While I appreciate the spirituality of the conversation, I was talking the reality. In The Silver Chair, Aslan tells Jill and Eustace that the next time they see him, they will be there to stay. And they knew it themselves after what Caspian told them.
They were on the train to get the rings to go into Narnia. So my question was how did they convince their parents to go without being too sad knowing that was to be their last time seeing them (If their parents knew what they were up to, they would not have let them go)? Their mission, after all, was to go into Narnia, Aslan's realm.
Again, my question revolves around getting parents' permission to leave forever.
MrBob
That's a good question, but you have to allow that perhaps they didn't understand the import of Aslan's statement, or factor it into their decisions about what to do in response to the appearance of Tirian at their dinner. They may not have even remembered it. Keep in mind that from the time Tirian appeared, all their steps were based on guesswork, and certainly predicate on Aslan permitting them to proceed. It
seemed that Tirian was Narnian. They
guessed that it was some cry for help, and
judged that the cause was critical enough for them to take action. They made their decision within the framework of what was allowed, by selecting Jill and Eustace as the candidates to use the Rings because the others were forbidden to return. The rest they left in Aslan's hands - as, indeed, the whole affair was from the start.
Hermit's point is well taken that Aslan's comment could be interpreted to mean Aslan's Country itself, rather than the entire Narnian world. I think the Seven were willing to submit to whatever restrictions Aslan put on the venture, including having it fail, if that was His will.
Another factor to consider is that the parents who would have been asked would have been Harold and Alberta (about whom we know little, and none of it flattering), and Pole's parents (about whom we know nothing, except that they were willing to send their daughter to Experiment House). My guess would be that neither was very eager to explain anything about Narnia to their parents, and if an opportunity to return to Narnia meant going for good, they would have shrugged and left. Since all of them knew that Aslan was completely in charge of all traffic between the worlds, and that filial duty was one of Aslan's commands, they would probably reason that Aslan could sort out the balance of duties between the filial and the immediate summons to Narnia. If Aslan thought that their coming to Narnia would violate their duties as children, then He could simply refuse to facilitate their coming.
