The Gods of Mars · Chapter
Thuvia explained
John Carter awakens to the sounds of conflict and finds himself in a chamber with prisoners and savage beasts.
What happens
John Carter awakens to the sounds of conflict and finds himself in a chamber with prisoners and savage beasts. After freeing a young red Martian woman, she helps him re-enter a horror chamber where Tars Tarkas is fighting for his life against banths. The woman, Thuvia, reveals she is a prisoner of the Holy Therns, who plan to feed her to plant men. She explains the therns' beliefs about the afterlife and the Temple of Issus. John Carter convinces Thuvia and Tars Tarkas to attempt an escape, arguing that the Valley Dor is a deception and that they have a duty to reveal the truth. They gather other prisoners and prepare to flee.
Themes in this chapter
Illusion vs. Reality
The Valley Dor is exposed as a cruel deception, not a paradise, challenging Barsoomian superstition.
Religion and Blasphemy
John Carter argues against the sacredness of the Valley Dor and the Holy Therns, advocating for truth over blind faith.
Freedom vs. Oppression
The prisoners seek to escape the oppressive rule of the therns, who enslave and kill for sport and sustenance.
Characters to notice
- John Carter
Awakens to conflict, frees Thuvia, and persuades her and Tars Tarkas to attempt escape from the therns.
- Tars Tarkas
Found fighting for his life against banths; weak from wounds but resolute; agrees to follow John Carter.
- Thuvia
A young red Martian prisoner who helps John Carter; reveals the therns' plans and beliefs; decides to join the escape.
Key passages
“Save thy sword, O Mighty Warrior, for thou shalt need it more where it will avail to some purpose—shatter it not against senseless metal which yields better to the lightest finger touch of one who knows its secret.”
Thuvia advises John Carter not to waste his strength on the door, as she can open it easily.
Thuvia demonstrates her knowledge of the secret panel, aiding John Carter.
“The Holy Therns eat human flesh... but only that which has died beneath the sucking lips of a plant man—flesh from which the defiling blood of life has been drawn.”
Thuvia explains that the Holy Therns consume human flesh only after it has been drained of blood by plant men.
Reveals the gruesome practices of the therns.
“Not only is it our right to bend every effort to escape—it is a solemn duty from which we should not shrink even though we know that we should be reviled and tortured by our own peoples when we returned to them.”
John Carter argues that escaping is not just a right but a duty, even if it means facing scorn from their own people.
John Carter's moral justification for escape, challenging superstition.