And Susan grew into a tall and gracious woman with black hair that fell almost to her feet and the kings of the countries beyond the sea began to send ambassadors asking for her hand in marriage. And she was called Susan the Gentle.
Susan: the Pevensie who deserted Narnia, or the girl who tried to be a grownup, or the one spoilsport of the four. These statements seem to sum up what a good many people think about this character. Some seem to think her almost heartless in her older years.
BUT! I think that many people don’t really appreciate Susan’s character enough. And so I’m here to appreciate it! 🙂 You do see many moments of Susan being a thoroughly wet blanket, and the end of the Last Battle leaves your heart in pieces (but I have hope… just wait and see what it is!), but in Narnia she was always remembered as Queen Susan the Gentle. The Gentle. Let’s take a few peeks at her character as I see it. 🙂
Just had to put this in here
Fear & Gentleness: these two words are the first to come to mind when I ponder Susan. Her fear is rooted in a desire to feel safe and to know that everything is truly under control. Her gentleness gives her a very lovable quality, and I’ll give a few examples of it soon. To back up my choice of words I turn to the best authority I can find on this subject. His name is Jack, or Clive Staples Lewis. (But Jack is a perfectly splendid nickname, and he liked it better himself.) So, let’s look at our first word, fear. What does Jack write about her?
Fear
“How perfectly dreadful!” said Susan as they at last came back in despair. “Oh, how I wish we’d never come!” -The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
At this point in the book, Edmund has just left the beaver’s snug little dam (I’d love to visit it myself) and his three siblings have been looking for him. It is also quite obvious as to where he has gone. (And if you don’t know, please go read the book. Now. Right Now. Thank you. :)) What Susan says above is a perfect example of her fear. She is fearful for Edmund as well as for the rest of them. They haven’t been in Narnia long, and already things are way out of her control, and all their lives are in danger. She remembers that everything seemed relatively safe and under control in Professor Kirke’s big house back in England. (But I mean, I think all of use would be a little shaken up too. Just maybe.) Susan is not declaring that she hates Narnia, but she is scared to death! Here’s another example of this same fear.
“I am the cause of all this,” said Susan, bursting into tears. “Oh, if only I had never left Cair Paravel. Our last happy day was before those ambassadors came from Calormen. The Moles were planting an orchard for us… oh… oh.” And she buried her face in her hands and sobbed. -The Horse and His Boy
Edmund and Susan are in Tashbaan. Again, there lives are being threatened and escape seems impossible. (If you don’t know why their lives are in danger, I’ll give you the same advice as last time…. GO READ THE BOOK!)
Ahem. Anyway, don’t you see her facing the same sort of fear? Their lives are in danger, and immediately her mind reverts right back to the safest place she can think of. But this time, England has ceased to be her safe place. She is longing for Cair Paravel. For Narnia. Her land. She is perfectly happy in Narnia. In fact, she LOVES Narnia! Susan is still warring the fear of not being in control.
This is Susan’s battle. She desires safety, and to to have safety she feels that she needs to be in control. All through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and even in The Horse and His Boy we see her accompanied by crippling fear.
Susan herself can’t overcome this. In fact, in Prince Caspian you see her being steadily ruled by this fear for the first half of the book. They have been trying to find the Prince for days, and everything seems to be going as badly as possible. Nothing is in her control. But there is someone who is in control. There is someone who can overcome her fear.
Then, after an awful pause, the deep voice said, “Susan.” Susan made no answer but the others thought she was crying. “You have listened to fears, child,” said Aslan. “Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again? “A little, Aslan,” said Susan. -Prince Caspian
Through the rest of the book, Susan never leaves Aslan’s side. And through the rest of the book, her fear seems to have evaporated. We even get a little glimpse of her trusting in Aslan’s care and protection when she whispered to Lucy during a certain wonderful romp,
“I wouldn’t have felt very safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we’d met them without Aslan.” -Prince Caspian
Isn’t this interesting though? Do you remember what Susan asks about Aslan, when she first hears of him?
“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
With Aslan, the one who isn’t safe, she is safe. And I think that is beautiful.
Gentleness
Here are just a few glimpses of the other side of her character. This is the Queen Susan Narnia knew.
Then Susan went to the top of the steps and strung her bow. She was not enjoying her match half so much as Edmund had enjoyed his; not because she had any doubt about hitting the apple but because Susan was so tender-heated that she almost hated to beat someone who had been beaten already. -Prince Caspian
Ok. If you can’t see the gentleness in this… then I really don’t know what to say. 🙂 Well, maybe I do. If you can’t see the gentleness in this, then you really haven’t read this. So, ahem, go ahead and read the above quote. 🙂
“I-I left it too late,” said Susan, in an embarrassed voice. “I was so afraid it might be, you know- one of our kind of bears, a talking bear.” She hated killing things. -Prince Caspian
Gentle. She is so so gentle.
Even her first reaction to Aslan was gentle. She hears about him from Mr. Beaver first, and this is what happens.
Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. -The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
She was one of Aslan’s children before she even meets him. Through someone just saying his name, the Lion was calling her.
And now… *drum role*… ahem! The moment has come! I’m now supposed to convince you beyond the shadow of a doubt that Susan Pevensie, Queen Susan the Gentle, did NOT abandon Narnia forever. Well, you don’t have to be convinced, but I’m going to tell you anyway! Let me tell you what I imagine. And then I’ll give you my one quote from Aslan himself that seems to give me confidence that Susan will see her siblings again.
In The Last Battle it is revealed by Lucy and a few others that Susan has seemingly deserted Narnia. She has rushed on to a certain age (called the silliest age by one of the friends of Narnia) and now is desperately trying to stay that age. In other words, Susan feels that while she continues to be this age she is in control of what is happening. She feels that she is in her safe space, and is vainly clinging to it, fearing what might happen as she grows older. And now…
Think of it. A railway accident. Many passengers have died and are now being claimed by loved ones. Funerals are being planned and memories relived. Susan finds her family is taken from her, and she is quite alone in the world. Alone, fearful, and realizing that everything is out of her control. Naturally she begins to remember the birthdays and holidays with her family, times that she will never get back. Then her thoughts turn to those beautiful years in Narnia. Cair Paravel, Tumnus, Corin, Trumpkin, Caspian, Miraz, the battle with the White Witch… the Lion. And suddenly it comes quite clear. There is no safe place in England, and really there was no safe place in Narnia. But she was safe where the Lion was. And I really can’t help thinking that these words would start ringing in her ears:
“Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen. Bear it well, Sons of Adam! Bear it well, Daughters of Eve!”
Aslan has promised it. She will ALWAYS be a queen of Narnia.
Love,
Hannah Jo <3
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