In fact, the beautiful barbaric African queen, who destroys anyone that goes against her law, is unable to protect herself from the negative effects of the flame of life. As Sandra M. Gilbert presumes, Ayesha “lacks the ultimate power of self-preservation” (42). In other words, she ends up as a victim by destroying herself through following her emotions and the power of love. This is a fatal end for such a beautiful and terrible female which shows that, in spite of her subversive sexuality and beautiful appearance, she perishes in “a sexual climax that can be defined as a sort of apocalyptic primal scene” (Gilbert 42).
