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Chapter 8
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
The Tisroc and Ahoshta leave the room, but Lasaraleen and Aravis are still terrified. Lasaraleen wants to stay put, while Aravis is eager to get moving. Lasaraleen still thinks Ahoshta is a great man, but Aravis would rather die than marry him. She makes her escape from the city and finds the groom with Bree and Hwin. The groom is eager to get away because he fears ghouls out at night. As soon as the groom is gone, Shasta comes out of hiding. Aravis wastes no time, telling Shasta all about Prince Rabadash’s plan to abduct Susan.
This passage shows how Lasaraleen and Aravis have grown apart for good. Lasaraleen can't leave behind her old culture, which involves never challenging the authority of powerful men like Ahoshta. But Aravis has learned that other ways of life exist, and she is willing to risk her own life in order to achieve this freedom. Rabadash’s ride north adds urgency to the story, giving a new deadline to Shasta and Aravis’s journey. The two of them are now responsible not just for their own fates but for the fate of everyone endangered by Rabadash’s attack.
Themes
Aravis, Shasta, Bree, and Hwin all head north toward Narnia. The journey across the desert is pleasant at first, but soon becomes grueling, especially after the sun comes up. They all take comfort in the fact that at least Tashbaan is starting to look far away. Finally, after much traveling and exhaustion, they finally reach a river next to some grass.
Several Biblical figures have important journeys into the desert, including Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus. The desert often represents hardship but can lead to enlightenment after people overcome those hardships. The water and grass that Aravis and Shasta find after their arduous journey once again suggests the Christian idea that God will provide for the faithful.
Themes
Everyone celebrates for a moment by the river, but Hwin warns them that they can’t sleep because they have to catch up with Prince Rabadash. But they’re all so tired that they can’t help drifting off for longer than they intend to. After a snack and drink, they continue their journey through a valley where the river flows.
Aravis, Shasta, Bree, and Hwin face their limits as they all can’t help falling asleep. Although each of them is on a journey to discover their true potential, they also each face moments where they are reminded that they are mortal, and this passage is where all the characters reach the limits of what their mortal bodies can do.
Themes
