The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | Chapter 11: The Dufflepuds Made Happy

Chapter Summary:

The chapter opens as Lucy follows Aslan out of the door and into the upstairs hallway of the Magician's house. The Magician, named Coriakin, welcomes Aslan. Aslan says that he must go to Cair Paravel to visit Trumpkin, and vanishes after telling Lucy that he will see her soon. 

Coriakin treats Lucy to a nice meal, and they converse. Coriakin says that the Duffers (the voices) will be visible again. Lucy also learns that Coriakin had not actually made the Duffers ugly; he made them different, but the Duffers decided that they were now ugly. Coriakin said that he changed them to help them better work in the garden, which is their most common form of work.

Coriakin and Lucy join Caspian and Edmund. They all see the Monopod creatures--the Duffers--on the lawn. They are basically dwarfs with one giant foot, hence the thumping. Instead of walking, they hop. The Duffers celebrate their visibility and Lucy's success. Lucy does her best to convince the Duffers that they are not ugly. 

Everyone, Narnians and Duffers, go back to the Dawn Treader and celebrate. Reepicheep teaches the Duffers to surf using their large feet, and feasts are had. The Duffers like the name Monopod and try to adopt it, but instead mix up their name, calling themselves the Dufferpuds. Coriakin makes a map of the voyage of the Dawn Treader thus far and gives it to Caspian. Coriakin says that he knows nothing more about the sea to the east, but he does know that a boat with four of the seven Narnian lords had passed their island in the past. Coriakin mends the stern of the Dawn Treader. The Dawn Treader sails away.

Reflection: 

This chapter brings the end of the mystery of the voices, which turn out to simply be silly, rather harmless, and ridiculously agreeable (but rather stupid) creatures called the Duffers, or Monopods, or as they became to be known for centuries thereafter, Dufflepuds. This chapter gives us a nice thick dose of the age-old lesson that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Despite thinking that they have been uglified by the cruel magician, what the Dufflepuds don't know (or don't seem to remember) is that the magician changed their to make their work more effective and easier than it was before. They have convinced themselves (which they do very, very easily) that they have been made ugly. This, in turn, is what causes them to make themselves invisible. 

Lucy does her best to convince the Dufflepuds that they are not ugly creatures, and does a fairly decent job, given how agreeable the Dufflepuds are. But the lesson is the same--the Dufflepuds only think that they are ugly because their concept of beauty is different than they actually currently are. It would be much the same if all humans were suddenly made to have one leg and a really, really large foot. We would all think that we are rather different-looking than before, and probably not regard this new trait immediately as beautiful.

But, over time, things can change. Even by the end of the story, the Dufflepuds have begun to accept themselves as they are. This, most likely, is what Aslan has in mind for them before Aslan introduces himself to these creatures. (Interestingly, Aslan tells Coriakin that the Dufflepuds are not ready to interact with him yet--not for a very long time.) I think the Dufflepuds need to gain some confidence in themselves before they can handle the presence of Aslan.

Onward we go to the most exciting portion of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I'm going to do my best to get a little more on schedule this weekend...