The Last Battle: Tirian and the Rule of Law

In the previous post we saw that the northern part of Narnia at the beginning of The Last Battle is not a land of peace and prosperity, far from it. Northern Narnia had become a land overrun by outlaws and engulfed by a great war. The war was not a clean victory for the Narnians, but one which saw the death of their king and, presumably, friends and neighbors. The young king who has taken the throne is brave and daring in battle, he put the country back together. But he is still immature even rash. The citizenry is, without a doubt, still on edge. Puzzle’s comment to Shift, “isn’t everything right already?” even without oranges and bananas, may be technically true, but if it is, it is only in the recent past that it has become so.

Turning to King Tirian we find his actions in The Last Battle fraught with inconsistency. This causes us to question how much confidence he could have aroused in his people. At first, he is in no rush to determine whether Aslan has returned to Narnia. He then rashly (as Lewis describes it) seeks to avenge the murdered dryad. When this leads him and Jewel to kill two unarmed Calormenes (who unquestionably deserved it) Tirian is suddenly ashamed of his actions. 

King Tirian did win the war after harsh battles in the north, Aslan himself compliments Tirian for his firmness in Narnia’s final hours, yet as a leader Tirian is still immature, doubtfully earning the people's trust, and clearly unprepared for the intrigue of Shift and the Calormenes.

One might compare Tirian to King Saul, the great warrior of ancient Israel who also stood firm in the face of a mortal enemy, but whose actions were inconsistent. This inconsistency is most clearly demonstrated in King Saul’s love-hate relationship with his son-in-law the future King David. But inconsistency in King Saul's actions is constant, especially when considering his periodic willingness to be led by the populous rather than lead the populous. 

King Saul listens to the people and does not wipe out the evil tribe of Amalek (Samuel 1, chapter 15), yet he utterly destroys the priestly city of Nov despite their innocence (Samuel 1, chapter 22). King Saul (Samuel 1, chapter 14) declares a fast after a victory against the Philistines weakening the army and limiting their ability to chase down the retreating enemy. When his son Jonathan eats (he did not know about the declaration), King Saul is ready to kill him. Yet, in this case he is persuaded by the people to spare Jonathan’s life. No one can doubt King Saul's overall fidelity to God, love for his country, and bravery and sacrifice in battle. He centralizes Israel after its disastrous history in the book of Judges. But his inconsistencies make him unacceptable before God and the prophet Samuel, and eventually his kingdom is lost. 

With King Tirian the situation is worse. His unwillingness to address "Aslan" quickly, his unwillingness to heed the advice of the centaur, and his rashness in responding to the actions of this "Aslan" destroy all of Narnia.

With this as background we can, perhaps, understand the willingness of the Narnians to be taken in by Shift. Through “Aslan,” Shift provides a stability and consistency not seen in perhaps decades. True the yoke is heavy and the work is hard, but the hardness is welcome because it demonstrates that leadership and the rule of law, missing for so long, has finally returned.

The Last Battle: Questions

The Last Battle opens by describing the relationship between Shift, the monkey, and Puzzle, the donkey (note the rhyme), who live to the west of Lantern Waste not far from the Great Waterfall. Though the pair claim to be friends Shift constantly takes advantage of Puzzle making use of his old-age, supposed wisdom, and Puzzle’s good nature, to convince Puzzle to do all the work. One day the pair find a lion skin and Shift convinces Puzzle to put it on and pretend to be Aslan. Puzzle initially refuses, but Shift keeps insisting that Puzzle just does not understand and stressing how much better things could be if he, Shift, could tell everyone what to do.

Up to now, the story is understandable. Shift wants power to satisfy his physical lusts (bananas). He starts with Puzzle, and then, upon finding of the lion skin, grabs the opportunity to extend his power. Puzzle is a simple soul too easily taken advantage of by the power-hungry Shift. While he understands the difference between right and wrong, he has internalized Shift’s messaging that he is ignorant and foolish. Hence he sacrifices his morality to Shift whom he believes understands morality better than himself. (As an aside we note that this is the same tactic that “Weston” attempted on the Lady of Perelandra.)

The story then changes focus to Tirian, the king of Narnia, who is at a hunting lodge not far from Lantern Waste. It has been more than a week since he has heard the first rumors that Aslan has, once again, come to Narnia. He and his friend Jewel the Unicorn are overcome with happiness at this momentous turn of events. However, the delightful dream is about to shatter, as Roonwit the Centaur warns that the rumors are false, and a dryad is killed (due to her tree being cut down) right before their eyes. 

Tirian and Jewel then set off to Lantern Waste. On the way horrible sights meet their eyes. A water rat is guiding a raft of newly felled trees to Calormen, Calormenes are cutting down the forest, and a Calormen is whipping a talking horse, treating it like a dumb horse. All claim that this is on the word of Aslan. Tirian and Jewel are overcome with anger and each kill a Calormen. They then make to escape, but have a change of heart. After all, everything was being done under the orders of Aslan. Furthermore, they did not warn the Calormenes of their impending attack and have thus violated their honor. They turn back and surrender to the Calormenes.

This section of the plot is extremely troubling. If Tirian has indeed known for more than seven days that Aslan has come to Narnia, why has he not presented himself before the King of Kings? Or at least send a trusted advisor? He has plenty of flying birds, centaurs, and stags who could have easily covered the distance. Furthermore, why are all of the animals listening to the false Aslan? Do they really believe that Aslan would give up on his people and order them to work for Calormen? Could they, and much more so Tirian and Jewel, really believe that Aslan would have commanded actions worthy of Tash? Finally, why did Tirian and Jewel give themselves up? They sacrifice much more than themselves as individuals, they risk all of Narnia!

Something must be missing in the story line. Some basic facts of background that would give reason to the actions of our characters. Perhaps a few lines that Lewis puts in as description and knowledge of who or what should be the true enemy of Narnia will be helpful. 

Narnian Enemies: Introduction to The Last Battle

The tyrannical monarchy of Carlomen is not, however, Narnia’s greatest existential threat. In fact, though Carlomen does eventually invade and conquer Narnia, this was only possible due to a societal/theological rebellion that had already weakened Narnia. This rebellion was headed by Shift, the antichrist, the “prophet” of the false Aslan. 

(It is worth pointing out that Shift is a monkey who pretends to be a man, just as the antichrist is a man pretending to the be the savior.)

The story of this rebellion is told in the first part of the Last Battle. I have to admit that the plot of the first part of The Last Battle has, for me, always been troubling. The actions of the creatures are most bewildering. The willingness of Tirian and Jewel to give themselves up for the sake of “honor” is, to me, infuriating. There is a need for clarification, and maybe a little background is missing as well. While I am not sure I can explain everything, or anything, I will share some of my thoughts.

In the next post we’ll review the story of The Last Battle highlighting certain aspects that require explanation. This will set the stage for identifying the true enemy facing Narnia in its final days. With this identification we can then go backwards in time and try to imagine what allowed this enemy to gain a foothold in Narnia.