Heroic Archetypes (of Narnia)

(Note: I’m posting this on a dare.)

So the other day, after a few too many glasses of chianti, I got to thinking about some of the fictional heroes that shaped my young fantasies. Mostly, these heroes were a procession of Han Solos, Han Solos, and more Han Solos, with the occasional Westleys a.k.a. Dread Pirate Roberts and Gilbert Blythes thrown in for good measure.

But it occurred to me that there were other, more unexpected influences. So this isn’t an “Everything I Needed to Know About Heroes” (since we cannot forget Han!) but closer to a

“Some Of The Things I Know About Heroes,
I Learned From C.S. Lewis.”

First, and most importantly, the heroes of the Chronicles of Narnia simply dripped with honor.
Or honour, as the case may be. Whatever, they were the finest, most upstanding guys, when they weren’t, you know, under enchantments and stuff. And they covered most of the major “heroic archetypes” (check it out, Gina… opens in a new window, just for you!) I’d learn about when I grew older and started deconstructing this hero stuff. Let’s take a look.

Peter Pevensie, High King of Narnia: Chief. Fine, upstanding, do-gooding, a bit bossy, sure, and slightly stick in the mud. His character develops best in the second book of the series, Prince Caspain, wherein basically everyone looks to him at every opportunity to be the one making the decision and he always rises to the occaion. He’s got a very kingly air about it, corrects other people’s grammar, works hard, etc. etc. Totally swoonworthy for all 12 year old girls in the sword fighting scene there… very brave when he thought he was going to his death.

Edmund Pevensie, King of Narnia, sometime.. um… traitor under duress: Bad Boy. Oh wow, does this guy have a problem with authority figures. He even gets one of them killed. But you know what, Edmund is my favorite of all the Narnians, because he, unlike goody two shoes like Lucy and Peter, actually knows the value and truth behind the magic. He understands what he could have lost, what he was almost responsible for destroying, and it colors his EVERY REACTION in the rest of the series. You can see it. He says he trusts Lucy because last time he didn’t. He comforts Eustace the dragon with the info that no matter how much of a PITA Eustace was being, Edmund had been worse. He’s got a really phenomenal character arc (though so do Eustace and Shasta). Unlike his brother, he can also crack a joke. And he always thinks about things very carefully. King Edmund, you’re my number one hero…

King Caspian the Tenth of Narnia: Swashbuckler. I mean, Prince Charming and all, but you know this guy would rather be on the High Seas. It’s said over and over again that he was never so happy as when he was exploring, and he’s the only one of the Narnians who shows any interest in visiting Earth. Ever. (Reepicheep wants to go outof the world, but it’s more like a religious thing to him.)

Prince Rillian of Narnia: Lost Soul. I mean, really. He’s actually described at one point as reminding someone of Hamlet! Tortured? My lord. I think the whole section where Rillian is tied to the Silver Chair and then the confrontation with the witch afterwards is the best writing in the whole series. Can you imagine being the prince in that moment? Trying to come to grips with losing half your life as a slave while trying to save your neck in the process? Rillian rallies admirably.

Shasta, a.k.a. Prince Cor of Archenland: The Warrior. I thought for a while about making him a “Best Friend” because he does have a lot of those qualities to him, but he’s also incredibly brave, the bravest person in the book. And his reactions to things have a definite “warrior” flair to them. Come on, who goes after a charging lion with his bare hands because there’s nothing else?

Diggory Kirk, a.k.a. The Professor: The Professor. Do I even have to go on with this one?

King Tirian, the Last King of Narnia: The Warrior. He fights even when he knows he has lost. I hate this book though, so I won’t say much more about him.

You’re probably wondering why I haven’t spoken about Eustace. Frankly, I can’t fit him in. He’s not a heroic archetype. I was trying to make him a “best friend” but he really doesn’t fit the profile. Plus he’s such an unmitigated pill for much of his page time that it’s tough to tell what he’s like as a hero. But most of all, unlike the other characters, you never get to see what Eustace grows into. Despite all of his adventures, he’s never a man in Narnia. I think, given the chance, he’d be halfway between a Best Friend and a Professor, with a bit of Warrior thrown in, because, well, he’s a friend of Narnia, and they’re always a bit Warrior. Plus, he’s got all that dragon experience.

No Charmers, though. That character type is too “fake” to do well in such an honor-heavy series as Narnia.

Weird the way my mind works sometimes. Later, we can do a compare and contrast of Gilbert Blythe and Philip Ammon, or the various Disney Princes (I like Aladdin and the Prince in Sleeping Beauty — ten points if you remember his name!)