Conan Stories · Chapter
V: The Funeral Pyre explained
Conan sends Bêlit's body out to sea on a burning ship, the Tigress, as a funeral pyre.
What happens
Conan sends Bêlit's body out to sea on a burning ship, the Tigress, as a funeral pyre. He reflects on the loss of the queen who gave the sea its splendor and now must face a desolate world without her, turning his gaze toward the mysterious wilds inland.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Sacrifice
Conan honors Bêlit with a ceremonial pyre, sacrificing her to the sea as an act of love and final tribute.
Survival and Individualism
Conan stands alone, facing a desolate world and the unknown wilds, embodying the solitary survivor.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Now we are done with roaming, evermore; No more the oars, the windy harp’s refrain; Nor crimson pennon frights the dusky shore; Blue girdle of the world, receive again Her whom thou gavest me.”
Our journeys are over; no more rowing or music, no more terror from our red flag. Ocean, take back the woman you gave me.
The Song of Bêlit expresses Conan's final farewell and the end of their adventures together.
“She belonged to the sea; to its everlasting mystery he returned her. He could do no more.”
Bêlit was part of the sea, and Conan gave her back to its eternal enigma, having no other choice.
Conan accepts that Bêlit's true home is the sea and that returning her is the only fitting end.