Robert E. Howard's Wanderlust Heroes

 It is interesting that Robert E. Howard, who spent most of his life in Cross Plains, Texas, and who indeed seldom left the state, would write about characters who left their home to find fantastic adventures in foreign lands.

Kirby O’Donnell would end up in Afghanistan, as did Francis X. Gordon after he travelled the world. Sailor Steve Costigan roamed the Asiatic Seas, and Cormac Fitzgeoffrey fought in the Crusades.

Conan of Cimmeria left his native land at a young age, and for all we know, never returned. Kull acted in defiance of tribal law and was exiled from Atlantis, never to return. Solomon Kane had few tales in his native England, but most of his adventures took place in Africa. Whereas Conan or Kull never went home again, Kane's homecoming was commemorated in a poem.

Of these three popular Howard characters, Conan stands out for several reasons; he travelled the most, experiencing the many lands and cultures. Wherever Conan was, he often adopted native dress, language, and weapons, sometimes forsaking his broadsword for a tulwar, scimitar, or cutlass. In some stories, he spoke disdainfully of civilized culture, sometimes criticizing it next to his own. It is perplexing that if Conan felt that way about civilized culture, he did not return to Cimmeria. He must have realized that other cultures possessed more loot and that it was easier to pillage them. 

With Solomon Kane, the Puritan was always dressed in black and was never without his rapier; he was known to use a brace of pistols if they were handy. His only ‘native’ weapon was the Staff of Solomon, given to him by the ancient African shaman, N’longa. Kane only used the staff in Africa. Wherever Kane went, he was always himself, for his life was rooted in God.

As king of Valusia, Kull often struggled to adapt to their ways and laws, even though he had lived there for years. In a famous scene in By This Axe I Rule, Kull smashes a stone tablet of ancient Valusian laws and declares that as king, he will set the laws. This echoes back to the harsh tribal law that Kull opposed on Atlantis. He believed burning a woman at the stake because of whom she married was harsh and unjust. This idea of justice was something Kull carried with him regardless of where he lived.

Both Kirby O’Donnell and Francis X. Gordon could blend into Eastern cultures. O’Donnell often used the disguise of a Kurdish merchant. These two remind me a bit of Lawrence of Arabia. 

It takes a special kind of man to leave his homeland and journey to some far-off place. Definitely, many of Howard’s characters had wanderlust. They were risk-takers and explorers, the kind of men who needed new experiences and had the desire to learn just what they were made of, something like an existential quest. These were not the type of men to do 9-to-5 jobs and valued family life. These men would live a life alone. I wonder if that type of person would ever truly feel at home anywhere. But that is the price for adventure.

I think down deep, Robert E. Howard would have loved to travel to other countries and seek adventure, but something held him back. Many of us who are tied to our families and our 9-to-5 jobs will forever be grateful for that.

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