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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 2271840" data-attributes="member: 4937">It should be obvious from my definitions that I consider the Barsoom stories to be firmly in the category of fantasy (I think I've already mentioned them in that context at least once in this thread).&nbsp;&nbsp; I would put Princess of Mars into exactly the same category of Fantasy as I do the Star Wars saga.&nbsp;&nbsp; In fact, I could hardly ask for a better example of a fantasy work than the Barsoom stories, since John Carter is a larger than life superhero (both physically and morally) that travels around a stage of perfect moral clarity, and the meaning of the entire work can be summed up simply by making a list in which every sentence begins with &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen...&quot;For example...&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen will fight any foe and travel any distance of the love of a woman.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen does not understand women.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen is a fast and loyal friend, and a dangerous enemy.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen refuses to accept an insult.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentleman obeys a code of martial honor, and gives respect to his enemy when it is due.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen does not get overly involved in the rituals of organized religion and mocks the foolish guiliblity of&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; those that do.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen does not judge people by the color of thier skin, and mocks the foolishness of those that become obsessed with such distinctions.&quot;And so on and so forth.I'm quite certain that the only reason that ERB drapes his stories in the occasionaly trappings of super-science is that he feels that given the interests of audience, that doing so will give his story a little more heft and grit.&nbsp;&nbsp; One could even argue that the superficial trappings of science are part of his code of a Virginia Gentlemen.&nbsp;&nbsp; As in...&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen doesn't read girly fairie stories.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp; &quot;A Virginia Gentlemen has a scientific mind which rebels at rank superstition.&quot;And so forth.I agree.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 2271840, member: 4937"] It should be obvious from my definitions that I consider the Barsoom stories to be firmly in the category of fantasy (I think I've already mentioned them in that context at least once in this thread). I would put Princess of Mars into exactly the same category of Fantasy as I do the Star Wars saga. In fact, I could hardly ask for a better example of a fantasy work than the Barsoom stories, since John Carter is a larger than life superhero (both physically and morally) that travels around a stage of perfect moral clarity, and the meaning of the entire work can be summed up simply by making a list in which every sentence begins with "A Virginia Gentlemen..." For example... "A Virginia Gentlemen will fight any foe and travel any distance of the love of a woman." "A Virginia Gentlemen does not understand women." "A Virginia Gentlemen is a fast and loyal friend, and a dangerous enemy." "A Virginia Gentlemen refuses to accept an insult." "A Virginia Gentleman obeys a code of martial honor, and gives respect to his enemy when it is due." "A Virginia Gentlemen does not get overly involved in the rituals of organized religion and mocks the foolish guiliblity of those that do." "A Virginia Gentlemen does not judge people by the color of thier skin, and mocks the foolishness of those that become obsessed with such distinctions." And so on and so forth. I'm quite certain that the only reason that ERB drapes his stories in the occasionaly trappings of super-science is that he feels that given the interests of audience, that doing so will give his story a little more heft and grit. One could even argue that the superficial trappings of science are part of his code of a Virginia Gentlemen. As in... "A Virginia Gentlemen doesn't read girly fairie stories." "A Virginia Gentlemen has a scientific mind which rebels at rank superstition." And so forth. I agree. [/QUOTE]

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