The African Queen


MrShorty
 Share

Recommended Posts

Been listening to a recorded version of The African Queen by C. S. Forester. The movie has long been one of our favorites, so I decided to see what the original story added.

Written in 1935, the story is set in German Central Africa in WW I. Rose is a "straight-laced" missionary whose brother dies. She "hooks up" with Alnutt and The African Queen and convinces Alnutt to take her down the river to "strike a blow for England" against the German occupiers. The story recounts their journey down the river overcoming various difficulties with the river and the boat.

I still have ~45 minutes left of the recording, so I haven't quite reached the end. A couple of observations so far:

1) Hepburn and Bogart did not prepare me for the sensuality displayed in the book. For something written in the depression, it was rather shocking when Rose and Alnutt ended up sleeping together (unmarried and all :eek:). Forester doesn't go into pornographic detail, but he doesn't leave any doubt about the nature of their relationship. Just a word of warning to those who would find this objectionable.

2) It has been a while since I saw the movie, but it seems that Bogart was a stronger character than Alnutt was portrayed in the book. I don't know how real feminists would feel about the story, but it really seems that Rose is the real strong character in the book, and Alnutt is often feeding off of Rose's strengths rather than being strong himself.

3) I can't tell if Forester has a positive or negative view of religion. He seems to spin Rose's "loss of virtue" as a positive, in that she is casting off the shackles of religion. But, later, we find her extremely penitent for her lack of prayer and attention to such duties, but not entirely repentant of her sexual relationship with Alnutt.

In the next couple of days, I'll find out how their "blow for England" goes. At some point, I'll probably pull out the movie with my wife and watch it, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Finished, and with a very different ending from the movie. (spoilers ahead, if you don't want to know how it ends) In both cases, the African Queen is sunk in a storm. In the movie, she remains somewhat afloat just below the surface, and the Louise by pure chance happens to run into her, setting off the explosives and sinking the Louise. In the book, nothing of the kind happens. Rose and Alnutt, in an act of mercy by the German captain, are turned over to the British forces nearby and eventually get sent to some consul on the African coast where they can get married and return to England. The Louise is sunk by two British naval ships that are trucked in overland.

What I find really interesting, I guess, is in all of the wasted effort by Rose and Alnutt in coming down the river. Their purpose in setting out on the expedition is to "strike a blow for England." In the end, their death defying effort to come down the river, fight through rapids, marshes, malaria, and so on did nothing. The regular army was already well on their way to capturing the lake. The only result of the adventure is that Rose and Charlie fall in love.

I'm not really good at discussing the meaning of literature, but it just struck me as an interesting commentary on life. How many of our "adventures" completely miss their target or prove to be worthless, except in a lesson learned, or some other "incidental" blessing that is gained. Or perhaps it shows how much life is about the journey and not necessarily about a specific goal or target.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share