Prince Caspian | Chapter 2: The Ancient Treasure House

Chapter Summary:

This chapter opens with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy realizing that they are not in fact in a garden courtyard, but in the ruins of an old castle. They decide to make a fire so that they can safely spend the night in the ruins. After doing so, Susan goes to a nearby well that they had found to get some water. She returns with a chess piece, exactly like one they had used at Cair Paravel as Kings and Queens of Narnia.

At this point, Peter provides evidence that they are, in fact, sitting in the ruins of Cair Paravel. His evidence includes the layout of the ruins, the apple orchard (which they had planted as Kings and Queens of Narnia), and the chess piece. The four children realize that if this is indeed Cair Paravel, they are sitting just beside a door that leads to a stairway. Indeed, they clear away the ivy, find a door, go through it, and go down a stairway.

At the bottom of the stairway, the children find an old treasure room. They recognize many of the treasures, and are then certain that this is Cair Paravel. At the back of the room, they retrieve the treasures that Father Christmas had given them--Peter's sword and shield, Susan's bow and arrows (her horn was lost when they were hunting the White Stag and returned to England), and Lucy's healing cordial. 

They then climbed back up the stairs and gathered around their fire to fall asleep for the night.

Reflection:

This chapter here is a full lesson in nostalgia. As soon as it begins to settle into their minds that they are actually in the ruins of their former castle, where they were Kings and Queens, a strangely adult-like form of nostalgia begins to take place within the children as they see things that remind them of days past. I think this topic is interestingly relevant today, which (as of the day I'm writing this) marks the 45th anniversary of the beginning of Woodstock--the quintessential "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" moment of the 1960s, and despite (or perhaps, in light of) the assassinations and historical movements, this remains the nostalgic moment of the 1960s. So, this is relevant to our current world, and relevant to anyone who has ever left something or someone they are fond of, only to think about it later.

Of course, there is also a fine line between nostalgia and living in the past. The past is the past for a reason, and no matter what we do, we cannot repeat the past, (though Mr. Jay Gatsby would disagree). I do wonder what C.S. Lewis will do with this novel--I have read it before, but I don't remember much of it... Will the former Kings and Queens of Narnia pick up where they left off? The destruction of Cair Paravel suggests that the answer is no, but their immediate reclaiming of the gifts of Father Christmas suggest that this might actually be possible. Thus, I don't really have an answer yet.

But, there is no harm in some nostalgia for Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. There is something perfectly wonderful about nostalgic moments, such that they create themselves positive memories, creating an almost never-ending path of nostalgic moments. Take for instance the fact that I am sitting here in my office trying to think of moments I have most enjoyed, and one that comes to mind is singing Mickey Mouse Christmas carols with my younger brother every year around Christmas time. We do this because, coincidentally, one of the Christmas albums we listened to most as children was this Mickey Mouse Christmas CD, and it happens to still be at our parents house. We sing along until we are laughing too hard to go on. This moment, of course, harkens back to the fact that we listened to the CD as young children, taking the music very seriously--Minnie is one hell of a soprano, in case you're wondering. Thus, nostalgia builds upon nostalgia, and we smile longingly at times past, even though we move forward. This, I suspect, is exactly what Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy will encounter as they move through this story. 

I leave you with a few words from this chapter, which should evoke some nostalgia for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:

"With one swift motion [Peter] drew it and held it up, shining in the torchlight.  

'It is my sword, Rhindon,' he said; 'with it I killed the Wolf.' There was a new tone in his voice, and the others all felt that he was really Peter the High King again. Then, after a little pause, everyone remembered that they must save the battery" (p. 224).