In today’s episode we begin to read the Narnian Chronicle for this season, The Horse and His Boy. The boys are joined by Andrew’s better half, Dr. Christin Ditchfield-Lazo.
S5E52: “The Horse and His Boy (Part I)” (Download)
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Show Notes
Introduction
Quote-of-the-week
“Grip with your knees and keep your eyes straight ahead between my ears. Don’t look at the ground. If you think you’re going to fall just grip harder and sit up straighter. Ready? Now: for Narnia and the North.”
C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy (Chapter 1)
Chit-Chat
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Beverage and Toast
- David was drinking A Tashban Mule (“The Rabadash”)
- Christin was drinking Earl Grey
- Andrew was drinking Hot Cinnamon Spice tea
- Matt was drinking Aberlour (16 Year)
- They toasted Patreon supporter Prof. Marvin L. Bittinger:
We pray that your life would always be pointed towards Narnia and the North!
Patreon Toast
Discussion
- Since this was Matt’s first time reading The Horse and His Boy…
- Q. What were your overall impressions?
- Q. What do you think about this being a prequel?
- Q. Did you recall hearing about this story in The Silver Chair?
- Some people like to talk about what they see as the “problematic” elements of this book, but rather than derailing our discussion, Dr. Devin Brown will be coming on the show in Episode 54 to talk about it in depth…
1. “How Shasta set out on his travels”
During the Golden Age of Narnia, in a land to the south called Calormen, there was a boy called Shasta. He lived with his supposed father, Arsheesh, a fisherman. Shasta’s life is hard and he dreams of the lands to the north. One day a great lord, a Taakan, stops at their home. Shasta overhears the Taakan’s conversation with Asheesh and discovers that the man he thought was his father actually found him in a boat after some great shipwreck. Shasta wonders out loud about the character of the Taakan and, to his great surprise, the Taakan’s horse, Bree, speaks to him, and says they should both flee to Narnia, from where Bree was stolen as a young fole. While the adults sleep, the two of them head north, with Shasta learning how to ride as they go…
Summary of Chapter 1 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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2. “A wayside adventure”
Shasta and Bree wake up the following day with Shasta sore from riding. After breakfast, Bree has a roll, causing Shasta to laugh at him and for Bree to worry that he’ll seem uncultured in Narnia. They discuss their plan to pass through the great city of Tashbaan and then cross the desert into Archenland and then into Narnia. Several weeks later, while travelling at night, Bree hears another horse nearby. Both horses seem intent on avoiding each other, but lion roars on either side push them together. After crossing a river, Shasta and Bree discover that they are alongside a talking Narnian horse called Hwin and her well-born rider, a Tarkina named Aravis. Although distrustful of each other at first, the four agree to escape to Narnia together.
Summary of Chapter 2 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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3. “At the gates of Tashbaan”
Aravis tells her story (in the high Calormen style) to her new companions. She recites her prestigious lineage, all the way back to a Calormen god, Tash. She explains that, after her mother’s death, her father, Kidrash Tarkaan, married again and Aravis’ new evil stepmother arranged to marry her off to a much older man. Aravis rides into the woods to kill herself, but is stopped at the last moment when her horse, Hwin, intervenes and tells her about the free land of Narnia, and the two plan their escape. Aravis tells her father that she is going into the woods for the traditional three-day pre-marriage rituals. She then flees with Hwin and sends a diversionary letter to her father. Afterwards, the horses and their riders discuss how to make it past Tashbaan, finally agreeing to disguise themselves as peasants, pass through the city and rendez-vous at the Tombs of the Ancient Kings just in front of the desert.
Summary of Chapter 3 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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4. “Shasta falls in with the Narnians”
Our travellers put on their disguises and enter Tashbaan. After a brief run-in with some guards, they begin making their way through the city, but are often forced to stop in order to make way for the nobility. On one occasion, a group of Narnian royalty pass through and grab Shasta, mistaking him for Corin, the run-away Prince of Archenland. Shasta and the Narnians arrive at their accommodation where Shasta discovers that King Edmund and Queen Susan are visiting the Calormen Prince Rabadash, who wishes to marry Susan. It turns out that Susan doesn’t wish to marry him. The chapter closes with King Edmund asking for the room to be sealed…
Summary of Chapter 4 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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5. “Prince Corin”
King Edmund explains that he is afraid that Prince Rabadash intends to keep them in Tashban if Susan refuses to marry him. As they speak about the possibility of war between Calormen and Narnia, the talking Raven, Sallowpad, describes a route across the desert, which particularly interests Shasta. Mr Tumnus concocks a ruse whereby they will invite Prince Rabadash to have dinner on their ship the following night, giving them an excuse to go down and provision the ship and then sail away after dark. The room empties and Mr Tumnus brings Shasta some food and keeps him company, after which Shasta falls asleep. Shasta is awoken by a boy climbing in the window. It is the missing Prince Corin. Shasta briefly shares his story and Corin tells of his fights with the locals. The two of them part ways as friends, with Corin saying that he hopes they will meet someday in Archenland.
Summary of Chapter 5 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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6. “Shasta among the tombs”
Shasta makes his way out of the northern gates and comes to the Tombs at the edge of the desert. Unfortunately, the others are not there and it soon becomes dark. The scared Shasta is comforted by a cat. During the night he wakes up to the sound of jackals, but they are scared off by a lion. When a terrified Shasta opens his eyes, he finds that it is only the cat from before. He promises the cat that he will be nice to cats from now on, confessing that he once threw stones at a stray cat… to which the cat scratches him! After hanging around the tombs during the day, Shasta starts to think about leaving for Narnia alone, when he sees a strange man leading Bree and Hwin towards the tombs. Shasta freezes, unsure whether or not this is a trap.
Summary of Chapter 6 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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7. “Aravis in Tashbaan”
The narrative goes back in time to the point at which Shasta was taken by the Narnians… When Shasta is taken, Aravis remains calm, but moments later, a childhood friend, Lasaraleen is carried down the street on a litter and calls out to Aravis. She quickly jumps into the litter, draws the curtains and tells Lasaraleen to take her and the horses to her home. Later they devise a plan to enter the Tisroc’s palace the following night so that Aravis can pass through the Tisroc’s garden and across the river to the Tombs. As they go through the Tisroc’s house, they hide behind a couch in a sideroom, only for the Tisroc to enter the room with his son, Prince Rabadash, and Aravis’ fiancé, the Grand Vizier, Ahoshta Tarkaan.
Summary of Chapter 7 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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8. “In the house of the Tisroc”
Hiding behind the couch, Aravis and Lasaraleen overhear the conversation between the Tisroc, Ahoshta, and Prince Rabadash. Rabadash is furious that Queen Susan has escaped. He wants his father to invade Narnia so he can have her as his wife. The Tisroc, however, is unwilling to attempt this because, although the White Witch is now gone, he knows that it must have taken great power to expel her and he is worried that this power remains in Narnia. Rabadash therefore proposes a plan. He will take 200 men and conquer Anvard in Archenland. He will then go on to Cair Paravel and simply abduct Susan. This will give him his bride and his father a military foothold just outside of Narnia. If the plan fails, the Tisroc can say this was done without his permission. After Rabadash leaves, the Tisroc and Ahoshta remain. The Tisroc says that he is pleased with this plan. After all, if Rabadash dies, he has other sons…besides, it is better for Rabadash to be distracted abroad rather than looking to his father’s own throne.
Summary of Chapter 8 of “The Horse and His Boy”
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More Information
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If you can travel to South Carolina this month, your readers may be very interested in seeing this Broadway level production of The Horse and His Boy!
I really do wish that they’d get permission to record and distribute them – I get the feeling that it’ll be a while before Netflix gets their act together.