|
Shasta: The Calormene name for Prince Cor, the lost son of King Lune of Archenland, elder twin of Corin Thunder-Fist, unwilling companion, then friend, and finally husband of Aravis Tarkheena, and father of Ram the Great. His recovery of his identity as free-born son of a northern king and his preparation to become the compassionate and just ruler of Archenland is the main story in The Horse and His Boy. His becoming a horseman is a picture of how much he has to learn to control himself and even push himself in order to gain true freedom. Bree, as an experienced horse, can teach him much in this regard; but Bree's own blindness (his vanity and his reactions to his long years of stifling himself in Calormen) aren't enough to reform Shasta. Before he is ready to become a king, the boy needs to meet Aravis and Hwin, to pass through the fear of the Tombs and the trial of the Great Desert, and finally to be sent on by the Hermit to experience Aslan both in the foggy night on the pass and the bright morning of southern Narnia. Like Bree, Shasta has picked up bad habits in Calormen and he knows little about the ways of free people; his harsh upbringing leads him to expect nothing but ill treatment and duplicity from adults. But he does have an innate sense of faihfulness and nobility, the foundation on which his character will be built.
Aravis: A Calormene noblewoman, in her early teens, who is one of the four main characters in The Horse and His Boy (the others are Shasta, Bree, and Hwin). The story details her flight from the cruel, stifling world of southern Calormen to freedom in the north, specifically Archenland. More important, The Horse and His Boy is the chronicle of her transformation from arrogance and self-centerdness into an example of true Narnian nobility; that is, the exercise of humble and compassionate leadership. She becomes Queen of Archenland (the wife of King Cor) and the mother of King Ram the Great. She is last seen in the assembly of famous Narnians in the Great Reunion in Aslan's country.
Lasaraleen: A childhood friend of Aravis. Clothes, parties, and gossip are the top priorities of this paragon of vanity. A habitual giggler, she loves to attract attention and travels in a litter "all a-flutter with silken curtains and all a-jingle with silver bells," from which emanate the rich scents of perfumes and flowers. She is married to a great Calormene and has a summer home in Mezreel.
Lune: King of Archenland, father of Cor and Corin. From Lewis' description, he looks very much like a Santa Claus; but his deep voice and the "hungry" expression with which he first greets Shasta give him a more serious aspect. His company at the Battle of Anvard, where he kills Azrooh in hand-to-hand combat, includes the brothers Cor and Corin, Dar and Darrin, Col and Colin, and Tran and Shar. That he is a good and fair ruler is shown over and over; he prevents Edmund from killing Rabadash by declaring the Calormene unfit for a gentleman's death because he has breached the code of war-courtesy; he reproves his son Coring for joining the battle, but only thinly disguises his pleasure over his son's bravery; he was merciful to Lord Bar, his chancellor, when he discovered that Bar was an embezzler (however, when he found out that Bar was also a Calormene spy and had kidnapped the King's son, he pursued and killed him); he explains to Cor that he must be king, for this is his inescapable duty and vocation. An unpretentious man, he greets Aravis not in his royal robes but in his oldest clothes.
Corin Thunder-Fist: Shasta's twin brother, Prince Corin of Archenland. He is twenty minutes younger than Cor and hence second in line for the throne of his father, King Lune. He is first mentioned in The Silver Chair, when Rilian sings an old song about his exploits. Susan has been his best friend since his mother died, and he and Shasta look so alike that Susan mistakes Shasta for Corin. He is a feisty boy, fond of fights, and to defend Susan's honor he knocks down a biy in Tashbaan. Full of a sense of honor, he is offended at Shasta's suggestion that he would tell King Edmund and Queen Susan anything but the truth. That he and Shasta become instant friends is indicative of their then-unknown but strong blood bond. He enters the Battle of Anvard against his father's wishes--fighting Thornbut to do so--and forces Shasta to suitup in the dwarf's armor and join him in battle. Corin is scolded for his rashness by King Lune, but the King can't disguise his pleasure at his son's bravery. He is the most incensed of the Lords at Rabadash's insult of the King, and taunts the Calormene, for which act he is rebuked by Lune. He rejoices that his brother will be king instead of him, because he knows he will have fun as aprince while Cor must shoulder the responsibility of his vocation. Carin grows up to be the best boxer in Archenland, and earns the surname Thunder-Fist in a thirty-three-round fight in which he wins the Lapsed Bear of Stormness back to the ways of Talking Beasts.
Hermit of the Southern March: A 109-year-old man who lives on the southern border of Archenland north of the Great Desert. The barefoot hermit is tall and bearded, dressed in an ankle-length robe, and he leans on a straight staff. His enclosure is perfectly circular (the very picture of the divine wholeness of the place) and his pool--in which he can see events happening elsewhere--is perfectly still (symbolic of the quality and depth of his prayer). A huge, beautiful tree stands at one end, and the finest grass covers the ground. He lives in an old, stone, thatch-roofed house, and keeps goats....He is a magician of sorts, and by his art can read the present but not the future. He loves animals, calling the goats his cousins and giving Bree and Hwin rubdowns worthy of a king's groom....He exercises studiositas (ed. note: "studiosity") and hope: "If ever we need to know the meaning, you may be sure that we shall."
Caspian X: A Telmarine King of Narnia (born 2290 Narnian Years, reigned 2303-2356 Narnian Years, died 2356 Narnian Years) called "The Seafarer." He is the orphaned son of Caspian IX, raised by the usurper Miraz and his wife Prunaprismia, husband of the Daughter of Ramandu, father of Rilian the Disenchanted. Caspian is the hero of the great War of Deliverance in which Old Narnia is freed from the tyranny of its Telmarine conquerors, who sytle themselves New Narnians. Caspian is also leader of the voyage of the Dawn Treader, a quest which he undertakes with Aslan's permission in order to discover the fates of the Seven Noble Lords who stood faithfully by his assassinated father, as well as to explore the islands of the Eastern Sea. Caspian's years as king are marred by the horrible death of his beloved wife and the disappearnace of his only son and heir. But these hurts are mended by Aslan. His story is one of the most complete that Lewis tells in the Chronicles; and his is the best developed character of all the Narnians.
Rhince: The first mate on the Dawn Treader, he is an old salt who hopes to be home before his supply of tobacco runs out. He is talking to Lucy when the Lone Islands are first sighted. Throughout the rest of the voyage, Rhince is often heard to remark what everyone else, including the reader, might be tempted to say. He says "good riddance" when Eustace is missing and presumed dead; and upon seeing the dead dragon, he mutters that Eustace probably poisoned him: "he'd poison anything." Even Lucy feels the bite of his tongue when he calls her description of the fragrance on Ramandu's Island "rot."
Rynelf: A sailor on the Dawn Treader, fashioned after the dutiful, articulate, and experienced seaman of many a sea story. At Narrowhaven, he brings refreshments to the three children after they are rescued from Pug. When the Dawn Treader approaches Dark Island, Rynelf stands in the bow prepared to take soundings. His fear surfaces as he tells Eustace that he hears "them" crawling up the sides of the ship. As the adventurers escape from the darkness, he is the first to perceive a speck of light.
The Seven Noble Lords: Telmarine lords, feared by Miraz because of their friendship with Caspian IX. They are Revilian, Argoz, and Mavramorn (The Three Sleepers); Octesian, who met his end on Dragon Island; Restimar, transformed into a golden statue of Deathwater Island; Rhoop, the victim of Dark Island; and Bern, who is made Duke of the Lone Islands. Together they are sent by Miraz (who hopes to be rid of them) to explore any lands that might exist beyond the Eastern Sea, the end of the then-known world. They are the only Telmarine lords who are not afraid of the sea, but like all Telmarines they were forbidden by Miraz to learn any nautical skills. Thus they must buy a ship from Galma and man it with Galmian sailors before they can begin their voyage. They have not returned by the time Caspian is tolde about them by Doctor Cornelius, on the night Prunaprismia has a son. Caspian takes a coronation day oath to seek for them and avenge their deaths; and the story of Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the record of how he fulfills this quest.
Rilian: A king of Narnia, son of King Caspian X and the Daughter of Ramandu, and known as King Rilian the Disenchanted. Throughout most of Silver Chair he is held captive by the enchantment of the Queen of Underland, who killed his mother when the prince was about twenty years old. Seeking to avenge his mother's death, Rilian instead falls under the witch's spell and goes tolive with her in her underground kingdom. The story of Rilian's enchantment and subsequent disenchantment is superficially a story of the illusions of romantic love, but beneath that is the grim plot of the Queen of Underland to invade and rule Narnia.
Tirian: The last king of Narnia, the seventh in descent from King Rilian. In his early twenties, he is well-developed but with a scanty beard, blue eyes, and a "fearless, honest face." Although he has the nobility and honor of all the kings of Narnia, ha cannot escape his country's overwhelming atmosphere of decadence and chaos. His emotions are not under control, and he swings from elation to depression to remorse to anger. He is first met at his hunting cabin, where he has gone to escape the royal routine with his best friend, Jewel the Unicorn. In Last Battle, Lewis is concerned witht he eschatological themes of death, judgment, heaven, and hell, and so the characters are not as well-drawn as they might be. It is evident that Lewis would like us to see Tirian as the noble king in the face of the inevitable twilight of the gods, but this is not made as clear as it might be. Tirian seems to be out of touch with what is happening in his country, for he is not aware of the extent of Calormene spying and the treachery and deception of Shift, the ape. Excited by the news that Aslan is in Narnia, he is thrown into a rage by Roonwit's statement that this is a lie. He spends much of the first part of Last Battle in anger, which clouds his judgment and leads him and Jewel to murder two unsuspecting Calormene drivers....With Jill and Eustace he is able to get himself under control.
Emeth: The noble Calormene Tarkaan who yearns to serve Tash and ultimately embraces--and is embraced by--Aslan. Emeth is the Hebrew word for "faithful, true," and this is a deliberate reference be Lewis, for he was well aware of the meaning. |
|