Meaning of Robinsonian | Babel Free

Definitions

Suggestive of the fictional Robinson Crusoe, a resourceful castaway on a desert island.

Examples

“Before the assembly had recovered from the stir⟳ caused by Chick’s farewell, a new wave⟳ of surprise⟳ swept the crowd: for Levy had given the word to Eleazar, popularly known as Crusoe on account of his Robinsonian escapades and physique.”

“In this sensitive book we can live⟳ step by step the author’s voluntary exile at Walden Pond, witness and feel⟳ the change⟳ of seasons in his Robinsonian isolation: the silver petals of the snow⟳ silently drifting to the ground, […]”

“The bringing in of “Friday,” or of one or more other persons, after analysis of strictly Robinsonian isolation, then serves to show⟳ how the addition of other persons affects the discussion.”

“[…] Magic Alex (born Yannis Alexis Mardas, television repairman and genius in residence at Apple Electronics at the expense of the increasingly chaotic finances of his four bosses; a feverish swindler working on the creation of stereo surround-sound wallpaper and the construction of a floating communal house on the Greek island of Leslo so the Beatles could live⟳ there with their families; and who knows, maybe that Robinsonian project was abandoned after what happened to my parents at sea); […]”

“Once he had reached the tropics, he would leave⟳ the ship and begin⟳ his ‘Robinsonian project’.”

“There is no cave in any Selkirk narrative; he lived in a hut made of sticks and grass. Crusoe lived in a fortified cave, a residence suitable for a colonial overlord in savage lands, not an unarmed maroon expecting to be rescued by English sailors. Indeed the whole island has been reimagined by later visitors to satisfy⟳ Robinsonian dreams, without taking the trouble⟳ to separate⟳ fact and fiction.”

“If democracy is sustained by an irremediable autoimmunitary conflict between freedom and equality, then the “perfect” democracy would require⟳ the complete⟳ erasure of alterity: a Robinsonian isolation whereby “equality” would be fully reconciled with an unconditional, sovereign freedom.”

CEFR level