Prince Caspian

In the end, Caspian becomes the rightful King of all Narnia. There is an irony here. When he was born, he was the son of King Caspian IX. It would be easy to conclude that as Caspian X, he had a right to resist his uncle Miraz and take his father’s throne, or did he? The end of the story reveals that the Telemarines are not a noble class of lords, but pirates who accidentally stumbled into Narnia from our world. Their rule was never legitimate. They ruled by domination. Caspian becomes the true King by the decree of Aslan, and not by the right of succession. In this case, the term true means that he is accepted by the Old Narnians.

There are a lot of parallels that could be drawn here. The book was first published in 1951 when the atrocities of the Third Reich were still fresh in the minds of the world and the cold war was beginning to effect a new uneasiness about power. The exercise of that sort of power creates chaos and distruction. Lewis, however, gives us a view of the King as a steward, a biblical image to be sure. When asked, "Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?" Caspian gives the correct answer, "I don’t think I do, Sir… I’m only a kid." The quality that will serve Caspian is the knowledge that he is not sufficient in himself, but dependent upon both the community of the Narnians and the grace of Aslan. Caspian cannot place any stock in his lineage to give him authority. In fact, after learning the origins of his race he observes, "I was wishing that I came of a more honorable lineage." Aslan’s answer is more of the children of our world than for Narnians. "You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve, and that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content." There is very little difference between the greatest and the least of the human family, between the ruling nobles and the treacherous pirates. We are of one skin. The goal then cannot be to become more than we are. In other words, "Be content."

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