The Adventures of Roderick Random

CAPÍTULO I.

The narrator introduces himself as having been born in the northern part of the united kingdom, in the house of his grandfather—a wealthy and influential gentleman who served as a judge and was particularly noted for his severe treatment of beggars. The narrator’s father, the youngest son, secretly married a poor relation who served as housekeeper, and the narrator was their first child. Before his birth, his mother experienced a troubling dream in which she imagined giving birth to a tennis ball that the devil struck away with a racket, only for it to return and plant itself in the earth as a blossoming tree. A Highland seer interpreted this vision favorably, predicting the child would become a great traveler who would face many dangers but ultimately return to his homeland in happiness and reputation.

Upon discovering the marriage, the grandfather disowned the father, giving him until that night to find new accommodation and sending him a bill for the costs of his education. The father and mother took refuge at a farmhouse where an old servant dwelled. When the mother’s pregnancy advanced further, she secretly returned to the grandfather’s house in disguise, pleading for mercy on behalf of her unborn child. The grandfather claimed a vow prevented him from offering assistance and dismissed her. The mother went into labor immediately and, with help from a loyal maidservant, delivered the narrator in a garret before being forcibly evicted three days later. The harsh treatment and lack of care caused her to fall into a wasting illness that proved fatal.

The grief-stricken father lost his senses for six weeks, during which time the grandfather took in the infant. Upon recovering, the father was filled with profound melancholy and later disappeared without a trace, prompting speculation that he had taken his own life.

Of my Birth and Parentage

The narrator’s grandfather, a man of considerable fortune and legal reputation, presided over cases with particular severity toward beggars, for whom he harbored intense dislike. The narrator’s father, his youngest son, fell in love with and secretly married a poor relation who served as housekeeper in the grandfather’s household. This union produced the narrator as its first fruit.

Before the narrator’s birth, his mother experienced a disturbing dream foretold by a Highland seer’s favorable interpretation. The dream depicted the devil acting as midwife to deliver a tennis ball, which he struck violently away, only for it to return and embed itself in the earth as a flourishing tree covered with blossoms. The seer predicted the child would become a great traveler who would encounter numerous dangers but eventually return to flourish in his native land.

When the grandfather learned of the marriage, he angrily expelled his son and daughter-in-law, refusing any assistance based on a prior vow. They found refuge in a humble farmhouse. Near her delivery, the mother went in disguise to the grandfather’s house seeking compassion but was immediately dismissed. She went into labor that same day in a garret. Despite her vulnerable condition, she was expelled within three days and the servant who aided her was dismissed. The combination of cold, want, and grief caused her to sicken and die.

The father was devastated, losing his sanity for six weeks. The grandfather eventually relented enough to take in the infant, and when the father recovered, he fell into melancholy before mysteriously vanishing, prompting rumors of self-destruction.

CAPÍTULO II.

This chapter chronicles the narrator’s difficult childhood, encompassing early familial hostility, restricted access to his grandfather, neglected schooling, maltreatment by his master, and paradoxically how adversity fueled his academic progress. The narrative follows his organization of schoolboy cabals against his persecutor, relentless harassment by his grandfather’s heir, and concludes with his violent retribution against the tutor.

Early Familial Hostility

The narrator’s cousins developed implacable hatred toward him, particularly as his infancy showed promise and he strongly resembled his beloved father. Suspicions existed that his uncles may have been involved in his father’s fate, motivated by inheritance concerns, though those suspicions were treated as speculation by judicious observers.