Preface
Defoe’s
preface is less than a page long, but is important to pay attention to because
it lays out the “Editor’s” rationale for publishing Robinson Crusoe’s
history. This “Editor,”
however, is not Defoe’s real editor, but rather the first fictional character
of the novel. The Preface, then, is
Defoe’s method for framing the upcoming narrative in terms of issues relevant
to the early eighteenth century. Since
the period saw an explosion of book selling (the printing press had come into
its own), as well as the first copyright law ever to be instituted, early modern
culture felt overwhelmed by the availability of books to the public.
With such a relative wealth of books, people wondered, how would one know
which books were worth reading and which weren’t?
Perhaps in response to this, Defoe’s Preface seems obsessed with
justifying its own publication, even going so far as to claim that it is not a
novel, and is instead a history. As
a history, the Editor argues, Robinson Crusoe is worth publishing because
it can provide a (negative) example to readers -- showing them what not to do in
order to live a satisfying and safe life. The
Editor then goes on to say that this history is the most publicity-worthy of any
he knows because Crusoe’s life is more filled with unbelievable adventure than
any other. He is thus making two
arguments: the first is that we should regard Crusoe as a true (that is,
believable) history, and the second is that this history is worth telling
precisely because of its unbelievability. Although
the Preface seems designed to clarify the terms of the novel, then, Crusoe
begins with a contradiction.
