Chapter Aims
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
- Explain the masculine, capitalist roots of adventure
- Define adventure
- Understand how adventure is often associated with privilege
- Explain key features of adventurous activities
- Understand the relative nature of adventures
- Explain Lynch and Mooreâs âadventure paradoxâ
1.1 Early Meanings of Adventure
Adventure and society have a long and fascinating shared history (Bell, 2016; Lynch & Moore, 2004). A book entitled Adventure and Society should begin by defining those two words, both of which have very broad meanings. The origins of the word âadventureâ have been traced back to the twelfth century and, over time, the English appear to have arrived at their own word, with its own spelling that is derived from French (which came from Latin).1
Zweig (1974) refers to universal âadventure mythsâ from classical antiquity that comprise âperilous journeys, encounters with inhuman monsters, ordeals of loneliness and hunger, descents into the underworldâ (p. 3). The people involved in these stories usually did not choose to take part in these adventures, in the same way that Luke Skywalker and Frodo Baggins did not wake up one morning and decide to embark upon their epic journeys: the circumstances chose them, and they took part only because they saw no other course of action. Note that the actual term âadventureâ was not used in classical antiquity, but one can see how these ordeals were adventurous in nature.
The earliest actual use of the word adventure was in French: aventure. Aventure came to the fore in the middle ages (around the late 1100s) as part of a âknightlyâ ideology. Knights of the court went on aventures in order to earn a livelihood, so that they could have a nice place to live and be an attractive marriage prospect. The big risk for a knight was not going on an aventure (Nerlich, 1987, p. 5), as that would have meant failure.
In the 1400s, in similar ways to knights venturing forth for personal gain, merchant adventurers sailed the seas. At this point these quests become more than personal, as they might involve ships with hundreds of men. Further, some of these expeditions would be blessed by the Crown and thus provide additional morality-free rationales for the âexploration, subjugation, and exploitationâ inherent in such profit-seeking adventures (Nerlich, 1987, p. 129).
These perilous journeys have been directly linked to what Michael Nerlich (1987) called the âideology of adventureâ. In essence, Nerlich robustly argued that adventuring developed in the middle ages from the human desire to accrue capital : that is, to make money. Boje and Luhman (1999) explain how Nerlichâs ideology of adventure âmakes the industrial revolution and enlightenment possible as a project of capitalismâ (para. 2). Nerlich showed how the stories, literature, poems, and plays of the time promoted an âadventure-mentalityâ that became âappropriated in capitalistic commerce and production as adventure-practicesâ (Boje & Luhman, 1999, para. 2).
These myths, histories, and meanings of adventure can be associated with what Campbell (1949) called the mono-myth of the âheroâs journeyâ. Loynes (2003) explains how Campbell identified 17 stages of the heroâs journey that will be very familiar to anyone who has read or watched epic stories like Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. Bell (2016) further explains how the cultural production of todayâs adventurous and heroic individual is located within ongoing âhistories of imperialism and enforced inequalitiesâ (p. 8). From this perspective, the socially agreed concept of what it means to be adventurous is built on stories, images, and ideas which are tied in with certain dominant cultural forces.
What is important to be aware of is that these narratives are very male oriented: the activities are physically strenuous and the principal protagonists are able-bodied young men. As such, historical notions of adventure have, to a large extent, marginalized women. Writing more than 20 years ago, Warren (1996) warned us that:
Early adventuring did not only oppress women, but also everyone else (irrespective of gender ) who was not part of this dominant adventure class. Consider for a moment the countless foreign lands (and the people who inhabited them) that were plundered and exploited for othersâ benefit. In summary, the roots of the word adventure are very much linked to centuries of male capitalist endeavour and colonization. Those reading a book on adventure and society should see that adventures in antiquity, the middle ages, the renaissance, and the industrial revolution were very much influenced by the social norms of their times.the heroic quest is a metaphor that has little meaning to women. Each stage of a womanâs journey in the wilderness is a direct contradiction of the popular quest model. A woman rarely hears a call to adventure; in fact, she is more often dissuaded ⌠from leaving home to engage in adventurous pursuits. (p. 16)
1.2 Defining Adventure
While, on one hand, we can see that the word âadventureâ and its meanings have a long history, those meanings do not have the semantic precision required to grapple with our questions about adventurous practices in contemporary society.
According to the Oxford Concise Dictionary, an adventure is âan unusual, exciting, or daring experienceâ (Soanes & Stevenson, 2008, p. 18). Colin Mortlock (1984), a British adventurer and educator, claimed in one of his influential early works that adventures involve âa degree of uncertaintyâ (p. 14) and âdemand the best of our capabilities â physically, mentally, emotionallyâ (p.19). Indeed, most scholars seem to contend that uncertainty (or unpredictability, if you prefer) is a crucial feature of adventures. Some authors, such as Goldenberg (2001), claim that adventures should have inescapable consequences, but as we will see below, Mortlock and others emphasize the subjective and relative nature of adventurous experiences.
If we accept that adventures are challenging experiences, have a degree of unpredictability, and demand physical and mental skill to overcome, then let us put some of these features to the test.
Discussion Questions
Discuss which of the following situations could be considered adventures and why.
- 1.Getting a flat tyre while driving alone in the middle of the night on a country road
- 2.Going to a huge city for the first time
- 3.Drag racing with another car on a backroad
- 4.Trying a new kind of food while on holiday
- 5.Going outdoor rock climbing for the first time
- 6.Spray-painting graffiti on the side of an office building
- 7.Losing electricity at oneâs home for 48 hours
- 8.Starting at a new high school
It is reasonable to suggest that all of the above circumstances could be considered adventurous. One crucial distinguishing factor in the above examples is the degree to which these circumstances were planned, expected, and desired. Seen this way, most people would not have foreseen, nor wanted to be inconvenienced by, a flat tyre or a power outage. Conversely, both trying an exotic dish and going climbing at a beautiful outdoor location might have been experiences that were very deliberately courted.
The kinds of adventure germane to this book are those on which one has wilfully chosen to embark. There are many inhabitants of planet earth who do not seek to add any uncertainty or challenge to their everyday lives. Can you imagine pre-industrial and traditional subsistence farmersâwho were working the land day in and day out and surviving on the bare minimum of shelter, food, and waterâdiscussing how they would like to climb to the top of the local hill after they finished 12 hours of grafting in a field? From this perspective, we can say that adventure is culturally relative (Beames & Pike, 2013).
The very idea of seeking adventure for adventureâs sake might be, for some cultures, an absurd concept. Those living an agrarian life in a drought-ridden village in sub-Saharan Africa and those who have fled war-torn Syria and are living in squalid refugee camps probably do not seek experiences that are especially daring, exciting, or unpredictable; they seek stability, peace, shelter, clean water, food, jobs, and schools.
When we are fortunate enough to live in relative comfort and stability, the op...