Allan Quatermain · Chapter
VIII: Alphonse Explains explained
After the battle, Allan Quatermain searches for Alphonse and finds him hiding in a hollow tree, revealing his cowardice.
What happens
After the battle, Allan Quatermain searches for Alphonse and finds him hiding in a hollow tree, revealing his cowardice. The group tends to the wounded, including Mr. Mackenzie, and counts their heavy losses. They return to the mission house, where Mrs. Mackenzie is horrified by the carnage. Later, Mackenzie decides to leave the mission due to the danger, and Quatermain agrees, warning of future Masai reprisals.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Mortality
The chapter is dominated by the aftermath of battle, with numerous dead and wounded, emphasizing the cost of violence.
Civilization vs. Wilderness
Mackenzie's mission, described as making the wilderness 'blossom like a rose,' is contrasted with the savage attack, leading to his decision to abandon it.
Friendship and Loyalty
The bond between the characters is evident in their concern for each other, such as Quatermain searching for Alphonse and the group caring for the wounded.
Characters to notice
- Alphonse
Revealed as an arrant coward; hides in a tree during the battle and panics when a Masai attacks, but is unharmed.
- Allan Quatermain
Narrates the aftermath, searches for Alphonse, and advises Mackenzie to leave the mission.
- Mr. Mackenzie
Wounded in the thigh, but survives; decides to leave the mission due to the threat of Masai revenge.
- Umslopogaas
Survives the battle, praised for his fighting; receives Sir Henry's iron shirt as a gift.
- Sir Henry Curtis
Survives the battle, gives his iron shirt to Umslopogaas, and praises the Zulu's bravery.
- Flossie
Mentioned as having fled safely to the house with the nurse during the battle.
Key passages
“Alphonse, I called, as I walked down the wall—'Alphonse!' 'Oui, monsieur,' answered a voice. 'Here am I.' I looked round but could see nobody. 'Where?' I cried. 'Here am I, monsieur, in the tree.'”
Quatermain calls for Alphonse, who responds from inside a hollow tree where he has been hiding.
Reveals Alphonse's cowardice and his hiding spot during the battle.
“It fashes me sair to have bent my best carver on the breastbane of a savage, and he laughed hysterically.”
Mackenzie laments in Scots that his favorite carving knife was bent on a savage's breastbone, laughing hysterically from shock.
Shows Mackenzie's distress and the psychological toll of the violence.
“I shall turn my back upon this place in a month. But it will be a wrench; it will be a wrench.”
Mackenzie decides to leave the mission within a month, though it will be difficult to abandon the place he has built.
Highlights the theme of civilization vs. wilderness and the cost of colonial settlement.