The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian (Conan the Cimmerian, #1)

by Robert E. Howard

“You said I was a barbarian,” he said harshly, “and that is true, Crom be thanked. If you had had men of the outlands guarding you instead of soft-gutted civilized weaklings, you would not be the slave of a black pig this night. I am Conan, a Cimmerian, and I live by the sword’s edge. But I am not such a dog as to leave a white woman in the clutches of a black man; and though your kind call me a robber, I never forced a woman against her consent. Customs differ in various countries, but if a man is strong enough, he can enforce a few of his native customs anywhere. And no man ever called me a weakling! “If you were old and ugly as the devil’s pet vulture, I’d take you away from Bajujh, simply because of the color of your hide. “But you are young and beautiful, and I have looked at black sluts until I am sick at the guts. I’ll play this game your way, simply because some of your instincts correspond with some of mine. Get back to your hut. Bajujh’s too drunk to come to you tonight, and I’ll see that he’s occupied tomorrow. And tomorrow night it will be Conan’s bed you’ll warm, not Bajujh’s.”

This is by far the most racist the collection got. It was a bit shocking to see Conan not only espousing such white supremacy, but also acting more aggressive towards the woman than in any of the other stories. The characterization of Conan as being disgusted by Black women does not fit with the prior descriptions of him as a less-judgemental hedonist in the moment.