“Mahomed and the Fierce Maiden” (uncaptioned, 1896) by Maurice Greiffenhagen, 1862-1931

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[Mahomed and the Fierce Maiden]

Maurice Greiffenhagen

1896

Lithograph

11.3 cm high by 8.8 cm wide (4 ½ by 3 ½ inches), mid-p. 98, framed

Additional illustration for H. Rider Haggard's SHE: A History of Adventure in the Longman's British edition (1896).

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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham

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Passage Realised: The Cannibal Maiden Plays with Her Intended Dinner

“It is an is an ox without horns, and more than an ox, and we shall slay it,” was the answer, and again the spears were grasped, and again let go.

Then came a pause, and I noticed, with horror and a rising of the hair, that the woman next to Mahomed began to fondle him, patting his cheeks and calling him by names of endearment while her fierce eyes played up and down his trembling form. I do not know why the sight frightened me so, but it did frighten us all dreadfully, especially Leo. The caressing was so snake-like, and so evidently a part of some ghastly formula that had to be gone through. [1] I saw Mahomed turn white under his brown skin, sickly white with fear.

“Is the meat ready to be cooked?” asked the voice, more rapidly.

“It is ready; it is ready.”

[1] We afterwards learnt that its object was to pretend to the victim that he was the object of love and admiration, and so to sooth his injured feelings, and cause him to expire in a happy and contented frame of mind. — L. H. H. [Chapter VIII, "The Feast, and After!" pp. 97-99]

Comment

In what remains an horrific scene as the Amahagger turn on their guests, the illustrator injects a note of humour. By the expression on his face, Mahomed, the Arab helmsman, is apprehensive about the fierce maiden's physical advances, although Greiffenhagen has not captured her "snake-like" caresses. The Arab eyes her apprehensively as he draws away from her.

Bibliography

Brantlinger, Patrick. Introduction. She: A History of Adventure. By H. Rider Haggard. London: Penguin, 2004. vii-xxviii.

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. 1896.

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 3 June 2025