In my hour of darkness,
In my hour of need...
~ Trad.
A.
Leopard Men is an exceptionally dark novel. There is nothing about it that isn't horrific, a sort of gotterdamerung. There are probably more people killed in this novel than any other of Burroughs. The threat of rape hangs heavy in the air. Old Timer/Burroughs is going through major changes trying to burst his chrysalis.
Through it all runs the thread of religion; and not just one religion but three religious systems. There is the animistic religion of the Africans; a Semitic style religion of the Leopard Men and an esoteric interpretation concealed in a gorgeous wealth of symbolism. I will consider the last in Part B.
ERB's life was reaching a crisis, he had the MGM contract to worry about, his ongoing war with the Reds and now his sexual crisis that had been roiling beneath the surface for nearly fifty years and was about to bubble over. Hence the novel is filled with murky, rasty sexual symbolism welling up from the subconscious disguised as religion.
For supposedly being an escapist writer without either serious purpose or intellectual content when one parses out any of his stories one is amazed that such serious purpose can be successfully disguised as escapist. ERB shares this ability with the Homer of the Iliad. Since no one seems to have penetrated beyond the surface glitter from one hundred years ago to this day I hope I will be pardoned for making the attempt.
ERB's style of plotting is so diffuse that it is very difficult to grasp the focal point which unites the various strands of his story. In some incredible way he has half a dozen stories running concurrently each with a different point and different conclusion. One has to follow the bouncing ball. In Jewels Of Opar the uniting theme is the story of what happens to the Jewels. In Ant Men one has to follow the trajectory of Tarzan's locket. In this one the key is Kali Bwana. ERB seems to favor this linking approach.
Leopard Men has two main stories, that of Old Timer and Kali Bwana and its subplots as well as the story of Tarzan and the Leopard Men. As the story opens Tarzan is in Leopard Men territory far from home. One wonders what Tarzan is doing in this country. Naturally Burroughs presents his information on a need to know basis. We apparently don't need to know until p. 108 when after Tarzan regains his memory from yet another crushing blow to the skull we are told:
During the long day Tarzan's mind was occupied with many thoughts. He had recalled now why he had come into this country, and he marveled at the coincidence of later events that guided his footsteps along the very paths he had intended on trodding before accident had robbed him of the memory of his purpose. He knew now that depredations by Leopard Men from a far country had caused him to set forth upon a lonely reconnaissance with only the thought of locating their more or less fabled stronghold and temple. That he should be successful in both finding these and reducing one of them was gratifying in the extreme, and he felt thankful now for the accident that had been responsible for the results.Thus as Tarzan regains his memory he discovers that he had destroyed the stronghold of the Leopard Men. In rescuing Old Timer and Kali Bwana he will also destroy the temple. A good day's work.With this story of his quest and triumph we have a second examination of religion, a continuation of the exploration begun in Tarzan Triumphant of the first half of 1931. The reference to the accident that led to these results may be a reference to the incident in Toronto in 1899. He and Emma both believed it resulted in his writing career. Perhaps the signing of the contract with MGM in April may also be inferred to as an 'accident.' Much research is needed into his relations with MGM and these critical five or six years of his career. Certainly by late July and August as he was writing this story the realization of the meaning of the contract he had signed was seeping in. By 1933's Tarzan And The Lion Man he was fully aware. Subsequent to that discovery he formed an ill advised alliance with his wife's ex, Asthon Dearholt, to film the 'real' Tarzan. That in its place. For now his troubles were not on the laps of the gods but on the laps of Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer.
If negotiations began on April 4 and were completed and signed on April 15 that means that neither ERB nor Rothmund read the contract very thoughtfully. They certainly didn't take it to an attorney. As in Lion Man he complains of the duplicity of men; he was finding out what the terms of the contract meant. Perhaps in Leopard Men he was getting glimmers of the shape of things to come.
As in Triumphant the two Midian peoples obviously represent Jews and non-Jews, us meaning the Jews and them meaning the rest of the world as per Rabbi Schneerson's division of mankind into two different species, us and them. I will treat the Utengans as them and the Leopard Men as us which is what ERB intended. The connection of the Leopard Men to the Jews can be established by two references connecting them to Hollywood:
Gato Mgungu had never had the advantages of civilzation. (He had never been to Hollywood.)And on p. 66:Perhaps his reasons might be obvious to a Hollywood publicity agent.I'm sure you moved out of the way so ERB's sarcasm didn't splash on you.His letting his contempt for Hollywood which he had suppressed since 1922's Girl From Hollwyood show now and his associating it with Thalberg, Mayer and MGM is evidence of frustration.
When Van Dyke returned from Africa he brought his gun bearer Riano and the actor who played Renchoro, Mutia, with him for finishing scenes. It seems likely that ERB would have sought an introduction to these two 'real' Africans. One can only imagine what these two bush Negroes who had never conceived a world larger than their own jungle thought of the twentieth century in the bizarre world of Tinseltown. How did these minds that had probably never seen a wheel prior to Van Dyke's expedition react to what must have seemed to them a parallel universe. Place yourself in their position and your head will spin. One wonders, even, having lived naked all their lives, how they reacted to dressing every morning and wearing Western style clothes all day. Did Tarzan's experience in the shower in Tarzan Goes To New York have anything to do with these two noble savages introduction to civilization? Possibly the reference to Gato Mgungu's never having been to Hollywood may refer to ERB's observation of Riano and Mutia.
There is some wonderful stuff going on here. If Hollywood wasn't centered on pornography and its concomitant degraded sadistic violence with a little imagination they might be able to put together a good movie or two from this material. Do I digress? Ah, then I digress. But back to the story.
As with 'them' elsewhere the Utengans are good men going about their business while the 'us' or Leopard Men are a destructive force in society. ERB has displaced the two relgious systems to Africa where he presents two rather derogatory versions of Africans. He is uncharacteristically derogatory of the Blacks. Perhaps his concentration on so portraying the Africans was the result of his rage at the Scottsboro Boys. On p. 92 he says of the orgy of the Leopard Men:
He saw that religious and alcholoic drunkenness were rapidly robbing them of what few brains and little self-control Nature had vouchsafed them, and he trembled to think of what excesses they might commit when they passed beyond even the restraint of their leaders; nor did the fact that the chiefs, the priests, and the priestesses were becoming as drunk as their followers tend but to aggravate his fears.ERB in his evolutionary mode had always considered the African to be less evolved but this is a subjective observation not a objective one. The bold statement 'what few brains and little self control' may have been his personal opinion but doesn't look well in print. I think it probable that his anger over the Scottsboro affair caused him to lose his customary discretion. In doing so he would be giving fuel to his detractors which it is never wise to do. When it is said that this is his worst novel I believe it is because of passages like this.One wonders why the delay in the book issuance until 1936 and why then. Among other reasons one may have been that by 1936 the Communist campaign to embarrass the United States over the alleged injustice to the Boys was reaching a peak. Perhaps one intention of ERB was to show by the African example that Negroes were by nature of feeble intelligence and little self control. If so, risky business for ERB. However throughout the novel a series of Black men is slathering at the mouth to rape Kali Bwana, recalling the train incident of the Scottsboro Boys.
ERB also introduces the concept of religious drunkenness which can exist quite independently of alcohol. Indeed there are many who can maintain a perpetual religious high. The bizarre statements of Rabbis Schneerson and Ginsburgh can be attributed to religious drunkenness. In their religious enthusiasm they have certainly set aside reason. So once again a greater depth of thought is revealed than is usually attributed to Burroughs. Just two words-- religious drunkenness-- reveal a fair amount of thought and study.
During the great storm the Leopard Men catalyze the story by the ritual killing of a Utengan named Nyamwegi. While the storm is raging Tarzan who has taken refuge beside the bole of a great tree has it blown down with one of its great lower branches landing on his head. One admires the tensile strength of his skull. Apparently a big eighteen wheeler laden with thirty tons could roll over his head, the only possible result being a temporary loss of memory. Burroughs is going through another period of great stress so Tarzan does wake up in a world he doesn't recognize.
A Utengan passing by notices the Big Bwana pinned to the ground on his back by the tree, not on his head, thank goodness, but somewhere over his body. No broken bones, luck is still with the Big Guy. As he had his bow and quiver slung over his back as he was pinned one has to think he's in a fair amount of discomfort. Orando, the Utengan is about to eliminate Tarzan from the story, which would have left a gap, when he has the suspicion that this might be his Muzimo. Orando had just been praying to his Muzimo to aid him in his hunting, perhaps Muzimo is the hunter after whom this chapter is named, and lo, he now appears. ERB goes to some lengths to demonstrate the superstitious nature of African religion. He really seems to be making an effort to belittle the African in this novel. Orando's suspicion is confirmed a few moments later when by a series of coincidences Tarzan seems to answer when Orando calls him Muzimo. As Tarzan has no memory of other identity he assumes the role of Orando's Muzimo. This is really quite well done.
A muzimo is a sort of guardian angel, a spirit of an ancestor who looks after you. Tarzan really fills the role performing natural -- for him -- feats that Orando believes are supernatural. Tarzan, or Muzimo, directs the entire successful attack on the Leopard Men's stronghold.
Tarzan's role of Muzimo is a story within the story within the story which is based on Trader Horn. If one keeps diving we might even find another story within the story. The story of Tarzan as Muzimo is quite independent of the story of Old Timer, the Kid and Kali Bwana. As we will learn when his role of Muzimo ends, Tarzan's reason for coming to Utenga was to search out the Leopard Men. The fact that Old Timer, Kali Bwana and the Kid are there is mere coincidence. Their stories only become meshed at the Leopard Men's temple which inadvertantly brings all together. Even then, after regaining his memory, as Burroughs explains, they are of little interest to Tarzan. The connection is only racial which is a very weak. Really the devil is in the details. A whole lot of devils.
ERB has established the conflict between the superstition based animistic religion of the majority culture and the horrific satanic religion of his minority culture. He may be 'fictionizing' here the real life situation between the Western dominant culture of Christianity, which he would still believe superstitious, and its recessive Jewish sub-culture. I'm not clear how closely he intends the comparison. At first sight Orando's mistaking Tarzan for his Muzimo or guardian angel seems ridiculous yet even at this moment seventy percent of Americans believe in guardian angels. The figure would probably have been a few percentage points higher in his day.
Also, the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee was as recent as 1925-26, so the conflict between science and superstition in the US was by no means a settled matter. The analogy between African and American culture may be sardonic.
Just as the Utengans probably represent the Christian culture of the West so the Leopard Men may represent the minority Jewish Culture. Just as the Leopard Men had adherents functioning secretly within the majority culture directing affairs so did the Jewish Culture in the West. Just as the Leopard Men had organizational representatives distributed amongst all the tribes across Africa functioning toward a common goal so Jewish Culture was represented in every culture of the Western world. Just as the witch doctor Sobito manipulated the affairs of the Utengans from within for the benefit of the Leopard Men so the Jewish Culture through the ADL/AJC manipulated Western Culture for its own benefit.
In the twenties and thirties the International Jewish Conspiracy phase of Jewish manipulation was the prevailing fear. The struggle to deny the Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion had not yet been effected although well along.
It seems clear to me that Burroughs always has unterior motives in his novels. He is not simply telling a story for entertainment. Burroughs must have been puzzled by the attitude of the majority culture. While Science was daily discrediting the supernatural yet the majority of the majority clung to, not so much outmoded religous beliefs, as a religious cast of mind. The belief in Christianity was being steadily eroded as based on superstition yet rather than abandoning religion Americans frantically tried to incorporate science into religion. Thus one has the strong religious quality of Liberalism that encourages the defamation of Christianity yet pursues a religious agenda based on wishful thinking.
It is very strange, more than passing strange, that while Westerners reject Christianity they have reverence for Judaism and Moslemism. While Christianity represents an anterior stage in the psychological development of mankind, the former two are even more primitive, magical and superstitious. One has to laugh out loud at Rabbi Schneerson's attempt to incorporate genetics into his religious system while the Moslem clerics are unfathomable by both Scientific and Liberal ideas and notions. Yet Liberals attack Christianity while endorsing Judaism and Moslemism.
Burroughs pits his alter-ego Tarzan and the majority against the minority religion launching an all out attack. Tarzan, whose memory is gone, accepts his role as Orando's Muzimo. Curiously Buurroughs describes Tarzan's tan as so deep that he is the same skin color as Orando yet retains his status as 'white.' Possibly Orando was better able to accept Tarzan as Muzimo because of this. Tarzan becomes Muzimo being in fact Orando's guardian angel until he regains his memory at which point he becomes again his own man pursuing his own interests. While he is Orando's Muzimo he is a spectacular guardian angel directing Orando's quarrel with the Leopard Men to a successful conclusion which as we are told his original intention was the suppression of the Leopard Men.
Tarzan foils the Leopard Men's advantage in Utenga by exposing the witch doctor Sobito as a Leopard Man as well as the spy Lupingu. He is instrumental in the deaths of both. His task is made easier because Orando believes implicitly in whatever his Muzimo says. Thus, while there is a natural explanation for what happens the results appear as genuinely supernatural to Orando and his tribesmen.
This is all handled very cleverly by Burroughs as he lets the reader see what is happening as he also shows Orando's superstitious interpretation. It's actually pretty funny.
By following Tarzan/Muzimo's advice the Utengans catch the Leopard Men coming back from a ritual orgy while hung over and either kill or scatter them, men, women and children. There was no one left alive in their village. Thus the majority expel their troublesome minority or sub-culture from their midst, perhaps as ERB wished the majority culture of the United States might do with its troublesome minority culture. He may have used Africa as a metaphor for the United States. In any event Leopard Men seems to be a continuation of Triumphant on the religious level while being perhaps the most detailed examination of religion that ERB did. But you can see why his Liberal detractors would call this his worst novel.
At the time of writing Leopard Men the most recent issued story was Tarzan The Invincible. Tarzan Triumphant had been written and probably submitted to Blue Book but it wouldn't be published until 1932-33 while the book edition was published in 1932 so there couldn't as yet have been a reaction to his portrayal of the two Midian cultures and Abraham son of Abraham and his followers of Paul.
Perhaps ERB found his religious portrayal of Triumphant too clumsy so he refined it in Leopard Men.
B. Riders On The Storm
If you don't enter as an initiate you won't get the story. The symbolism in this story is so strong and complete that it should be a standard psychological textbook. Burroughs writes as though he had just come from a course in esoteric symbolism. He continues this throughout the story too. I don't know if I can do this justice but I will try.
Burroughs has entered the defining crisis of his life, thus the novel is full of symbols of life, death and regeneration. ERB feels that he is being born again, the butterfly emerging from the cocoon. The very name of Kali Bwana is the primary symbol. Kali is the Hindu symbol life, death and regeneration. Her image is as dark as this story. This story, as it were, emerges from the very bowels of the pit, the viscera of frustrated desires and hopes of their fullfillment. Very frightening actually. I can see how on one level so many people would consider it ERB's worst. They can't understand it. The story deals with primal needs and desires that would drive a man insane. Indeed, Kali Bwana considers Old Timer insane. He himself says that maybe he is crazy. He makes psychotic statements and is on the verge of criminal sexual behavior throughout the book until the very end when he is reformed. This is an extremely violent but regenerative story. Sort of like Walt Disney on steroids.
Kali Bwana is the joy of man's desiring. A platinum blonde, her beauty apparently disintegraates all men's self control as she inspires dreams of rape rather than courting. Old Timer himself has rape in mind all through the book. No man or animal in the story ever thinks of honoring her femininity; their only thoughts are to violate her beauty to gratify their illicit lustful desires. This is serious stuff.
As Kali she is the mate of Shiva. While Shiva is usually depicted as a handsome young man serenely playing a flute Burroughs represents him as the Leopard god of the cannibalistic, criminal nature cult. Thus, Kali Bwana is captured by the Leopard Men to serve as high priestess to their Leopard god thus forming an Anima and Animus. Burroughs does an excellent job of presenting both the barbaric splendor and degradation of the cult or religion.
The story is set by the book's opening. One of attempted rape and violence set amidst a terrific storm. Indeed, it was a dark and stormy night. Burroughs immediately sets the scene with a description of the impending storm. One feels this is not an ordinary storm but one fraught with significance and meaning. It is a life changing storm.
The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols which I use here for reference is readily available. It discusses storms on p. 941;
The storm is a symbol of a theophany, the manifestation of the awesome and mighty power of God. While it may herald a revelation, it can also be a manifestation of divine anger and sometimes of punishment.And then as Burroughs refers to the storm as a hurricane. The Penguin dictionary says this, p. 533:
Creative activity is also unleashed in a storm. In a cosmic upheaval beyond the power of words, life itself was born.Hurricanes are almost Dionysiac orgies of cosmic energy. they symbolize the ending of one period of time and the beginning of another as tireless Earth repairs the damage.So now we have the figure of the eternal female, the symbol of birth, death and regeneration coupled with storm and hurricane symbols also denoting major changes. The impact is increased by the whole being expressed in a half dozen pages, very compressed.
It should be noted that Florence Gilbert represents Kali Bwana and Old Timer is obviously ERB. The changes are happening to him. Florence/Kali is both repelled and passive. Perhaps because of the ripening romance between his wife and ERB Ashton Dearholt had taken her on a motor tour removing her brom the scene probably hoping separation would end the affair. According to the ERBzine 30s Bio Timeline the Dearholts returned to LA in May just as ERB was completing Triumphant and before he began Leopard Men. If he had been fighting his feelings for Florence her return was obviously more than he could deal with hence this terrific storm and the overwhelming number of female symbols in the book.
As this terrific storm burst in the opening pages Kali Bwana's Black head man steals into ther tent with the intention of raping her. She puts a bullet through his arm driving him away. ERB here introduces the theme of rape which recurs many times throughout the book.
At the same time as the rape attempt the Leopard Men corner Nyamwegi, a Utengan reurning from a date with his girl friend. Amidst the multiple bolts of lightning which illuminate the entire sky and tremendous crashes of thunder the Leopard Men gruesomely and bloodily murder him removing body parts.
ERB accentuates the ferocity of the storm and hurricane by saying that the lightning bolts were numerous and continuous, filling the entire sky. The Penguin dictionary, p.606:
Lightning sympolizes the spark of life and powers of fertilization. It is fire from Heaven, vastly powerful and terrifyingly swift, which may be either life giving or death dealing.And on p.607:As the weapon of Zeus, forged in FIRE (symbol of the intellect) by the Cyclops, lightning is' the symbol of intentive and spiritual enlightenment' or the sudden flash of inspiration. However, while it enlightens and stirs the spirit, lightning strikes down 'the drive of unsatisfied and uncontrolled desire...'So after this storm all will be changed, there will be a new Heaven and new Earth. Kali Bwana has averted personal disaster while Nyamwegi has met his end. Nearby in another part of the forest Tarzan and Nkima crouch beside a forest giant to wait out the storm. Here the hurricane topples the tree unprooting it. Tarzan tosses Nkima out of the way but is himself struck by a branch, one assumes one of the big ones of the lower terrace. Once again the Big Fella is give a case of amnesia so that he is not aware of his racial affinity to the Whites aligning himself with the Blacks.In another part of the forest, not too far away, Old Timer and the Kid are discussing their fortunes apparently unaware of this massive storm. As Old Timer sets out on the trail of ivory on the morrow he hears a shot which leads him to Kali Bwana. All the elements of the New Day are in place.
The action takes place not only in the forest but in the Ituri Rain Forest, the forest of forests. In Western symbolism the forest is where the lost man wanders in search of his redemption. One has to find one's way out of the forest for personal redemption. Thus Old Timer and Kali lose their way wandering around in the forest hopelessly lost. At one point Old Timer can't see the constellations to navigate at night. At another the forest is so dark he can't see the sun to navigate by it. Both he and Kali have to be rescued by Tarzan after he regains his memory.
As David Adams has pointed out Sheeta is always associated with the Anima or female. Usually Sheeta is described as a panther but in this novel Sheeta is the Leopard. The smell of Sheeta is overwhelming throughout this novel. In this case I think we may be sure that Sheeta represents the fear of the feminine. Tarzan and Nkima are inseparable in this novel. Throughout the entire novel Nkima complains about the smell of Sheeta who wishes to devour him. So Burroughs is afraid of what is happening to him in regards to Florence. When Tarzan recovers consciousness after the battle with the Leopard Men the first thing he does is call for Nkima. The little monkey in his place on Tarzan's shoulder reminds one of the Egyptian Ka or double. Tarzan the fearless and Nkima the fearful. Burroughs as a child confronted by John the Bully.
As an aspect of Tarzan's-- and Burroughs'-- character Nkima probably represents his more chicken livered side. There is no record of Tarzan ever having known fear, he doesn't even know the meaning of the word, but Burroughs did hence Nkima who knows nothing but fear. Neither Tarzan nor Burroughs have ever been what one would call ladies men hence if not fear of the feminine at least an apprehension of it. As Burroughs is now reaching a major crisis of his life having now to choose either Emma or Florence it is not to be wondered that the forest reeks of Sheeta. Indeed, the Leopard Men themselves are symbols of the feminine and they intend to sacrifice Old Timer. Thus one has the leopard as Leopard God and Kali Bwana as his Leopard Goddess.
The tremendous rainfall, itself a symbol of regeneration and fertility from the male sky god would create a steaming swamplike atmosphere as it fell on Mother Earth while the temple of the Leopard God itself was in a crocodile infested swamp.
First the Crocodile as symbol. Penguin p. 244:
The crocodile which carries the Earth on its back, is a divinity of darkness and the Moon, whose greed is like that of the NIGHT which each evening devours the Sun. From civilization to civilization and from age to age the crocodile exhibits a high proportion of the countless links in that basic symbolic chain which belongs to the controlling forces of death and rebirth. The crocodile may be a formidable figure, but this is because, like all expressions of the power of fate, what he displays is inevitable-- darkness falling so that daylight may return, death striking so that life may be reborn.In other words you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Poor Emma. Obviously for ERB he is killing his past so that his future may be born.The temple is in the center of a swamp so deep within the forest that the sun never shines on it. The swamp is the quintessential female symbol. It is in the Lernean swamp that Heracles has to do battle with the Hydra. Hydra= the water of the feminine and the irrational. Each time Heracles cuts off one of the seven heads another grows in its place until he cauterizes each severance with fire, that is the power of the male intellect.
Thus, one has crocodiles, leopards, water, swamp, the river and Stygian darkness. If you can't rise above the fear of the feminine, you will be swamped, drowned in her waters. The only entrance and exit is this slow moving river obscured by the forest. This river of mystery and death. The River is the last of the great symbols we will consider. Penguin p. 808:
The symbolism of rivers and running water is simultaneously that of the 'universal potentiality' and that of the 'fluidity of forms' (Schuan) of fertility, death and renewal. The stream is that of life and death. It may be regarded as flowing down into the sea; as a current against which one swims; or as something to be crossed from one bank to another. Flowing into the sea is the gathering of the waters, the return to an undifferentiated state, attaining Nirvana. Swimming against the stream is clearly returning to the divine source, the First Cause. Crossing the river is overcoming an obstacle separating two realms or conditions, the phenomenal world and the unconditioned state, the world of the senses and the state of non-attachment.Then this from Burroughs p. 191:The sun was sinking behind the western forest, its light playing on the surging current of the great river that rolled past the village of Bobolo. A man and a woman stood looking out across the water that was plunging westward in its long journey to the sea down to the trading posts and the towns and the ships, which are the frail links that connect the dark forest with civilizationIf one looks at this novel from an esoteric symbolic point of view the symbols tell their own story.As Old Timer says Kali mean Woman. At the beginning we have Woman and the Shaggy Man.
I haven't given the symbolism of the Shaggy Man yet so using the Penguin Dictionary of Symbols again under the heading Rags And Tatters, p. 782:
(Rags And Tatters) are the symbol of anxiety and lesions of the psyche as well as that naterial poverty which, in folktale, is sometimes adopted as a disguise by princes, princesses and wizards. It denotes simultaneously poverty and anxiety or cloaks inner riches under an appearance of wretchedness, thus displaying the superiority of the inner over the outer self.Thus, Kali-- the Woman-- the symbol of death, birth and regeneration and The Shaggy Man or the Frog Prince, the Hero in disguise waiting to be regenerated by the kiss of the ultimate Woman. A classic fairy tale, actually, with a tip of the hat to David Adams for insisting on the fairy tale connectionThe Man, the Woman, the Storm with a tremendous display of Lightning, Thunder, Wind and Rain completely transforming both the physical and psychic landscapes bringing the Man and the Woman together.
The Woman is then captured by the repressed sexual desire of the Leopard Men who wish to install her as their Goddess. The Woman or Kali is stripped Naked and then adorned with various attributes of the Leopard cult.
As in various myths, fairytale and folk lore stories the Man and the Woman (the Anima and Animus) have been separated by Fate and must fight through all obstacles to be reunited.
Kali (Woman) is led through the teeming, steaming forest with a rope around her neck to the big river down which she is canoed to a smaller stream 'the silent river of mystery and death' in the darkest, swampiest, most crocodile infested part of the darkest of dark forests.
Abandoning all other concerns the Shaggy Man pursues Kali to the den of the Leopard Men where he is taken prisoner, then taken down the silent river (the Styx?) to be sacrificed. By a miracle the two escape only to be separated again while the Shaggy Man is taken back to the temple of the Leopard Men. Kali, Woman, is captured by a Black chief to serve his sexual needs. Rape again. White=Light, Black=Darkness. Thus the ever present threat of rape seems to be about to be fulfulled. But no, the elder wife of the Black chief objects to the White Woman. Out of th pot into the fire. The Woman is left with Pygmies who are even more vile than the Blacks.
But now a Deus ex-machina, Tarzan, has released the Shaggy Man. Hot in pursuit he follows Woman to the Pygmy camp. He madly attempts rescue which is successful once again becasue of the Deus ex machina.
It's not over yet folks. ERB can make any 192 page story go on for a near eternity. Together again Kali and the Shaggy Man are once more torn assunder when the the Deus ex machina sends an ape who captures the Shaggy Man. Makes you breathless doesn't it? Deus once again reunites the Woman and Shaggy Man. Now, if you will notice the Shaggy Man forces a kiss on Woman. His act of violence shames him so that he finds redemption in his remorse. Thus the kiss of Woman has returned the Frog Prince to his rightful form.
As the story ends the two are about to leave the dark forest for the light of civilization down river.
Thus one has the classic myths-- Psyche and Eros, Perseus and Andromeda and many others, numerous fairy tales-- Cinderella, one which ERB has used before, and much folk-lore. It is done very well, too, if you're following the bouncing ball.
It is noteworthy that the work of another great author is misunderstood too. I refer to the ancient poet Homer. While Homer's reputation is very great no one understands the Iliad. The adventures of the Gods and Goddesses are beyond the comprehension of classical scholars. Thus they prefer the Odyssey which is written in a more comprehensible if pedestrian style. If I remember correctly the Five Foot Shelf excludes the Iliad while containing the Odyssey. While both are attributed to Homer they must have been written by two different mind sets. The psychology of each is too different to have been written by one mind. Besides the Iliad concerns the middle part of the Seige of Troy while the Odyssey skips all the way to the story of only of of the Returns.
There are similarities in the way Burroughs and Homer tell their stories but to avoid argument Homer is incomparably the greater.
Nevertheless Burroughs has masterfully used a set of symbols to supply a very rich subtext to his story and he has done it intentionally. He does know whereof he speaks. I don't think there is any doubt that he has studied Esoterica. Probably the topic was of life long interest both in the old kook capital of Chicago and new kook capital of Los Angeles. (Kookie, Kookie, lend me your comb.)
There was a lot of esoterica going on in LA. The Golden Dawn of Aleister Crowley was out in the desert at Barstow, Manly Hall was advising the movies on Esoteric matters, the Vedantists were established and the Theosophists had a terrific college in LA.,
Anybody who thinks ERB wasn't interested in such things doesn't know how to spell Edgar Rice Burroughs.
While ERB wouldn't touch a religious theme unless 'highly fictionized' he managed to highly fictionize all manner of religion in this great novel of his mature period. He was working at break neck pace, too.
Love this stuff.
On to Part IV which will deal with the cast of characters. Inevitably there's a certain amount of repitition but I try to cast the stuff in different highlights, crosslights and aspects. This stuff deserves a thorough examination.
The entire six-part analysis of Tarzan and the Leopard Men will be featured over six weeks in ERBzine:
R. E. Prindle welcomes your comments
at:
dugwarbaby@yahoo.com
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