In our last post we contrasted two Talking Beasts: the Lapsed Bear of Stormness and Ginger the Cat. The Lapsed Bear is specifically called out for going back to Wild Beast habits (though no specific habits are called out). However, he is saved through the bravery and strength of Corin Thunder-Fist and does not appear to suffer the punishment of ceasing to be a talking beast. On the other hand Ginger does cease to be a talking beast but there is no clear sign that he reverted to the habits of Dumb Beasts. So how is the punishment of losing sentience appropriate?
Perhaps we can gain some insight by noting that there are other beasts who have been afflicted by Aslan’s promised curse of ceasing to be Talking Beasts. These are identified by Trumpkin the Dwarf. As Trumpkin and the four Pevensie children make their way to Caspian’s camp, they are followed by a bear. When the bear attacks, it is Trumpkin’s arrow that takes him down, not Susan’s (though Susan is the better archer). Susan embarrassingly explains that she was worried it may have been a Talking Bear and therefore hesitated. Trumpkin, for his part, acknowledges Susan’s concern:
“That's the trouble of it,” said Trumpkin, “when most of the beasts have gone enemy and gone dumb, but there are still some of the other kind left. You never know, and you daren't wait to see.”
This is an astounding statement especially when considering that (1) at this point Trumpkin is not quite a believer in Aslan, and (2) Trufflehunter’s insistence that Beasts do not forget. Well, maybe Trumpkin is just reporting what he’s seen. As Talking Beasts join the enemies of the “Old Narnians” they cease to be Talking Beasts, they go dumb.
Again here we have the same theological question as with Ginger. What did these Beasts do to deserve the punishment they received?
I think the way to address this question is to uncover the essence of the prohibition against returning to Wild Beast habits. We’ll try to do that in our next post.
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