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Chapter 4
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
Edmund explains to Susan that leaving Tashbaan might not be easy for them, now that they no longer have the favor of the local Prince (Rabadash). Tumnus says that the Grand Vizier wants the Prince to marry Susan, and then the others can leave. Edmund figures that the Vizier is not afraid of retaliation by Narnia, because Narnia is such a small nation in comparison. Still, Edmund hopes that the desert might prevent the Grand Vizier’s army from reaching Narnia.
The Prince’s desire to marry Susan shows once again how greed is common in Calormen and how this is displayed in the marriage customs, which put even noble women at a disadvantage. Susan’s total rejection of Rabadash’s offer shows how freedom is important to Narnians and how this clashes with Rabadash’s selfish, controlling nature.
Themes
A Dwarf and a Raven named Sallowpad are among Edmund and Susan’s advisors. They agree that they must escape the city to protect the Queen’s honor. Because there is not enough of them to fight off all their enemies, they instead devise a different strategy. Susan will pretend to be interested in the Prince by holding a banquet on their boat. This will give everyone an excuse to go to the boat without looking suspicious. Then one night, the boat will sneak off with everyone inside.
As is often the case in the novel, the heroes use cunning rather than brute force as a way to get out of a bad situation, reflecting Christian ideas about peace and nonviolence. By contrast, the Calormenes use brute force to try to imprison the Narnians, but the fact that the Prince is so easy to trick shows how greed has blinded him and made him less powerful than he thinks he is.
Themes
Edmund worries about being pursued by the Prince’s ship, but Sallowpad tells him the current plan is the best option they’ve got. Meanwhile, Shasta has grown up with the habit of never telling adults anything, and so he waits to reveal that he is not, in fact, Corin. They all have a big meal, and Mr. Tumnus takes care of Shasta, believing he is still Corin with sunstroke.
Living under a false identity, Shasta gets the opportunity to see how other people live. He learns that not everyone is as stingy as his adoptive father Arsheesh, with the Narnians providing him with a large meal. The fact that Shasta can easily pass as Corin shows how even good people like the Narnians are sometimes guilty of seeing what they already expect to see.
Themes
Shasta decides that a ship would be a more pleasant way to get to Narnia than through the desert, so he keeps pretending to be Corin. He goes to sleep, but several hours later, he wakes to a crash and sees a boy who looks almost identical to him coming through the window. It’s the real Corin. Corin isn’t mad about finding out he’s been impersonated, and in fact, he wants to continue the charade for a while. But Shasta wants to switch back to their real identities. Corin points Shasta where to go and says he should seek out Corin’s father, King Lune, in the country of Archenland.
The arrival of the real Corin means that Shasta must give up his false identity and continue on his journey. During his time with the Narnians, Shasta has learned that he doesn’t have to be a humble fisherman’s son—that under the right circumstances, he can pass as a prince. Shasta’s brief time as Corin illustrates to him what freedom in Narnia feels like, and it provides motivation for him to try to seek a more permanent version of this freedom for himself.
Themes
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