The Heroic and Unnamed Father from the Swiss Family Robinson

By Don

July 26, 2024

Blog

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Stories of heroes, battles, and risk-takers inspire us.

This is one of the reasons in my weekly newsletter I share a story of strength every week… hearing a story of someone’s feat of strength and courage helps us get off the couch and get into action.

This week’s story is about the strength and courage of a father who has to lead his family through a crisis. 

This is the story of the heroic and unnamed father from the Swiss Family Robinson. 

In the story The Swiss Family Robinson, a Swiss family of 6 find themselves stranded on an unknown island. A horrific storm left them shipwrecked and alone, with only the provisions of the ship and whatever the island can yield them.

Day by day, the family has to problem solve and figure out how to survive together.

  • On one of the first nights, the father and his sons defend their family from a pack of wild jackals.

  • The family creates everything from shoes, to a loom, to a home in a tree, to a shelter in a burrowed out cave, and on and on and on.

  • They raise all kinds of animals, including those that were on the ship to animals they domesticate on the island (a monkey, ostrich, etc…)

As a dad myself, it’s hard to read this book and not be inspired by the strength of character and the range of skills demonstrated by the father.

The father leads his family spiritually and physically through all the dangers of their situation.

On the first Sabbath he stops the work and leads his family in thankfulness for their deliverance. He regularly thanks the Lord for the provision made for his family on the island. He ensures his children are educated in skillful living and in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

And from a physical standpoint, he has them practice athleticism like running, hunting, wrestling, climbing, and jumping. Here’s a quote on his approach to training his children physically:

“I want to see my sons strong, both morally and physically… brave to do what is good and right, and to hate evil, and strong to work, hunt, and provide for themselves and others, and to fight if necessary”

And the best part… the father is unnamed in the entire book.

His boys are named (Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz), but the father is not.

What a picture of fatherhood.

Here’s a man, in the middle of unknowns, dangers, and trials, who joyfully and dutifully carries out his role as a father, and the reader never knows his name.

The father’s legacy is tied not to his name, but to the names of his sons. He does his role faithfully, fades into the background, and provides a joyful life for his posterity.

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