The Butterfly Lion

The novel considers several different kinds of memorials to the dead: commemorative awards issued by the governments of nations, acknowledgments bestowed by institutions, and finally, legacies created by loved ones to those closest to them. While each has a purpose and is significant, the novel argues that only the memorials that come from the deepest feelings can immortalize those who have died.

The first set of memorials readers see in the novel is the result of the senseless bloodshed of WWI. The novel portrays this conflict as a confusing, pointless waste of human life; the only moments of bravery and heroism come from soldiers regaining their humanity in the face of the slaughter. When Bertie rescues two fellow soldiers as both English and German soldiers look on in admiration, briefly not seeing each other as enemies, he is awarded the Victoria Cross medal—the highest wartime honor given by the UK to members of the armed forces to exhibit valor while in combat. His actions are also written about in the newspaper. However, for Bertie, these accolades do little to address the survivor’s guilt he feels about living through a war that has killed so many—he dismisses the adulation as “a lot of old codswallop” (86), outdated pomp that cannot give meaning to what he and others have endured.

When Bertie dies, the boarding school in Wiltshire erects a plaque in his honor that reads, “And the Lion Shall Lie Down with the Lamb” (122)—the second kind of memorial the novel describes. Here, an institution has commemorated one of its graduates, in theory to both acknowledge his contribution to the world and to inspire future generations of students to live up to alumni achievements. This plaque is much more in line with Bertie’s beliefs than the medal. Given Bertie’s view that war is not only nonsensical and foolish, being heralded with the biblical image of peace—the lamb sleeping with the lion for all eternity—is fitting. This memorial is thus not a monument to his bravery in war, but to his belief in peace and his lifelong friendship with the lion he rescued. However, despite the appropriateness of the sentiment, the plaque does not really make Bertie’s memory a lasting one—so few of the schoolboys look at the wall of illustrious alumni names, that when Michael does so, his teacher is surprised and curious. While well-intentioned, this form of commemoration is comparably lackluster.

In stark contrast, the butterfly lion of the novel’s title is a memorial that not only immortalizes its subject, but even gives a new magical life. When his lion dies, Bertie creates a monument that will live on forever, recalling a white horse carved into a chalk hillside, “That horse never died, did it? It’s still alive, isn’t it?” (115). From the minute 10-year-old Michael Morpurgo sees the butterfly lion monument that took 20 years to carve into the hillside, he knows that he must hold on to this image forever: “I saw him, blue and shimmering in the sun, one afternoon in June when I was young. A long time ago. But I don’t forget. I mustn’t forget” (7). The chalk image of the lion carved into the hillside is an astonishing monument, but it is not until the Adonis Blue butterflies came to “drink on the chalk face” that the lion truly, “breathes again like a living creature” (116). The sight inspires awe and reverence in Michael, whose life is forever altered by the magnificence of the monument and the story of The White Prince. After listening to Millie’s story of fortitude, steadfastness, and the enduring power of friendship, Michael is inspired and transformed in exactly the right way. The monument to the lion has truly immortalized this creature.