But Burroughs’ can’t solely be to blame for this fault in misogyny. It doesn’t pass the Bechdel test by any means. Many, many times John Carter must save the princess in one manner or another. No, the novel can’t be said to place powerful women in the appropriate light. I would find it hard to believe that George Lucas wasn’t influenced for the Slave Leia outfit, from these many images of Dejah Thoris in the almost-nude.
The novel says she wears nothing, although the many variant covers throughout the years have her sporting something, be it a metal bikini, or a simple sheet of silk. And it really is all in the name of his love for Dejah Thoris. Like that or not, the story moves ahead very quickly, as John Carter quickly becomes entrenched in the politics of the world. Far too short a time still to learn a language that thoroughly.
#Barsoom series collection full#
But for a normal 19/20th century dude who was plucked right out of Arizona to live amongst the species of another planet and learn an entirely new spoken language in the matter of days? To the point where he’s actually relating full conversations so eloquently that he’s found several notions and words that don’t correctly translate? C’mon! The majority of the novel takes place during a 3-month period. And the science that augments his physical attributes, although wonky, is explainable. I can get behind the magical happenstance that brought him to Mars in the first place. Now, I know I should be predisposed to suspending disbelief at this stage of the story. Which he literally learns in the matter of a couple days, thanks to a kind thark woman named Sola (whom he befriends early on). However, it’s not until the Tharks also enslave a princess from the red human tribe of Helium, named Dejah Thoris, that John Carter decides to take the time to fully learn the language of the Barsoomians. He soon learns that, due to the low gravity and air pressure, he’s much stronger on Mars, can leap up to 50 feet, and can outlast any warrior in combat. Only for him to realize that he is suddenly, miraculously, swept away as he wakes up on the red planet, which the natives call ‘Barsoom.’ He is captured and enslaved by the green martians, known as the Tharks, a warring tribe of creatures with 6 limbs and great tusks. He finds himself trapped inside a sacred cave, and they leave him be. John Carter, an Arizona man coming back from the Civil War, finds himself caught amidst an Apache Tribe and runs for it. The Barsoom series, or as its more colloquially termed, the John Carter books were pioneers in storytelling and concepts, and they influenced many important works and have inspired authors and filmmakers alike since – most notably Star Wars. Before lasers were invented, and ray guns became popularized in fiction, rifles and brute force were the tools of choice. Before science fiction was popular, science fantasy, and all the swashbuckling adventures that the ‘sword and planet’ genre held therein, reigned supreme. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic tale of a human getting transported to Mars in the blink of an eye, becoming a legend, and saving a world, is now over a hundred years old.
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