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Chapter 2
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
Aravis begins to tell her story, starting with her noble lineage. She was promised in marriage to an evil man named Ahoshta who had nevertheless gained a prominent position in society. She spent a day crying about the news before grabbing her brother’s dagger and riding off on Hwin. Aravis was going to kill herself until suddenly Hwin spoke up, revealing that she could talk. Hwin convinces Aravis to go to Narnia, where no one is forced into marriage.
After showing how Shasta was trapped by his low social status, this chapter now shows how a high social status can be its own sort of prison, particularly for girls like Aravis. Aravis’s contemplation of suicide reveals how a bad marriage situation could, like Shasta’s potential enslavement, lead to a loss of freedom. Again, like Shasta’s story, Aravis finds herself encouraged to seek freedom by a Talking Horse who seems to have some wisdom.
Themes
Aravis went back home and pretends to be excited about her upcoming marriage. She found her father’s oldest enslaved man, who raised Aravis from birth, and she asked him to write an important letter for her. Aravis then made an excuse to get away from her father and delivered the letter, which was forged to seem like it was from Ahoshta. In the fake letter, Ahoshta claimed to be so in love with Aravis that he had to marry her right away, and now he has carried her off.
Aravis’s trick with the forged letter, while only a temporary solution, provides an early example of her cleverness. She attempts to craft a cover story that will make sense in the masculine world that her father and Ahoshta both inhabit. In particular, she shows understanding of Ahoshta’s psychology by crafting a letter where greed and impulsiveness motivate him—and Aravis also predicts that her father will accept the letter, because such impulsiveness is encouraged among powerful men in Calormen.
Themes
Aravis and Hwin rode away, hoping the fake Ahoshta letter would buy enough time for escape. And that’s when they ran into Bree and Shasta. Having heard the whole tale, Shasta doubts some details of the story, like how Aravis is about the same age as him but already getting married. But Bree explains that young marriages are Tarkaan custom. The four of them continue on their journey, mostly traveling at night to avoid being spotted.
The fact that women get married at a much younger age in Calormen shows how there is an imbalance in gender expectations. In Aravis’s case, a major life decision was made for her before she was old enough to have a say, illustrating again how many characters in Calormen lack freedom.
Themes
The group reaches Tashbaan, and they begin to wonder how to cross the crowded city. Hwin suggests that everyone should try to look poor and wear shabby clothes. The proud warhorse Bree initially resists this idea, but in the end, everyone agrees to Hwin’s plan. They make plans to go into the city and try to stay together, setting a meeting place in case they get separated. The horses promise not to talk.
The big city of Tashbaan provides an opportunity to explore the culture of Calormen. As the city shows, Calormen is a country of extremes, with many peasants and only a few who get to enjoy wealth. This contrasts with the promise of Narnia, where everyone has freedom. Narnia represents Christian spiritual enlightenment and freedom from the materialism and greed of Calormen, where few people enjoy economic stability or the ability to make their own choices about their life.
Themes
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