coast of the island of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
, which the author visited. In a scene which takes place in Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
Stevenson mentions Heinrich Berger, the bandmaster of the Royal Hawaiian Band
Royal Hawaiian Band
The Royal Hawaiian Band is the oldest and only full-time municipal band in the United States. At present a body of the City & County of Honolulu, the Royal Hawaiian Band has been entertaining Honolulu residents and visitors since its inception in 1836 by Kamehameha III...
. The name of Keawe's wife refers to the Hawaiian word kōkua, which means help. In 1889 Stevenson also visited the leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
on the island of Molokaʻi and met Father Damien
Father Damien
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
there. Therefore he had a first-hand experience from the fate of lepers. Several times Stevenson uses the Hawaiian word Haole, which is the usual term for caucasians
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
, for example describing the last owner of the bottle.
The story could be considered as both a continuation of and a rather light-hearted counterpoint to the theme of selling one's soul to The Devil
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
, manifested in the numerous depictions of Doctor Faust as well as in such stories as "The Devil and Tom Walker
The Devil and Tom Walker
"The Devil and Tom Walker" a short story by Washington Irving that first appeared in his 1824 collection of stories titled Tales of a Traveller. It was part of the "Money-Diggers" portion....
" by Washington Irving
Washington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
and "The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Devil and Daniel Webster
"The Devil and Daniel Webster" is a short story by Stephen Vincent Benét. This retelling of the classic German Faust tale is based on the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker", written by Washington Irving...
" by Stephen Vincent Benet
Stephen Vincent Benét
Stephen Vincent Benét was an American author, poet, short story writer, and novelist. Benét is best known for his book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, John Brown's Body , for which he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1929, and for two short stories, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "By...
.
First publication
According to Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal (both quoted by Amazon.com) "this tale was originally published, in Samoan, in 1891". The Locus Online Index to Science Fiction similarly states "The Stevenson story was first published in Samoan in 1891, appearing later that year in English." The Project Gutenberg text of the story has a note by Stevenson which says "...the tale has been designed and written for a Polynesian audience..." which also suggests initial publication in Polynesia, not in the United States.Bottle Imp paradox
The premise of the story creates a logical paradox similar to the unexpected hanging paradoxUnexpected hanging paradox
The unexpected hanging paradox, hangman paradox, unexpected exam paradox, surprise test paradox or prediction paradox is a paradox about a person's expectations about the timing of a future event The unexpected hanging paradox, hangman paradox, unexpected exam paradox, surprise test paradox or...
. Clearly no rational person would buy it for one cent as this would make it impossible for it to be sold at a loss. However, it follows that no rational person would buy it for two cents either if it is later to be sold on to a rational person for a loss. By induction, the bottle cannot be sold for any price in a perfectly rational world. And yet, the actions of the people in the story do not seem particularly unwise.
The story shows that the paradox can be resolved by the existence of one of three types of characters:
- Someone who loves the bottle's current owner enough to sacrifice their own soul for that person.
- Someone who believes themselves to be inevitably destined for Hell already.
- Someone who believes they will never die.
Film
A silent filmSilent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
based on Stevenson's story was released in 1917. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was adapted by Charles Maigne
Charles Maigne
Charles Maigne was an American screenwriter and film director of the silent era. He wrote for 32 films between 1916 and 1928...
. The film was directed by Marshall Neilan
Marshall Neilan
Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an American motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.-Early life:...
, and starred Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa
was a Japanese and American Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors...
, Lehua Waipahu, H. Komshi, George Kuwa, Guy Oliver
Guy Oliver
George Guy Oliver was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent era motion pictures and 27 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at least 600. He directed three movies in 1915.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Oliver began his career as a...
and James Neill
James Neill
James Neill was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 113 films between 1913 and 1930. He was buried in Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery. His wife, and frequent costar on stage and screen, was Edythe Chapman. In 1902 the couple starred on Broadway in the play The Red Knight...
.
Card game
The story has inspired a trick-taking gameTrick-taking game
A trick-taking game is a card game or tile-based game in which play centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as Whist, Contract Bridge, Napoleon, Rowboat, and...
. Originally designed in German by Günter Cornett, it is called Flaschenteufel. It was first published in 1995 by Bambus Spieleverlag, and was re-released by Z-Man Games
Z-Man Games
thumbZ-Man Games is a company incorporated in 1999 in the USA to produce games. The headquarters is in Mahopac, New York, near New York City. It is named after its proprietor, Zev Shlasinger...
in 2010 under the name "Bottle Imp."
Play
The game is played with a bottle token and a proprietary deck of thirty-seven cards with a total orderTotal order
In set theory, a total order, linear order, simple order, or ordering is a binary relation on some set X. The relation is transitive, antisymmetric, and total...
ing from 1 to 37. A card will be either one of three colors which act like suits and there is no trump
Trump
A trump is a type of card in some card games.Trump may also refer to:* Trump * Trump * Trumps * The Trump * HMS Trump , a British submarine* The Trump Organization, a business conglomerate...
.
At the beginning of the game, the token is not attached to any player. Card #19 is the price of the bottle. The rest of the cards are dealt out equally to all players. After hands are dealt, each player discards one card, passes one card left and one card right.
The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. Players must play a matching color card if they have one, otherwise they may play any card. If a trick contains no cards lower than the price of the bottle then the highest card takes the trick. If a trick contains a card lower than the price of the bottle, then the highest card lower than the price takes the trick. That player gets the bottle token and the card used to win the trick becomes the new price. Tricks are led by the winner of the previous trick.
Players keep the cards won in tricks. Cards used to "purchase" the bottle are returned to the player who played them when a new price is set. Play continues until all cards are played.
At the end of the round, players who do not have the bottle score the face value of all cards they won. The player who ends the round with the bottle loses the sum of the cards discarded at the beginning of play. Play continues until a player reaches 500 points total.
Strategy
The element of the bottle determines much of the strategy in the game: since it is harder to get rid of the bottle at a lower value than at a higher one, players will generally try to get rid of their lowest cards early on in the game when there is a better chance that someone else will play a higher card that is still lower than the bottle's value.The Bottle Imp ezine
The Association for Scottish Literary StudiesAssociation for Scottish Literary Studies
The Association for Scottish Literary Studies is a Scottish educational charity, founded in 1970 to promote and support the teaching, study and writing of Scottish literature. Its founding members included the Scottish literary scholar Matthew McDiarmid...
(ASLS) produces a free biannual ezine on classic and contemporary Scottish literature
Scottish literature
Scottish literature is literature written in Scotland or by Scottish writers. It includes literature written in English, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Brythonic, French, Latin and any other language in which a piece of literature was ever written within the boundaries of modern Scotland.The earliest...
called The Bottle Imp, which takes its name from Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's short story. The first issue was published in May 2007.