“‘Flashes of a Fine Weird Imagination’: Henry Rider Haggard e l’estetica del romance“

Abstract. Despite the great popularity of his adventure narratives, Henry Rider Haggard’s writing was often criticized for the lack of imaginative insight and descriptive power. Moving from some hypotheses on the permanent fame of Haggard’s works, this paper investigates the author’s theory of romance and the practical elaboration of his technique, in order to dissect the aesthetic merits of his apparently unelaborated writing. By prompting an ‘emotional response to fiction’, Haggard’s narrative models present the shift from a formal, contemplative level to ethical and ideological standpoints. Therefore, the aesthetic assessment of his novels should consider that stylistic elements must be conceived as part of a whole artistic structure seen in the perspective of its cultural and ideological background. The various aspects of imperialism introduced through the description of the beautiful queen Ayesha in She (1887), for example, testify to the author’s meditation on form as a means in-between the development of aesthetic principles and the consideration of socio-historical beliefs.