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Summary of Jag Jane by Cecilia Bornäs

Summary and foreword by Fredrik Ekman

Foreword

Jag Jane (Me Jane), first published in Sweden in 2000, was Cecilia Bornäs' first novel. It deals with the Tarzan myth from Jane's perspective, even though the name Tarzan is never once mentioned in it, probably for copyright reasons. Written in a very strong and distinctive style, the book became an immediate success, both with critics and with the public.

The book has also been published in Germany (Ich, Jane) and Holland (Ik Jane). I believe that those translations have also been very successful in their respecitve countries.

There is no doubt that Bornäs did a reasonably thorough research before writing the book. She must have read at least the first two of the books in the Tarzan series, since there are several references to names and events in the books. For instance, she calls Tarzan by the name Jean; Jane is firmly established as an upper-class girl from Baltimore; and La is mentioned as being a friend of Jean. It may or may not be co-incidence that the book was published the year after the first three Tarzan books were reprinted in Swedish.

But Bornäs has also, probably purposefully, chosen to ignore many things. In particular, her Jean is not the social chameleon that Burroughs portrays in his books. While Burroughs' Tarzan can easily learn to behave like a gentleman if he must, even though the jungle animal always remains under the polished surface, Bornäs' Jean is more of the uneducated savage that we know from many of the Tarzan films.

Jag Jane is not a book that easily lets itself be summarized in 250 words per chapter. The reason is that there is next to no plot to summarize. What little story there is can easily be captured in three short sentences. Instead, the book is filled with Jane's descriptions of her past and present life, of the jungle and its inhabitants, and of Jean. That may sound boring, and it could well have been but for two things. One is Bornäs' powerful style. She mostly writes in short, yet elegant sentences that lends themselves extremely well to quoting. The other is that she does not bore the reader with unnecessary detail, but leaves much to the reader's imagination. This is similar to Burroughs' own intentions, but achieved by partly different means.

The book can be read on many different levels and from many different angles. As a Burroughs fan it is tempting to read it as a critique of Tarzan. Of the values that Burroughs invested in the ape-man and of the values in our society that have kept him alive. From that perspective, however, the book feels incomplete and forced.

A rather more rewarding aspect is to see the book as a feministic and humanistic commentary on our culture. As such, the book certainly gives much food for thought, as it asks many relevant questions and maybe even answers a few. What is the function of feminine beauty? What does it mean to be a mother? What does the relationship between man and woman signify?

But, in my opinion, the best way to read this book is as a psychological portrait of a woman who is looking back on her past life, wondering what to do with what might be left of it. Bornäs' prose, so full of energy, completely manages to breathe life into Jane. Perhaps it is not quite the Jane that we read about in Burroughs' books. In spite of this, or perhaps because of it, this incarnation of Jane is so much more believable and vital than I ever thought Jane could be.

Summary

The Jungle

Characters mentioned in the summary

Jane
Jean (Tarzan)
Bébé (their son)
the she-ape
Jane's father
Jane's mother
Nanny
the gardener

Jungle animals mentioned by name in the book

Gevata, the badger
Hazaga, the glue hydra
Kaa, the python
Kumba, the african gray parrot
Mampata, the polecat
Manita, the rabbit
Manu, the giant hare
Nakanu, the flying squirrel
Noama, the hyena
Numa, the lion
Wuba, the cave fox
Zinga, the morning bird

Jane tries to describe the forest. How the jungle, with its everpresent moisture and vermins, destroys everything. How it forces you to be on your watch constantly. How it taxes your health. How it never lets through any direct sunlight. She also gives the first few glimpses of Jean's personality. His taciturnity, carelessness, savagery and how his love for her seems to have diminished as her body aged and deteriorated. The age-stopping pills from Kavandavanda's treasure did not work. "My complexion was once the most beautiful in Baltimore." She mentions Bébé, her son with Jean, and she hints that he is no longer present. She longs for the happier days of the past. "Now comes the night and the ague. Jean has not yet returned."

The Apes

Jane and Jean live in a bungalow. A small one, that is constantly being eaten by the termites. Apes often move by the building. Staring. Laughing. The she-apes are the worst, especially one particular specimen, easily distinguished by a hen-shaped scar. "If I could choose between being rid of the apes or the poisonous snakes, I would not hesitate a second." The apes tell stories to one another and Jean likes to listen. Like the apes, Jean does not seem to have a concept of death.

The Household

Jane has learned to get along well by herself in the jungle. She hunts, gathers edible plants, cooks and makes preserves. Jean does not like the preserves, but the insects do. The small jungle animals either eat her preserves or lay eggs in them. "Back in Baltimore you could be generous with your fears. When I lived there I allowed myself to be frightened even of harmless bugs." The bungalow is ready to receive guests from Baltimore at any time. But none ever come. The first time Jean left her alone was to search for a gold treasure. She has since become used to loneliness. Jane likes to hunt and Jean has taught her to track. She has sometimes been lost, but so far she has always found her way back.

The Love

As the she-ape stares at her, so did Jean like to stare. Now he has stopped looking. "At least I know that he used to love me." What happened then? Did he no longer see what he was looking for? Jane's mother died young, before her second child was to be born. "My father loved my mother all his life. [...] For him it was not something that could decline and cease to be, as for Jean." Jane's father always worked, so she was raised by Nanny, the maid. She lost her virginity to her father's gardener. But now no-one wants her body. "My private parts will continue being the only thing dry in the jungle." Jean once promised that they would return to civilization, but that never happened. "Now comes darkness. [...] Perhaps tomorrow he will return."

The Adventures

Jane has many scars and each of them represents an enemy in the jungle, such as the evil "glue hydra" that tried to take Bébé. Jean loves gold, but why? "He who has lived all his life in the jungle naturally learns to appreciate a thing that can resist." He often goes on adventures to find more gold, which he stores in a cave. Before, they used to go on gold hunts together. He would carry her, swinging from vine to vine. Jane misses her friends from Baltimore. "Now I can sense the smell of darkness, and still I have not seen him."

The Child

A she-ape pays a visit in the bungalow. Jane tries to talk politely to it, and after it has gone she cleans the bungalow thoroughly. "The smell. How can I air out the smell?" Jean finally came home, and it was he that made the ape go away. She thinks about Bébé, their child. "Human children were not meant to be born in the jungle." She did not want to have the child there, but she was naïve and did not protect herself. She became heavy and swollen with child. "My body became ever more anchored in the rotting soil." Bébé was born quickly. He yelled. Unlike all other newborn in the jungle, he did not learn to walk at once, and he had no teeth. Jean was fascinated with the child, and took him for long trips. Bébé grew older and became strong. "How easy it was to love him!" He had celebrated five birthdays (perhaps as many years) when she stroke his little head for the last time.

The Lord

God seems to have forsaken the jungle. Jane wants Noah to come and build an ark for her to sail away from the wet forest. Time does not let itself be measured in the jungle. How old is Bébé now? How old is Jane herself? She never had any more babies. After Bébé was born, Jean started to stay away from home more and more. He is gone again now, she does not know since how long. She has tried telling Jean about God, but he does not much care. "The apes do not believe in God. That is what happens if you have so much fur that you cannot see your own navel." The apes worship only water. "He has not come home. [...] Tomorrow I will go out and seek. I have tired of waiting."

The Farewell

"I seeked and then I found." Today is like any other day, except that Jane is not waiting any longer. But the loneliness prevails. She hates Jean now, and yet she still loves him. She found him, she caught him in the act of making love with a she-ape, the one with the hen-shaped scar. "No surprise to see me. As if he had waited, as if he was entirely prepared." She could sit and wait now, wait and see if Numa gets her before the ague does. But she will not. Like her son did, she is going to go away. Go out of the jungle. It does not matter which direction she takes. Tomorrow, she will leave.