# VII: The Attack explained — Maiwa’s Revenge

> Chapter companion for Maiwa’s Revenge by H. Rider Haggard.

## What happens

The chapter depicts the climactic battle between Nala's impi and Wambe's forces. Maiwa leads a desperate charge from the wall, turning the tide. After the Matuku break and flee, Nala and Maiwa interrogate a wounded prisoner about Wambe's whereabouts, learning he may be in his kraal or a nearby cave.

## Themes in this chapter

### Savagery versus Civilization

The brutal hand-to-hand combat and the 'kill the Matuku' war cry highlight the raw savagery of the battle, contrasted with Quatermain's strategic command.

### Loyalty and Friendship

Maiwa's fearless charge and Nala's determination to rescue John Every demonstrate fierce loyalty to their cause and allies.

### Cruelty and Tyranny

Wambe's absence from the fight and his cowardly hiding underscore his tyrannical rule, while the merciless slaughter of the Matuku reflects the cruelty of war.

## Character check-ins

### Maiwa

Leads the charge from the wall, wearing a white robe and wielding an assegai, urging Nala's warriors to victory.

### Nala

Chief who fights alongside his impi, sustains a flesh wound, and interrogates a Matuku prisoner about Wambe.

### Old Quatermain

Narrates the battle, commands the defense of the koppie, and later speaks with Nala and Maiwa after the fight.

### Wambe

Absent from the battle; reportedly hiding in his kraal or a cave behind it.

### The Matuku

A young Matuku soldier wounded in the calf, interrogated by Nala about Wambe's location.

## Key lines

> Slay, you war-whelps,' cried Maiwa from the wall. 'Are you afraid, you women, you chickenhearted women! Strike home, or die like dogs!

Maiwa shouts from the wall, calling the warriors cowards and urging them to fight or die.

_Maiwa's rallying cry spurs Nala's men to a desperate charge._

> The fight was over, we had won the day; and for my part I sat down upon a stone and wiped my forehead, thanking Providence that I had lived to see the end of it.

Quatermain sits down in relief after the battle, grateful to have survived.

_Quatermain's exhaustion and gratitude mark the end of the main engagement._

> Say, thou dog,' said Nala, stalking up to him and shaking his red spear in his face, 'say, where is Wambe? Speak, or I slay thee.

Nala threatens a wounded Matuku prisoner, demanding to know Wambe's location.

_Nala's interrogation reveals Wambe may be hiding in his kraal or a cave._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/maiwa_s_revenge_se/chapters/vii-the-attack
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/maiwa_s_revenge_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/maiwa_s_revenge_se/chapters