The Magician's Nephew | Chapter 12: Strawberry's Adventure

Chapter Summary:

The chapter begins with Aslan asking Digory if he is ready to correct the wrong he has done (bring the Witch into Narnia), and Digory says that he is. Digory again asks if there's anything Aslan can do to help his mother, and Aslan does not answer, only agreeing that Digory's grief is great.

To correct his wrong, Aslan wants Digory to travel far across Narnia to retrieve an apple. The apple is to be used to plant a tree that the Witch will not come near, thereby protecting Narnia from her for a long time. 

Aslan then asks Strawberry, the horse, to take Digory on his journey. As a result, Aslan gives the horse wings (they sprout from Strawberry's back), and renames the horse Fledge. Polly says that she wants to go on the journey as well, so Digory and Polly fly away on the newly-winged, newly-named Fledge. 

Fledge, Digory, and Polly travel for hours through the air across Narnia. Eventually they stop for dinner; Fledge eats grass, and Digory and Polly only have some leftover toffee to eat. Then, they sleep for the night. During the night, they hear a noise, and are fairly certain that something else is in the area with them.

Reflection:

An amusing point of this chapter is when Fledge, Digory, and Polly cease their flight for the evening to stop and have dinner. Fledge immediately begins to eat the grass, and invites Digory and Polly to join him. Digory replies that they cannot eat grass--and here is the short conversation that ensues between Fledge, Digory, and Polly:

"'Well--h'm--don't know quite what you'll do then. Very good grass too.' 

Polly and Digory stared at one another in dismay. 

'Well, I do think someone might have arranged about our meals,' said Digory. 

'I'm sure Aslan would have, if you'd asked him,' said Fledge. 

'Wouldn't he know without being asked?' said Polly. 

'I've no doubt he would,' said the Horse (still with his mouth full). 'But I've a sort of idea he likes to be asked'" (p. 60).

What an interesting passage. Taking TCON as allegory (which of course a great deal of it is), I think C.S. Lewis is sending a 2-part message to the reader here. First, I think Lewis is teaching the important lesson of critical thinking. When Digory agrees to go on a long journey, he just assumes that everything is going to work out perfectly without giving a second thought to his basic needs (let's hope he remembered to ask Aslan for some toilet paper and a toothbrush at least). It is most definitely important to think about what to pack for a journey before beginning that journey--otherwise you could end up eating jut toffee for dinner, which is what happens to Digory and Polly. But the lesson goes beyond packing--it's important to be forward-thinking in general, which is what Digory and Polly have failed to do. (Digory has actually failed to be forward-thinking a huge number of times, which has resulted in a large number of the events of The Magician's Nephew, but at least here the only consequence is an empty stomach.)

I believe the other message being sent here is a more theological one. I remember from a religion course in college discussing the debate within the early church--does God help those who help themselves, or does God help those who are helpless (have no other way of being helped)? I think it's fairly clear which side of the discussion Lewis stands on. In a just-slightly-sarcastic way, Fledge tells Digory and Polly that he's pretty sure dinner would have been provided for them, if only they had remembered to ask. (Another way to read Fledge's statement is that Digory and Polly still could ask Aslan for dinner; notice that Fledge doesn't use the past tense.)

And in the back of my mind, this is also an interesting conversation because if Fledge is saying that Aslan helps those who ask to be helped, then it is notable that Digory has twice asked for help for his mother's ailment, and has twice been met with a vague or unhelpful answer from Aslan. Or perhaps we just see it as vague or unhelpful at the time--I don't know how the situation with Digory's mother turns out. Time will tell.