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Tal, Goreans. Welcome to what, I hope, will be a regular column. My goal is to go through the entire twenty-five volumes, in order, and discuss the elements of the Gorean philosophy that we find in them. At times I will relate the Gorean doctrine to our everyday existence on Earth, while at other times I will leave such things as an exercise for the reader and simply discuss the philosophy itself.

While I am not averse to intellectual discourse, as those who know me from IRC are aware, this column is not intended to be interactive. There are other places where we can debate. Do send email to this webzine if that is your desire.
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Well, let's roll up our tunic sleeves and begin, eh?

Book I, Tarnsman of Gor

Chapter 1

As you might expect, we aren't going to get a great deal of philosophy out of the first few books. Tarnsman was first published in 1966. The science fiction and fantasy genre was not then what it is today. Although I believe Norman had a picture in his mind of Gor even then, I do not think it had begun to mature into what it later became. Tarl is certainly a great example of this. The Tarl that we meet in Tarnsman is not the Tarl of later books.

Norman has a habit of presenting characters in a particular light for the express purpose of later developing them along opposite lines. Each of the women from the "girl" books (VII, Captive; XI, Slave Girl; XIX, Kajira; and XXII, Dancer) started off as a snotty bitch who hotly denied that any man could ever make her a slave. We readers knew in advance that she was destined to be a luscious, helpless, slave girl by the end of the book. So too is Tarl, I believe, initially presented as a character who contrasts a bit with what he is eventually to become.

We get a brief history of Tarl as a child raised by a caring but unloving Aunt. His red hair and unusual name gives him cause to learn the rudiments of the art of unarmed combat. He receives a standard education for an Englishman of his social class, but does not particularly distinguish himself. It would seem as though a thirst for something other than the mundane existence to which he is likely to be doomed leads him to go to America and become, in his words, "faculty exotica" at a small New England college (has anybody ever looked up the liberal arts colleges for men in New Hampshire? Surely there can't be many that fit the description, if any. I wonder, idly, if a young John Lange ever had any dealings with such a college).

Tarl is bright, and physically fit, but it seems as though he does not belong anywhere. He has no affectionate family, has the intellectual capability to excel at schooling but does not, barely manages to keep his head above water as a professor, and has few friends. I wonder, since Dr. Lange is himself a professor, how much of himself was written into Tarl. At any rate, Tarl is set up as an outsider on Earth. Tarl himself doesn't realize it yet, but it is because he is Gorean. To escape his life, if only for a few days, Tarl takes his fateful camping trip.

Chapter 2

Away goes Tarl to Gor. The first person he meets is his father. The next person he meets is Sana (I shall use the standard English capitalization of proper names in this venue), the slave girl. Matthew speaks of her casually, telling Tarl he may "have" her. This particular scene is brief, but significant. Tarl has seen his first slave and has observed his father's treatment of her. There are other, more important, things for Matthew and Tarl to talk about. Sana is merely a slave. The implication, however, is that she, and others like her, are simply furniture. From this very first scene, we can see the beginnings of Norman's outlook on slavery. Later, of course, Sana plays an important role in the story. This is indicative of Norman's (I shall use the nome de plume when discussing the author, the real name when discussing the man himself) "early" period - the first six books - where he adopts the annoying habit of having slaves freed to be cherished and loved by their men. But I get ahead of the story.

Matthew discusses many things with Tarl. They discuss Home Stones (pages 26-28 contain the initial treatise on Home Stones and should be studied carefully), the nature of Priest-Kings and their imposition of limited technology on men, some theories on the existence and origin of the planet of Gor and how it is concealed. In a few brief paragraphs, Norman takes on the necessary task of scientific explanation. I, as a reader, was never bothered overly much with such details. Who cares if Gor is really possible or not? Enjoy the damn story! And so we move on.

Chapter 3

Tarl begins his education. We meet Torm, and Matthew Cabot speaks of Ubars. The caste system is lightly discussed and we learn that while the system is "immobile" it is not "frozen." One is permitted, or perhaps forced, depending, to raise or lower caste according to one's proclivities or lack of them. We learn that free women are also subject to the caste system (which helps settle a debate I have had elsewhere). On page 45 Tarl speaks (again) of the caste system and we learn he finds it "efficient" but "somehow ethically objectionable." But more pointedly, he then goes on to tell us that the institution of slavery is "deplorable." On the next page we find:

The girl I had originally seen had been a slave. . . . I wondered what had become of her, but I did not inquire. One of the first lessons I was taught on Gor was that concern for a slave was out of place. I decided to wait. I did learn, casually from a Scribe, not Torm, that slaves were not permitted to impart instruction to a free man, since it would place him in their debt, and nothing was owed to a slave. If it was in my power, I resolved to do what I could to abolish what seemed to me a degrading condition. I once talked to my father about the matter, and he merely said that there were many things on Gor worse than the lot of slavery, particularly that of a Tower Slave.

This is the "young" or "early" Tarl that we see. He doesn't yet view slavery the way he eventually will. Simply stated, he does not yet understand what it is to be Gorean. At the time Norman wrote this, had he conceived the path for Tarl that Tarl eventually follows? I don't know (I'd love to sit and discuss it with Dr. Lange some day - wouldn't we all?).

Next Tarl receives his training in arms and we meet the other Tarl, the "Older Tarl." Norman makes a point of insisting that his Warriors must learn to be equally proficient with either hand. I am predominantly right handed, but have always had good left handed coordination. I am not completely ambidextrous (few people are), but I have, over the years, taught myself to do many things with my left hand. I can write passably with either hand. I can use tools, eat, and even shave with either hand. But there are some skills in which I, as Tarl, remain stubbornly right handed. (Interestingly, as I write this, my boss just peeked in my office to return the lighter he had borrowed. He tossed it at me and I, without realizing it until I went back to writing this, caught it with my left hand.) I am not sure why Norman included this but it does not, to my knowledge, come up again.

We are treated to the contests between Tarl and the Older Tarl as Tarl is taught sword fighting skills. The comment "You are dead!" is one that I, as a Marine, have heard over and over in training. It is an attempt to make trainees understand that they are about the business of death. It is difficult to instill that mind-set in young trainees when they know that they cannot be hurt. At any rate, when Tarl finally succeeds in "killing" the Older Tarl, Norman compares it to chess. As a boy, my father and I played chess often. He always won. My mother told him that he should let me win sometime, but my father refused, saying that it would be a hollow victory. He wanted me to know that when I finally did win, I had done so by my own skill. One day, I did win. I will never forget the feeling, and I thank my father for making me earn a true victory.

Norman's ideas about the Warrior Caste and it's codes coincide so closely with my own that I often wonder if I have had original thoughts in these matters or if I am simply echoing what I have read in the Gor series. I first began to read the books as a young teenager. Were the foundations for my views as a Warriors laid that long ago? I do not know. I only know that Norman understands Warriors. I have certainly not confined my study of war to a single author. Marines are encouraged to study and learn such things. Norman's ideas, while not nearly as deep as others, resonate as truly.

The chapter closes as Tarl as introduced to his tarn.

Until next time, Goreans, I wish you well.

Zeb