Aslan and Caspian: Father and Son

A few days ago, I interacted with a teenage boy on Facebook about "movie" Caspian in the Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This person liked neither movie Caspian nor Ben Barnes, the 29-year-old actor who played him. He even called movie Caspian a "wimp," a term I've seen other Narnia fans use. Yet he did not seem to understand Caspian's struggles in the two films. Guess what? Caspian is not a wimp! [I also think Ben Barnes is the perfect King Caspian. No one can replace him.]

I liked that the production brought out the father-son theme in Dawn Treader. I wish they had done the same with Prince Caspian. Caspian's father, King Caspian IX, was a good man. At least that's how he is represented in the films, since in Dawn Treader we learn that Aslan gave Caspian IX seven Narnian swords. The king dies when his son is very young, having been murdered by his own brother Miraz. Miraz then takes over the kingdom. Young Prince Caspian's only model of leadership is an evil man -- one who does not believe in the old Narnia. So he looks to his tutor Doctor Cornelius, a good man who does believe in the old Narnia and is himself a dwarf. Yet even this person is stripped away from Caspian when he grows older. If Caspian is to become king of Narnia one day, he needs a father and a leader to emulate. But he has no one. None of this is brought out with any real depth in the movie Prince Caspian.

Yet the father-son-leadership theme is touched on in Dawn Treader. Caspian goes on a voyage to find the seven swords of seven lost lords, swords given to his father by Aslan. The father connection makes the voyage seem more poignant and more urgent. Now king, Caspian must face his father's shadow as a test of his own leadership of Narnia. That shadow becomes real on Dark Island, where dreams come true. The meaning of Caspian IX's appearance is rather confusing, but it seems that Caspian fears he is not good enough to replace his father. This is one reason he sometimes looks to Drinian, the ship's captain and an older man, for guidance. Yet once he faces his fears, and earns the trust of his men aboard the Dawn Treader, Caspian can look forward to his return to Narnia as the humble but great king Aslan has called him to be.

At the end of the film, Caspian faces the temptation to enter Aslan's Country with Reepicheep, leaving Narnia and his kingly duties behind, just to see his father's face again. Yet once again, Caspian makes the right choice. He leaves his troubled past behind and embraces his bright future -- as king of Narnia with Liliandil (Ramandu's daughter) by his side, and Aslan reigning over all. In his mind and heart, Caspian allows the ever-living Aslan to replace his dead father.

Unfortunately for moviegoers, Caspian also faces the threat of King Edmund, who suddenly wants a kingdom of his own. This character arc doesn't make sense against Edmund's spiritual growth in Prince Caspian, as a king humbly willing to stand in his older brother Peter's shadow. Yet in the end Edmund redeems himself on Dark Island by looking to Caspian as his king just like the Narnians, thereby submitting himself to the older king's leadership.

Another problem is two deleted scenes, "doubt" and "mutiny." You can watch them here (along with two others). In "Doubt" we see Caspian doubting himself as a king and leader, yet given a pep talk by Edmund. In "Mutiny" we see Caspian's men doubt his leadership amid the threat of mutiny. I thought both these scenes should have been in the movie and I don't know why they were deleted, since they just reinforce the father-son-leadership theme.

For leadership, who replaces Caspian's father? Who replaces Miraz? The great and noble lion king Aslan. This is what Caspian learns in Prince Caspian and Dawn Treader and why their meeting at the end of Silver Chair is so poignant. As a young man Caspian is a son without a father, who later finds a father in Aslan. In Silver Chair, Caspian is a father without a son, who finally meets his long-lost son after returning from a voyage to the end of the world. After he dies in this book, in Aslan's Country Caspian and Aslan embrace -- as father and son.

Why is this father-son-leadership theme so important? It's because Caspian is not alone. His leadership and identity struggles represent thousands (maybe millions) of fatherless boys, girls, teens, and adults in our world. That fatherlessness affects their behavior -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Most important is the truth that our i mage of God stems from our image of our earthly father. Those without fathers and those with bad ones: what do they do? How is it possible for them to see God as a "father" -- a loving, disciplining father?

My image of God is someone physically and emotionally distant, because that's who my late earthly father was. He wasn't as bad as Miraz but my father was not a good man. He battled personal demons most of his life (alcohol, women). He divorced my mom when I was a small child, forcing her to raise their two children alone. When I was fourteen my grandfather, the only good man and father figure in my life, died. No one in my family has replaced him. There are no good Christian men in my extended family.

All of this has affected my relationship with God in adverse ways that I can't handle. Yet I like the emotional distance because it seems right. I've known nothing else. When God calls me to draw closer to him, I run away in fear. I'm afraid of what he might ask of me, as though I need to "pay up." Somehow I know this isn't right, yet I don't know what to do about it.

I have other emotional problems that stem from my "father hunger," as some people call it. Since running away from God, I've been looking for love in all the wrong places, and doing ungodly things as a result. I want an older man to admire, respect, and love me for who I am. This is another problem for the fatherless. When it comes time for the daughters to marry, what do they look for in a potential husband? I don't want to marry anyone like my father. The thought scares me. It's the same thing for the sons. When it comes time for them to marry, whom do they emulate as husbands and fathers? Too many sons don't want to be like their dads when they grow up and yet they repeat their fathers' mistakes. My grandfather abandoned the family when my father was a small child. Guess what? My father did the same with his family -- twice.

One duty of a father is being a role model for his children, especially his sons. Boys become men, and leaders of men, by watching their fathers. Yet the same is true for women. By observing and patterning themselves after their fathers, the children learn how to behave in real-world situations -- in business, entertainment, politics, and other fields. Those without fathers and those with bad ones: what do they do? The world today is suffering from a lack of strong leadership. Some men and women are bad leaders, or are incapable of leadership, partly because of their fatherlessness.

Through his faith in Aslan, Caspian becomes the king Narnia needs. Once physically and emotionally fatherless, he finds a father in Aslan. Millions of fatherless people today need to find the same father -- in Jesus Christ. God promised he would be a "father to the fatherless" (Psalm 68:5).