Narnia Reread: Prince Caspian

I forgot how much I loved Prince Caspian. The more I reread this series, the more I realize that as much as I love The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and as much as it was the gateway to reading the rest of this series, it is not my favorite Narnia book.

One of my favorite character tropes is the reluctant hero. There’s just something about a character who doesn’t think they are good enough to lead or save the day proving they are. Caspian is one of my absolute favorite characters from the Chronicles of Narnia. I learned a while ago that his personality type is INFJ, just like me. As I read through the book this time, I definitely caught a lot of similarities between his actions and thoughts and his own, which made me love him even more.

But my favorite part of Caspian’s story in this book is when he comes face-to-face with Aslan and Aslan asks if Caspian feels sufficient to be king of Narnia. Caspian, of course, doesn’t think he could because he’s only kid. But Aslan’s response is so powerful and important.

“Good, if you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.”

Of course, as much as I love Caspian, I can’t forget the Pevensies. Their part in this story is just as moving. Especially Lucy.

As the Pevensies travel from the ruins of Cair Paravel to Aslan’s How to join Caspian and the other Narnians in their fight against Miraz, they have to overcome a lot of obstacles. One of those is their belief and confidence in Aslan. Early on, Lucy swears she saw Aslan walking through the woods and longs to follow him. But the doubt of her siblings and Trumpkin keep her from following her heart.

Eventually, she does meet Aslan in the woods and she regrets that she didn’t go after him. She tries to blame her siblings for not believing her, but Aslan, gently, shows her that despite their disbelief, she should have done the right thing.

“‘But they won’t believe me!’ said Lucy. 
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Aslan.”

This scene broke my heart because we all feel this way sometimes. Other people don’t share the same beliefs as us or we fear what they might think of us if we do something that goes against the normal. But as Aslan stated, it doesn’t matter. We have to remember what’s the right thing to do and to stand up for what we believe. We have to be lionesses. We have to be like Lucy.

The other part of the Pevensies’ journey I love is when they finally give in to Lucy’s pleas and decide to follow her as she follows Aslan through the woods. Slowly, one by one, their eyes are open to Aslan’s presence and they truly see him walking ahead of them. It’s a powerful passage to connect back to Lucy’s struggle with following her heart. As each Pevensie (and even Trumpkin) see Aslan, they realize their mistakes and faults and apologize to Lucy and to Aslan. I love when Aslan explains to Susan that she listened to her fears, but she no longer has to worry about them because he’s there. He helps make her brave. I love that Edmund, despite not being able to see Aslan, decides to trust Lucy and follow anyways, even if he’s the only one that does. And I love that Trumpkin gets scared out of his boots by Aslan’s presence. No one’s journey to belief in God is quite the same. C.S. Lewis understood that more than any one.

There are small aspects of this book I love as well. All the names of the animals—Patterwig and Trufflehunter and the Bulgy Bears, to name a few. The way the Pevensies act like real siblings. Trumpkin’s exclamations. The beautiful descriptions. While C.S. Lewis is known for his stories, he deserves credit for his writing as well. It’s fantastic.

I could go on and on about how much I love this book and the wonderful themes and messages woven throughout the adventure and exciting battles. How Trufflhunter’s faith is admirable and how Miraz is such an interesting villain. Of the Narnian mythology and the importance of Reepicheep’s tail. But I’ve covered the parts that stood out to me the most, and I cannot wait to crack open The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and see what truths I can discover.

Narnia Reread Posts:

The Magician’s Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair

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