Ayesha (novel)
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 First edition cover pub. by "Ward Lock" | |
| Author | H. Rider Haggard |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Ayesha Series |
| Genre | Gothic, Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Ward Lock |
Publication date | 1905 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 384 pp |
| ISBN | NA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | She |
| Followed by | She and Allan |
Ayesha, the Return of She is a gothic novel by the popular Victorian author H. Rider Haggard, published in 1905, as a sequel to his far more popular and well known novel, She. It was serialised in the Windsor Magazine in 1904-5.
Its significance was recognized by its republication by the Newcastle Publishing Company as the fourteenth volume of the celebrated Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library series in October, 1977.
Plot summary
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (February 2008) |
This novel, is based on the characters from She: A History of Adventure, including the titular Ayesha, "She Who Must Be Obeyed", and picks up where the last ended. Leo Vincey and Horace Holly, the writer, are convinced that "She" did not perish at the end of the last book, in Africa. They are led by dreams, and coincidences to 'Thibet' (as it is spelled in the book). In Thibet, they meet an old monk, who knows something of this "She". He remembers her from the time of Alexander the Great, when his armies were there. He tries to dissuade the two from going on with their quest, and warns them that, however beautiful, nothing is immortal; even if She was born centuries ago in ancient Egypt; or, remembers it from a past life; or, had waited thousands of years for the reincarnation of her lover, whom she believes is Leo. The monk says she is demon or a fallen angel, or a mirage.
After many adventures, they arrive in the isolated city of Kaloon, ruled by the Khania and her uncle. They claim to be descendants of Alexander the Great's Generals. The Queen, known as Khania Atene, wants to keep Leo in order to set up a new dynasty with him as her husband. The mysterious Queen of the Mountain orders the Khania to send Leo and Holly to her, or risk breaking the peace treaty between their people. The Khania Atene vows to kill Leo, rather than let him go.
Finally, in the mountain, the Queens meet. The Queen of the Mountain seems to be Ayesha, and she wants to make Leo the King of all the nations on Earth, as well as set up a new religion with them at its head, restoring the old cults of Osiris and Isis. After much suspense, the Queen of the Mountain removes her veil and she is, in fact, Ayesha. However, she is not bewitchingly beautiful as in the She: A History of Adventure but shriveled and aged, and very ashamed of this fact. Leo kisses her on the forehead, signifying his loyalty to her despite her appearance.
The Khania Atene vows to invade the mountain and kill Leo and Ayesha. She is a witch, and warns them that Ayesha is a demon who will kill Leo if she keeps him.
The Mountain Oracle tells them they are reenacting their roles from past lives in Egypt and Africa. Ayesha says that she knows the reason why their souls are drawn together: That they are to learn about and redeem each other, and their Fates may have begun together, even before the creation of the world.
The Queens marshal their armies against each other, calling on all their mystical and magical power, and their troops, to fight against their Fate, and each other.
As doom approaches, Leo and Ayesha are desperate to marry and will risk their Fate, if Holly acts as an officiant to join them. Ayesha believes that this will redeem their souls.
Holly wonders about the Monk's warning: Is this the road to peace, or doom? Can angels love and demons repent? And who is "She"?
Literary history
Haggard dedicated the novel to his friend Andrew Lang. The delay of eighteen years before the writing of Ayesha was deliberate and matches what is said to have happened in the lives of the characters. Tibet was chosen as the setting for the story since reincarnation is a part of the doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism but since She was originally Egyptian the story mixes elements of this with the beliefs of ancient Egypt. Haggard's daughter Lilias in her biography explains the origin of the various names used for She: 'She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed' was previously the nickname of a doll in the author's nursery; Ayesha is borrowed from Arabic (one of the Prophet Mohammed's wives bore this name) (a note by Haggard indicates that it should be pronounced 'Assha'); Hes is an alternative name for the goddess Isis[1]
Ayesha is mentioned in Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams as well as by Jung in a lecture on Psychology and Literature.
References
- ^ Foreman, J. B. Introduction. In: Haggard, H. Rider (1957) Ayesha, the return of She. London: Collins
- Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 136.