The Horse and His Boy | Chapter 5: Prince Corin

Chapter Summary:

This chapter begins with King Edmund telling Queen Susan (and everyone else in the room) that he is afraid that they will be kept as prisoners or slaves if Susan rejects Prince Rabadash's marriage proposal. (Both Edmund and Mr. Tumnus provide evidence.) The topic turns to the possibility of war between Calormene and Archenland/Narnia, and a Talking Raven (Sallowpad) describes how an invasion would be possible by land, through the desert.

Luckily, Mr. Tumnus devises a plan to get the Narnians out of Tashbaan--they will send an invitation to Prince Rabadash to have a dinner on their ship the following night. They will even purchase everything needed for the meal, and pack their belongings on the ship. Then, they will sail away the night before the dinner is to be held. The plan is agreed upon by all.

Everyone exits the room to go to dinner, and only Shasta remains in the room. Mr. Tumnus brings Shasta dinner, and then Shasta falls asleep.

Shasta is awoken near the morning (several hours later) by a boy climbing in the window--it is Prince Corin. Shasta explains that he has been mistaken for the Prince, and even discloses that he is escaping to Narnia on a horse named Bree. Prince Corin explains where he has been as well (resolving an adolescent brawl and then escaping the consequences, in short). Prince Corin tells Shasta how to escape out of the same window that Corin has just entered. They part ways, as fast friends, and Corin says that he hopes they meet in Archenland.

Reflection:

Really for the first time in this chapter (and a bit in the last), we get a little glimpse at the life that Peter, Susan, and Edmund have been living in Narnia since their coronation in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The end of that book tells us that they go on to live in Narnia for many more years, but we know nothing more of their adventures until now. Here, we find a Queen Susan who is old enough to be marrying, and an Edmund who is mature enough to be giving her marital advice (who would have thought?). Their personalities have changed, as well as their ways of speaking--which we witnessed a bit of at the end of the last book.

And now that I think about it, it's rather interesting that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe gives us a glimpse into the beginning and the end of the reign of Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. This, then, is one of their many adventures in the middle, told through the eyes of our protagonists, Shasta, Bree, Aravis, and Hwin. 

It is always interesting reading a story knowing how it will end--not intuitively, but actually know how it will end. We are given the endpoint, and then are given glimpses into those spaces in the middle. I have read novels like this, where the end is either known or directly presented, and then the actions leading up to that conclusion are then described over the course of the book. (I can't think of others off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are plenty of examples.) 

And it tells us important things throughout the story as well. For instance, even while reading this chapter, we can be fairly certain that Queen Susan and King Edmund are not captured and held as slaves, and we can be 100% certain that they are not killed for the plan of deceit that they are about to undertake. We know this because they must survive to re-enter the wardrobe in the forest at some point in the future. In some ways, this eases the tension a bit. The reader knows that they all survive, but not quite how. It is the story in between that is the adventure, and it will be interesting to see how Shasta's story continues to intertwine with the one we already know so well.