Valeria (Conan the Barbarian)

Fictional character in the Conan series

Cover of Weird Tales (July 1936) which featured the short story "Red Nails" by Robert E. Howard. It depicts Valeria about to be sacrificed by Tascela. Art by Margaret Brundage. Interior illustration from Weird Tales (August–September 1936). It depicts Valeria standing on the far right, beside Conan. Art by Harold Saylor De Lay.

Valeria is a pirate and adventuress (a member of The Red Brotherhood of pirates) in the fictional universe of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian stories. She appears in Robert E. Howard's Conan novella "Red Nails", serialized in Weird Tales 28 1-3 (July, August/September & October 1936). This was the last Conan story written by Howard, and published posthumously. The name was also used for Conan's love interest in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian.

## Description

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Robert E. Howard described Valeria in "Red Nails" as follows:

> She was tall, full-bosomed, and large-limbed, with compact shoulders. Her whole figure reflected an unusual strength, without detracting from the femininity of her appearance. She was all woman, in spite of her bearing and her garments. The latter were incongruous, in view of her present environs. Instead of a skirt she wore short, wide-legged silk breeches, which ceased a hand's breadth short of her knees, and were upheld by a wide silken sash worn as a girdle. Flaring-topped boots of soft leather came almost to her knees, and a low-necked, wide-collared, wide-sleeved silk shirt completed her costume. On one shapely hip she wore a straight double-edged sword, and on the other a long dirk. Her unruly golden hair, cut square at her shoulders, was confined by a band of crimson satin.

She is also described as a superior swordswoman, and is faster and more agile than Conan.

## Reception

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The character is a powerful, active figure, but is also sometimes rendered helpless for the titillation of the reader. As Winter Elliott writes, Valeria "represents a mediation between the possibilities of female agency and her own gendered identity. As Conan points out, Valeria can't escape the simple fact of her femininity. As such, her identity is structured by her society. Like Conan, Valeria's pursuit of freedom against her society's wishes marginalizes her, making her other, but it also forces Howard to go to extravagant lengths to substantiate her femininity, which he does by including not one, but two female bondage scenes. If she can be subjected to such sexual humiliation, Howard implies, she must be female... What happens to Valeria is more about the needs of the reading/viewing audience than her own action or inaction. Valeria in those sexually debased moments isn't a character in and of herself, but rather a narrative tool designed to provoke a response from the readers."[1]

## In other media

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* Valeria had a major role in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, where she was played by Sandahl Bergman, although the character portrayed in the film differed from Howard's character, having a romantic relationship with Conan and borrowing characteristics from Bêlit, another character by Howard.[2][3] Valeria is killed during the course of the film, but assists Conan in spirit form.
* Valeria appeared as an ally of the player in the 2008 MMO Age of Conan. She began to rule Tortage after the fall of the tyrant Strom.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Elliott, Winter (2012). "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Women: Gender Dynamics in the Hyborian World". In Prida, Jonas (ed.). Conan Meets the Academy: Multidisciplinary Essays on the Enduring Barbarian. McFarland & Co. p. 66\. ISBN 9780786461523. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
2. ^ Herron, Don (September 2000) [1984]. The Dark Barbarian—The Writings of Robert E. Howard: A Critical Anthology. New Jersey, United States: Wildside Press. pp. 125, 173. ISBN 1-58715-203-7.
3. ^ Sammon, Paul (April 1982). "Conan the Barbarian". Cinefantastique. Vol. 12, no. 2 and 3. Illinois, United States: Frederick S. Clarke. p. 37\. ISSN 0145-6032.

## Further reading

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* "Conan the Blueprint: The Construction of Masculine Prototypes in Genre Films" by Guido Ipsen, in The Handbook of Gender, Sex, and Media (Wiley, 2011), pp. 135–156.

* v
* t
* e

Conan the Barbarian

Stories, books

| Books|

* Conan (books)

|

Original works by
Robert E. Howard|

* "Beyond the Black River"
* "Black Colossus"
* "The Black Stranger"
* "The Devil in Iron"
* "Drums of Tombalku"
* "The Frost-Giant's Daughter"
* "The God in the Bowl"
* "The Hall of the Dead"
* "The Hand of Nergal"
* The Hour of the Dragon
* "Jewels of Gwahlur"
* "The People of the Black Circle"
* "The Phoenix on the Sword"
* "The Pool of the Black One"
* "Queen of the Black Coast"
* "Red Nails"
* "Rogues in the House"
* "The Scarlet Citadel"
* "Shadows in the Moonlight"
* "Shadows in Zamboula"
* "The Slithering Shadow"
* "The Snout in the Dark"
* "The Tower of the Elephant"
* "The Vale of Lost Women"
* "A Witch Shall be Born"
* "Wolves Beyond the Border"

Non-Howard works
(some based on non-
Conan Howard works)|

* "Black Sphinx of Nebthu"
* "Black Tears"
* The Blood-Stained God
* "The Castle of Terror"
* "The City of Skulls"
* Conan and the Amazon
* Conan and the Death Lord of Thanza
* Conan and the Emerald Lotus
* Conan and the Gods of the Mountain
* Conan and the Grim Grey God
* Conan and the Manhunters
* Conan and the Mists of Doom
* Conan and the Shaman's Curse
* Conan and the Sorcerer
* Conan and the Spider God
* Conan and the Treasure of Python
* Conan at the Demon's Gate
* Conan, Lord of the Black River
* Conan of the Isles
* Conan of the Red Brotherhood
* Conan of Venarium
* Conan, Scourge of the Bloody Coast
* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Barbarian (2011)
* Conan the Bold
* Conan the Buccaneer
* Conan the Champion
* Conan the Defender
* Conan the Defiant
* Conan the Destroyer
* Conan the Fearless
* Conan the Formidable
* Conan the Free Lance
* Conan the Gladiator
* Conan the Great
* Conan the Guardian
* Conan the Hero
* Conan the Hunter
* Conan the Indomitable
* Conan the Invincible
* Conan the Liberator
* Conan the Magnificent
* Conan the Marauder
* Conan the Mercenary
* Conan the Outcast
* Conan the Raider
* Conan the Rebel
* Conan the Relentless
* Conan the Renegade
* Conan the Rogue
* Conan the Savage
* Conan the Triumphant
* Conan the Unconquered
* Conan the Valiant
* Conan the Valorous
* Conan the Victorious
* Conan the Warlord
* "The Curse of the Monolith"
* "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian"
* The Flame Knife
* "The Gem in the Tower"
* "Hawks over Shem"
* "The Ivory Goddess"
* "The Lair of the Ice Worm"
* "Legions of the Dead"
* "Moon of Blood"
* "The People of the Summit"
* "Red Moon of Zembabwei"
* The Return of Conan
* The Road of Kings
* "The Road of the Eagles"
* "Shadows in the Dark"
* "Shadows in the Skull"
* "The Star of Khorala"
* The Sword of Skelos
* "The Thing in the Crypt"
* "The Witch of the Mists"

Collections|

* Black Colossus
* The Bloody Crown of Conan
* The Coming of Conan
* The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
* The Complete Chronicles of Conan
* Conan
* The Conan Chronicles (Howard, et al)
* The Conan Chronicles (Jordan)
* The Conan Chronicles, 1
* The Conan Chronicles 2
* The Conan Chronicles, 2
* The Conan Chronicles II
* Conan of Aquilonia
* Conan of Cimmeria
* Conan the Adventurer
* Conan the Avenger
* Conan the Barbarian (1954)
* Conan the Barbarian (2011)
* Conan the Freebooter
* Conan the Swordsman
* Conan the Usurper
* Conan the Wanderer
* Conan the Warrior
* The Conquering Sword of Conan
* The Devil in Iron
* The Essential Conan
* The Further Chronicles of Conan
* Jewels of Gwahlur
* King Conan
* The People of the Black Circle
* The Pool of the Black One
* Queen of the Black Coast
* Red Nails
* Rogues in the House
* Sagas of Conan
* The Sword of Conan
* Tales of Conan
* The Tower of the Elephant
* The Treasure of Tranicos

Scholarship|

* The Blade of Conan
* The Conan Grimoire
* The Conan Reader
* The Conan Swordbook
* The Spell of Conan

Authors

| Creator|

* Robert E. Howard

|

Later
authors|

* Poul Anderson
* Leonard Carpenter
* Lin Carter
* L. Sprague de Camp
* Roland J. Green
* John C. Hocking
* Robert Jordan
* Sean A. Moore
* Björn Nyberg
* Andrew J. Offutt
* Steve Perry
* John Maddox Roberts
* Michael A. Stackpole
* Roy Thomas
* Harry Turtledove
* Karl Edward Wagner

Other media

| Films|

* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Destroyer (1984)
* Conan the Barbarian (2011)

| Related films|

* Red Sonja (1985)
* Kull the Conqueror (1997)
* Red Sonja (2025)

|

Television|

* Conan the Adventurer (1992)
* Conan and the Young Warriors (1994)
* Conan the Adventurer (1997)

Comics|

* Conan the Barbarian (Marvel)
* The Savage Sword of Conan
* Savage Tales
* Savage Avengers
* Red Sonja
* Conan (Dark Horse)
* Conan (Titan)

Games|

| Tabletop|

* Unchained!
* Against Darkness!
* Role-Playing Game (1985)
* GURPS
* The Roleplaying Game (2004)
* Collectible Card Game
* Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of

|

Video|

* Hall of Volta
* The Mysteries of Time
* The Cimmerian
* Conan (2004)
* Conan (2007)
* Age of Conan
* Rise of the Godslayer
* Exiles
* Mortal Kombat 1

Other|

* Hyborian War

Setting

| Characters|

* Bêlit
* Conan the Barbarian
* Kulan Gath
* Serpent Men
* Thulsa Doom
* Valeria

|

Chronology|

* Hyborian Age

* The Hyborian Age
* Conan chronologies

Related articles

* "The Shadow of the Vulture"
* Red Sonja
* Cerebus the Aardvark
* Conan the Librarian
* The Adventures of Conan: A Sword and Sorcery Spectacular
* She Is Conann

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