As we discuss Prince Caspian, you’ll find some background information about the book, C.S. Lewis, and his thoughts in the Inspiration section available to all subscribers. Paid subscribers have access to the more specific discussion in the Application section.
Inspiration of “The People That Lived in Hiding”
For C.S. Lewis, a religious conversion carried significance. In Surprised by Joy, he spoke about being the most dejected convert in all of England because he did not come lightly to belief in God and then later trust in Christ. To treat those moments flippantly or pragmatically would not do for Lewis.
God is not content with leaving us partially redeemed and neither should we be content with that ourselves. We are either fully on God’s side or we are not. We cannot believe in spiritual goals but use worldly means to accomplish them.
In Prince Caspian chapter 6 “The People That Lived in Hiding,” however, we see someone treat religious devotion in a purely pragmatic manner in desire for power. This would’ve been the ultimate rejection of all that is good to Lewis.
When Trufflehunter, Trumpkin, and Nikabrik take Caspian around to meet the other old Narians, the group eventually makes their way to some Black Dwarfs like Nikabrik. We’ll talk more about dwarfs in the second section, including Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien’s thoughts after going to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs together, but there’s a significant conversation here that cuts to the heart of the book.
The five Black Dwarfs are suspicious of Caspian and his claim to the throne but say they’ll have him for a king “if he’s against Miraz.” In fact, they ask Caspian if he’d like them to go recruit a couple of ogres and a hag they know. Those two creatures were part of the White Witch’s assembly at the Stone Table in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Knowing their evil nature, Trufflehunter immediately rejected such a proposal. But Nikabrik disagreed.
For the Black Dwarf, it didn’t really matter who was on his side as long as they were against Miraz. “I’ll believe in anyone or anything that’ll batter these cursed Telmarine barbarians to pieces or drive them out of Narnia,” he says. “Anyone or anything, Aslan or the White Witch, do you understand?”
Trufflehunter tries to reason with him. “You don’t know what you are saying. She was a worse enemy than Miraz and all his race.” To which Nikabrik replies, “Not to the dwarfs, she wasn’t.”
Victory requires using the proper means, while the defeat of others allows any means necessary.
Nikabrik has given the game away. His goal is not a victory for old Narnia but the defeat of his enemies. There is a subtle but important difference. Victory requires using the proper means, while the defeat of others allows any means necessary. To achieve victory over cruelty, you have to end cruelty. But to defeat one kind of cruelty, you can simply unleash a different kind of cruelty.
Notice that Nikabrik recognizes the evils of Miraz. He rightly calls out the abuse and mistreatment brought on by the Telmarines. No one disputes what he says about the current rulers of Narnia, but Trufflehunter and even Trumpkin reject how he plans to remove them.
But for Nikabrik the warnings fall of deaf ears. Sure, the White Witch was evil to many other creatures of Narnia, but he believes she was good to the dwarfs. In his myopic perspective, Nikabrik can’t see past the opening of the dwarfs’ caves. The concerns of others don’t matter because, for his people, the White Witch is the lesser of two evils compared with Miraz.
This Nikabrikian philosophy dominates modern political thought. Many see the other side as so dangerous that they will associate with whomever to defeat the opposition. Virtues can be set aside, and hypocrisy is allowed. We can’t be expected to behave Christianly in our defense of Christian values. After all, this is the “most important election ever.”
Lewis recognized this to be a demonic lie. Read what Screwtape had to say about politics, including our desire to use our faith in service for our political goals. In another essay, Lewis spells out the corrosive nature of mixing politics in with our faith. There is always the temptation to obtain power through immoral means or immoral people. We claim things will be different once we have the power. We’re just bending our principles momentarily so that we can achieve our goals. Tolkien too recognized this allure with the pull of the ring on people like Boromir in The Lord of the Rings. Even good men and women can succumb to evil means while trying to achieve good ends.
Through his negative example, Nikabrik reminds us that we must cultivate courage and hope, or we will be ruled by fear and despair.
Later in Prince Caspian, we see the result of Nikabrik’s way of thinking. Times seem dire. Miraz is on the verge of winning the war. So, he brings in evil creatures to try to summon the White Witch from the grave. Little does he know, Aslan’s appointed means for deliverance is literally right outside the door, and Aslan himself is on the move. Instead of witnessing his longed-for salvation, Nikabrik dies a traitor.
Through his negative example, Nikabrik reminds us that we must cultivate courage and hope, or we will be ruled by fear and despair. No matter how grim things may seem, we must reject any temptation to use evil means even in attempts to accomplish good ends. In trusting in God’s goodness, we can not only defeat evil but we can see a Christ-honoring victory in the world and in our hearts. After all, as someone once said, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul?
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