CHAPTER VII -Thuvia, Maid of Mars

And with that, he was gone, leaving Jav with his brows drawn down in puzzled contemplation of his act. He could not understand. Neither
could he know that Carthoris had gleaned from the things Jav had let drop hints which he had not intended to impart in the hope that they might lead the Heliumite to act precisely as he had acted.

Enveloped in a scenario of illusion versus reality, Chapter VII of “Thuvia, Maid of Mars” titled “The Phantom Bowmen” embarks on an intense confrontation at the Lotharian court. Surrounded by apparitional archers, Prince Carthoris of Helium, alongside Princess Thuvia of Ptarth, face the perplexing and manipulative Jeddak Tario and his adept, Jav. This chapter intriguingly explores the power of suggestion versus tangible existence, moving through an altercation where Carthoris’s sword meets only air, revealing the bowmen as mere illusions fabricated by Tario’s and Jav’s potent minds.

Tario’s evident captivation by Thuvia’s appearance triggers an ensuing debate of Barsoomian etiquette, revealing a stark cultural contrast between the courts of Lothar and those of Helium and Ptarth. Despite their dignified refusal to prostrate, Carthoris’s declaration of their identity seems to fall on disbelieving ears. Jav’s subsequent actions, under Tario’s orders, catapult Carthoris into a deeper intrigue within Lothar’s ethereal society, marked by a denial of physicality and a reliance on the mental materialization of sustenance and warriors.

The subsequent elucidation by Jav of Lotharian customs provides Carthoris with a clearer understanding of their reliance on mental power, illustrating a civilization that thrives on the brink of extinction through the strength of collective thought. This mental prowess allows them to manifest everything from their food to their defenders, shadowing the true direness of their existence.

Amid their conversation, Carthoris expresses concern for Thuvia’s well-being, underlining the narrative’s prevalent themes of honor, duty, and the persistence of tangible needs despite being in an environment governed by the intangible. Conversely, Jav’s detailed exposition regarding Komal—the essence of all and consumer of those deemed substantial, including unfortunate realists—underscores the intense ideological divide within Lothar between etherealists and realists.

As Carthoris’s disbelief in the ethereal sustenance and his determination to return to Thuvia’s side illustrate, this chapter fundamentally debates the essence of reality, sustaining a thematic tension between what is perceived and what substantively exists. Through his actions and inquiries, Carthoris not only confronts the perplexity of Lotharian society but also stands as a bastion of physicality and emotion in a domain besieged by the abstract and immaterial.