Rishda and Emeth

jasmine tarkheena

jasmine tarkheena

Active member
Out of all the characters in The Last Battle that has been discussed, I've been looking through and there hasn't been one about Rishda and Emeth. There are the only two Calormenes that are named, so perhaps we should talk some aspects and what role they may have played.

Rishda Tarkaan is a military leader and is very manipulative. He was working along with Shift for a while, but got tired of Shift doing all the work. Shift have used Puzzle like a puppet, but in turn, Rishda and Ginger use Shift like a puppet. I actually almost didn't see it coming. "Who's the puppet now?"

Emeth is a devoted follower of Tash. But it was as surprise to him that he was serving Aslan. He was a truth seeker and a humble soldier. It's like one of the reasons why he's my favorite character in the series.

CS Lewis never specified what Rishda and Emeth's relationship was like. Though I would think that it was professional. Emeth addresses Rishda as "my father", though not really his father. I don't know if that was part of the Calormene culture, where a young officer address their senior officers as "my father."
 
Yes, Lewis did say it was a military custom. It was senior soldiers of similar paygrade who were addressed as father; commissioned officers were addressed as master.
 
I think in the Focus on the Family Radio theatre adaption, Emeth addresses Rishda as "my captain" and "my master". Was there a reason for this change?

Anyhow, Emeth doesn't have a very big role. But we do get kind of an idea when he tells in a backstory. He actually learns that Rishda doesn't believe in Tash. "How could he dare to mock him?" Then there's the moment where Rishda tries to make up for his unbelief in Tash. It doesn't turnout so well for him, though.
 
Tash didn't floss. Those last few moments before he snapped him up were unappealing and highly unsanitary...
 
EveningStar said:
Tash didn't floss. Those last few moments before he snapped him up were unappealing and highly unsanitary...
Click to expand...
I actually haven't thought about that. Though I actually think it would have been too hard for Tash to floss, since he has a vulture's head with "cruel curved beak."

When Tash showed up in the stable before Rishda, I wasn't traumatized by it. I was about ten when I first read the series. Though I can imagine Rishda's reaction of having no idea what he has gotten himself into. Thank goodness Emeth encounter with Tash as he was hoping. Instead, he encounter with Aslan.
 
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