The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is this month’s Narniathon read. I was looking forward to it as I remember it as my favorite of the seven books. And I still greatly enjoyed this journey through lands full of enchantment and danger, an adventure of the spirit that stirs me to this day.
We start with Lucy and Edmund, along with their irritating young cousin Eustace, being plunged into the sea through a magic picture. The Narnian ship Dawn Treader picks them up, and they meet their old friends Caspian and Reepicheep, who are on a voyage of discovery. They hope to find out what happened to the seven noble lords who were sent away by Caspian’s usurping uncle, but beyond that, to glimpse what lies past the borders of ordinary reality, the end of the world and Aslan’s country.
This is an episodic tale by nature, and some readers find that a weakness, though it never bothered me. I loved the sense of journeying into the unknown, the inner and outer trials that were encountered there, and the gradual opening up of new ways of sensing and experiencing the world, that made possible a glimpse of the numinous beyond. Setting out upon a sea voyage is a picture of the soul’s journey into the spirit world, where the firm ground of physical reality becomes shaky and we must find new grounds for trust and certainty, out of ourselves and our experience of spiritual truth.
The first adventure involves escaping from and vanquishing the slavers who have infiltrated the last outpost of Narnia, the Lone Islands — a relatively worldly task, yet one that sets the tone for the rest. This is to be a journey that can only be entered upon in freedom, and that leads the participants into challenges that test their commitment to that freedom. The paradox of the free ego is that recognizing and claiming it can only bring one into a sense of responsibility for the whole and service of others. In various ways, this is played out in the smaller episodes of the story.
There are encounters with the forces of greed on an island with a magic spring that turns things to gold, and a battle with the surging forces of the unconscious in the form of the Sea Serpent. There is a chilling reminder of the dangers of unwary toying with the spirit realm in the form of an island where dreams come true (“not daydreams — dreams“). The little band comes through these trials, both stronger and more humble as they venture on.
Three episodes involve a more individual testing and personal transformation. The first, and perhaps the most memorable of the book, is the “dragoning” of Eustace. A materialist who is full of contempt at all sources of wonder, habitually puffing himself up at the expense of others, he is sorely challenged when his greedy dreams upon finding a dragon’s hoard turn him into a dragon himself. As the inner becomes outer, he is forced to behold the ugliness of his soul and the way he has distanced himself from the people who would embrace him if he allowed them to do so. Now that it seems too late, he realizes that he cares more about being friends than anything else.
Eustace cannot “undragon” himself, but through an encounter with Aslan he sheds his dragon skin and is able to rejoin the community. He has in fact done the real work of wanting to change and of accepting the healing that is offered. It’s a powerful image, one that reminds me to look beneath the encrusted, hardened skins of each person I meet, and to seek to be softened and opened up myself, however painful that may be.
The next trial belongs to Lucy, who agrees to enter a magician’s house and disenchant a band of comical yet dangerous invisible people. This is a noble and courageous act of service, yet like so many who have entered upon the path of higher knowledge, she finds it extremely tempting to use the power she finds in the magician’s book to serve her own desires. After coming close to great danger a couple of times, once stopped by a vision of Aslan and once by her own better judgment, she is able to say the spell that reveals the hidden people, the magician, and Aslan himself. The threatening unknown can turn kindly and nourishing, when one has mastered the invisible forces that work inside us.
Finally, Caspian is challenged at the last island before the sea of the world’s end, with a powerful desire to sail into the sunrise and never return to Narnia. Here, outer appearances have already become charged with the grandeur and beauty of what lies beyond, and it is tempting to want to keep going and not to return to the ordinary world. But Caspian is a king, and that means not only great power, but great responsibility. Again, it is in remembering that we find our true humanity through serving others, that the adventure is completed and the danger conquered.
Only the mouse Reepicheep is allowed to go on and enter Aslan’s Country, seemingly in confirmation of the valor that can persist through all obstacles no matter how small and feeble its efforts might seem. The others, after a heartbreaking glimpse of an immeasurably great mystery, must return to their homes — whether in Narnia, or in our world.
And as I close the book this time, I have to remember myself not to be sad that I must once more leave the land of my heart’s desire. I carry it inside me, and I can make the inner journey any time.
What did you find on your own voyage? What is most memorable about the story for you?
Lovely, Lory, reading your review was for me like revisiting the highlights of this book. Yes, I too wondered if the apparently episodic nature of this instalment which had lodged in my mind would remain, but instead I found a purposeful impetus which rendered it more impressive than I’d remembered.
Also, there was an interesting insistence on the number seven which had me wondering about its connotations and imparted a sense of unity — one I intend to expand on in a future post.
All in all, after the slight disappointment I’d had with PC this helped lift my spirits and belief in Lewis’s storytelling.
Very good, I am so glad you are finding this trip worthwhile.
I love that illustration of the ship, beautiful, and what a careful and deep reading of the book.
Thank you, I discovered things I didn’t know had had such an influence on me … that’s why I’m enjoying this readalong so much.
Lovely post, Lory, and you really made me realise how many trials there are for the travellers in the book. It’s a book always lodged inside me and the wonderful journeying and the almost surreal landscape at the end still resonate.
It is a marvelous journey indeed.
You remind me that this is one of the books that developed my idea that, as I kind-of-jokingly put it, necromancy never pays–that “heartbreaking glimpse of an immeasurably great mystery” is so tempting, and yet we as mortals must resist.
Yes, there is a definite connection there, even though no spirits of the dead are invoked. Still there is a line that must not be crossed … yet.
You have described it so beautifully! Thank you.
Thank you, this readalong is such a pleasure.
Great post, Lory! The exotic, or epic, nature of The Voyage reminded me somewhat of Odyssey – and Reepicheep’s decision was at one heartbreaking and joyful.
An excellent way to describe it.
This isn’t my favorite (my favorite is The Horse and His Boy, despite… everything), but I love it a very very lot. My most memorable moment takes place right after Eustace has been undragoned, where he meets up with Edmund and Edmund says something like “you were only an ass, but I was a traitor.” I just loved that piece of continuity and evidence of growth, like, Edmund has had an entire adult life in Narnia to come to terms with that, AND then several years of childhood in the real world, and he continues to think about and process it. I love it.
I imagine we are going to have a lively discussion about The Horse and His Boy. It was always my least favorite, though not for any principled reasons, I just found it boring. Can’t wait to find out what you loved about it!
In the meantime, I love what you say about Edmund’s growth, you are right that that little remark suggests quite an immense process. And he can be supportive of Eustace out of that, when it’s not easy for him to change either.
The dragon episode always hit me the hardest, Lory. But I have to admit, “Dawn Treader” not amongst my favorites, coming ahead only of “The Last Battle.” “The Silver Chair” my favorite.
It’s my favorite only in the sense that I have a favorite color. I wouldn’t want to do without the others! I enjoy the more somber color of The Silver Chair very much too and am looking forward to it.
Great review! I had forgotten about Caspian’s desire to sail into the east, so was surprised when I got to the end. It seems a little out of character but is an interesting contrast to the other tests.
I liked the episodic aspect of the book but I did notice in this reread that the adventures are of uneven length. That didn’t bother me and the overall effect is much more lighthearted than all the war in Prince Caspian.
Yes, I think it’s the most lighthearted overall, I think that’s why I like it so much. But I enjoy all the others as well. Onward to the North!