Narnian Ba'alei Teshuva: Rilian (Part 2)

It's been too long since we started talking about Rilian and his return to Narnia. See here for our previous post. 

In Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, we meet Hans Pritcher, a captain in the Foundation’s armed forces known for his incredible abilities and daring, but never promoted due to a streak of rebelliousness. As this was a time of Mayoral tyranny in the Foundation, Pritcher also secretly served the democratic underground. The assent of the Mule, a mutant with extraordinary mental powers, greatly interested Pritcher who immediately and correctly identified him as the greatest threat to the Foundation. Indeed, Terminus (the Foundation capital) is eventually taken by the Mule and Pritcher’s last attempt to assassinate the Mule is foiled. Pritcher is captured and “converted” by the Mule, under whom Pritcher becomes a general and the Mule’s most trusted advisor.

The Mule’s enchantment of Pritcher (unlike the Lady of the Green Kirtle’s enchantment of Rilian) was completely involuntary, and in fact was fought against to the very last. Yet, what happened when the enchantment wore off? What became of Pritcher when the Mule died? He did not return to the Foundation, but instead took over the Mule’s kingdom. He tried, and failed, to be the Mule’s successor to continue the work of his captor. Though Pritcher’s will was no longer bound by the enchantment, the enchantment still controlled him.

The Talmud states, "A man commits a transgression only if a spirit of folly enters him."  Note the Talmud's formulation. Sin occurs when someone is overtaken by something from the outside. The person becomes enchanted with another's spouse (as in the discussion of the Talmud), an object that belongs to someone else, or a foodstuff that does not fit dietary restrictions. No doubt this happens to all of us from time to time despite our best efforts to the contrary. the ultimate question then becomes, what to do when the enchantment wears off? 

Having fallen once do get up, admit to what we have done wrong and try to do better next time? Or do we stay under the enchantment even though it no longer has sway?

Rilian could have crawled back under the enchantment. His thought process would have been, OK, I’m free now, but being a prince (even in name only) with a beautiful Lady at my side isn’t all that bad, and I’ve grown pretty comfortable with it. Maybe we can swing a deal? After all, going back to Narnia will be a lot of work, I don’t know any of the latest fashions (a la Bree) or what's happened to my baseball team, maybe they won’t even want me. 

But he doesn’t do that. Despite his earlier failings Rilian remains true to Aslan and to his people.

In fact, even the one enticement he almost falls speaks to his loyalty.

“My father went to the world's end," said Rilian thoughtfully. "It would be a marvellous thing if his son went to the bottom of the world."

Even here he speaks of following in the footsteps of his father, not following a different path.

Thus, Rilian is a complete repentant and is welcome home to Narnia.

Narnian Ba'alei Teshuva: Rilian

Moving from Voyage of the Dawn Treader to The Silver Chair we find additional ba’alei teshuva, those who have returned to the true religion and teachings of God. For the sake of these posts, we are not considering those who have done some wrong and repent. From that perspective the entire story of the Silver Chair is one of repentance: Jill showing off and admitting her sin, Jill and Eustace failing the signs, eating the talking stag of Harfang, and much more. Rather, we are interested in individuals who have undergone a momentous change in their worldview, from one that is anti-God or ignorant of Him, to that of a true belief in the Divine.

In the Silver Chair the central penitent is, of course, Prince Rilian. Once the slave and tool of the Lady of the Green Kirtle, Rilian returns to being a worthy prince, and then king, of Narnia. Now, one may quibble with characterizing Rilian as a penitent. After all, he was enchanted by the Lady of the Green Kirtle and forced to do her bidding. He was not responsible for his actions and thus never a sinner in the first place. Let us analyze this and see where the culpability lies. We might find our own experiences in Rilian’s story.

Prince Rilian is the only son of his father the great King Caspian the Seafarer and his mother the Queen, the Star’s daughter. While on a pleasure trip in the northern part of Narnia as a young knight, Rilian’s mother is killed by a huge venomous worm. He appears to have sworn vengeance against the worm and for days returns to the place of his mother’s death to hunt for it. 

However, after about a month Rilian started to change. Though he continued to ride out every day, it no longer seemed that he was tired and worn out from seeking the worm. Rilian takes into his confidence the Lord Drinian who rides with Rilian to the place of the Queen’s death. There he sees the most beautiful lady beckoning the young prince. The next day Rilian disappears, presumably having followed the lady into either unknown lands or to his death.

Of course, we know what actually happened. The lady was the Lady of Green Kirtle, Queen of the Underland. She casts an enchantment over Rilian such that he no longer remembers who he is - except for an hour every day and during that time he is bound to a magical Silver Chair. He remains under the enchantment until he is saved from the Silver Chair by Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill.

With that as background, let us return to our question. Is Rilian a ba’al teshuva (a repentant)? Or is he someone who was forced against his will to forget the proper upbringing of his youth? It is true that he was under an enchantment, but the first move towards evil, the initial step away from God, was on his own volition.

How often do we experience this ourselves? How often does one wrong turn, one mistake in judgement lead inexorably down a steep slope of moral degeneracy that we feel unable to escape from? On that slide we lose our way and no longer remember who we are and what we are meant to represent. Still, even in that state, every once in a while, we wake up, we remember our true selves and what we ought to be. But we feel that our hands are tied, that we are unable to escape. Is it true? Are the bonds really that strong? Could we not free ourselves had we sincerely wanted to?

Rilian, as we know, cannot do it on his own, but he is sent help. Three saviors cut his cords, freeing him to return to himself. At that moment he still has a choice. By making the right choice he can become a loyal servant of Aslan, but the wrong choice will force him back under the enchantment.

We will return to this in our next.

In Every Generation...

Those Northern Witches always mean the same thing, but in every age they have a different plan for getting it. (The Silver Chair) 

In every generation they rise up to destroy us, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves us from their hands. (Passover Haggadah)

I have no idea whether or not C.S. Lewis was at all familiar with the details of the Passover seder, the ritual meal Jews partake in on the first night of Passover. At this meal, Jews celebrate and relive the Exodus from Egypt. The seder (Hebrew for 'order') ritual is laid out in the haggadah (Hebrew for 'tale') which presents the order of what is done at the meal. This includes the when to read the various texts about the Exodus, when to drink the four cups of wine, when to eat matza (the unleavened bread of affliction) and marror (the bitter herbs), and so on. 

Whether or not C.S. Lewis was familiar with the details of the seder, his description of the Northern Witches’ endless quest to rule over Narnia exactly echoes the haggadah’s assertion that evil will always attempt ultimate destruction of the Jewish people. Let us take a moment to understand the statement made by the oldest dwarf to Rilian, soon to be the young King of Narnia, in light of the statement in the haggadah, and vice-versa. 

In the haggadah, the assertion that evil will arise in every generation parallels a similar statement, “In every generation one is required to see themselves as if they left Egypt.” What does this mean? On the seder night, the night dedicated towards enmeshing and weaving Jewish youth into the tapestry of the Jewish people, time is put on hold. The myriad of threats, enemies, and evil that endanger Jews today, and have endangered them over the millennia, all become one with Pharaoh and his minions. Pogroms, inquisitions, and concentration camps all meld into an ongoing story of evil seeking to destroy the Jewish people. But no matter what form or shape evil takes, God will never allow it to triumph. Just as God emerged victorious in His battle against the Egyptians, He will also emerge victorious in the war against the current evil. 

This same lesson is that given to Prince Rilian. The prince spent ten years living in darkness. As Puddleglum worries, “Constitution ruined with living underground, I shouldn't wonder,” and this concern is certainly valid. How can someone recover from that experience? How can such a person see light without wincing? 

The oldest dwarf understood this challenge and devised a solution. It is the oldest dwarf who fits the Lewis' previous description as one who, “could just remember how his father, King Caspian, had looked when he was a young man, and saw the likeness.” And in this observation found a way to fully redeem the prince. The assertion that all Northern Witches mean the same thing takes Rilian back in time and demonstrates that he is part of a chain. His experience is only the latest battle in an ongoing war against evil. And just like Caspian and even Peter, with the help of Aslan, could overcome tremendous odds to defeat evil, so too Rilian can escape the trauma of his experience and emerge to rule justly and righteously. Times have not changed, the story is still the same, only a few irrelevant details of the plot have been rewritten. 

The oldest dwarf also has something to teach the Jewish People. What is the common denominator of the Northern Witches (of which we only know two, the White Witch and the Lady of the Green Kirtle)? What characteristics do they share that they embody God's warning to Jeremiah, “From the North the evil will come forth” (Jeremiah 1:14)? Both witches deny the true God, and see themselves in His place. Any being that believes itself divine must conquer Narnia to demonstrate its power over Aslan. Any people or ideology, be it Communism, Nazism, or even humanism, that sees itself in place of God, must attack or erode the Jewish People to demonstrate they are not merely a cheap substitute. The war is ongoing. Each battle is the same, only the means of attack have changed. But, no matter the strategy, God will emerge victorious. 

Stay safe everyone! I’m back to blogging so come back soon!