10) “His Unconquerable Enemy” by W. C. Morrow
Plot:
Our hero performs “a difficult surgical operation on one of the women of a great [unnamed] rajah’s household.” In return, the rajah invites him to stay at his palace for as long as he likes.
The rajah is a man of “noble character,” but “possessed a sense of cruelty purely Oriental in contrast to the indolence of his disposition.”
A male servant in the household, named Neranya, loves his master. In a fit of anger, he fatally stabs a dwarf. As punishment, the rajah has Neranya’s arm severed with an ax. (YIKES) The axman does such a poor job that the narrator has to surgically sever the stump to preserve Neranya’s life.
When he’s feeling better, Neranya tries to stab the rajah with his remaining arm—another poor choice on his part. Things go downhill for Neranya from there.
Thoughts:
Not long after finishing the first page, I realized I first read this story during the dark ages, long before the internet, in some anthology that included an introductory note praising the imagination of writers of yesteryear and wondering how anyone could forget such an ingenious tale. I was a lot younger then and thought I was about to enjoy an overlooked gem.
Sometimes, there are reasons gems are overlooked. I remember being repulsed by the whole thing from beginning to end and thinking that it could go on being forgotten.
On the one hand, the author shows skill in building tension every step of the way. On the other, the poor, punished servant is a pitiful character, whose fate is uncomfortable to read about on several levels—even if he is a murderer.
While it’s tricky to judge an old work by present-day standards, I can say unequivocally that I found the piece annoyingly steeped in Orientalism, coupled with an ICK factor that repelled me. The rajah is a man of character, but also of indolence and cruelty. His servant loves him, but he’s hot-tempered, due to probable “Malay blood in his veins.”
I didn’t like this story any more on the second reading years later in my cynical old age than I did the first time around decades earlier in my wide-eyed innocent youth, though I can now appreciate its craftsmanship. Just the same, I would have to say it is an unqualified never mind. There are so many better stories to read.
This story can be read here:
This story can be listened to here: (19:39)
Bio: W. C. (William Chambers) Morrow (1854-1923) was an American writer, journalist, playwright, and teacher. He was born in Selma, Alabama, to a slave-holding family. After the Civil War and Reconstruction, his family owned and ran a hotel. He moved to California in 1879, where he submitted stories to The Argonaut and The San Francisco Examiner. Ambrose Bierce admired his writing and his 1899 essay, “To Train a Writer.” Roughly half a dozen stories were re-published (posthumously) in Weird Tales.
Title: “His Unconquerable Enemy”
Author: W. C. (William Chambers) Morrow (1854-1923)
First published: The Argonaut, March 11, 1889
Length: short story
