# In the Alcove explained — Tarzan the Untamed

> Chapter companion for Tarzan the Untamed by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

Tarzan escapes onto the rooftops of the mad city and attempts to flee through the streets, but is confronted by a warrior. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Smith-Oldwick, wounded and weak, navigates a courtyard filled with lions, climbs a tree to safety, and enters a room where he encounters a mentally deficient woman. When a jealous official discovers them embracing, Smith-Oldwick kills the man in self-defense.

## Themes in this chapter

### Survival and Adaptation

Both Tarzan and Smith-Oldwick must use cunning and physical prowess to navigate the dangers of the mad city and its lions.

### Madness and Rationality

The city is described as a 'mad city' filled with maniacs, and the woman Smith-Oldwick encounters has the face of an imbecile, highlighting the theme of insanity.

## Character check-ins

### Tarzan

Escapes onto the rooftops and attempts to flee the mad city, but is confronted by a warrior.

### Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick

Navigates a lion-infested courtyard, climbs a tree to safety, enters a room, and kills a jealous official after being discovered with a woman.

### Fräulein Bertha Kircher

Mentioned as having been led into the city as a prisoner with Tarzan earlier.

## Key lines

> He saw men and women and children and lions, and of all that he saw it was quite evident to him that only the lions were sane.

Observing the inhabitants of the city, Tarzan concluded that the lions were the only sane creatures present.

_Highlights the theme of madness versus rationality in the mad city._

> If he has made up his mind to kill me, I can't see that it will make any difference in the long run whether I infuriate him or not. The beggar can't kill me any deader in one mood than another.

Smith-Oldwick reasoned that provoking the lion would not change the outcome if the beast intended to kill him.

_Shows Smith-Oldwick's fatalistic courage in the face of danger._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_the_untamed_se/chapters/xxi-in-the-alcove
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_the_untamed_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_the_untamed_se/chapters