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Summary
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Prince Caspian, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Good vs. Evil
Faith and Belief
Power vs. Leadership
Fear and Courage
Summary
Analysis
One year before the events in this book, four siblings named Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy discovered that they could walk through a wardrobe to a magical land called Narnia, where they had marvelous adventures and became kings and queens. When they got home, it seemed as if no time had passed at all. Now, the four wait at a remote station for the trains which will carry them to their boarding schools—the boys in one direction and the girls in another.
Because Prince Caspian follows The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the book opens by pointing back to the earlier novel. And it immediately establishes Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy—former kings and queens of Narnia—as examples of good leadership, since their actions ended the 100-year winter and reestablished a fertile and prosperous kingdom.
Themes
Suddenly, Lucy cries out like she’s been stung by a wasp and soon Peter, Susan, and Edmund feel it too: a strange sensation like someone’s trying to pull them out of this world. Edmund, recognizing the sensation of magic, shouts that they should hold hands and before they know it, all four stand in a thick, overgrown forest. With a little difficulty, they extract themselves from the brambly underbrush and stumble out onto a wind sandy beach. They wade in the water for a while, until Susan suggests they start trying to find food and water. Luckily, Peter and Edmund had their lunchtime sandwiches in their pockets when they were pulled into this world, so they at least have a little bit of food. They decide to walk along the beach until they find a freshwater stream.
If the four siblings seem rather unruffled at finding themselves in another land, it’s because they’ve done this before. Their earlier adventures introduced them to Aslan and helped them to understand the power that animates and orders the world of Narnia. Because they believe in Aslan—and because their earlier adventures taught them all to be courageous—they react calmly and take rational steps to find food, shelter, and water. They also demonstrate the generosity that characterizes the forces of good when they share their scanty resources equally.
Themes
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy set off down the beach with the impenetrable forest on their right side and the sea on their left. They can see another shoreline across the water, but they soon realize that they’re on an island. While they consider their circumstances, Lucy spots a little stream, which they follow into the wood. Finding a small pool, they all drop to their knees and drink deeply. Their thirst sated, they begin to feel hungry, so they decide to divide up their sandwiches and eat. Although it’s not much food, it’s better than nothing, and it gives them the strength to think about next steps. Lucy suggests they return to the shore and catch shrimp, but they don’t have nets; Edmund wants to look for gulls’ eggs, but no one remembers seeing any nests. Frustrated and hungry, they begin to bicker.
As they try to figure out where they are and find the things they need to survive, the siblings generally work well together, showing how shared power can benefit a society—if everyone shares the responsibility of looking for fresh water, the group improves its chances of finding some. But just because the siblings work together generally doesn’t mean that they never have differences, and their bickering foreshadows later moments in the book where disagreements will cause strife among them. Perhaps more importantly, their arguments highlight the sense of isolation and desolation that characterizes this environment in which they now find themselves.
Themes
Eventually, Peter suggests that they continue to follow the stream toward the center of the island. Susan, Edmund, and Lucy get up and go along. They must stoop under the overhanging branches. An unusual hush fills the forest. But then, Lucy catches sight of an apple tree ahead. Soon, the siblings realize they’ve stumbled into an orchard which lies in front of an ancient, crumbling wall. In the wall, they find an arch nearly filled with the branches of a giant apple tree, but with some effort they break through the branches and stumble into a courtyard filled with grass, daisies, and ivy. It seems bright, secret, quiet, and sad all at the same time. The children feel mainly glad to be out of the dense forest and into a clearing where they can finally stand up straight once more.
In the old days, Peter was called the High King. The four siblings shared power, but, as the eldest, Peter had the final say. Although the book—and the siblings themselves—value compromise and cooperation, it still claims that natural hierarchies (like age, experience, and rank) exist and should be respected. And Aslan sits at the head of all human and animal hierarchies in Narnia. In this case, Peter’s plan turns out to be the right one, and it leads the children to a food source, at least.
Themes
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