Ayesha (novel)

Ayesha, the Return of She

Company type	Novel
Industry	Literature
Founded	1905
Founder	H. Rider Haggard
Products	Gothic fantasy novel

Ayesha, the Return of She is a gothic fantasy novel authored by the English Victorian writer H. Rider Haggard, released in 1905 as a direct sequel to his 1887 work She. It represents the last installment in chronological order within the Ayesha and Allan Quatermain saga. The tale was initially published in serial form in Windsor Magazine from December 1904 to October 1905, featuring illustrations by Maurice Greiffenhagen.

Haggard associates the name Ayesha with that of Muhammad’s third wife in Arabic tradition, noting its pronunciation as "Assha," although the more widely used pronunciation "A·ye·sha" is prevalent.

In addition to other novels from the series, Ayesha, the Return of She was adapted into the 1935 motion picture She.

Synopsis

The prologue presents an unnamed "Editor" who receives a parcel containing a letter from Horace Holly along with his manuscript detailing a second account of She, accompanied by an ancient sistrum housed in a wooden box. Holly’s physician recounts how Holly, nearing death, suddenly rose to visit ancient standing stones, experienced a vision, and then passed away peacefully.

The main story unfolds almost two decades after Holly’s initial African expedition. Holly and his ward Leo Vincey are convinced that Ayesha still lives. Guided by prophetic dreams, they journey across Asia to "Thibet", spending winter at a lamasery where Abbot Kou-En recalls meeting a witch queen dating back to Alexander the Great’s time. He warns that immortality is an illusion and that attachment to worldly distractions prevents true peace.

Despite these cautions, Leo insists on pressing forward with Holly’s support. In spring, they leave the monastery and reach Kaloon, governed by Khan Rassen and his wife Khania Atene—who claim lineage from generals of Alexander. Kaloon maintains a fragile peace with followers of Hesea, Priestess of Hes, who resides atop a volcanic mountain distinguished by an ankh-shaped rock formation. However, sorcery-induced madness threatens this balance among Kaloon’s rulers. Atene professes love for Leo, while Rassen plots his death.

Hesea demands that Atene either surrender Leo and Holly or break their treaty. Although Atene vows to kill Leo, she aids their escape with Rassen’s assistance—only to betray them as Rassen pursues them with Death-Hounds. After a desperate fight at the mountain’s base resulting in Rassen and his hounds’ deaths, Leo and Holly climb upward.

They are intercepted by Hes’s followers and led by a spectral Messenger to Hesea’s temple-palace near the summit. Hesea reveals herself as both the Messenger and the reincarnation of Ayesha; Atene is her adversary Amenartas reborn. To Leo and Holly’s shock, Ayesha initially appears as an aged crone until Leo professes his love, which revitalizes her beauty through renewed life energy.

Ayesha intends to return with Leo to Africa to immerse in the Flame of Life for eternal youth and dominion over the world but insists on postponing marriage until seasonal changes occur. During their winter confinement, she records her recollections (which form the basis for Wisdom's Daughter) and outlines her plan to Holly: to conquer empires by flooding global markets with gold via alchemical means—a strategy that deeply concerns him.

Leo presses for immediate marriage; however, Ayesha declines. When Leo suffers injuries from a leopard during hunting, she harshly punishes his attendants but relents following his intervention.

Atene challenges Ayesha to combat. While encamped at the mountain’s base, Atene employs magic to impersonate Ayesha and lure Holly and Leo away; Leo is captured. Enraged, Ayesha commands her forces into battle despite being outnumbered. She summons a fierce lightning storm that obliterates Atene's troops and devastates Kaloon while sparing her own army.

At Leo’s place of captivity, they discover that Atene has committed suicide by poison after defeat. The sorcerer Simbri attempts to kill Leo but is immobilized by Ayesha; Leo is freed without harm. Upon demanding immediate union, Leo kisses Ayesha but succumbs to her overwhelming power and dies. Ayesha dispatches Simbri with a message for the deceased before he dies himself. Mourning deeply, she carries Leo’s body back to the temple where both are consumed by flames. Holly descends from the mountain and returns to the lamasery.

Literary history

Haggard dedicated this novel to his companion Andrew Lang. There is an eighteen-year gap between this installment and its predecessor, both in terms of publication dates and the chronological progression of the characters' lives.

The narrative takes place in Central Asia, with portions set in Tibet, and incorporates the theme of reincarnation, a central tenet of Tibetan Buddhism. The story's background is situated in the ancient Mediterranean world.

According to Haggard's daughter, Lilias Rider Haggard, the inspiration behind important names is as follows: the phrase "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed" originated from a childhood doll, while "Ayesha" is derived from Arabic, named after one of Mohammed's wives.

Within this novel, Haggard presents the concept of the "rolling Pillar of Life," associating it with radiation phenomena:

Recent findings indicate that this enigmatic "Fire of Life," which was not an actual flame since it did not consume, may have stemmed from emissions similar to those produced by radium. Although Mr. Holly in 1885 would have been unaware of such rays, Ayesha presumably possessed knowledge of their immense power beyond the scientific understanding of that era.

Influences

The character Ayesha is mentioned by Freud in his work The Interpretation of Dreams and also by Jung during his lecture titled "The Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature."

External links

• Cook, Alan R. "'She': The Veiled Reflection of the Femme Fatale's Fire"