Character Biography
| John Carter | Dejah Thoris | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thuvia of Ptarth | Carthoris of Helium | Tara of Helium | Gahan of Gathol | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Llana of Gathol | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book of First Appearance | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Princess of Mars | The Gods of Mars | The Chessmen of Mars | Llana of Gathol | |||||
On Mars, which its natives call Barsoom, Carter encounters both formidable alien creatures resembling the beasts of ancient myth and various humanoids. He finds his true calling in life as a warlord who strives to save the planet's inhabitants. He wins the hand of a Martian princess, Dejah Thoris of Helium, but after several years of marriage he sacrifices himself to save Barsoom from the loss of its atmosphere. Awakening again after this second death he finds he has been miraculously transported back to Earth, into his original body. Carter then collects the wealth that resulted from his discovery of a rich vein of gold ore right before his original passage to Barsoom. Unable to return to Mars, he spends several more years in a small cottage on the Hudson River in New York State, where he once more appears to die on March 4, 1886.
Again, Carter's apparent demise is not a true death; rather, he is restored to Barsoom, where after more adventures he rises to the position of Warlord of Mars. He returns to Earth on a number of occasions afterward to relate his adventures to his nephew ("Burroughs"), revealing that he has mastered the process of astral travel between the two worlds. During his adventures on Mars his earthly body reposes in a special tomb that can only be opened from the inside.
John Carter and Dejah Thoris become the parents of a son, Carthoris, and daughter, Tara. Carthoris plays a secondary role in The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars, and is the protagonist of Thuvia, Maid of Mars. Tara is the heroine of The Chessmen of Mars (1922), and the mother of Carter's granddaughter Llana, heroine of Llana of Gathol.
Only one other Earthman, Ulysses Paxton is able to travel to Mars via the method Carter used.
A complete list of characters is given at the end of Thuvia, Maid of Mars.
Read more about this topic: John Carter Of Mars
Famous quotes containing the words character and/or biography:
“The family circle has widened. The worldpool of information fathered by the electric media—movies, Telstar, flight—far surpasses any possible influence mom and dad can now bring to bear. Character no longer is shaped by only two earnest, fumbling experts. Now all the world’s a sage.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West [Cicily Isabel Fairfield] (1892–1983)