[Victorian Web Home —> Rider Haggard —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> Maurice Greiffenhagen —> Next]
'Curse her! May She be everlastingly accursed.' [see p. 170
Maurice Greiffenhagen
1888
Lithograph
13.4 cm high by 9.6 cm wide (5 ⅜ by 3 ¾ inches), facing p. 192, framed
Ninth regular illustration for H. Rider Haggard's SHE: A History of Adventure, facing page 192 in the Longman's British edition (1888).
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham
[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
She was clothed, as I had seen her when she unveiled, in the kirtle of clinging white, cut low upon her bosom, and bound in at the waist with the barbaric double-headed snake, and, as before, her rippling black hair fell in heavy masses down her back. But her face was what caught my eye, and held me as in a vice, not this time by the force of its beauty, but by the power of fascinated terror. The beauty was still there, indeed, but the agony, the blind passion, and the awful vindictiveness displayed upon those quivering features, and in the tortured look of the upturned eyes, were such as surpass my powers of description.
For a moment she stood still, her hands raised high above her head, and as she did so the white robe slipped from her down to her golden girdle, baring the blinding loveliness of her form. She stood there, her fingers clenched, and the awful look of malevolence gathered and deepened on her face.
Suddenly I thought of what would happen if she discovered me, and the reflection made me turn sick and faint. But, even if I had known that I must die if I stopped, I do not believe that I could have moved, for I was absolutely fascinated. But still I knew my danger. Supposing she should hear me, or see me through the curtain, supposing I even sneezed, or that her magic told her that she was being watched — swift indeed would be my doom.
Down came the clenched hands to her sides, then up again above her head, and, as I am a living and honourable man, the white flame of the fire leapt up after them, almost to the roof, throwing a fierce and ghastly glare upon She herself, upon the white figure beneath the covering, and every scroll and detail of the rockwork.
Down came the ivory arms again, and as they did so she spoke, or rather hissed, in Arabic, in a note that curdled my blood, and for a second stopped my heart.
“Curse her, may she be everlastingly accursed.”
The arms fell and the flame sank. Up they went again, and the broad tongue of fire shot up after them; and then again they fell.
“Curse her memory — accursed be the memory of the Egyptian.”
Up again, and again down.
“Curse her, the daughter of the Nile, because of her beauty.”
“Curse her, because her magic hath prevailed against me.”
“Curse her, because she held my beloved from me.” [Chapter XIV, “A Soul in Hell,” pp. 169-170]
Holly witnesses (or overhears) this mysterious scene between the living Queen and her dead lover, the embalmed Egyptian priest Kallicrates, quite by accident. He had gone to check on the sleeping Leo after his interview with Ayesha, and had discovered a secret passageway that ultimately led to the tomb of Ayesha's lover, two centuries or more dead. From what she says, it is clear that in a jealous rage she had murdered him, but also that she somehow thinks Leo is Kallicrates reincarnated. We know, of course, from the opening instalments, that John Vincey and his son, Leo, are lineal descendants of Kallicrates and his wife, the priestess Amenartas. The scarab on Leo's ring not only supports this theory, but seems evidence to Ayesha that Leo is indeed Kallicrates reincarnated.
Thus, Rider Haggard has created several romantic triangles, for, despite his better judgment and misogynistic biases, Holly is in love with Ayesha, but Leo is beloved by both the awful Queen and the maiden Ustane, whom Greiffenhagen has already depicted in 'Thou art my chosen' (facing p. 97). What remains unclear is whether Ayesha is cursing her former rival, Amenartas, or present rival, Ustane.
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, rpt. 1927.
Haggard, H. Rider. She. Project Gutenberg EBook #3155 produced by John Bickers; Dagny; William Kyngesburye; David Kyngesburye; David Widger. 2016. Web. Accessed 9 May 2025.
Created 9 May 2025