Unsurprisingly,
Haggard uses the scene to construct the savage Amahaggers as the threatening
'other'; ironically, however, he also depicts the feared 'other' as found
within the British man. Finding themselves unable to escape the confines
of the cave, the white explorers must use savage violence like that of the
Amahaggers, thus regressing to a perceived 'primitive' and brutal state.
Holly, as he fights, notes "that awful lust for slaughter which will creep
into the hearts of the most civilized" (103).
One of the fears surrounding British colonization was
that contact with the 'barbaric other' what would encourage the British
man to slide back into a 'primitive' state. Freud's perception of civilization
as built upon the regression of instincts created fear in Victorian society[1].
Haggard accesses these fears, presenting Holly, Leo, and Job as regressing
through their use of primitive brute force. But Haggard, through Holly, clearly
emphasizes that this state only occurred in a life-threatening situation
and in such a case is acceptable. When Billali asks Holly to demonstrate
the powers of the musket after the fight, Holly quickly corrects Billali
and insists that he does not kill in cold blood. Holly informs Billali that
there is a higher law concerning the power to enact vengeance other than
his own will (108). When Holly remarks on Leo's "terrible beauty" during
the fight, referencing his regression to savage violence, he quickly follows
this with a description of Leo as a "Lion", the symbolic noble head of a
race (104). While Haggard is willing to present his British characters as
possessing savage instincts beneath the surface, he is careful to project
this instinct as still controlled by British definitions of what is just
and acceptable.
The third 'other' Haggard constructs in this scene is woman. In a narrow
context, it is the vengeful woman who originally had her affections rebuffed
by Job and who is the initiator of the cannibal feast. Earlier in the novel,
the Amahagger's society is described as based upon a system where women choose
their partners in what is a clear reversal of the Victorian patriarchal
order. The mayhem that erupts in the scene acts as evidence of the potential
chaos that could ensue if women were to be given positions of power in society.
In a wider context, the nineteenth century witnessed
a growth in feminist assertions of women's rights to enter traditionally male
spheres. The 'New Woman' movement led to British fears that the moral purity
of society was being weakened. This perceived weakening of the 'moral fibre'
of the nation threatened Britain's ability to maintain and protect the empire[2].
In the feast scene, Haggard is emphasizing the destructive role this movement
could have on society and its potential to initiate regression into a primitive
state of violence. Job's Lady is described as a "diabolical woman" with
"snake-like" caresses (99). Here, Haggard draws upon a literary tradition
of identifying woman as potentially holding the demonic or evil within[3].
The woman's snake-like qualities mirror the original fall from the Garden
of Eden where Eve was tempted by the snake and in turn tempted Adam. Women
thus contain elements of evil within and, like the snake, are associated
with unpredictability.
Using a system of thought based on binary opposites,
the Victorian male was defined in terms of rationality and objectivity, while
the woman was constructed, in opposition, as irrational and illogical[4].
The inability to predict women's actions, in cases such as Job's Lady, makes
them threatening and volatile, capable of undermining the security of the
empire. This requires that women are placed beneath beneath men, under their
control. Significantly, the fight—initiated by Job's Lady—is ended by Billali,
who represents a return of patriarchal authority and order. Job's Lady foreshadows
the terrible "she-who must be obeyed".