Allan Quatermain · Chapter
IX: Into the Unknown explained
The adventurers prepare to leave the Mackenzies' mission station, moving on toward Mount Kenia and into unknown territories in search of a mysterious white race.
What happens
The adventurers prepare to leave the Mackenzies' mission station, moving on toward Mount Kenia and into unknown territories in search of a mysterious white race. They acquire donkeys for transport, and Alphonse, despite his cowardice, joins the party out of fear of extradition to France. The chapter includes a heartfelt farewell to little Flossie, whom Allan Quatermain gives a cheque for a thousand pounds as a wedding gift. The journey then takes them past Mount Kenia, Lake Baringo, and into the Elgumi forest, where they encounter abundant elephants and other wildlife.
Themes in this chapter
Adventure and Exploration
The entire chapter centers on the decision to venture into unknown territories, driven by the quintessentially English spirit of adventure.
Friendship and Loyalty
The bonds between the adventurers and the Mackenzies, as well as Alphonse's decision to join the party, underscore themes of loyalty and camaraderie.
Colonialism and the Ideal of the English Gentleman
Quatermain's reflection on Englishmen as 'adventurers to the backbone' and the civilizing mission of exploration ties into colonial ideals.
Characters to notice
- Allan Quatermain
Narrates the departure from the mission, gives advice and a cheque to Flossie, and reflects on the spirit of adventure.
- Sir Henry Curtis
Present at the farewell supper and involved in the decision to accept Alphonse into the party.
- Captain Good
Part of the group preparing to depart; participates in consulting about Alphonse's offer.
- Alphonse
Joins the expedition out of fear of extradition to France; offers his services as a cook and is accepted.
- Flossie
Bids an emotional farewell to Allan Quatermain, who gives her a cheque for a thousand pounds.
- Umslopogaas
Shows distress at parting with Flossie, for whom he had a strong affection.
Key passages
“But then that is what Englishmen are—adventurers to the backbone; and all our magnificent muster-roll of colonies, each of which will in time become a great nation, testify to the extraordinary value of the spirit of adventure which at first sight looks like a mild form of lunacy.”
Englishmen are inherently adventurous, and the vast collection of colonies, each destined to become a great nation, proves that this adventurous spirit—though it may seem foolish—is incredibly valuable.
Quatermain defends the seemingly reckless expedition as part of a noble English tradition of exploration and colonization.
“Constitutional coward as the little man was, he infinitely preferred to face the certain hardships and great risks and dangers of such an expedition as ours, than to expose himself, notwithstanding his intense longing for his native land, to the possible scrutiny of a police officer—which is after all only another exemplification of the truth that, to the majority of men, a far-off foreseen danger, however shadowy, is much more terrible than the most serious present emergency.”
Despite being a natural coward, Alphonse chose the certain dangers of the expedition over the remote chance of being arrested by a French police officer, illustrating that people often fear distant, uncertain threats more than immediate ones.
Explains Alphonse's motivation for joining the dangerous journey.
“Always try to be good, my dear, and to do what is right, rather than what happens to be pleasant, for in the end, whatever sneering people may say, what is good and what is happy are the same.”
Always strive to be good and do what is right instead of what is merely enjoyable, because ultimately goodness and happiness are the same thing, despite what cynics claim.
Quatermain's parting advice to Flossie encapsulates the moral theme of the chapter.
