Prince Caspian

In these passages Lewis continues to use imagery and sensory descriptions to help the reader imagine the children’s adventures in Narnia. He describes their experience of the rowboat, writing:

The sea began to grow bigger around them and, in the distance, bluer, but close round the boat it was green and bubbly. Everything smelled salt and there was no noise except the swishing of water and the clop-clop of water against the sides and the splash of the oars and the jolting noise of the rowlocks. The sun grew hot (1231).

The author also uses humor to provide young readers with comic relief. Trumpkin often uses alliterative and colorful expressions to show his surprise, such as “Soup and celery!” (1002), “Thimbles and thunderstorms!” (1057), and “Lobsters and lollipops! (1090).

These chapters build on the theme of The Triumph of Faith and Courage. As in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lucy is the most intuitive of the Pevensie children in matters of belief. Lucy’s openness to the spiritual and divine now make her the only child to see Aslan in the woods. Lewis implies that the older children have lost some of their childlike imagination and forgotten Aslan’s power, as they rely on their rational senses rather than trusting their sister; Lucy expresses her frustration with them by saying, “Don’t talk like a grown-up” (1392). Not all maturation is bad, however. Edmund has grown since the last novel, when he disparaged Lucy’s credibility in front of their siblings; he now decides to take Lucy at her word and urges the group to travel upriver toward Aslan. Lewis uses this conflict to suggest how nonbelievers may misunderstand or even persecute people who have faith (specifically Christians, in Lewis’s framework). He will also suggest, however, that it is important to listen to one’s faith regardless of the opinions of others—something that Lucy does not quite have the confidence to do, as evidenced by the fact that she doesn’t seek Aslan out.

The reader also learns more about the differing opinions and beliefs of the Old Narnian characters. In spite of his acceptance of Prince Caspian, Nikabrik remains suspicious and violent, immediately threatening Doctor Cornelius when he meets him. His hatred of this “half-and-halfer” (part human, part dwarf) affirms that Nikabrik is quick to judge those unlike himself. Trumpkin is depicted as a more thoughtful character, as he is more tolerant of Doctor Cornelius and also humble enough to admit when he is wrong; he apologizes to the children for underestimating them and thanks them for teaching him a lesson, demonstrating The Process of Sin, Forgiveness, and Redemption. These events add depth to these characters and continue to foreshadow conflict between Nikabrik and Trumpkin later in the book.

Magic continues to play a significant role in the story. Lewis explains that while the Pevensie children were ordinary children in England, they are much more capable in Narnia. For example, Edmund owes his success in his practice fight against Trumpkin to the Narnian atmosphere: “[T]he air of Narnia had been working upon him ever since they arrived on the island, and all his old battles came back to him, and his arms and fingers remembered their old skill” (1146). This description suggests that magic is embedded in the very fabric of Narnia, influencing and assisting the good characters as they work to fulfill their destinies. In Lewis’s Christian worldview, this magic seems like a manifestation of Aslan’s/God’s power and purpose, which suffuse all of creation and guide it to good ends. This is one reason why the novel emphasizes Spirituality and Humanity’s Relationship to Nature: The natural world can reveal and enact divine will.