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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Kidnapped, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Political Conflict and National Identity
Trust and Betrayal
Justice vs. Injustice
Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
Alan and David spend a calm day sailing near the western coast of Scotland, approaching the island of Mull by a safer but longer route that Hoseason chooses. While relaxing in the round-house and smoking Hoseason’s tobacco, David begins to share his story. When he mentions Mr. Campbell, Alan lashes out—he hates all Campbells due to their long-standing feud with the Appin Stewarts. Alan talks about how his father was a brilliant swordsman who left him no money. Alan enlisted in the British army out of poverty but later deserted to fight for the Jacobites, making himself both a rebel and a wanted man.
David and Alan’s conversation in the round-house opens a window into Alan’s past and reveals how personal identity in the Highlands was shaped by clan allegiance and rebellion. Alan’s hatred of the Campbells reflects more than personal bitterness—it stems from real historical trauma. After the Jacobite defeat at Culloden in 1746, the British government suppressed Highland culture and punished rebel clans, especially the Stewarts, while rewarding loyalist clans like the Campbells. Alan’s desertion from the British army and return to fight for the Jacobite cause marks him as either a traitor or hero, depending on one’s politics.
Themes
David questions why Alan continues to risk returning to Scotland. Alan says he misses the Highlands and insists on delivering rents that Ardshiel’s former tenants collect in secret. These tenants, though forced to pay rent to King George, also raise a second rent out of loyalty to Ardshiel, now exiled in France. When Colin Roy Campbell—the “Red Fox”—took over Ardshiel’s lands, he tried to stop this support by evicting the tenants and replacing them. But even while paying double, the Stewarts’ tenants outbid all the Campbells and hold their ground. David praises their loyalty, but Alan insists no one will beat the Red Fox until someone kills him.
What Alan describes here is also based in history. Tenants who outbid the Campbells while still secretly supporting the Stewarts risked eviction, arrest, or worse—yet they persisted, showing that the Jacobite cause survived in everyday acts of defiance. Alan celebrates this loyalty but insists that it cannot last without violence. His hatred of Colin Roy Campbell, the “Red Fox,” echoes a specific historical event: Campbell’s assassination in 1752, which triggered the Appin Murder trial—an infamous case that Stevenson’s readership would have been aware of. Notably, based on what Alan says, the Red Fox is still alive at this point.
Themes
Alan explains how Red Fox brings in military backing to drive out the tenants by force and replaces them with people too poor to support Ardshiel. David argues the government controls the policy, not the Red Fox, and that revenge would change nothing. Alan scorns this view, and David shifts the subject to Alan’s ability to travel undetected. Alan says fewer soldiers patrol the Highlands now and credits his success to the terrain, secret supporters, and his own caution. David admires Alan’s courage, loyalty, and many talents—but also worries about his fierce pride, quick temper, and deep vanity.
David challenges Alan’s belief that revenge will restore anything, arguing instead that policy, not individual people, drives injustice. But Alan refuses to separate man from system—he sees the Red Fox as the face of everything that destroyed his people. Historically, this reaction mirrors the deep mistrust Highlanders felt toward the British legal system, especially after biased trials and violent clearances.
Themes
