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Chapter 9
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
As they continue traveling through the valley, Aravis and Shasta are both shocked to see how green the land is in Archenland, the country they’ve just entered between Narnia and Calormen. They look back toward the desert and see something that looks like a sandstorm, until Hwin realizes that it’s Prince Rabadash’s army. Bree and Hwin both race ahead with Shasta and Aravis on their backs. Just as the horses are tiring, a lion starts running toward them. Shasta begs Bree to turn around as the lion closes on Hwin, but Bree later claims that he never heard the order.
Once again, a lion crosses paths with Shasta, and it appears dangerous but might not be the obstacle it seems. The lion seems to add urgency to the journey, representing how Shasta and Aravis need to rush if they want to keep pace with Prince Rabadash. Although Bree has positioned himself as a proud Narnian warhorse, he refuses Shasta’s order to turn and face the lion. This shows cowardice on Bree’s part, in spite of his claim that he didn’t hear the order, revealing how Bree may not be the wise and deserving authority figure that he pretends to be.
Themes
Shasta jumps off Bree, injuring himself, then stumbles back to help Aravis and Hwin, who are both trying to fend off the lion’s claws. Shasta shouts at the lion to stop, talking to it like a dog, and to his surprise, the lion stops and goes away. Both Aravis and Hwin are bloodied, when suddenly a bearded man in a robe comes up to them and helps Aravis get off Hwin. Shasta asks if the old man is King Lune, but the man replies he’s just the Hermit of the Southern Marsh.
Shasta proves his bravery by risking injury to himself in order to help Aravis and Hwin. His actions contrast sharply with Bree, who does not even stop to let Shasta off. Although Shasta appears to be just a poor fisherman’s son, in this passage he proves himself to be even braver than the noble warhorse Bree, showing how a person’s actions says more about their character than their reputation or title does.
Themes
Shasta asks the Hermit where to find King Lune, and the Hermit points them toward a gate. Shasta leaves the group and takes off toward the gate. Although the Hermit says he can’t see the future, he predicts to Hwin that Aravis will survive her injuries from the lion. The Hermit takes Aravis and the Horses to his cave dwelling, where Aravis regains consciousness and is confused.
Having proven himself against the lion, Shasta goes off on his own, once again setting up an opportunity for him to test himself and measure how he’s changed over the course of his journey so far. The Hermit is yet another example in the story of the Christian idea that God provides aid in various forms for deserving people in need. Aravis has selflessly been trying to warn people about Prince Rabadash, and so she receives aid from the generous Hermit.
Themes
Aravis is happy because she believes that Shasta has probably found King Lune and asked for his help to stop Prince Rabadash. But Bree is depressed, saying that he acted like a coward when the lion came and suggesting that he should return south and enter slavery again. The Hermit encourages Bree, saying that it is good to be humbled sometimes.
Although Bree made a mistake by refusing to go back and help Aravis and Hwin, the Hermit offers him forgiveness and understanding instead of judgement. Forgiveness is also an important concept in Christianity, where sins can sometimes lead to redemption and learning.
Themes
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