Prince Caspian

Dr. Richard J. Henderson June 8, 2008

click for printable version

Job 37:21-24
Matthew 9:9-13

Introduction

C. S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia books, was a great scholar and a prolific writer. He was professor of Medieval and Renaissance literature at both Cambridge and Oxford.

Beginning in the late 1940's he began writing a series of books about children and their adventures in a land called Narnia. About a year and a half ago, one of these stories was made into a movie - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. We encouraged you to see that movie and/or read the book, and we led a discussion about it.

The second film, Prince Caspian, was released May 16. We have encouraged you to see the movie, or read the book, not just because these are wonderful stories, but because they have Christian messages in them. Lewis wanted to talk with kids about faith in an indirect way through these books.

I

For those of you who haven't seen the movie or read the book, here's a synopsis of what happens. The story begins as four children - Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, are waiting in a train station. Suddenly, Lucy feels a sting and pull, and all four of them are swept away into Narnia. They end up at the castle where they ruled as kings and queens, except now the place is fallen down and overgrown.

They have been gone from Narnia only one year, but 1300 years have passed in Narnia. Later they see a boat come down a river with two soldiers and a large lump on board. As the soldiers throw the lump into the water, it begins to scream. Susan shoots an arrow that glances off the helmet of one of the soldiers and they both dive into the water and swim away.

Peter and Susan jump in to rescue the lump, which turns out to be Trumpkin, a red dwarf. He is a messenger of Prince Caspian. He brings them up to date on what has happened in Narnia.

After they left Narnia, people called Telmarines invaded their land, drove the talking animals and other Narnian creatures into hiding, and suppressed the memory that they had ever existed.

Narnia is now ruled by Miraz, an evil ruler. Miraz was going to allow Prince Caspian to be king after he died because he had no heir. But now his wife has delivered a son, and Miraz is hunting down Prince Caspian to kill him. Miraz also killed Prince Caspian's father in order to get the throne.

In fleeing, Prince Caspian is found by the Narnian animals. They have a council and decide Prince Caspian must be king because he will rule fairly and give the animals and dwarfs an equal voice with the other people in the land.

They will have to defeat Miraz, so they prepare for war. Several battles take place and Prince Caspian and his troops of animals, centaurs, and dwarfs are losing badly. Prince Caspian decides that he must sound the magic horn, which is only supposed to be used in dire emergencies (It is the horn that Susan left in Narnia at the end of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe).

The horn is what has drawn the four children from the train station. When the children find Prince Caspian, Peter decides he must challenge Miraz in a one-to-one battle that will determine which side wins. The battle goes badly for Peter and he is afraid he may be killed. But then Miraz falls to the ground and two of his own soldiers stab him so that they can take his power.

Then a full battle takes place with the four children and Prince Caspian> versus the Telmarines. How the battle goes is surprising, so I won't spoil it for you. Prince Caspian is made king and rules fairly, treating the Narnian dwarfs, animals, moving trees, and centaurs equally. The four children return to the train station and discover that almost no time has passed.

II

Some of you who saw the movie might not remember it just that way. The movie and the book are quite different. Not surprisingly, the movie has been "Hollywoodized." Huge sections of the film involve the battle scenes, while the book shows more of the development of the characters.

There are several Christian themes in Prince Caspian: losing your way and finding it with God's help, dealing with fear and having courage, admitting when you're wrong and apologizing.

One of the themes involves believing when others around you disbelieve. Lucy sees Aslan, the lion, and others doubt her. Aslan is the Christ figure in the book and movie. Then as the others begin to believe they see first Aslan's shadow and then Aslan himself.

C. S. Lewis once said that this book was about the restoration of true religion after corruption - a kind of reformation. If Narnia represents the church, we can see how it is taken over by evil forces and then won back by those who will value diversity and serve with fairness and equality.

III

One of the themes of Prince Caspian is that self-centeredness and evil not only make us unhappy, they isolate us from other people. King Miraz only cares about himself, and therefore, he is isolated, unhappy, and ruthless. We see him as an angry, bitter person even though he has made himself king.

We saw the same thing in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe with the ice queen. She ruled fiercely but had no friends and was unhappy. Obviously, she was a very cold person. She always worried about who would turn against her next. Even Edmund in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe became isolated and unhappy when he sided with the queen. He realized he had let the others down. He got what he wanted and then learned that it wasn't really what he wanted.

IV

One of the major themes of Lewis' stories is a sense of awe toward God. God is represented in the powerful figure Aslan, the lion, who is kind and gentle, but also ferocious, fearful, and mysterious. The children can't make Aslan appear at will.

When Aslan appears in Prince Caspian, the narrator says they feel "as glad as anyone can who feels afraid, and as afraid as anyone can who feels glad." One commentator has described the response as "simultaneous awe and delight." I think that's what Lewis intended.

In The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe Susan asks the beaver about Aslan: "Is he safe?" The beaver answers, "Course he isn't safe, but he's good."

V

The first theme I saw was the way in which those who worked for good brought back fairness and equality to those who were outcast, looked down on, and forgotten. The dwarfs, animals, and centaurs were all put down. They were forced out of the kingdom. Prince Caspian works with them to regain their rightful place.

It made me think of Jesus speaking out for those who were rejected. Again and again the religious leaders criticized him for associating with those who were looked down on, who were considered sinners. Jesus defended the outcasts who heard his word and followed him - tax collectors, prostitutes, and Samaritans. Jesus taught that God's kingdom includes those whom society ignores.

The children and Prince Caspian fight to give back a place to those whom Miraz not only rejected but tried to get people to forget.

Conclusion

Finally, one striking comment that says a great deal. When Lucy first meets Aslan again, she is a little surprised and she says, "You're bigger!"

Aslan answers, "I get bigger as you get older."

Indeed, as we mature, as we gain experience, He gets bigger.

I read this part to the Mid-Highs last Sunday, and they said, "We don't get it."

I wanted to say, "You'll understand it as you get older."

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2008