Riassunto per l'esame di letteratura inglese della Professoressa Costantini, la parte su Haggard

LETTERATURA INGLESE: HAGGARD

Haggard' stories and characters reflect some strong preconceptions, some prejudices

that were largely shared by Victorians at that time. They reflect prejudices for race and

above settlers. So he was considered as an author who shared prejudices but he is

also sympathetic with some culture of the settlers especially for example for ZULUs

because he got very well Zulu’s culture. Therefore, he was racist but he also

questioned some of these prejudices, so he had both sides, on one hand, he shared

the preconceptions, which were typical of his period, but on the other hand he

questioned about these prejudices and this is an important thing.

In his stories, we can find many aspects that confirm he was a racist in some way but

also some elements that indicate the opposite, the fact that he questioned about

some white prejudices above natives.

He was interesting in spiritualism of other cultures as well as his readership. One of

the topic he was interesting in was Lost Civilization and Continent. He contributed to

create a new genre in Lost Civilization and Lost Continent, so he wrote a story about

population of the past that still live somewhere hidden in territories that are difficult to

reach. This new genre became very popular at that time. He also interesting in Magic,

Curses, and Charms...

In his novels, we can find many stereotypes associated with colonialism. One of this

stereotype is the superiority of the White man. White people, British especially thought

they were superior and even scientists, anthropologists and researchers supported this

idea. This was a central stereotype and it often recurred in Haggard's works.

He believed that white people were superior but he also showed sympathy,

compassion, closeness to the natives. He considered natives as animals and

barbarians because this was the opinion in his period but he also tried to find

humanity in them, he saw them as human beings as well. His protagonists tend to be

Europeans; usually the protagonists of his works are white people: adventurers,

explorers and so on. But, there are also some protagonists who are black people. One

example is IGNOSI. Ignosi is a character featuring in King Solomon’s Mine.

King Solomon’s Mine is the best work by Haggard, it is a novel and Ignosi is one of the

protagonist of this novel. Ignosi is a Zulu King, a Zulu prince actually. His character is a

real hero, is an heroic character. This is something about the role Ignosi plays in the

novel. He is a Black man who has developed an intense mutual friendship with three

Englishmen who are the white protagonists. Therefore, they try to fight together

against to a sort of Zulu tyrant and these three English men help Ignosi to have his

Throne back, because the legitimate King should be Ignosi but this tyrant stole the role

to Ignosi, which with his English friends will be able to get the throne back. It is a story

of usurpation. The British people somehow illuminate Ignosi, so he changed the

customs of his culture, and so he abolished witch-hunt (persecution) and arbitrary

capital punishment. He starts a new civilization. This thanks white people, he learned

from white people, he learnt to be a pleasant black person, he accepted advices from

white people and used these advices in order to make his culture more civilized. So in

this work we can see both aspects, in fact Ignosi is a black man, Zulu King, he is able

to develop a friendship with white English men but he started to be better when he

learnt from whites, when he learnt white costumes and style of thinking and living. So

White are superior and if you want to be a better man or even you want to be

considered as a man you need to follow whites. Ignosi is a Zulu king who kills the

tyrant who had usurped the throne. He regains his tribe/throne; he abolishes the

witches-hunt, the capital punishment and all the violence typical of the customs of his

tribe. In doing so, he brings an enlightened and right society according to the rules of

whites.

We therefore find the two aspects:

-on one hand challenge the Victorians by narrating the achievements of a black person

who can be the leader.

-on the other hand, however, Haggard says you are smart and fair if you follow the

example of the British.

This is the trick. The ambivalent game we have with Haggard.

King Solomon's Mine is very important novel because in it Haggard drew a panorama

of his personal knowledge of Africa. He spent many years in Africa; he wanted to know

peoples, landscape, cultures that are all described in his novels, especially in this one:

King Solomon's Mine.

The other famous protagonist of king Solomon's Mine is Allan Quotermain, who

features also in other works (in 18 novels and short stories) by Haggard.

Who is Allan Quotermain? He is a WHITE HUNTER and ADVETURER. Haggard got the

name 'Quotermain' from an old country man he met/ he knew when he was a boy. *

*In the second half of the nineteen century Egypt became a pole of attraction for

many Europeans who got very interested in Ancient Egyptian Civilization. They

discovered pyramids, made tunnels; they sacked the graves and took jewels and other

precious things. These objects were brought to England, Remember Manchester

museum, but also in British museum. Haggard blamed that, he considered this action

as a robbery a sort of desecration of the death. He said that English people should

show respect for death. *Zimbabwe*

Africa is not only made up of nomadic tribes without history, indeed each population

has a history. Haggard noticed that in Africa there were many ancient civilizations,

ancient empire that had been destroyed afterwards.*

Haggard's interest in lost civilisation gave rise to a new awareness in him: the idea

that all peoples and civilisations come and go...* This is not only in Haggard, Conrad

had this awareness as well, indeed Conrad made many comparisons between the

Roman Empire and the British Empire which he lived in.

This idea about Great Empires and Lost civilisations that were superior but they

declined afterwards lets Victorians reflect, because they wondered: ok, now we are the

Empire, but how long for? How long is it going to last? Are we going to fall as well? This

reflection questioned the idea of superiority they had.* British Empire is over

nowadays. Not only Haggard, also Conrad reflected on the time when an empire lasts

and decays. At the beginning of Heart of Darkness he made comparisons between the

roman empire and British Empire, and he talked about the conquest of the Romans,

when the Romans arrived in Britain and found death and desolation and barbarian

people. The same as British when they go to conquer new lands in Africa for example.

They find desolation and animal people who live according to customs and habits that

are completely different and disagreeable to the British. So this was a common theme

of reflection at that time.

Allan Quotermain is a hero, an heroic character. Not all Haggard's characters are

heroes; this is another characteristic of Haggard. Some of his English characters are

ANTI-HERO, they are negative characters. One of them is the protagonist of a short

story we are going to read "Black Heart and White Heart", his name is Philip Hadden

and he is a devious and cunning Englishman. *He contrasts with two young lovers:

Nanea and Nahoon who are part of a Zulu tribe. Nanea and Nahoon are the real heroes

of this story. So the white person is negative, while the blacks, primitive Zulu lovers

are positive characters. Haggard challenges the Victorians again by overturning a

stereotype. In fact in this story, the white protagonist is bad while the black ones are

the real heroes.* Haggard was a master storyteller. He was able to create interesting

stories, very fascinated stories. He was very good at creating the plot of his stories,

the reader is so involved in the story and the plot is so compelling that he wants to

continue reading to learn more. *His limits can be traced to the fact that his characters

do not have a well-defined psychological characterization. Only some exception like:

Quotermain, and Ayesha the protagonist of She.*

The major genre in which he wrote is not novel but it is ROMANCE.* The term romance

has two definition*. Haggard was a master of Romance. Any other author who wrote in

Romance? Lewis Carroll 'Alice in Wonderland'.

She is the second best novel by Haggard, it is a story of a Lost Civilisation that is still

alive in a hidden part of Africa. It represent a new primitive civilisation, a civilisation

that has survived but remains primitive.

This interest for a neo-primitivism is a sort of revolt against the complex and urbanised

society of the late-Victorian age. The late-Victorian age was an age in which cities

were developing, think about London that was a metropolis. But people who live in the

cities, maybe in London felt a sort of nostalgia for primitive life, close to the nature. So

Haggard was very keen on writing a stories about Lost civilisation or civilisation that

were not so civilised.

Haggard also wrote about Rural England, in the last part of his life when he moved

back to England and settled there, he developed an interest in Rural England, in the

countryside and he wrote non-fiction books that described the reality of rural England,

the reality of the countryside in England. He also became very fascinated in the

supernatural events, in telepathy and other strange phenomena (especially in the last

part of his life). He was also curious about the secret life of animals. It is a sort of

spiritualism. He started to develop a theory about animal spiritualism and so he came

to see animals not only as object that were to be shot, killed, hunted. These creatures

have a sort of spirit, and in last part of his life, he developed dislike for hunting,

shooting and killing animals. Very strange because he was in Africa and wrote about

hunters for all his life and yet at the end of his life he felt dislike for hunting or killing

animals. He develop a strong interest for animals’ spiritualism.

HUNTER QUATERMAIN'S STORY:

The title itself introduces the topic of this story, which is the story about Allan

Quatermain, the hero, the protagonist of many Haggard's works. Hunter is the term

that defines Quatermain. This short story is what we call: INTERPOLATED story.

INTERPOLATED story: enchâssé is a french term. In italian is 'storia a cornice' ovvero

una storia nella storia, ovvero un testo che si apre con una storia 1 che è la cornice

che racchiude al suo interno una storia 2, ovvero un personaggio della storia 1

comincia a raccontare un'altra storia (2 appunto), quindi avremo il testo centrale e poi

la storia 2 che viene raccontata. Interpolated narrative, also known as a framed or

embedded tale, is a literary device through which an author encapsulates a shorter

narrative (i.e. document, fairy tale, story etc.) in the main narrative. So 'enchasse’ is

the tecquiniche 'enchassed story&