The Horse And His Boy

The first time Shasta catches sight of Narnians in Chapter 4, he recognizes these people are different from any others he has known. They are joyful, accepting, engaging, transparent, and curious. Through this event and many others in the narrative, Lewis is expressing to the reader that the Narnians and the Archenlanders embody true nobility. Coming from England, a constitutional monarchy that guarantees liberty for its citizens, Lewis foregrounds the potential virtues of noble royals.

Yet Lewis is also aware of the destructive potential of tyranny, and his depiction of warring countries with ideological differences resembles the division of Allied and Axis powers during World War II. From the moment Aravis overhears the crown prince of her native land plot murder and kidnapping—something approved by his father, the king, who secretly hopes his son might be killed—she is aghast at the depravity of tyrants.

The intriguing thing about the fantasy lands Lewis describes is that they are all monarchies without elected officials. This is to say that, unlike modern England, in Narnia there is nothing to prevent one of their royals from going rogue and becoming a tyrant just like a Calormen Tisroc. The ultimate distinction between nobility and tyranny, as each of the Narnia books reveals, is the reverence the northern lands have for Aslan i.e., for Christian goodness. In Narnia, the goodness and justice of Aslan precludes the tyranny of nations who worship false gods.

In some ways, The Horse and His Boy is an extended argument for the idea that nothing happens by chance. In this autobiography, Surprised by Joy, Lewis wrote about the way God pursued him, using seemingly chance comments, books inadvertently left open to certain passages, and life events suddenly taking unexpected turns—all of which worked to lure him closer to God and divine service. He articulates this concept in this novel through the words of the Hermit of the Southern March, who comments on Aravis’s good fortune by saying that, in his 109 years of life, he has never encountered luck. He follows that comment by saying, “There is something about all this that I do not understand: but if ever we need to know it, you may be sure that we shall” (158). Lewis implies that sometimes it is necessary for humans to have knowledge of the underlying purposes of God. Every happening has a purpose, he asserts, and sometimes people do glimpse those purposes.

Stepping back and visualizing the narrative as a whole, readers can see how neatly each character has fulfilled a divine purpose, with Aslan indirectly maneuvering the individual characters as the pieces fall into place. Rabadash’s invitation to Susan and her entourage to visit Tashbaan occurs simultaneously with Bree’s long-awaited opportunity to escape to Narnia. Bree’s enlisting of the unlearned servant boy Shasta corresponds perfectly with Hwin’s persuading her human girl, Aravis to run away to Narnia rather than taking her own life. The four chance companions complement one another perfectly in intentions, abilities, and experiences. Almost simultaneously, the human children are unexpectedly snatched off the Tashbaan street by those who know them—or think they know them. Each child serendipitously acquires a pivotal piece of information they were not entitled to hear, and each uses that information for benevolent purposes at the critical moment it is most needed. In the resolution of the story, each child fills a void—Aravis, who knows a great deal about nobility, becomes the lady of a court that had no lady, while Cor regains his rightful place in line to become the king his twin brother never wanted to be. The long-held desire of the Calormenes to overthrow Archenland is thwarted when Rabadash is permanently prevented from leaving Tashbaan. All the threads come together for the characters, just as desired by Aslan.

Lewis posits that the same sort of benevolent, non-directive guidance is at work in the lives of human beings. The quandary created by such a perception, of course, is why more real-life stories do not end up being so happily concluded. This notion of constant divine intervention in every life also implies that the pain and misfortune people experience is the will of God.