Blazing a Book Trail

Oh what great fun this little book is!

Back when I was a kid, my next-oldest brother and I were given an old black and white T.V. from an uncle who’d scrounged it from an apartment building fire. Despite it still smelling somewhat smoky, we were very grateful for the gift. It meant that we could have a T.V. in our bedrooms, at least some of the time, since we both held a 50% interest in it. Oh the joy of having a T.V. to myself, when I had custody of it! Even if it was black & white! It meant that I got to choose what show to watch, not have to fight with several brothers and my parents, many of whom wanted to watch hockey (blech!). Majority ruled in my house. It also didn’t help that I often wanted to watch some girly show that no one else liked lol.

So I fondly remember those nights of T.V. viewing up in my bedroom, while my brothers watched the hockey game downstairs in the living room. Usually I’d end up with some black & white movie on TVO so it didn’t matter that I didn’t have a colour T.V. set. One movie I watched and greatly enjoyed was the adventure movie King Solomon’s Mines from 1950 starring Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr. Later, in the 1980s, Richard Chamberlain took his turn as Allan Quatermain, starring in King Soloman’s Mines and it’s follow up Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, both great cult classics. Little did I know at the time that both movies were based on novels written in the 1880s by a man named H. Rider Haggard until I picked up She, which is on my Victorian Literature course reading list. As soon as I caught the connection, though, I greatly looked forward to reading the novel. And it didn’t disappoint!

L. Horace Holly and his ward Leo Vincey travel to darkest Africa in search of the lost city of Kor in order to avenge the murder of Leo’s ancestor, Kallikrates. Despite being eaten alive by mosquitoes and watching lions being killed by crocodiles, the two finally meet up with the Amahagger tribe, who, following orders given by She (or She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed), take them to their village. The Amahaggers are a matriarchal society, where the women rule, or so the men let them think. They are governed by She, a supposedly immortal white woman who has lived for over 2000 years and who rules by intimidation and fear. Anyone who disobeys She is instantly put to death. The Amahaggers fear her implicitly. She, whose real name is Ayesha, has been waiting these 2000 years for the return of her lover, Kallikrates, a man she killed because he would not leave his wife for her. Leo, it turns out, is Kallikrates reincarnated, and She vows they will marry and he will be given the secret to infinite life.

Amid lush descriptions of the African landscape and the Amahagger peoples and customs, including their practice of “hot-potting” (they kill strangers by placing a boiling hot pot on their heads and then eat them) is a story that raises many questions about the Empire and the role of women in society. Haggard was a fervent imperialist supporter, yet he presents a picture of an Empire that is not always desirable. Also, women were re-defining their roles in society at the end of the nineteenth century, and so Haggard creates in the character of She a warning to these women that change and progression of women’s rights is not always a good thing. The misogyny alone, expressed in the character of Holly, is enough to make my inner feminist cringe. But She is a fascinating character, one I’m still wrapping my head around. She represents the Empire, both its good and bad characteristics, as well as serving as a warning to young women, and yet, She is so much more. Ultimately, who or what is She? Literary critics are still answering that question.

H. Rider Haggard’s She, is more than just an adventure story, and it’s a darn good read too. I leave you with a film clip from a fun cult classic:

Ursula Andress in She (1965)