Henderson the Rain King: Analysis of Major Characters
"Henderson the Rain King" is a novel that follows Eugene Henderson, a fifty-five-year-old millionaire from Connecticut, driven by a deep sense of wanderlust and curiosity about life. His journey to Africa serves as both an exploration of the continent and a profound introspection into his own existence. Along the way, he encounters various characters that shape his understanding of life and relationships, including Willatale, the queen of the Arnewi tribe, who recognizes Henderson's struggles with existence; and Dahfu, the educated king of the Wariki, who imparts wisdom about facing life's challenges. Henderson's misadventures in the Arnewi village highlight his impulsive nature, as he inadvertently destroys the community's water supply. The critical roles of Romilayu, his guide and confidant, and the villainous Bunam, who undermines Dahfu, add layers to the narrative, showcasing themes of friendship, jealousy, and the quest for meaning. The novel culminates in a symbolic moment when Henderson, alongside a young Persian boy, embraces the idea of running toward future possibilities, underscoring the importance of resilience and hope in the human experience. Through these characters and events, the story delves into complex themes of personal growth, the search for identity, and the interplay between destiny and choice.
Henderson the Rain King: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Saul Bellow
First published: 1959
Genre: Novel
Locale: Primarily Africa
Plot: Picaresque
Time: Late 1950's
Eugene Henderson, a fifty-five-year-old millionaire from Danbury, Connecticut. He has been married twice and has five children. At a time when most people would be thinking of retirement and the end of life, Henderson is seized by wanderlust. Although he never precisely explains why he wants to go to Africa, in the course of his adventures it becomes clear that he is the kind of person who is curious about everything and who must find out what is over the next hill, like Odysseus, a classical character with whom he is compared. Before he leaves on his African journey, his restlessness is shown in his attempts to become a pig farmer and then a violinist. When Henderson arrives in Africa, he begins a journey into the continent's interior that also turns out to be a journey to the interior of his life and soul. At the first village he visits, that of the Arnewi, he finds that the cattle are starving because the water cistern is full of frogs. He fashions a bomb, throws it into the cistern, and kills all the frogs, but he also blows a hole in the side of the cistern and loses the village's water. In disgrace, he heads further inland to the country of the Wariki, where he unwittingly passes a series of tests that identify him as the tribal Sungo, or rain king. Henderson appears to be effective as the rain king, because it rains following ceremonies with which he is involved. He becomes friends with Dahfu, the king of the Wariki, and participates with him in rituals that also include a lioness, Atti, who lives in an underground enclosure. The king is killed trying to trap a lion, and Henderson is named king in his place. Henderson deduces that the king's death was a trap and that a similar fate awaits him, so he escapes from the village. In the last scene in the novel, he leaves his flight home at a stop in Newfoundland and, with a young Persian boy he met on the plane, runs around and around the runway. This suggests that his adventures, and his education, are still not over. It also is a reminder that although Henderson has been triumphant in a number of encounters, he has twice fled trouble, and he is running at the novel's close.
Willatale (wihl-lah-TAH-lay), the queen of the gentle Arnewi tribe. She realizes that Henderson has a problem with the concepts of life and death.
Mtalba (ihm-TAHL-bah), Willatale's sister. She wishes to marry Henderson. He runs away, however, after accidentally destroying the Arnewi's water cistern.
Dahfu (DAH-few), the king of the Wariki. He has had a Western education and is therefore able to talk to Henderson about philosophical questions. He reaches the conclusion that meaning and truth come from suffering and that one must face difficulties rather than flee from them. True to his own code, he dies in an attempt to capture Gmilo, a lion said to be his animal father.
The Bunam (bew-NAHM), a priest of the Wariki, the villain of the novel. He is jealous of Dahfu's power and rigs the king's hunting equipment so that Dahfu will fall victim to the lion he is trying to trap. The Bunam represents the dark forces seeking to undermine those of high spirits and dignity.
Romilayu (roh-mee-LAY-ew), the guide whom Henderson hires when he arrives in Africa. He is also Henderson's confidant and friend. Without Romilayu, Henderson would not have been able to reach the places he visited and could not have escaped the Wariki village when faced with treachery and death.
The Persian boy, a passenger on the plane taking Henderson back to America. He represents both newness (through his youth) and mystery (through his country). When Henderson picks up the boy and runs with him around the frozen Canadian airstrip, that act suggests that the future of the human race is bright as long as people have the ability to challenge whatever fate presents to them.