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
The Dwarf’s story begins with Prince Caspian, the orphaned nephew of King Miraz and Queen Prunaprismia. Caspian loves his Nurse (who tells him stories of the Old Days) and dislikes his aunt and uncle. One day, during their twice-weekly walk on the south terrace, Miraz tells Caspian he will likely become king one day, since Miraz and Prunaprismia have no children of their own. Caspian doesn’t want to be king; he would rather live in the Old Days, when naiads (water spirits) and dryads (tree spirits) filled the forest and streams, when Peter and Susan and Edmund and Lucy were kings and queens of Narnia and Aslan came from over the sea. Miraz angrily refutes these fairytales and demands to know who told them to Caspian.
Caspian’s natural interest in the Golden Age of Narnia, his belief in Aslan, and his dislike of the cruel and vindictive Miraz establish immediately his right to hold the Narnian throne. The book clearly aligns Caspian with the forces of good and Miraz with evil powers. Miraz’s insistence on suppressing stories of the old days points to his superstitious and suspicious fear that someone will steal power from him, just as he himself stole power. He may not acknowledge Aslan, but he fears anything that threatens his claim on the throne.
Themes
The next day, Caspian learns that Miraz dismissed his Nurse and hired a tutor instead. Caspian cries bitterly over the loss, comforting himself with dreams of the Old Days. Luckily, the new tutor, a very short very fat man with a long slivery beard named Doctor Cornelius, is almost impossible to dislike. Because his eyes twinkle even when his voice is serious, Caspian doesn’t always know if he’s joking or not.
Doctor Cornelius’s physical characteristics immediately suggest that he may not be human, and his willingness to discuss the Old Days just like the Nurse shows that he’s on the side of good (like Caspian’s Nurse) rather than evil (like Miraz). And in his kindness, he becomes a mentor and father-figure to the orphaned Caspian.
Themes
Caspian likes history lessons best. Doctor Cornelius explains that the prince’s ancestor, Caspian the Conqueror or Caspian the First, came from Telmar, a country which lies to the west. Caspian wants to know about the people this Caspian conquered. Doctor Cornelius says that there were very few men, emphasizing the word so strongly that Caspian quickly realizes the implication: the stories his Nurse told him about the magical creatures of the Old Days are true. Doctor Cornelius warns Caspian not to say anything to King Miraz, who wants to hide the truth. Then, Doctor Cornelius switches the lesson to grammar.
In general, the book casts the Telmarines as vicious and abusive; when they entered Narnia, they took it for themselves at the expense of its natural inhabitants (the talking animals and magical creatures of the Old Days). Of the Telmarines, Miraz is the most vicious—he has done bad things to gain power, he relies on fear to control, and he rules without justice. Doctor Cornelius’s lessons quietly and subtly prepare Caspian to assume a different kind of leadership when it’s his turn to sit on the throne.
Themes
A few days later, Doctor Cornelius announces a special night-time astronomy lesson to see the conjunction of two stars that cross only once every two hundred years. Doctor Cornelius sends Prince Caspian to bed early and wakes him up in the dead of night. Muffled in robes and warm slippers, they pass silently through the castle until they reach the roof of the great central tower. Doctor Cornelius tells Caspian that the Old Narnians considered the conjunction of the two stars (Tarva, which represents victory, and Alambil, which stands for peace) lucky. Caspian remarks that they’d be more visible from another, lower tower. Doctor Cornelius acknowledges that this is true, but he brough Caspian here for another reason: privacy and secrecy.
The conjunction of the stars which represent first victory and then peace foreshadow the coming open conflict to restore Narnia and promise that its new leader (evidently Caspian, given his ancestral right to hold the throne as well as his faith in Aslan and his love for the true Narnian people) will bring justice to a ruined world. Because Miraz knows that his own claim to power is weak, he fears and tries to suppress the truth. But Doctor Cornelius’s willingness to risk teaching Caspian what he needs to know shows that courage will allow good to win in the end.
Themes
Get the entire Prince Caspian LitChart as a printable PDF.
After Prince Caspian promises not to breathe a word of what Doctor Cornelius says to anyone else, Doctor Cornelius confirms the stories about the Old Days. Narnia, he says, is not properly a kingdom of humans, but the realm of Aslan and a home for naiads, dryads, fauns, satyrs, giants, centaurs, talking beasts, and gods. When the Telmarines invaded, they killed the magical creatures or drove them into hiding. Now, King Miraz tries to cover up this shameful history. Caspian regrets his ancestors’ violence and wishes that he could restore the old order. Doctor Cornelius says that many people feel the same way. Then, he throws back his hood to show his face in the moonlight. Caspian suddenly realizes that his tutor is a Dwarf. Or, as Doctor Cornelius explains, he’s half-Dwarf, half-Telmarine.
Doctor Cornelius exposes the extent to which the evil Telmarine forces have reshaped Narnia when he surveys the variety of life that once flourished there and no longer exists—at least in the open. Miraz’s wish to cover up this violent history lies in his fear of the powers these creatures have (which humans lack) rather than in a sense of shame. Caspian, in contrast, feels the shame of his ancestors’ deeds deeply and wishes to right their wrongs. The fact that some Telmarines feel the same way illustrates just how much Miraz abuses even his own people, and it also points to the power of enduring faith—even though no one alive has seen the Old Narnia or Aslan, their faith will become an integral part of restoring it. And Cornelius’s mixed heritage anticipates a new Narnian Golden Age of cooperation and friendship between humans and magical creatures.
Themes
Doctor Cornelius has shared these dangerous secrets with Caspian because he knows that the prince loves the Old Things and because he hopes that when Caspian becomes king, he will try to restore them. Doctor Cornelius hopes that some of the magical creatures still live in hiding, although a lifetime of searching for them has been fruitless thus far. At the very least, he hopes Caspian will be a good king, like the ancient High King Peter, and not a wicked one, like his uncle Miraz.
Doctor Cornelius bluntly offers Caspian two options: the path of good (represented by Aslan and the Golden Age), or the path of evil (which his Uncle Miraz follows). Caspian’s interests and beliefs thus far suggest that he will naturally choose the former.
Themes
Doctor Cornelius explains that the “sons of Adam” (Peter and Edmund) and “daughters of Eve” (Susan and Lucy) lived in the castle of Cair Paravel, next to the sea, during their reign. That’s on the other side of the frightening, ghost-filled Black Woods, so Prince Caspian expresses surprise. Cornelius explains that the Telmarine rulers made up stories about the woods and the vast sea that lies beyond to keep their people safely contained in the center of Narnia, where they won’t run into any hidden magical creatures or, even worse, Aslan (who lives beyond the eastern sea). Worried that someone will eventually miss them, Doctor Cornelius declares it’s time to go inside and back to bed.
“Sons of Adam” and “daughters of Eve” were the terms employed in the series’ previous book to designate human beings, and they carry heavy religious overtones that point toward Christian ideas about redemption. Specifically, they remind readers of the original sins which caused Adam and Eve to lose access to the paradisical garden of Eden and which necessitated the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Christian Bible. Invoking these titles suggests the possibility and importance of redemption and reminds readers that no matter how dire the situation in Narnia. Aslan (a Christ figure in this world) can restore the land to its former glory. The ghost stories and superstitions which the Telmarines use to keep people away from the coasts suggest not an honest faith in Aslan and his power, but rather a fear born of their own unacknowledged sense that they have no real right to Narnia.
Themes
