# The Fifty Frightful Men explained — The Return of Tarzan

> Chapter companion for The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

Tarzan, overwhelmed by sorrow and jealousy, returns to the ape tribe and is accepted back as their leader. He learns from a young bull that a band of strange apes has captured a white woman, likely Jane Porter, and is dragging her eastward toward Opar. Tarzan immediately sets off to rescue her.

## Themes in this chapter

### Civilization vs. Wilderness

Tarzan chooses to forsake humanity and return to the apes, completing a cycle from man to brute, yet his chivalrous instincts drive him to rescue Jane.

### Honor and Chivalry

Tarzan's inherent chivalry overcomes his passion, and his sense of duty to protect Jane overrides his personal sorrow.

### Survival and Physical Prowess

Tarzan reasserts dominance over a young bull through physical combat, and his hunting skills earn the apes' respect.

## Character check-ins

### Tarzan

Returns to the ape tribe, reasserts dominance, and is chosen as leader again. Upon hearing of a captured white woman, he rushes east toward Opar.

### Karnath

An ape of the tribe who recognizes Tarzan and allows him to rejoin the group.

### Magor

An ape from Tarzan's past, addressed by Tarzan to remind the tribe of his former kingship.

### Jane Porter

Mentioned as the captured white woman being dragged eastward by the strange apes, prompting Tarzan's rescue mission.

### William Cecil Clayton

Referenced as inefficient in protecting Jane, contributing to Tarzan's guilt and decision to act.

## Key lines

> had been but one course open to him, according to the fierce jungle code that guided him in this other existence; but just before it had become too late the softer sentiments of his inherent chivalry had risen above the flaming fires of his passion and saved him.

His jungle instincts urged him to kill, but his innate chivalry prevailed at the last moment, preventing him from acting on his rage.

_Highlights Tarzan's internal conflict between savage impulse and civilized honor._

> he had completed the cycle of evolution, and had returned to be once again a brute among brutes.

He had come full circle, reverting to a purely animal existence among the apes.

_Emphasizes Tarzan's rejection of humanity and embrace of his primal origins._

> he could not, however, erase from his memory the fact that the woman he loved was within a short journey of the stamping-ground of his tribe; nor could he banish the haunting fear that she might be constantly in danger.

Despite his efforts to forget, he remained tormented by the knowledge that Jane was nearby and vulnerable.

_Shows Tarzan's lingering attachment and sense of responsibility toward Jane._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_tarzan_se/chapters/xxiii-the-fifty-frightful-men
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_tarzan_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_return_of_tarzan_se/chapters