Сочинение: Sir Henry Rider Haggard

Сочинение: Sir Henry Rider Haggard

Sir Henry Rider Haggard (1856 – 1925). Public servant, reformer,

commissioner and wellknown storyteller, Rider Haggard was the author of

thirty-four adventure novels.

Rider Haggard was born at Bradenham in Norfolk in 1856. He was the sixth son

of a lawyer and was educated in Ipswich. In 1875 his father procured for him

the post of junior secretary to the Governor of Natal, Sir Henry Bulwer. He

set sail for South Africa and spent six years there, fascinated by its

landscape, wildlife, tribal society and mysterious past. Powerful, intense

and visually magnificent, “She” was written in Africa in six weeks in 1886.

Rider Haggard published “She” in London in 1887. By then he was thirty-one

year old, an established writer with his own fixed and hard-won ways, who had

written three first-rated novels: “King Solomon’s Mines”, “Allan Quatermain”,

and “Jess”. No other writer has absorbed into his work as much knowledge and

experience as Haggard had. He produced a whole series of spellbinding and

extravagant romances set in far-flung corners of the world: Iceland,

Constantinople, Mexico, Ancient Egypt and, of course, Africa.

Travelling widely fueled Haggard’s imagination and helped him get acquainted

with exotic placed and people, their old languages, laws, traditions, the

deepest corners of their ancient history and antiquity.

The events described in the novel take place first at Cambridge, then in Central

Africa, and refer to the period of the beginning of the 19th

century. “She” takes a reader to the deepest interior of Africa, searching not

for treasure but for treasure but for the secrets of a woman’s love. In Rider

Haggard’s greatest romance a father’s mysterious legacy to his son brings Leo

Vincey and his two fellow-adventurers to Africa. Travelling through crocodile –

infested rivers, across volcanic plains and marshes they reach the vast, eerie

catacombs of the Kingdom of Kór, where they encounter She, the white

Queen of the Amahagger people. A woman of legendary beauty, bewitching and

destructive, She has waited two thousands years for the rebirth and return of

the man she loved. And this man, she believes, is Leo Vincey.

The story begins one rainy night, when a man of twenty-two Ludwig Horace

Holly was sitting in his room at Cambridge, grinding away at some

mathematical work. At last, wearied out, he flung his book down and happened

to catch sight of his countenance in the glass. As he stood and stared at

himself in the glass Horace Holly thought about his physical deficiencies.

Most men of twenty-two are endowed at any rate with some share of the

comeliness of youth, but to him even this was denied. Short, thick-set, and

deep chested almost to deformity, with long arms, heavy features, deep-set

gray eyes, a low brow half overgrown with black hair he was strikingly ugly

person. It seemed that he was branded by Nature with iron strength and

intellect. Ludwig Horace Holly was so ugly that the spruce young men of his

College, though they were proud enough of his endurance and physical powers,

did not want even to be seen walking with him. Women called him a “monster”.

He had neither father, nor brother. And that is why it was not surprising

that Horace Holly became sullen, lonely person, who had no wife, no children,

no friends.

Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. A tall man of about thirty, with

the remains of great personal beauty, came hurrying in, carrying a massive

iron box. The man looked ill and was coughing with blood. Horace Holly

recognized his only friend from College Mr. Vincey, whom he knew for about

two years. The man said that he was dying and that is why he asked Mr. Holly

to become a tutor for his five-year-old child, Leo Vincey. Before leaving he

handed Horace the iron chest and said: “On the twenty-fifth birthday of my

son your guardianship will end and you will then, with the keys I give you

now, open the box and let Leo.” see and read the contents, which will tell

the boy about his ancestors and about the ancient dynasty of Kallikrates that

he belongs to.” The next day Mr. Vincey died and Mr. Holly became a guardian

to his son.

Years flew by, the child grew into the young man. As he grew his beauty and

the beauty of his mind grew with him. Leo got a good education, took a

respectable degree at College and became the handsomest man in the

University. Young Leo looked like a statue of Apollo, he was very tall, very

broad, had a look of an abnormal power and grace. His face was almost without

flaw – a good face as well as a beautiful one, and his head was covered with

little golden curls. Women called Leo “the Greek God” for his beauty. Leo

Vincey was altogether too good-looking, and, moreover, he had none of that

consciousness and conceit about him, which usually spoils handsome men and

makes them disliked by their fellow, was his real son, and they became

faithful friends.

At last, the day of Leo’s twenty-fifth birthday came and Horace Holly with

Leo opened the iron box, that Leo’s father had given Mr. Holly on the night

of his death. There was a magnificent silver casket with a letter, parchment

and a very large ancient potsherd of a dirty yellow color. From the letter

and the uncial Greek writing on the potsherd they got to know that Leo Vincey

was the only representative of one of the most ancient families in the world.

His sixty-sixth lineal ancestor was an Egyptian priest of Isis, though he

himself was called Kallikrates. This man fled from Egypt with a princess of

Royal blood, who had fallen in love with him, and they were finally wrecked

upon the coast of Africa. There they met the mighty and immortal Queen of a

savage people. This Queen fell in love with Kallikrates. It was an unrequited

love, so she used her magic and killed him.

On reading this writing Leo Vincey was determined to go Africa and find the

mysterious woman in order to revenge his ancestor and to investigate the

greatest mystery in the world – the secret of eternal Life and Youth. So, he

and his two fellow-voyagers (Horace Holly and Job) went to Africa. On the

ocean, not far from the place of their destination they were seized by the

horrible squall. Only four people were saved and all the remainder of their

company was destroyed. These four men, who were brought to the shore by the

wave from the very jaws of Death, were: Leo Vincey, his guardian and true

friend Horace Holly, their faithful servant Job, and swarthy Arab Mohammed.

Job has been serving Mr. Holly and Leo for twenty years, he loved his job and

could always be relied upon. He was a simple-minded, devout man with

prejudices. Not really brave or courageous, he was frightened by thrilling

adventure and unexplored lands, though he agreed to go with Mr. Holly, Leo

and dark-skinned sailors, whose manners and customs scared him to death.

Later the savages named this man the Pig on account of his fatness, round

face and small eyes. Job could not stand severe ordeals of the trip,

shattered by all he had seen and undergone, his nerves had utterly broken

down and he had died of terror.

Travelling though deep forests and marshes, the heroes of the book endured

great hardship, but at last they were entertained by “She-who-must-be-

obeyed”, the mighty Queen of a savage people. While woman, She ruled savages,

was seldom seen by them, but was reported to have power over all things

living and dead. The Queen was a magician, had knowledge of all things, and

life and loveliness that does not die. She had no regular army, but to

disobey her was to die. This mysterious woman had a powerful intellect, which

she always enriched by studying languages and different sciences. She was two

thousand years old and, of course, knew history and studied all religions of

the world. Ayesha (this was her name) even had her own philosophy. She was a

great chemist, indeed chemistry appears to have been her amusement and

occupation. Ayesha had one of the caves fitted up as a laboratory.

She was a woman of peculiar beauty. “Never may the man to whom her beauty is

once unveiled put it from his mind.” Ayesha looked like a young woman of

certainly not more than thirty years in perfect health. Her white and rounded

arms, ankles, snowy argent breast, perfect and imperial shape, gracious forms

were more perfect than ever sculptor dreamed of. “Her grace was more than

human.” This woman had the great changing eyes of deepest, softest black,

marble face, broad and noble brow, lovely smile and delicate, straight

features. One who ever saw her surpassingly beautiful and pure face, was

amazed and blinded by its beauty.

At the end of the story Ayesha decided that Leo Vincey was the man she has

waited for. She thought that Leo really was a reincarnation of her beloved

Kallikrates, because their likeness and resemblance amazed her. This woman

wanted to make Leo Vincey immortal in order he could marry her. That is why

he had to step into the Eternal Fire of Life. But Leo doubted how could he

know that it wouldn’t utterly destroy him. So, Ayesha asked him: “Oh, my

Kallikrates, if you see me stand in the flame and come out unharmed, will you

enter then.” Leo agreed and said: “Yes!!!” And Ayesha stepped into the Fire

and never came back.

So, this was the end of the first story about this mysterious woman. But When

I read the second book, I found out that after a while She restored to life

again.

This book was not written for any specific group or class. The author even

does not insist on his point of view. He thinks that a reader must judge the

history (the story) himself, that is why the story is presented like memories

or the main hero – Horace Holly. But I think that the intended audience

should be young broad-minded people, who has bright imagination and will be

able to develop Haggard’s idea or, maybe on the contrary, - to dispute his

opinion. A story that began more than two thousand years ago may stretch a

long way into the dim and of the story is not reached yet. Haggard wrote an

endless story and in it, he raised a question of Life and Death that has

always occupied people minds. This is the question about rebirth of both,

mind and body after death.

The purpose of this book is to make a man reflect on the purport of life and

make him try to solve the most important problem for humanity – the question

about life prolongation.

The message of the book is to make a man believe that his life after death

does not come to an end, but after a while the rebirth of soul and body will

be and “to the world his is born again and again.”

Rider Haggard wrote this book with an intention to share with a reader his

thoughts and ideas about Past, Present and Future of mankind. He wanted to

bring up for discussion the subject of Immortality and Eternal Life.

Haggard in his novel uses specific literary method. He depicts all the events

very brightly and thus a reader finds himself in the deepest jungle of

civilization among the savages, in Africa. Excited about impending adventure,

with his heart filled with mingled dread and curiosity the reader shares the

adventures with the heroes. The main heroes of the story often turn over

their minds the events that they experienced and share their thoughts with

the reader.

The author often uses inversion as a quite unusual rhetorical device in order

to lend the speech of the main heroes still greater importance.

Savages never called their Queen by name. Speaking about her they used to

say: “She-who-must-be-obeyed!” This and many other expressions make Ayesha

more powerful and majestic. Haggard uses many metaphors, epithets and

comparisons. For example, in order to describe the difference between young

handsome Leo and ugly appearance of Mr. Holly more vividly, the writer

compares the heroes with Beauty and the Beast.

Rider Haggard uses many words from Uncial Greek, Old English and Latin

languages. He even gives his heroes ancient Greek names. For example,

Kallikrates (means the Beautiful in Strength) and his wife Amenartas. All

these literary devices give the story a shade of antiquity and ancient times.

I found the book instructive and very interesting. Reading the novel I really

experienced a fascinating adventure to Africa. I like the story because the

author offers interesting insight into human nature. His idea differs from

the Bible interpretation of this question. I consider Haggard’s thought very

interesting because he thinks that not only soul exists after death, but body

also revives.

The main hero of the story Ayesha appeals to me more than other ones. Her

intellect and wisdom amaze me. I respect this woman and admire her inquiring

nature, intellectual curiosity and diligence. Living two thousand years not

everyone could resist the temptations of life, but She dedicated these years

to studying different sciences and as a result of her endurance and hard work

Ayesha reveled the Secret of Nature and got the enormous power over all

things. I’m delighted with her devotion to the man she loved and waited for,

all these years. Ayesha’s power, youth and beauty – are not magic, but her

tireless work. The Queen even says: “There is no such thing as magic”,

thought there is such thing as knowledge of Secrets of Nature.

As to my opinion this book will be interesting for everyone, because the

questions of Life and Death, prolongation of Life and rebirth of body and

soul are eternal questions for mankind. All people are interested in it.

Little children ask their parents about Future, about life, as well as old

people often turn over these questions in their minds. I recommend to read

this book to everybody. I can’t say that after reading it you will be sure

that Eternal life exists, but still the story leaves a hope.