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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Horse and His Boy, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Freedom and Justice
Bravery vs. Recklessness
Christianity
Gender Roles
Summary
Analysis
Shasta is dazzled the first time he sees the big city of Tashbaan in the morning light, including the Tisroc’s palace and the temple of the god Tash. Aravis is resentful about having to look like a pauper to enter the city, but she eventually gets in character.
Inside, Tashbaan isn’t quite as impressive to Shasta as it looked on the outside. The streets are narrow and crowded with peasants. All of a sudden, some men in a crowd seize Shasta and take him away from the others before he can cry out. They lead Shasta to a man so dignified that Shasta assumes he must be a Narnian king. Shasta gets taken to a new room full of more people, including the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, and the people in this room address him as Corin, whom Shasta assumes must be a lost prince.
Tashbaan’s more squalid conditions inside show how external appearances can be deceiving. The peasants on the streets hint at the vast social divide in the city, where only a few people possess wealth. In this strange, new setting, Shasta gets mistaken for a prince, showing how class systems are artificial and how the same person might be mistaken for a peasant or a prince in different contexts.
Themes
The woman kisses Shasta, thinking he’s Corin. Just then, a Faun (goat-man) comes into the room, startling Shasta. This Faun, Mr. Tumnus, addresses a man and woman in the room as King Edmund (the king from before) and Queen Susan (the beautiful woman). Mr. Tumnus suggests that “Corin” (Shasta) must be dazed from the sun. Shasta listens and learns that the King and Queen are siblings, not married. The King and Queen make plans to leave Tashbaan.
Tumnus, Edmund, and Susan are all returning characters from other Narnia books, particularly The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. These characters have already completed their journeys, and so the focus in this book remains on Shasta, who begins to learn during his time as “Corin” that he can play other roles in life beyond just the poor fisherman’s son. Even when Shasta fails to live up to his role as “Corin,” the Narnians simply believe he’s feeling a little ill, showing how powerful preconceived ideas about people can be.
Themes
