Prince Caspian | Chapter 12: Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance

Chapter Summary:

This chapter opens with Trumpkin, Peter, and Edmund going into Aslan's How. When they reach the door to the center chamber, they hear Caspian, Nikabrik, Trufflehunter, and Doctor Cornelius talking angrily on the inside. Trumpkin, Peter, and Edmund stay outside of the chamber, and listen at the door.

The conversation inside the chamber is led by Nikabrik, who claims that the blowing of Queen Susan's horn has failed--and that no help is coming. The battles against King Miraz have been devastating, and Nikabrik wants to seek another route to victory. 

Nikabrik has brought two other creatures into the chamber as well, in order to support his cause. Trumpkin, Peter, and Susan can only hear the voices of these creatures as they pledge support to Nikabrik.

Nikabrik then suggests bringing back the White Witch to help them claim victory. This brings strong resistance by the others in the room, and when Nikabrik says that he will have his way regardless of the consent of the others, Caspian draws his sword. Nikabrik's friends are revealed to be a Hag and a Wer-Wolf.

Trumpkin, Peter, and Edmund burst into the room, and the light is extinguished. When the fighting stops, about a minute later, the Hag, Wer-Wolf, and Nikabrik are dead. Caspian has been bitten by the Wer-Wolf, but no one else is hurt. Caspian and Peter meet. Peter thanks Trufflehunter for his loyalty.

Reflection:

We learn in this chapter that all supernatural evil is not completely gone from Narnia. Just as in The Lord of the Rings, where we know a great evil had come before Sauron, and a great evil will come after, so evil has replaced itself in Narnia. This is the first mention, to my knowledge, of creatures such as Hags and Wer-Wolves in Narnia since the time of the 100-year winter when the White Witch was still in control of Narnia. Unfortunately, evil has come again. 

This chapter also shows us one of the more gruesome scenes of TCON series thus far, and frankly, one of the least likely. I think this is what I want to talk about today. First, let's start with the concept of suspending reality. Any fantasy tales, which we know could not literally happen in our world, require the reader or viewer or consumer to suspend their reality of the world as they know it. Young children get this concept pretty darn early. I would suspect that most five-year-olds have a pretty good understanding of what can be real, and what cannot. For instance, I would guess that most of them, by that age, know that badgers cannot talk (sorry, Trufflehunter). So, we suspend reality for the sake of the story and the enjoyment thereof.

But, I'm of the opinion that even within this suspension of reality, the story must be realistic. For instance, it would be absurd for the battle of Helm's Deep in The Lord of the Rings to occur without casualties on both sides. Sure, the good guys win, but that doesn't mean that the good guys fought a perfect battle with zero casualties. Lives were lost, and consequences of the battle reached far and wide. 

I think that's why I struggle with this chapter of TCON. Enter Trumpkin, Peter, and Edmund into the chamber, where we have Caspian, Trufflehunter, Doctor Cornelius, Nikabrik, the Hag, and the Wer-Wolf. Sure, this means the battle is going to be 2-to-1 against Nikabrik, the Hag, and the Wer-Wolf, but really? The lights go out, there is chaos, and out emerges all of the good guys, completely and wholly victorious... This is not suspension of reality. This is a ridiculously unlikely and unrealistic occurrence, never to really occur in real life. 

Now, sure, we can argue that Aslan happens to be just about 30 feet directly above them, and yes, they are located at the magical location of the Stone Table where good conquered all evil in Narnia... And that perhaps explains it a bit. But I just don't think the outcome is realistic at all. This took suspension of reality just a little to far for me--to the point of absurd.