The Last Battle | Chapter 9: The Great Meeting on Stable Hill

Chapter Summary:

It becomes clear to everyone that the only thing left to do is to return to Stable Hill, reveal Shift's scheme, and hope that enough Narnians join them in battle to defeat the Calormenes. Tirian insists that Eustace and Jill return to their world, but Eustace and Jill both don't want to and don't know how to return even if they wanted to. After much begging, Tirian allows them to come with him to go to battle.

During the march back to Stable Hill, Eustace and Jill speculate on what would occur to them if they were to die in battle in Narnia. Neither quite knows the answer. Eustace says that he was worried that the terrible jerk they felt on the train was a railway accident, so he was glad that they found themselves in Narnia instead. 

Everyone becomes quiet as they approach Stable Hill. They take shelter in some brush just behind the stable and await the midnight meeting that occurs nightly. Their plan is to wait until the right moment, and then reveal Puzzle in his absurd lion skin getup.

The bonfire is lit, and Ginger the Cat, Shift the Ape, and Rishda the Calormene captain appear. Tirian hears Rishda whisper to Ginger to play his part well. The Talking Beasts gather and Shift begins to speak. Shift tells the Narnians that someone has dared to do something horrible--a donkey has decided to dress itself in a lion skin and pretend to be Aslan. 

Tirian, Eustace, and Jill react with shock--they realize that they are telling the Narnians just enough of the truth to make their current plan impossible. They now know that if they bring Puzzle out into the open, the Narnians will likely kill him, based on what Shift has just said. 

Reflection:

My guess is that this will probably be our last true plot-moving chapter of the TCON series. From here on, it's all about the final hours of Narnia, and what comes next. What this chapter does show us, of course, is the unbelievable bravery of all of the characters in this story. They say that Narnia does have that effect on people, and we're definitely seeing it now. Tirian, Eustace, Jill, Jewel, and Poggin the Dwarf all most likely realize that they are marching toward their deaths in a battle that is virtually un-winable, but they go nonetheless. And they go because despite everything, they still believe in Narnia, and therefore they still believe in Aslan.

Unfortunately, every time they seem to think that the situation can't get much worse, it most certainly does get worse. From the appearance of Tash, to the news that the eagle brings, to the clever lies that Shift tells the Narnians on Stable Hill, things continue to look ever more bleak for the few who are still loyal to Aslan and to Narnia. But like I've said before, Aslan has not come yet, and that is what they are all really waiting for. It is most definitely the eleventh hour at this point, and there is very little hope left.

Reflect now for just a moment that we are still reading what is widely considered to be a series for children. Up until this point, there has been some of the typical violence that one would expect out of a modern children's story, but ever since the last chapter of The Silver Chair, things have taken a much more adult-like turn. The topics that are being handled here--particularly the ones related to the deaths, or imminent deaths, of our protagonists--are incredibly advanced for the average child, and indeed, some of the topics might be rather terrifying. But in my opinion and observation, C.S. Lewis does not hold back. In some ways, this is good, because this is realistic--but in other ways, I'm just not sure it's something I would want my child of, say, five years old, to be reading. What are your thoughts, oh dedicated reader? (You do not exist. It's ok. We both know it.) And just for kicks and giggles, I'll end this post halfwa