Ships That Pass explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Deception and Betrayal

  Clayton deceives Jane by hiding Tarzan's true identity; Rokoff and Paulvitch betray Tarzan by stealing his documents and throwing him overboard.

• Identity and Heritage

  Tarzan's hidden lineage as Lord Greystoke creates a conflict for Clayton; Tarzan uses an alias (Mr. Caldwell) and Rokoff disguises himself as Monsieur Thuran.

• Love and Sacrifice

  Tarzan sacrifices his claim to his birthright for Jane's happiness; Jane reluctantly considers marrying Clayton out of duty despite her love for Tarzan.

Characters to notice

• Tarzan

  Traveling under the alias Mr. Caldwell; confronts Rokoff on the yacht, warns him to stay away from Hazel Strong, and is later ambushed and thrown overboard by Rokoff and Paulvitch.

• Jane Porter

  Continues to delay marriage to Clayton; during a yacht cruise, she gazes sadly at a locket given by Tarzan, her thoughts returning to the jungle.

• William Cecil Clayton

  Struggles with the secret of Tarzan's true identity; decides not to reveal it, pressures Jane for an early marriage, and eventually returns to England alone.

• Nikolas Rokoff

  Disguised as Monsieur Thuran on the yacht; steals Tarzan's official documents with Paulvitch and orchestrates Tarzan's being thrown overboard.

• Alexis Paulvitch

  Assists Rokoff in searching Tarzan's stateroom and stealing the documents; celebrates the theft with champagne.

• Hazel Strong

  Introduces Tarzan to 'Monsieur Thuran'; later witnesses a body falling from the deck into the sea but dismisses it as refuse.

Key passages

• “He wondered just what the effect of his knowledge would be on her. Would she still wish to marry him⁠—to be plain Mrs. Clayton? Suddenly the awful sacrifice which one of them must make loomed large before his imagination.”

  Clayton pondered how Jane would react if she knew the truth, and whether she would still agree to become plain Mrs. Clayton, realizing the heavy sacrifice one of them would have to make.

  Clayton's internal conflict over Tarzan's true identity and its impact on his engagement to Jane.

• “If Tarzan of the Apes could do this thing to save Jane Porter from unhappiness, why should he, to whose care she was entrusting her whole future, do aught to jeopardize her interests?”

  If Tarzan was willing to give up his birthright for Jane's happiness, why should Clayton, who was responsible for her future, do anything to endanger it?

  Clayton rationalizes his decision to keep Tarzan's secret, using Tarzan's own sacrifice as justification.

• “She found one excuse after another, and when, finally, Lord Tennington invited the party to cruise around Africa in his yacht, she expressed the greatest delight in the idea, but absolutely refused to be married until they had returned to London.”

  Jane kept finding reasons to delay the wedding, and when Lord Tennington proposed a yacht cruise around Africa, she eagerly agreed but insisted on postponing the marriage until after the voyage.

  Jane's continued avoidance of marrying Clayton, using the cruise as a further delay.

• “As Tarzan looked into the eyes of Monsieur Thuran he was struck by the strange familiarity of their expression. 'I have had the honor of monsieur’s acquaintance in the past, I am sure,' said Tarzan, 'though I cannot recall the circumstances.'”

  Tarzan felt he recognized Monsieur Thuran's eyes from somewhere, and told him he was sure they had met before, even though he couldn't remember the details.

  Tarzan's initial suspicion of Rokoff in disguise, foreshadowing the confrontation.

• “Suddenly a body shot past her eyes from the deck above. It dropped so quickly into the dark waters below that she could not be sure of what it was⁠—it might have been a man, she could not say.”

  Hazel Strong saw a shape fall from the upper deck into the sea so fast that she couldn't tell if it was a person or an object.

  Hazel's ambiguous observation of Tarzan being thrown overboard, which she dismisses as trash.