Zareta, Igraine & Zenobia - Three Great Loves of Fantasy - A Comparison

A quick glance at the main love interests of the Thurian/Hyborian Age Universes

Both their names start with the letter ‘Z’, and both are the great loves of two great American literary characters. The awesome thing about the stories they both feature in, is that they tie everything about the respective heroes together (save for Brule, and that’s something I’m still sore about where Kull is concerned, I’ll get to Brule though, so if you don’t know who he is, fear not).

Let’s start with the inspiration of Kull the Conqueror, the novel and movie are clearly based off of the Hour of the Dragon, the great magnum opus by Robert E. Howard. A novel where every sentence is sublime, and reads about as well as Tolkien’s own Lord of the Rings.

Zenobia appears in about the 5th chapter, and is a slave of Tarascus’s harem, she is a slave-girl he has never touched, this in spite of her being one of the most beautiful women Conan has ever set eyes on.

She at once confesses her love for Conan, and works to free him, providing him with a long dagger with which he could use to carve apart the ape-man that is hunting him throughout the caverns below Tarascus’s palace.

Zareta when she first met Kull was harassed by him, and groped and did a card-reading of him. This intrigues Kull, who later has her read his fortune to him, as he is fascinated by the idea of someone being able to read the future to him (this is certainly true to the earlier Kull stories by Howard, where Kull places his trust in Delcartes’s cat and even Tuzun Thune).

The interesting thing is that at first glance this should make Zareta fit in perfectly, the trouble is that there is something in her interactions with Kull that seem a little off-putting, even in the novel. There is a jarring element in that it is difficult to pinpoint when the two of them begin to become filled with longing for one another.

So in terms of the scoreboard, we have Zenobia who from the start loves Conan, whom is struck by her sincere, and genuine love at first sight for him. A sentiment no one, not even Belit, nor Valeria, were immediately filled with. It happens that Zenobia’s feelings of pure love are soon returned, with Conan embracing her before he flees and vows to rescue her.

In the case of Zareta, we have Kull who evidently likes her from the word go, and is keen to enjoy her, but she is icier than the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. So that we can be fairly certain she didn’t fall in love with him at first sight.

Now when it comes to trying to help their man survive, in this regard both women do ably and are fairly interesting. Zenobia sneaks in, drugs the guards, passes a weapon and then sneaks Conan out.

Zareta predicts the future, sees Akivasha for what she truly is and tries to interfere but Kull rejects her. After this, Kull spends the rest of the movie rescuing her, first from being burnt alive, then later out at sea and then still later, at the end from Akivasha and Taligaro.

In both cases both women are prisoners, one of Taligaro, and the other of Tarascus, and kind of Xaltotun (as it is Xaltotun who commands Nemedia and not Tarascus).

What is more is that even when their respective Kings fall from kingship, they both cling to them.

Zareta though it is difficult to say if she loves him at first, it is very likely that by the time they’re on the boat is into Kull and in love with him.

And that’s another difference in the two women; one accompanies Kull on his adventures, and the other doesn’t.

What is more is that Zareta seems to challenge Kull at the start of the story, for tolerating the practices of Valusia, while Zenobia simply seeks to rescue. Both women are slaves, but the best part about Zareta’s backstory is that we know she sold herself to rescue her brother, whereas Zenobia we don’t fully know the circumstances likely she was born a slave.

That said, there is another love-interest of major importance one could compare Zareta to, and that would be Igraine from the Kull (Dark Horse Comics), the daughter of King Borna, she it is who invites Kull to the capital when her father goes mad and she who guides him to the crown. Her reasons for doing this are dual; she has lusted after Kull she first saw him battle in the coliseum, and the other reasoning is that he’s the best general in the Empire and therefore her best protection against any rivals (such as the likes of characters like Taligaro).

The trouble is that Igraine doesn’t know about the Serpent-Men, and so inadvertently alongside Kull foils their schemes and runs headlong into conflict with their clan. As to Igraine as Queen, she starts off clashing with Kull who struggles to deal with the haughty, high-handed woman who once a princess now regards the crown as equally her own.

She like Zareta seeks to help guide Kull along the political road that lies ahead of him, conscious of the traps and the pits laid out before him. Unlike Zareta she doesn’t really go on any journeys with him, but she does have a passionate, Irish temper and nature. And once she and Kull admit to caring for one another, she becomes more and more openly affectionate and devoted to Kull.

It is interesting how Zareta’s own journey mirrors that of Igraine from 2009. Though, the difference is that Igraine’s arc was slower, more methodical and a little more subtle. There are also ideas there of her struggling with being married to a former slave, so that the relationship of former slave and royal, is reversed (interestingly enough).

Igraine though, has little in common with Zenobia, outside of the love/lust at first sight bit, and them being younger than their spouses.

Zenobia is intelligent and politically astute, but she is as mentioned more a symbol of purity, and someone who sees the best in Conan, believing in him when he gave up on himself.

Igraine is someone who sees the worst in Kull, and seeks to initially use him solely for her own survival and gain, and this shared interest between her and Kull drives them into a strangely passionate relationship.

As archetypes, Zenobia can also be contrasted rather sharply with the likes of Akivasha in the novel, as it is Zenobia who leads Conan out from the shadows, away from Xaltotun and his flunkies, whereas with Akivasha it is she who leads Conan deeper into the shadows, in the tunnels below the temple in Stygia later in the novel.

Zenobia is the Queen archetype, with the idea being that she captures elements of the Queen of Love who requires saving, and who quests the hero, she is also the lover archetype, the warrior to a limited extent (in that she is shown with a weapon at the start), while Akivasha is a kind of Queen of the Night, a reverse Queen, a vampiress, a monster and arguably someone who has sold her soul for power and longevity.

Akivasha in the movie Kull the Conqueror was a daughter of a demon (named Xaltotun), and was a Queen of Acheron, and is associated with the element of fire, while Zareta is associated with Ice.

Elements and imagery are well-utilised, with Zareta being seen in blue a few times, while Akivasha is only ever shown in red (she is the only character alongside Kull to sport the colour).

Both women are contrasted with two different Akivashas, and the two are associated with different colours. Zenobia’s usually been depicted in white, a symbol of purity whereas blue represents truth, royalty and wisdom. As to Igraine, she is often seen in white, yellow and red, with red being a colour of passion as we all know, and often depicted with torches set up nearby, or in brightly lit halls so there is a subtle association that can be made with fire. As to yellow it is a maternal colour, hinting at her importance in the dynastic scheme of things for Kull.

So three different major love interests for Kull and Conan, with which one being the best one? My own preference is for Zenobia as she’s in the og novel, and I think she was the best characterised by Robert E. Howard himself (who was one of the finest writers to ever live).

That said, there are those who seem to prefer Zareta, a character who plays a fairly important role in the Kull movie, and is someone who plays an initially combative role then shifts into an increasingly supportive one as the movie progresses.