Colonial motive in Richard Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines

Abstract

With the application of the theoretical modality of colonialism the present research basically hovers around the theme of the motif of colonialism concentrating on the character of the protagonist. The desire of colonialism to rule the natives, to exploit the natural resources and to impose the complete domination against the colonized are presented in the novel King Solomon’s Mines. The desire of colonialism in the novel is replicated in the buttression of the colonized. King Solomon’s Mines is the colonial narrative of Allan Quatermain, elephant hunter and explorer, and his adventures in the company of Danish man of action Sir Henry Curtis and Royal Navy officer Captain Good. Although the British Empire remains stable throughout King Solomon's Mines and lacks any serious threat to its dominance, various hints at the precariousness of empire are littered throughout the novel. Most notable among these hints at the instability of empire are the examples of two other kingdoms spotlighted in the novel, that of King Solomon and that of the Kukuana. Although the British Empire remains stable throughout King Solomon's Mines and lacks any serious threat to its dominance, various hints at the precariousness of empire are littered throughout the novel. Most notable among these hints at the instability of empire are the examples of two other kingdoms spotlighted in the novel, that of King Solomon and that of the Kukuana.