Of the
many common threads binding works of epic fantasy/sword and sorcery together,
the strongest may be the portrayal of the masculine hero. Everybody knows him. Indefatigable in a fight
and chivalrous to women; civilized at the king’s banquet table, but dominant
warrior in a battle; unsurpassed swordsman, yet equally skilled with his wits
and tongue. Conan, Aragorn, Kellhus,
Druss, Elric, Logan Ninefingers—all are some of the most recognized fantasy
heroes today. And they are truly
fantasy. Archetypes rather than living,
breathing humans, they exist beyond the limits of our reality. But none, however, qualify as the male
fantasy archetype as well as Edgar Rice Burrough’s original: Tarzan. It is his 1912 Tarzan of the Apes that introduces the ultimate in civilized male
contrivances—sorry, anthropoids to the world.
Born in
the jungles of Africa after his parents were marooned on a sea voyage, John
Clayton is adopted by a tribe of apes after when they are suddenly killed. Raised among the tribe by Kayla, a large
female ape, he comes to be called Tarzan, or ‘white skin’. Developing slowly and not without trouble in
the group of primates, Tarzan eventually becomes part and parcel of the
jungle. He learns to kill meat for food,
eating it raw. He traverses the towering
flora as an ape does, through the branches.
After discovering the cabin his father and mother had built, he learns
to read and write English, though not speak or understand it. And, perhaps most importantly, Tarzan comes
to realize that if he is to stay alive in this savage world, he must fight for
place. With cunning and strength, he
works his way to the top of the food chain and becomes king of the jungle. But it is the chance arrival of a group
stranded on a nearby shore that changes Tarzan’s fortunes. An American professor, his lovely daughter,
mutineers, and a French militia among those without a ride home, the jungle
man’s life takes a turn. Buried
treasure, mutiny, war, and love also in the offing, the changes to Tarzan’s
social life are just the beginning, his collision with the outside world,
awaiting.
