The Bottle Imp

“‘That is not my idea,’ said Keawe; ‘but to have a beautiful house and garden on the Kona Coast, where I was born, the sun shining in at the door, flowers in the garden, glass in the windows, pictures on the walls, and toys and fine carpets on the tables, for all the world like the house I was in this day – only a storey higher, and with balconies all about like the King’s palace; and to live there without care and make merry with my friends and relatives.’”

Throughout the story, each character who buys the bottle has specific temptations or goals in mind when doing so. This passage details Keawe’s dream which will eventually become the Bright House. Significantly, his joy is based not solely on material possessions, but on being able to share his wealth and home with those he loves. Despite his modest desires, Keawe must “make a deal with the devil” in order to achieve Bright House. In this parable, it is important that readers connect with the protagonist and do not find them to be unreliable or antagonistic. Keawe making this deal for modest and optimistic reasons helps deliver the otherwise dark and heavy concept of hell as a punishment for sinful behavior.

“And he opened a lockfast place, and took out a round-bellied bottle with a long neck; the glass of it was white like milk, with changing rainbow colours in the grain. Withinsides something obscurely moved, like a shadow and a fire.”

This passage describes the initial encounter with the imp and references the story’s motif of hell and fire. The outside of the bottle is beautiful and its colors are associated with joy and purity. However, the “shadow” and “fire” within hint at the dark nature of the bottle and its gifts.

“Now, about this there are two bothers. First, when you offer a bottle so singular for eighty odd dollars, people suppose you to be jesting. And second – but there is no hurry about that – and I need not go into it. Only remember it must be coined money that you sell it for.”

The old man’s hesitation and reluctance to go into greater detail are foreshadowing that his motives for offering the bottle to Keawe are suspicious. Keawe’s naivety and willingness to believe the good in people means that he is susceptible to taking this offer, rather than questioning the old man about what he is omitting.

“‘It is quite clear,’ thought Keawe, ‘that I am to have this house, whether or no. It comes from the devil, and I fear I will get little good by that; and of one thing I am sure, I will make no more wishes as long as I have this bottle. But with the house I am saddled, and I may as well take the good along with the evil.’”

Now that he has been confronted with the dreadful price exacted by the bottle, Keawe must decide how to react to it. Here he solidifies an attitude that he will carry throughout the story, where he will make the best of what has been given to him and accept the good as well as the evil. While he resolves not to use the bottle after receiving the house, he also moves forward with his life, trying to move past his brief brush with damnation.

“Now as soon as that was said, the imp looked out of the bottle, and in again, swift as a lizard; and there sat Keawe and Lopaka turned to stone. The night had quite come, before either found a thought to say or voice to say it with; and then Lopaka pushed the money over and took the bottle.”

This is the only moment in the text when the characters directly confront or see the imp. Stevenson chooses not to describe it explicitly, but rather to let Keawe and Lopaka’s reactions to it insinuate how frightening it must be. The one descriptive simile (“swift as a lizard”) evokes reptilian, inhuman coldness and inspires repugnance. Readers are left to imagine what cannot be described, heightening the stakes of the damnation in the story. This moment further drives the fear that motivates the characters through the story.

“Now the truth of it was this: as Keawe undressed for his bath, he spied upon his flesh a patch like a patch of lichen on a rock, and it was then that he stopped singing. For he knew the likeness of that patch, and knew that he was fallen in the Chinese Evil.”

This passage references the leprosy epidemic in Hawaii at the time, which would have been familiar to readers. The phrase “Chinese Evil” as a descriptor seems to be common during Stevenson’s time, but also reminds modern readers of the xenophobia and Orientalism that plagued the Victorian age.

“‘A dreadful thing is the bottle,’ thought Keawe, ‘and dreadful is the imp, and it is a dreadful thing to risk the flames of hell. But what other hope have I to cure my sickness or to wed Kokua? What!’ he thought, ‘would I beard the devil once, only to get me a house, and not face him again to win Kokua?’”

Now that he has finally discovered true love, Keawe must defeat the obstacles between him and his happiness. This passage emphasizes that his motives for using the bottle are not totally selfish, but instead exemplify his courage and his love for Kokua. Like the hero of a fairy tale, he must take a great risk to achieve happiness.

“Keawe called to mind a friend of his, a lawyer in the town (I must not tell his name), and inquired of him.”

This is one of the few times that the first person narrator intrudes into the narrative. His aside here serves to anchor the story in a sense of reality since it seems to involve actual living people. This contrasts with the general parable format and the existence of supernatural elements in the rest of the story.

“And here was the strange thing: he had no sooner seen this miracle, than his mind was changed within him, and he cared naught for the Chinese Evil, and little enough for Kokua; and had but the one thought, that here he was bound to the bottle imp for time and for eternity, and had no better hope but to be a cinder for ever in the flames of hell. Away ahead of him he saw them blaze with his mind’s eye, and his soul shrank, and darkness fell upon the light.”

This passage emphasizes the reality of the dangers Keawe faces and the intensity of his fear. Though he has made this sacrifice to be with Kokua and heal his leprosy, he is unable to fully enjoy his good fortune due to his dread of hell. This passage also depicts the motif of fire and hell that is prevalent throughout this story.

“‘It is done now,’ he thought, ‘and once more let me take the good along with the evil.’”

Keawe again repeats the refrain of taking the good with the evil. However, his continued anguish at the thought of hell undermines his happiness, casting doubt as to whether this philosophy will serve him well.

“The girl, indeed, had come to him wholly; her heart leapt in her side at sight of him, her hand clung to his; and she was so fashioned from the hair upon her head to the nails upon her toes that none could see her without joy. She was pleasant in her nature. She had the good word always. Full of song she was, and went to and fro in the Bright House, the brightest thing in its three storeys, carolling like the birds.”

This description of Kokua emphasizes the fairy tale-like quality of Stevenson’s story. Rather than offer specific physical characteristics, these details give her an innocence and purity that is more suited to a parable than a realistic story. Her role in the story serves the purpose of helping Keawe better himself and rid himself of the threat of damnation.

“But now, at least, I take up my soul in both the hands of my affection; now I say farewell to the white steps of heaven and the waiting faces of my friends. A love for a love, and let mine be equalled with Keawe’s! A soul for a soul, and be it mine to perish!”

In this dialogue, Kokua cements her turn into a more active character. She resolves to risk herself for love and sacrifice her soul to save Keawe’s. This represents her courage and her selflessness and creates a character arc for Kokua, who was otherwise only described through the lens of Keawe’s adoration

“‘I reckon I’m going anyway,’ returned the sailor; ‘and this bottle’s the best thing to go with I’ve struck yet. No, sir!’ he cried again, ‘this is my bottle now, and you can go and fish for another.’”

The happy ending of the story occurs suddenly and humorously when the boatswain declares that he will keep the bottle since he is already damned. This is a subversion of the usual ending of stories in this genre, where characters must outsmart the devil. In this case, no one is outsmarted but the happy ending is still attained.