Tarzan and the Golden Lion · Chapter
Death Steals Behind explained
Manu observes Tarzan and his men retrieving stone blocks from a kopje near Opar, noting Tarzan's uncharacteristic harshness.
What happens
Manu observes Tarzan and his men retrieving stone blocks from a kopje near Opar, noting Tarzan's uncharacteristic harshness. Meanwhile, a watcher on Opar's outer wall spots a party of strangers descending into the valley. Cadj, the High Priest, leads priests to investigate, concealing the news from La. Manu later informs La that Tarzan is alive and nearby, and that Cadj has gone with many men to kill him. La, realizing the danger, rushes to act.
Themes in this chapter
Loyalty and Betrayal
Cadj betrays La by concealing news of Tarzan's arrival and leading a murderous expedition, while Manu remains loyal to Tarzan and warns La.
Savagery and Civilization
The contrast between the degenerate, beast-like male inhabitants of Opar and the more human females highlights the theme of savagery versus civilization.
Characters to notice
- Manu
The little gray monkey who warns Tarzan but is ignored, observes the retrieval of stones, and later informs La of Tarzan's presence and Cadj's pursuit.
- Tarzan
Leads his men to retrieve stone blocks from the kopje, acting with unusual roughness toward his black companions.
- La
High Priestess of Opar, learns from Manu that Tarzan is alive and that Cadj has gone to kill him; she rushes to intervene.
- Cadj
High Priest of Opar, leads a party to pursue and kill Tarzan after learning of the strangers from the watcher.
Key passages
“Manu was not surprised at the lack of interest displayed by the blacks, for he knew that they did not understand his language, but he could not comprehend why Tarzan failed to pay any attention whatsoever to him.”
Manu expected the black men to ignore him since they didn't speak his language, but he was puzzled that Tarzan also seemed not to hear or heed his warnings.
Highlights Manu's confusion and Tarzan's unusual indifference.
“He had never seen Tarzan thus rough and cruel with the blacks who accompanied him.”
Manu observed that Tarzan was treating his black followers with uncharacteristic harshness and cruelty.
Emphasizes Tarzan's changed behavior, hinting at possible deception or urgency.
“For down through the long ages the race had deteriorated and finally, through occasional mating with the great apes, the men had become the beast-like things of modern Opar.”
Over many centuries, the male inhabitants of Opar had degenerated into beast-like creatures due to interbreeding with apes.
Explains the physical and cultural decline of Opar's male population.
“Deep in her heart smoldered the fires of her great love for Tarzan. Fires that had been quenched by the necessity that had compelled her marriage with Cadj since last she had seen the ape-man.”
La still harbored a deep love for Tarzan, though it had been suppressed by her forced marriage to Cadj.
Reveals La's enduring feelings for Tarzan and her tragic situation.