Lucy and the Trees

PrinceOfTheWest

PrinceOfTheWest

Knight of the Stone Table
Royal Guard
Emeritus
In the Prince Caspian book, some consider the most boring part to be the trudging through the woods after the landing at Glasswater Creek. The entire journey is in the chapter What Lucy Saw. Apart from the shot of excitement when Trumpkin's quick archery saves Lucy from being mauled by a bear, there isn't much to recommend this dreary segment that consists of little more than narrative description of the journey.

However, reading through it this time I stopped to notice something I'd always just breezed past: the incident at the start of the chapter where Lucy can't get to sleep and takes a brief stroll into the woods. The passage is almost mystical, as she reminisces about what the trees might look like if they were awake. I found myself expecting something to happen – but then it doesn't, and Lucy returns to the camp. It's almost disappointing.

What I took particular note of this time is what Lucy says. The passage reads:
“Oh, Trees, Trees, Trees,” said Lucy (though she had not been intending to speak at all). “Oh, Trees, wake, wake, wake. Don't you remember it? Don't you remember me? Dryads and Hamadryads, come out, come out to me.”
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The response is interesting:
Though there was not a breath of wind they all stirred about her. The rustling noise of the leaves was almost like words. The nightingale stopped as if to listen to it. Lucy felt that at any moment she would begin to understand what the trees were trying to say.
(emphasis added)​
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This is what occurred to me: here's Lucy, legitimate Queen of Narnia crowned by Aslan Himself. Her presence seemed to have triggered some kind of awareness in the sleeping Trees. She even speaks a Word of Calling, which even sounds like an incantation. We know from the words of Dr. Cornelius that one of the things that put the Trees to sleep was the actions of the usurping Telmarine invaders. Could the presence and call of a True Queen of Narnia have an opposite effect, of stirring them toward wakefulness?

But of course, we have to consider the outcome:
But the moment did not come. The rustling died away. The nightingale resumed its song. Even in the moonlight the wood looked more ordinary again. Yet Lucy had the feeling...that she had just missed something; as if she had spoke to the trees a split second too soon or a split second too late, or used all the right words except one, or put in one word that was just wrong.
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Whatever Lucy almost accomplished with her presence and words, it wasn't enough. Contrast that with her second walk in the woods at the beginning of the next chapter. What are the Trees doing then? What was similar between the two incidents, and what differed? Does anyone see any connection between the two incidents?
 
I do have thoughts on that bit. I always liked that bit in the story. If you think about the Dryads being living beings in Narnia and that Cornelius said that it was the Telmarines who drove them back, it doesn't seem to be a wonder at all that things happend that way. I mean, when people have been threatened with lethal force it is not uncommon for them to hide. It would take a lot of coaxing for someone to come out of hiding if they knew it could mean their demise, should the wrong person be around to see it all. Lucy did not comprehend all that had happened fully at that point. Hearing about carnage and seeing it first hand are very different. Fear is a powerful tool. Lucy knew Aslan was around. The Driyads on the other hand didn't see Aslan, and he had not been around for a very long time from what they could tell.

Lucy, as a legitmate queen of Narnia would have offered a glimpse of hope that things could change again. The Pevensies' reign was the legendary Golden Age of Narnia. But, the Dryads would have known that it was Aslan who was really in charge when power switched from the White Witch to the Pevensies. He does appear to be much stronger than a little girl does as well. Trumpkin needed convincing to take her seriously. A small girl, even if a legitimate queen, wouldn't necessarily calm their fears. In a dark world people may take notice of a person who reminds them of the One who brings light and life. It may stir them a bit. But when the real Lord shows up, it is then that they feel free to dance. It is then that they would feel safe. With Aslan standing there in the woods bidding them to come out, it is not a wonder that the Dryads would come and dance. No Telmarine would take on Aslan and survive.

A lot of what I see in Prince Caspian is the need for one to not only have faith in general, but to know where to look when the situation is over their heads. Lucy needed Aslan to breath on her and give her his strength later. I hated how they changed that line in the film because it made it sound like Lucy had the strength in her all along and just needed Aslan's reminder of it. No, she was weak and in need of His strength. Prince Caspian reminds me that when we are weak and at the end of ourselves, it is then that His Glory shines. It's then that His strength is what makes up the difference necessary. Small children know to go to their parents when life gets a bit over their heads and they can't handle it. We need to learn to go to our Father when life is like that. It just may allow people to see Him working where they'd missed noticing Him before.

The Dryads needed Aslan. They were overwhelmed and scared. They were basically held hostage in their trees for fear of being cut down if they showed themselves. When Aslan showed up, the fear was gone. They had their advocate and protector. They knew in general he wasn't safe, but he was good and on their side. Lucy reminded them after hundreds of years that he existed, which was good. But it wasn't enough to bring them out of hiding. They wanted to see Him.
 
I think it would've taken a greater force to wake the trees then just Lucy speaking to them. That and it wasn't time for them to be completely awakened yet. And they'd been hiding to long that only Aslan could wake them by then.
 
I don't have my books with me ... and I'm off fiction until after Lent ... what happens in the second incident PoTW references?
 
These are interesting questions. ItW, your take seems to be that the trees were deliberately, willfully hiding inside themselves - that is, they had a choice, and they chose to hide out of fear. Thinking about that, I realize that I've been carrying around the assumption that they were involuntarily asleep. I think I got that impression from a comment made by Dr. Cornelius at the top of the Great Tower, when he spoke of Caspian maybe assembling magicians to "awaken the trees once more". I wonder which Lewis intended.

For that matter, here's a question that never occurred to me before: what the heck was it with the wood and water beings? Why were they asleep when the other Narnian creatures weren't? The badgers and dwarfs didn't feel the need to go to sleep - they hid in the woods. Was it because the trees and streams couldn't move? They couldn't run away, so they "ran" inside themselves? But we see from the end of the book that at least the trees can move - in fact, they move on the Telmarines pretty quickly.

I tend to agree with the idea that Lucy had very nearly what it would take to wake the trees - but not quite enough. She had at least three things going for her: (1) she was human, the intended ruling race of Narnia, (2) she was a legitimately enthroned Queen, so she bore actual authority, and (3) she was on a mission from Aslan. I think those factors were enough to get the trees to respond to her. Maybe given time, they would have been enough. But in the short timeframe, a real burst of power was needed, so she needed Aslan's strength.
 
This has actually always been one of my favorite scenes in Prince Caspian...

When I read it, I feel like the trees are under an enchantment, what I interpret as an enchantment forced upon them by the misdeeds and unbelief of the Telmarines. This enchantment, though not brought about by any magic that the Telmarines did, is even stronger than the magic of the White Witch. Even in the middle of the winter, the trees could listen and report what they heard to others.

When Lucy speaks to the trees, it stirs up in their bark or spirits remembrances of what it was like to be believed in, what it was like to move about and be treated fairly, what it was like to have power--good power. They almost respond, but the enchantment is too powerful.

Lucy is not strong enough, or the time is not right, to overcome the enchantment. That's where Aslan comes in. He is strong enough. His time is the right time. He can bring the trees out of their enchantment.
 
I have always taken Dr. Cornelius' meaning to be that the trees used themselves as a hiding place. It is not as if, even though they could move, they could hide from the Telmarines; not unless they were hiding in plain sight. In essence, that is what the trees did, they hid in plain sight. They retreated (hid) so deep into themselves that they fell asleep to the world around them. Doing this did not help their chances against the Telmarine axes and builders but it did save the dryads and all of the others from extinction.

Could Lucy have awakened them on her own? Possibly if she tried multiple times, but she didn't need to. Even if she had waked-up the trees that first night, would it have been Lucy doing it because of her authority as queen of Narnia or would it have been Aslan doing it through Lucy? I think if we were able to ask Lucy herself, she would give the credit completely to her Lord and King, the Great Lion, Aslan.
 
inkspot said:
I don't have my books with me ... and I'm off fiction until after Lent ... what happens in the second incident PoTW references?
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Jax, when Lucy goes to meet Aslan in the chapter, Return of the Lion, the trees are dancing in a way that Lewis describes as sort of a country dance. They're dancing in a circle around Aslan. Lucy heard Aslan's call to her and went toward the moving trees, danced with them, and then she talked with Aslan.

I guess I'd never thought of them as under an enchantment. I'd always seen them as in their sleepy state by choice. I would think that since the trees couldn't move without scaring the Telmarines, that they either put themselves in a sort of hybernation or someone else could have helped them to do it. But I guess I'd always seen them as afraid. Trees and streems don't really need a lot of upkeep as dwarfs and talking animals would. They have to stay still. As we saw in The Last Battle, the Dryads are sort of attached to their trees. When the one Dryad came to Tirian they knew right when she'd been cut down. It does make one wonder how far they could flee from their trees, even if they'd wanted to. Maybe the sleep they were in was for their own good. They were stuck in place, lest the Telmarines get scared of them and cut them down. At times they may have been cut off from other Narnians on a regular basis, depending on where their tree was located. I would think it would be a lonely and fearful existance in general. They couldn't hide in a hole or cave. They were stuck in the open. When the trees finally do rush on the Telmarines, it is easy to see the anger at being forced into that state. With Aslan close by, they had the freedom to take action and they always seemed to me to take out their frustration, hurt, anger, and resentment on the Telmarines at the end.
 
Elven Prince said:
Lucy is very young, sweet, and pure, and I think for that reason is why the trees almost came alive.
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Sort of a calling the unicorn thing? I can see that, but I tend to think it was because she was a rightful Queen of Narnia.

So maybe in the second encounter, the trees are dancing in their sleep, or in their dreams? They're remembering when the Kings and Queens were on the throne, and there used to be dances, and they're dreaming of dancing with Lucy as she actually is dancing with them on her way to Aslan ... I like that.

How did a dryad pronounce a prophecy over Reepicheep, when he was born, I wonder? Maybe they could sometimes come out when among the Old Narnians?
 
Or perhaps Reep was born so deep in the forest that not all of the trees near his home were asleep. Perhaps Reep was born in Archenland since we know that some of the creatures fled there it is understandable that there may have been dryads in Archenland even if they were not native to it.
 
I think that may have been a slip-up on Lewis' part - he just had Reep toss off that statement without remembering the historical continuity of his own world. I've never bent myself out of shape trying to figure out a way to explain that comment.

Here's something that never occurred to me: what if the blowing of the Horn started some kind of wakening sequence? Kind of like the first note of a theme that got stronger with each incident that followed? Think of it: first the Horn is blown, and almost immediately the children are summoned. They find their Gifts and are recognized in their authority by a true Narnian (Trumpkin). They begin their journey with the intent of obeying Aslan and reestablishing the true kingship of Narnia. Lucy is inexplicably sleepless and wanders among the nearly-awake Trees, where she speaks a Word of Calling which isn't quite enough.

The next night she is explicitly called into the wood by Aslan, where the trees are nearly awake. She received His blessing and commission, returns to lead the others in following Him. The reach the Hill of the Stone Table, where He sends the men off and then roars - which truly awakens the Trees.

I don't know for sure, but to me there seems a progression of events that seems to move the Trees from complete stupor through semi-waking to full awareness.
 
I think that's definitely possible, PotW. Also, the gifts are all being used again--first the horn, then Lucy's cordial and Susan's bow, and then Peter's sword (does the dagger ever get used?).

I've always thought Lucy's speech was exactly as she theorizes--almost enough to wake them up, but the wrong word or a second too late.

Do we know that the dryad was actually a dryad? Reep was very young at the time. (Also, does, like, a half-dryad get a tree?)
 
"does the dagger ever get used"

Animus, the dagger is never put to any use. Lucy is given it, but is ever described utiliizing it. It is never even mentioned in PC even though it would have been useful when they rescued Trumpkin instead of having to use Edmund's knife from home.

"does, like, a half-dryad get a tree?"

Maybe a half-dryad is a bush? :p

MrBob
 
I wondered about that! Especially since he goes on about how swords aren't great for untying people but neither are pocketknives. Oh, Lewis.

Lol, I wonder how big a stream has to be to get a naiad/river god, come to think of it. Sometimes I wish Lewis had been as crazy intense as Tolkien. ::laughs::
 
To be honest, I can't handle him either. I never got through the LotR. But I do wish, sometimes, that Lewis had reams of notes hidden away somewhere so I could read them and go "AHA! That's how everything works!"

But more likely they would be massively contradictory too.
 
Well, the interesting thing about the Chronicles of Narnia was that they were written fairly quickly, and only represent a fraction of Lewis' life, whereas Middle-Earth represents a very large part of Tolkien's life.
 
Animus Wyrmis said:
But I do wish, sometimes, that Lewis had reams of notes hidden away so
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The frustrating thing is that there probably were no reams! From accounts of his life and comments by his friends, he just cobbled the stories together as he was writing them! That was part of what drove Tolkien so bonkers.

That's a good point about the difference between Lord of the Rings and Narnia. Tolkien was such a blessed perfectionist that he only managed to get one major work out of a lifetime of effort, while Lewis did a lot beyond the Chronicles. Of course, the reward you get for an effort the magnitude of Tolkien's is a literary masterpiece that essentially invented an entire genre of literature - there aren't many who can claim that.

For those of you who ran out of patience with JRR - give it another try sometime. I felt the same way in my very-youth, but eventually I gave it another try, and loved the books.
 
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