“The Hand Grasped the Curtain, and Drew It Aside.” — from H. Rider Haggard's "'SHE:' A History of Adventure" from "The Graphic" — seventh composite woodblock illustration by Edward Killingworth Johnson, R. W. S. (13 November 1886)

“The Hand Grasped the Curtain, and Drew It Aside.” (headpiece): composite woodblock illustration by Edward Killingworth Johnson, R. W. S., in H. Rider Haggard's "SHE:" A History of Adventure, 7 by 9 inches (12.8 cm high by 17.7 cm wide). The Graphic (13 November 1886): Volume XXXIV, p. 521, framed. The title as given in the 1887 volume is “The Curtain was Drawn, and a Tall Figure Stood before Us.” (Facing p. 142). [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

Passage Illustrated: Ludwig Horace Holly finally meets the mysterious "SHE," Ayesha

Maurice Greiffenhagen's first-volume illustration of the same scene: Ayesha Unveils (1888).

At length the curtain began to move. Who could be behind it? — some naked savage queen, a languishing Oriental beauty, or a nineteenth-century young lady, drinking afternoon tea? I had not the slightest idea, and should not have been astonished at seeing any of the three. I was getting beyond astonishment. The curtain agitated itself a little, then suddenly between its folds there appeared a most beautiful white hand (white as snow), and with long, tapering fingers, ending in the pinkest nails. The hand grasped the curtain, and drew it aside, and as it did so I heard a voice, I think the softest and yet most silvery voice I ever heard. It reminded me of the murmur of a brook.

“Stranger,” said the voice in Arabic, but much purer and more classical Arabic than the Amahagger talk — “stranger, wherefore art thou so much afraid?”

Now I flattered myself that in spite of my inward terrors I had kept a very fair command of my countenance, and was, therefore, a little astonished at this question. Before I had made up my mind how to answer it, however, the curtain was drawn, and a tall figure stood before us. I say a figure, for not only the body, but also the face was wrapped up in soft white, gauzy material in such a way as at first sight to remind me most forcibly of a corpse in its grave-clothes. And yet I do not know why it should have given me that idea, seeing that the wrappings were so thin that one could distinctly see the gleam of the pink flesh beneath them. I suppose it was owing to the way in which they were arranged, either accidentally, or more probably by design. [Chapter XII, "She," 522; pp. 141-142 in the 1887 Harper & Bros. volume edition]

Commentary: “It is thy beauty that makes me fear, oh, queen”

In focussing on the unveiling or unwrapping of 'the mummy-like form' of Ayesha as a kind of animated corpse one might easily miss the presence of a prostrate figure in the foreground. The white robe and long, white hair suggest that this is Holly's guide and companion, the Amahagger patriarch Billali, who has prostrated himself before the awful monarch, exactly as in the text, aware that she already knows in detail what transpired with the hot pot at the feast. To convey the nature of the influences that have shaped this culture, Johnson has decorated the royal chamber with ancient Greek furnishings of ebony, but 'heavy Oriental-looking curtains" (Chapter XII, “She,” p. 139 in volume). These details complement Holly's description of the columns as "neither Greek, nor Egyptian, nor Hebrew, nor Assyrian" (end of Chapter XI, “The Plain of of Kôr,” p. 132 in volume). The royal apartment, however, does not appear to be "hewn . . . out of solid rock" as Holly specifies, nor do we do note the presence of the "beautifully tanned leopard skins . . . [that] serve as blankets."

Related material

Scanned images and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose, as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned them, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Haggard, H. Rider. "SHE:" A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. The Graphic Magazine, Vols. XXXIV and XXXV. 2 October 1886 to 8 January 1887.

Haggard, H. Rider. She: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by E. K. Johnson. New York: Harper & Bros., 1887.

Haggard, H. Rider. She: A History of Adventure. Illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen and Charles H. M. Kerr. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1888.

"Johnson, Edward Killingworth." Haynes Fine Art. Web. Accessed 8 April 2025. https://www.haynesfineart.com/artists/edward-killingworth-johnson-uk

Created 11 May 2025