A lot has been said about Conan as an anti-hero, a supporter of facism, blah blah blah. I think that overall, little has been said about his positive aspects, about his outlandish morality, particularly when we think about the barbarian world where the action takes place.

Conan leads us away from the classic superhero, not only due to his absence of superhuman skills, but also for the loss of innocence. As a man wandering from territory to territory, he chooses to share and respect the cultures of others, depending on their value. He carries with him the logic of common sense.

His relationships with women pretty much follow the same line. The females from the series resemble familiar archetypes from Westerns (as do many of the other characters) -- warrior-women, hookers, wives, bitches, self-sacrificing mothers, witches, and ladies from the East. Although we come across some truly evil women, we mostly meet women of character. It's also worth noting Conan always shows them respect. Take for example Iron Shadows in the Moon -- when slave-girl Olivia tells Conan that her father sold her into slavery, he replies, "They call my race barbarian, but we never sell our children."

In this way, we arrive at a theme of the series -- barbarism as something desirable, a corner of moral clarity where the best man rules, as opposed to the hypocrisy of civilized culture, which is often presented in a state of decadence, a triumph of lies and dishonestly. Conan is a non-conformist, a hero with his own ethics, pragmatic and skillful. He does not give up on life and in the end becomes king by his own hand. In many adventures, he just wants to survive and has no interest in fighting for grandiose ideals. A typical example of this when facing the enemy in Beyond the Black River --

Conan: I don't blame them. Actually, it is a Pictish land.

Companion: That's rich from someone in the service of the Governor of Conajohara!

Conan: That means nothing. I see my sword to the highest bidder. I have never planted grain and never will whilst I can harvest other fruits with my sword.

A practical guy who accomplishes much more than he can express in words. Conan's generosity always follows the same lines -- friendship, allegiance between equals, helping the defenseless, and a sense of duty to keeping his word. Conan is not an ideological hero -- he doesn't defend big causes but rather laughs at them.

He belongs to a genealogy of typically American people, such as Howard Roark from the novel The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The perfect egoist, the uncompromising individual, strong, powerful and very attractive. Another suitable comparison would be John Wayne, or rather the characters he portrayed onscreen -- the archetypal noble but rough character. Someone who doesn't pay attention to the nuances but focuses on the essential -- strong, with an instinctive intelligence.

Bottom line -- crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women. That old chestnut.

It's a shame he couldn't overcome his demons. I wonder if Conan would have become the icon he eventually did if REH had lived.

If you're ever in the mood for an entertaining, cool web surf, google "John Millius Conan" and just read all the interesting stuff there is out there about John Millius. (He wrote that line you quoted, and the Conan worldview really touched him deeply in some way).

Milius stole that line

"Milius actually lifted it from a book by Harlod Lamb titled, GENGHIS KAHN: THE EMPEROR OF ALL MEN, pages 106-107:


One day in the pavilion at Karakorum he [Genghis Kahn] asked an officer of the Mongol guard what, in all the world, could bring the greatest happiness.

"The open steppe, a clear day, and a swift horse under you," responded the officer after a little thought, "and a falcon on your wrist to start up hares."

"Nay," responded the Kahn, "to crush your enemies, to see them fall at your feet -- to take their horses and goods and hear the lamentation of their women. That is best."

Conan purists really hate Conan the Barbarian-- they don't believe Conan could be kept as a simple-minded slave / gladiator, even as a child.

I think that movie has made a comeback in the eyes of most people. I'm pretty close to a Conan purist, and I like it.

this will be pretty amazing I think

http://ariddleofsteel.fauxpop.com/conandoc/

YES.

:highfive:

Gerry, who do you like more -- Conan or Tarzan?