Conan: a modern archetype?
“Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandalled feet.” Robert E Howard.
By the time the Hobbit was first published, Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories had been circulating for several years. While Tolkien’s literary legacy is much more celebrated, it is hard to find a Fantasy fan who hasn’t heard of Howard’s greatest creation: Conan. Conan is one of my favorite characters, an uncouth savage who lives by the blade, and is only interested in women, gold, and adventure. He is unabashedly resistant to civilization and about as politically correct as the loincloth that he is usually depicted as wearing. He fits in very well with many of the modern anti-heroes, and the trend toward character driven fiction in general.
While many of Howards stories are tainted with racism and sexism, his Conan character has endured the transition to modern day, and perhaps even thrived. I first encountered the Black-maned Barbarian through D&D; he was a demi-god in the Lovecraftian pantheon in the original Dieties and Demigods. In other words the mighty Barbarian graced the same section of the book as Cthulu. This alone garnered my interest, I mean not just any old hero can hang with critters like that.
“What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie?
I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky.
The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing;
Rush in and die, dogs—I was a man before I was a king.” The Phoenix and the Sword
My next exposure to Conan was the wonderful comics. These were actually the first comics of any sort I got my grubby little hands on. Brutal fighting, a brooding anti-hero, blood and babes. Conan really thrived in comics, and I credit them with keeping Howards character alive and refining him for new audiences. With any other character I would say “modernized”, but no one modernizes a Barbarian! Comics created the image that most Fantasy fans associate with the Barbarian. The comics also created a great supporting cast, and went crazy on the battle scenes and wierd monsters. Many of those artists cut their teeth on Conan and then moved on to other projects, carrying their influences with them. There certainly is a lot of Conan art out there…
Of course the most famous Conan quote is probably this one.
The first Conan movie is actually quite good. A subtle meditation on the true meaning of strength holds the story together and makes it more than a simple action film. James Earl Jones makes a superb villain and Arnold does a pretty good job of bringing the Barbarian to life on the big screen. What really makes the film work is that it collects all of the elements of Conan’s backstory and weaves them into a digestible whole, in some cases re-writing them for clarity and drama. It is a decent two hour introduction to the brawny Cimmerian.
So, why write about Conan? Well it is my belief that many modern characters in Fantasy fiction are influenced by Conan. The influence of sword and sorcery style is easy to detect in many of the grittier tales of modern Fantasy where characters reject conventional morality in favour of their own personal, often amoral goals. Here are a few of the defining traits of the Barbarian, and how I think they influence modern works.
1) By Crom! Conan believes in the Gods. However, he doesn’t really like them. The god of his people/tribe is portrayed as a rather grim figure who gifts a person with certain qualities, like strength, and then sort of ignores them until they die. Throughout the books Conan encounters the gods of other tribes, often interacting with them in interesting, and violent, ways.
2) Savagery. Although Conan follows a code, he is not chivalrous, honourable, or civilized. He fights in a no holds barred fashion that is highly appropriate for the age of MMA (Ulimate Fighting). Battles in Conan are always over the top and bloody, and the body count is usually very high on all sides. The only character guaranteed to survive, though often half-dead, is Conan. Modern fantasy is often explosively violent, and I can detect a lot of influence from the comics carrying over to novels as well as video games.
3) Stealth. For such a big dude, Conan is surprisingly agile and stealthy. He can scale nearly any wall, walk a tightrope without pause, and has a knack for breaking and entering that would make a cat-burglar envious. Modern assassin characters actually bear more resemblance to Howard’s Barbarian than their suicidal, drug driven historical counter-parts. Maybe thats why they all kick so much more ass in a fight than you would expect from someone who always kills from the shadows?
4) Morality. The Barbarian abides by his own rules and desires. If Conan does anything good, it is purely coincidental or based on personal motivation. He does not follow any higher morality or philosophy. Bad guys die because they get in Conan’s way or he is paid to kill them, not because he judges them to be evil. This is fairly relevant to a large section of modern Fantasy, which is dominated by darker heroes. They tend to be more urban and urbane, with notable exception, but the pedigree is fairly obvious.
5) Sex. It just isn’t a Conan story without sex. (as well as plenty of muscled Barbarian descriptions) Even the PG comic didn’t shy away from the fact that the Barbarian was always carousing. Conan was nearly as famed for his sexual prowess as for his capacity for carnage. His endless womanizing gets him into and out of trouble. Modern Fantasy often deals with sexual themes, and Conan would fit right in with many characters.
Not bad for a Character from the early 1930s.
