Line #23 Literature/ThePavilionOnTheLinks


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1200px_the_pavilion_on_the_links_frontispiece.jpg]]
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3	"The Pavilion on the Links" is a short story written by Scottish author Creator/RobertLouisStevenson. It was first published in two parts in the September/October issues of ''The Cornhill Magazine'' in 1880. A revised version was included in Stevenson's short story collection ''New Arabian Nights'' (1882).
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5	On his deathbed, Scotsman Frank Cassilis reveals his [[Main/OldShame deepest, darkest secret]] to his children[[note]]At least in the 1880 magazine version. In the more well-known New Arabian Nights version, he speaks to a general audience[[/note]]: How he met their mother ([[Series/HowIMetYourMother no, not that one]]).
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7	After spending nine years as a wealthy vagabond, young Cassilis decides to visit his college acquaintance R. Northmour, who resides in the eponymous pavilion on the Scottish coast. To his surprise, the reclusive Northmour hosts guests - an elderly man and a young woman. After spying on the group for some days, Cassilis reveals himself to the young woman, Clara Huddlestone, who explains that Northmour is hiding her father from a group of mysterious and deadly pursuers in exchange for her hand. Naturally, Cassilis also falls in love with her. The two men vie for Clara's hand, while the danger draws ever nearer...
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9	Notable for having a prominent fan in Creator/ArthurConanDoyle, who considered it "the high-water mark of [Stevenson’s] genius" and "the first short story in the world".
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12	!!Tropes used by the story:
13	* TheCavalryArrivesLate: The sailors of Northmour's yacht, the ''Red Earl'', arrive only after [[spoiler:the Carbonari have burned down the pavilion and killed Huddlestone]].
14	-->'''Cassilis:''' "The ''Red Earl''! [...] The ''Red Earl'' twelve hours too late!"
15	* CodeOfHonour: [[spoiler:The Carbonari, while determined to kill Huddlestone, offer to let Clara and the two young men go. Even after this offer is rejected, they refrain from killing anyone else after Huddlestone is dead.]] Northmour comments on their honourable ways, expressing the wish to join them.
16	* CombatPragmatist: With the group holed up in the Pavilion of the title and well-armed, [[spoiler:the Carbonari]] don't bother to make a frontal assault, but just set fire to the building.
17	* TheExile: It is Huddlestone's intention to live the remainder of his days in exile. After his criminal misdeeds are revealed, he convinces Northmour to take him to the South Pacific with the remains of his ill-gotten gains in return for Clara's hand. Their plan is to hide out in the remote pavilion until Northmour's yacht is refitted and provisioned for the long journey. [[spoiler:It doesn't work out that way.]]
18	* ForegoneConclusion: Cassilis and Clara will survive the events of the story and end up in a long and loving marriage.
19	* GreyAndGrayMorality: A criminal banker, his innocent daughter and two young men who are only in it for the girl against [[spoiler:freedom fighters who will gladly kill for revenge, but refrain from harming bystanders.]]
20	* LastNameBasis: While Northmour repeatedly adresses Cassilis as "Frank", Cassilis never uses anything but Northmours last name. In fact, we never learn more than the initial of Northmour's first name: R.
21	* LaResistance: [[spoiler:The Carbonari,]] who fight against the Austrian Empire for [[spoiler:the Unification of Italy.]] While their methods may seem [[Main/YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters extreme]], it is made clear that Huddlestone's shady deals have cost them dearly. Stevenson portrays them as sympathetic antagonists, with their own [[Main/CodeOfHonour code of honour]]. The cynical Northmour even expresses the wish to join them [[spoiler:during the siege on the pavilion]] as he perceives them to be in the right.
22	** At the end of the story, [[spoiler:it is revealed that Northmour ''did'' join the movement for Italian independence in later years. He dies fighting under Garibaldi for the liberation of the Tyrol.]]
23	* LoveAtFirstSight: Played with. Cassilis and Clara fall in love pretty quickly after their first meeting. Of course, Cassilis has [[Main/RescueRomance just saved her life]], but still... On the other hand, Cassilis notes how he has [[Main/OldShame lied to Clara]] for the whole of their marriage about this. He told her that he fell in love with her the moment he first set eyes on her when he spied on the group's arrival. The truth is that it was too dark to even see her face.
24	** Maybe understandable from a psychological standpoint. Clara has the choice between an arranged marriage to the rather unsympathetic Northmour and falling in love with a mysterious stranger who appears from seemingly out of nowhere to save her. Unsurprisingly, she chooses the latter. Cassilis, on the other hand, notes that he feels uncomfortable with Clara staying at Northmour's pavilion before even speaking to her. His love is, at least partially, fueled by his old rivalry with Northmour.
25	* LoveTriangle: Frank Cassilis falls in love with Clara Huddlestone, who is promised to Northmour by implicit agreement between him and her father. However, the two rivals agree to set aside their conflict as long as Clara's life is threatened by [[spoiler:the Carbonari]].
26	* TheMafia: Averted. While [[spoiler:the Carbonari]] are Italians who do not refrain from killing people, they are not criminals but [[spoiler:freedom fighters.]] Their reputation is [[Main/TheDreaded still terrible enough]] to frighten even the otherwise fearless Northmour.
27	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: On their first meeting in the dark, Northmour immediately draws a knife and wounds Cassilis. But what really astonishes Cassilis is that the usually fearless Northmour flees to the safety of the pavilion instead of pursuing him. This encounter underlines the gravity of the mysterious threat.
28	* QuicksandSucks: Graden Floe, a piece of treacherous terrain which is said to swallow a man in "four minutes in a half". Cassilis saves Clara from walking into it. One of the [[spoiler:Italians]] is not so lucky - only his hat remains as proof of his gruesome demise.
29	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Huddlestone]] acts like a coward for most of the story, risking [[spoiler:his daughter's life]] and fainting when faced with danger. Yet in the end, [[spoiler:he decides to sacrifice himself for her sake, redeeming himself in Cassilis's eyes.]]
30	-->[[spoiler:'''Huddlestone:'''"Here am I! [...] Huddlestone! Kill me, and spare the others!"]]
31	* RescueRomance: Cassilis reveals himself to Clara when she unknowingly steers towards deadly quicksand on one of her walks, saving her life. They fall in love soon after.

Context Literature / ThePavilionOnTheLinks