The Imagery of Ludwig Horace Holly (at twenty- two)
H. Ridder Haggard writes, “Most men of twenty-two are endowed at any rate with some share of the comeliness of youth, but to me even this was denied. Short, thick-set, and deep-chested almost to deformity, with long sinewy arms, heavy features, deep-set grey eyes, a low brow half overgrown with a mop of thick black hair, like a deserted clearing on which the forest had once more begun to encroach; such was my appearance nearly a quarter of a century ago, and such, with some modification, it is to this day. Like Cain, I was branded—branded by Nature with the stamp of abnormal ugliness, as I was gifted by Nature with iron and abnormal strength and considerable intellectual powers. So ugly was I that the spruce young men of my College, though they were proud enough of my feats of endurance and physical prowess, did not even care to be seen walking with me. Was it wonderful that I was misanthropic and sullen? Was it wonderful that I brooded and worked alone, and had no friends—at least, only one? I was set apart by Nature to live alone, and draw comfort from her breast, and hers only. Women hated the sight of me.” Holly validates that his ugliness has been longstanding and it has substantially affected the eminence of his existence. He faces overt discrimination and rejection at college for his peers do not appreciate him. The dreadfulness impacts his social life since he is mostly lonesome. Besides, his romantic life is impacted adversely by the horridness since the women are not fascinated by him. Holly’s unpleasant experiences are injurious to the flourishing of his self-esteem for it makes him to espouse sentiments of insignificance.
The Imagery of a ‘Chartered Libertine’
Holly explicates, “In a very little while (for, as I expected, I got my fellowship) the boy became the favourite of the whole College—where, all orders and regulations to the contrary notwithstanding, he was continually in and out—a sort of chartered libertine, in whose favour all rules were relaxed. The offerings made at his shrine were simply without number, and I had serious difference of opinion with one old resident Fellow, now long dead, who was usually supposed to be the crustiest man in the University, and to abhor the sight of a child.” Leo charms the individuals at the college like a libertine would allure females. Evidently, he is a charismatic lad who takes after his father. The privileged treatment he relishes at the college makes his childhood tremendously pleasant. Leo’s appeal is so prevailing that it touches even the ‘ crustiest man’. Accordingly, all the individuals who recognize him consider him to be a superior kid who earns exemplary treatment.
