Question

Why is robert louis stevenson a heretic?

Answer 1

a. A controversial or unorthodox opinion or doctrine, as in politics, philosophy, or science. b. Adherence to such controversial or unorthodox opinion. (source) 

I am proud to be a heretic since 1965, when I first argued that an explanation in the class science book was bogus. (I was right.) Since then I have often found myself arguing a third point of view in arguments that seemed to have two sides. I am not always right but I always increase the likelihood that *somebody* is right. 

Henry Jekyll was not exactly a heretic. It was not so much his views that were radical but his behavior. Instead of having a coherent philosophy of his own (as I recall the story) he was self-centered to the extent of wishing ill on anybody who was not pandering to him. 

Robert Louis Stevenson was very much the opposite of Henry Jekyll. There is a strong sense of morality infusing his stories. In Treasure Island he pits the innocent young Jim Hawkins against a series of increasingly vile characters, from the rough-hewn Billy Bones through the smooth but ruthless Long John Silver. In The Sire De Malétroits Door the hapless swain refuses to marry Blanche, at peril of his life, until he is certain it is what Blanche wants. I would call Stevenson a moralist rather than a heretic.Source(s):Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved.