Was the Frolic inappropriate?

[PrinceOfTheWest]

You see how quickly the good Tarkaan goes right to the heart of it. How senseless and wasteful this Frolic was! These creatures are spending an entire day - an entire day - with this Aslan of theirs, doing nothing but playing, resting, and fawning upon Him! An entire day that could have been used much more productively at some kind of gainful labor. And that feast of theirs! What gluttony and excess! What good did all those rich dishes do, when they could have gotten by with much smaller portions of much simpler and cost-effective fare, like porridge. Why, men have been known to work long days on just porridge! So what is the good of all these elaborate dishes? And they also wasted hours just talking to one another - as if men have nothing better to do than talk!

I've heard that Calormen has a much more practical approach to their god. First of all, slaves aren't even allowed in the presence of Tash, so they're herded into the outer courtyard to await their instructions. Of course, the sacrifices are perfomed there on the altar in the outer court - what good would the lesson be if it couldn't be seen? A few condemned criminals, or if there aren't enough of them a couple of slaves selected randomly from the crowd. A long enough rite to get the message across, and then the followup instructions from the junior priest - inevitably some words of warning or encouragements to greater diligence at their tasks - and then back to work for them all. A very practical religion that doesn't interfere with the business of life.

Boy, Tarkaan, if you Calormenes ever get hold of Narnia, I imagine you'll set it right in no time.

[Xenithar]

In Prince Caspian, the liberation of Narnia from the Telmarines is accompanied by a gay frolic let by Aslan and accompanied by Bacchus, Silenus, and the Maenads. Some find this delightful and refreshing, others find it inexplicable, and yet others think it another example of the pastiche writing that so annoyed Lewis' friend J.R.R. Tolkien. What do you think?

I didn't think it was inappropriate in consideration of the story when it comes to talking about being jolly and joyful. You have to remember that Narnia is a completely different world from ours and they may celebrate things in different ways.

Quite frankly, though, I found the whole description of the frolic part pointless to the entire plot of the book. I'm glad they didn't put it in the movie.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

(I think people are missing the central point of what the Frolic was, which the Tarkaan and I are coming at from an oblique angle...)

[inkspot]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheWest

(I think people are missing the central point of what the Frolic was, which the Tarkaan and I are coming at from an oblique angle...)

I agree. People who find the frolic pointless or offensive, I think, haven't grasped the joy of just being in Narnia, with Aslan, which to me is really the whole point of Narnia ... the joy. But then I tend to think of Aslan as Jesus, and the joy of just knowing Jesus is so much greater than any happenings or doings or actions ... there's an old hymn that refers to "friendship with Jesus, fellowship divine, oh what blessed sweet communion -- Jesus is a friend of mine." That's what the magic of Narnia is to me, and to Lucy, too, I think, just being with Aslan, not neccesarily doing anything. Just His friendship -- and His friendship erupts into a celebration! Hardly pointless, to me, or offensive.

[Tarkaan]

Originally Posted by PrinceOfTheWest

I've heard that Calormen has a much more practical approach to their god. First of all, slaves aren't even allowed in the presence of Tash

Oh sagacious Prince Of The West, thou art well informed and in my humble opinion shouldst also be prince (nay Emperor) of the East, South and North also.

Much have I read here of your unusual religion. Words such as belief, search, doubt and faith are oft associated with it.

In Calormen we have need of only one word to describe our relationship with Tash:

Obey!

Needless to say, only the nobility are within the inner circle of our religion. I am well connected as my uncle is high priest at the temple of Tash. A fact which causes some ire amongst our rivals.

Has not a poet once said:
"Bow down before the one you serve, you'll get what you deserve".

Alas I digress. Indulgence is permitted amongst our aristocracy. As leaders of men we well deserve it. Opulence is nought but the outer display of power and the prerogative of the ruling class - therefore, I'm sure you agree, mere insolence for those of low birth.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

I'll put off the backhanded commentary that I was affecting for the sake of bantering with Tarkaan and address this question squarely. In my Scripture study recently I've been paying particular attention to the concept of "the rest of the Lord", which is a surprisingly deep topic. What I'm learning sheds surprising light on this particular question.

When reading the Chronicles, an important principle to keep in mind is what I call "the Aslan Effect" - i.e. watch for when Aslan appears in the story and attend to what He does, because it will illuminate key themes of the tale. For instance, Aslan's role in Lion is more obvious: His sacrificial death on the Stone Table and His resurrection are clearly meaningful, as is His resuscitation of the ossified Narnians and His triumph over the Witch at Beruna.

In Caspian, His appearances are less clear. He appears to Lucy in what you might call a special revelation, and then commissions and empowers her for a difficult task: getting the others moving on the proper path. He does not make Himself immediately clear to the others (a point which Peter uses as an argument against believing); they have to take His presence on faith and upon the word of the prophetess Lucy. The more they obey the more clear their vision becomes, and they begin to see Aslan starting with the most willing to believe (Edmund) and ending with the most fearful (Susan) and unbelieving (Trumpkin, who is also fearful in his own way.) This little byplay, which happens primarily at the beginning of the chapter The Lion Roars, illustrates the theme of obedience in spite of external appearances.

Following this is Aslan's Big Appearance in Caspian - which is, suprisingly, not the establishment of King Caspian, the risky and dangerous single combat with the tyrant Miraz, or the Second Battle of Beruna. While all these significant and critical events are happening, where is Aslan? That's the vital question, for where Aslan is will be the heart of the true action, the truly Significant and Critical Events.

As it turns out, Aslan is sponsoring a party. Leaving his lieutenants to deal with the lesser matters of a difficult and dangerous battle (which they come very close to losing), He is romping about the land with the queens, liberating everything in sight. And that, I think, is the central idea: liberation. Aslan and his crew are a little wild to begin with (though not uncontrolled, as Lucy and Susan observe), and wherever they frolic, the immediate result is liberation from bondage and slavery. Look at the vignettes: the River God is loosed from his chains (the Beruna Bridge), the student Gwendolen who welcomes Aslan is liberated from her bondage in her class (and her stiff clothing in the bargain), chained dogs broke their chains, carthorses kicked their carts to pieces, a boy is freed from an oppressive master (who is turned into a tree), a schoolmistress is freed from the tedium of her job, and Caspian's old nurse is given reprieve from the bonds of old age and impending death.

Do we see a pattern here? I'm convinced that what we're witnessing is a Narnian Sabbath, or perhaps more accurately a Narnian Jubilee (Leviticus 25) - the Rest of Aslan. Not only is there no work (toil) done, but the very instruments of toil (chains, rods, schoolrooms) are broken and destroyed. The only "work" is to rejoice and revel in Aslan's presence, to set free those in bondage, to welcome the captives into a new day of freedom, to feast and rejoice and fellowship with friends old and new. After ten generations of enslavement to their Telmarine conquerors, the Narnians are set free to be who they are: the Great River flows unhindered, the beasts (dumb and Talking) are again free to simply live rather than justify their existence by working.

Of particular significance is the Talking Trees. Remember Aslan's commission to the Narnians at the beginning: "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake." His particular command to the trees was, "Be walking trees." In response to the Telmarine oppression, the trees had ceased walking and fallen back asleep - essentially doing the reverse of what they'd been commanded. But when Aslan returns proclaiming liberty, they respond and take up their assigned role.

Where we find Aslan, we find the center of the action. This is the central theme, the Really Important Message of the entire book. I am not surprised that certain members even in this thread find the Frolic opaque or even ridiculous and contemptible - to the natural mind, it seems like this is a frivolous distraction from the truly important events, which in Caspian would be the struggle for political power over Narnia and the battle. (In my opinion this is where the filmmakers went wrong - they made that the exclusive focus, turning it into a comic book event that totally misses the point.) But in the book the seemingly important events are almost peripheral: Peter's combat with Miraz proves inconclusive, and even with the presence of the Ancient Heroes the outcome of the battle is in doubt until...

Until what? Until an event that was completely out of their hands: the charge of the Trees. That was instigated by Aslan's liberation of them, and none of the doing of the warriors. They had to "hold the fort" - as Peter puts it, "do what we can on our own" - which they did with determination, courage, and no small amount of risk. But the final resolution of the battle is beyond them (to me, an excellent illustration of the principle of Isaiah 30:15), and the Telmarines are finally defeated not by the might of Caspian's army but by the silent power of the liberated Narnians - most particularly the woods and waters. Notice there's no indication that the Trees actually harmed anyone (another thing the filmmakers got wrong) - the fear of them was sufficient to knock the fight out of the Telmarines.

So it seems to me that the Frolic was not simply a pivotal event in Caspian, but a central theme of the entire Chronicles. Narnia is the Sacramental Land, the Rest of Aslan, to the Narnian universe. It was created directly by fiat of Aslan, it is the center and hub of all Aslan's work, through Narnia flows all Aslan's grace to all the peripheral lands. Narnians work to be sure, but it is the willing work of free citizens, not the grinding toil of an enslaved populace. They live in the Rest of Aslan - who would not celebrate?

[EveningStar]

In its way the liberation was echoic of the freeing of the statues in LWW, and what did the unfrozen people do in LWW? They turned the tide of battle. Really not that surprising.