About
articles • book quests • news • library
reviews • podcast • gifts • archives
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

Lost Bits
Reviews, May 27, 2022

113. What If You Learned Bible Lessons from Singing Veggies and Dead Sea Squirrels? | with Mike Nawrocki
Fantastical Truth Podcast, May 24, 2022

When The English Fall
Reviews, May 20, 2022

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Rats of Dweltford, Matt Barron
Vivid, Ashley Bustamante
My Soul to Take, Bryan Davis
Into Shadow's Fire, Mark Castleberry
Deceived, Madisyn Carlin
Arena (2022 edition), Karen Hancock
Kurt Nickle-Dickle of Whiskers, N. J. McLagan
"In a city where debts are paid in blood, one young man will learn that everyone needs help sometimes if they want to survive." New in the Lorehaven library: A Matter of Blood, Lauren H Salisbury
Son of the Shield, Mary Schlegel
Maxine Justice, Galactic Attorney, Daniel Schwabauer
Mordizan, Alyssa Roat
Prentice Ash, Matt Barron
Etania's Calling, M. H. Elrich
The Choice, Bradley Caffee
Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

Lost Bits
“Lost Bits boldly leads fans out of dead wastelands, exploring the nature of humankind through the lenses of a human creation.”
—Lorehaven on May 27, 2022

When The English Fall
“When The English Fall tells a bittersweet tale of community and commitment that plunges fearlessly into hard questions about the end of the world.”
—Lorehaven on May 20, 2022

Clawing Free
“Clawing Free is an absorbing tale that seamlessly joins modernity and myth.”
—Lorehaven on May 13, 2022

Vivid
“Ashley Bustamante’s Vivid paints a world built on secrets and carefully controlled color palettes.”
—Lorehaven on May 6, 2022

Book Quests

Join quests in our digital book club

All book quests
Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney
Book Quests, May 2022

The Green Ember
Book Quests, April 2022

The Seventh Sun
Book Quests, March 2022

Power On
Book Quests, February 2022

Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

113. What If You Learned Bible Lessons from Singing Veggies and Dead Sea Squirrels? | with Mike Nawrocki
Fantastical Truth, May 24, 2022

112. How Does Fiction Help Us Love Our Enemies Even If We Must Defeat Them?
Fantastical Truth, May 17, 2022

111. Why Do Your Kids Need Fantastical Stories for God’s Glory?
Fantastical Truth, May 10, 2022

110. Could We Enter a ‘Golden Age’ of Christian-Made Fantastical Fiction?
Fantastical Truth, May 3, 2022

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Browse back issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

site archives | statement of faith
Articles Questions? Writers

Yes, Speculative Faith Is Closed, At Least For Now
E. Stephen Burnett, Dec 30

Last Stands, Custer, General Gordon, and Being a Christian Warrior
Travis Perry, Jul 2

How Christian Must Christian Fiction Be?
Rebecca LuElla Miller, May 24

Gender In Fiction: The Implication Of Failure
Rebecca LuElla Miller, May 10

Making a Story Visual UPDATE: Behind the Scenes of the Animal Eye Comic
Travis Perry, May 9

What Does “Woke” Culture Have To Do With Christian Fiction?
Rebecca LuElla Miller, Apr 26

About
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Gifts
Guild
Archives
SpecFaith
Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ Articles

Joining Lewis’s ‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ Taught Me How to Sail for Aslan’s Country

C. S. Lewis’s third Chronicle beckons to a distant land whose Hero is greater than the fantastic realm of Narnia.
Elijah David on Nov 18, 2021 · Series: I'll Never Grow Too Old for Narnia
3 comments

Even in the first three stories, C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia have imprinted my imagination with unforgettable scenes. For me, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’s most unforgettable moment shows the noble mouse Reepicheep bidding farewell to Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace. Then he sails over the edge of Narnia’s world into Aslan’s country. Moments later, the three cousins meet Aslan himself. He tells them they must learn to know him in our world, too.

For the children, these adventures fulfill a longing set in their hearts since they set sail on the Dawn Treader. For the mouse Reepicheep, he has felt this longing since his infancy, when he first heard a rhyme about finding “all you seek” in the East.

When I first read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I didn’t know this book would give me such an education in longing. In C. S. Lewis’s autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he referred to this feeling as sehnsucht. Such a longing cannot be satisfied by anything in this world. As far back as I can remember, I have loved stories of magic and impossible things. Now that I’m an adult, I see in my love of fantastic stories a dim reflection of the longing God put in my heart for him and his new creation—for things beyond this world.

A long journey toward longing itself

Voyage begins with longing: Lucy and Edmund are visiting their cousin Eustace, and they long for Narnia. They don’t only wish to escape Eustace’s horrible behavior. They also long for the joy and wonder of that other world. Their desire is answered by a strong pull of magic, and they—along with Eustace—are swept into Narnia.

They reunite with King Caspian and Reepicheep aboard the Dawn Treader. Once aboard, they learn of Caspian’s quest to find his father’s exiled friends, the Seven Lost Lords of Narnia. Reepicheep also shares his deepest desire: to see, even for a moment, Aslan’s Country. He has known this spell to seek Aslan’s Country and the Utter East since his infancy, when a dryad spoke a prophecy over him:

Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves flow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.
1

The book sets a main course to adventures following the fates of the seven lords. Still, Reepicheep’s desire runs beneath their journeys like a deep ocean current.

Similarly, Lucy longs to see Aslan and spend long hours with him, like she did on her previous visits to Narnia.2 She only catches a glimpse of Aslan on Deathwater Island. One island later, they briefly meet in the house of retired star Coriakin. Aslan, however, spends much time correcting Lucy’s misguided use of an eavesdropping spell and her desire to be considered more beautiful than her sister Susan. Aslan does not linger, but encourages Lucy by saying they shall meet again soon. Lucy asks, “What do you call soon?” Aslan replies, “I call all times soon.”3

Following this encounter, the ship sails into further eastern seas, where Lucy has one last glimpse of Aslan before their final meeting at the End of the World. When the ship is trapped by nightmarish Dark Island, an albatross descends along a sunbeam to lead the ship out of darkness, while whispering to Lucy, “Courage, dear heart.”4

Only during a final encounter at the Very End of the World does Lucy find the intimate time with Aslan she desires. After their farewell to Reepicheep, this is a bittersweet meeting. Aslan’s words for Lucy and Edmund only compound their brackish emotions: They aren’t coming back to Narnia. Like Peter and Susan before them, they have grown too old for their journeys beyond their own world.

By knowing him a little better there, we know him better here

Voyage constantly brings me back to Reepicheep’s desire for Aslan’s Country.

To Eustace being awakened to new worlds and new life.

To Lucy’s longing for Aslan’s presence along the way.

Of course, during my initial reading of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I didn’t catch onto Aslan’s true nature.5. This time, at Voyage’s end, I couldn’t miss the meaning of Aslan’s exhortation for the children to know him better by his name in our world. This moment isn’t quite my favorite scene in the book—my favorite scene is Eustace’s un-dragoning—yet this scene marks a Narnian highlight.

“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”

“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.

“Are—are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.

“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”6

Lucy’s confession seems to be ignored by many of Narnia’s modern critics—as well as other portal fantasy creators. Stories like Seanan McGuire’s Every Heart a Doorway insist the worlds encountered by their children must be most important. But Lewis is clear: the Person whom our heroes meet must come first in their hearts.7

When I bring my children into Narnia for the first time, I hope I see the same light in their eyes that I imagine in Reepicheep’s eyes, when he realizes he has at last found the purpose of his longing. I hope my children also learn to know Aslan by his true name in this world, so they may love him more than Narnia.

  1. C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, chapter 1. ↩
  2. Interestingly in this story, it is Eustace, not Lucy, who first sees Aslan. ↩
  3. C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, chapter 11. ↩
  4. Incidentally, “Courage, dear heart” is one of my top Narnia quotes. ↩
  5. See my article “In Sixth Grade, I Learned the Secret Meaning Behind ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.” ↩
  6. C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Trader, chapter 16. ↩
  7. Lucy’s confession only makes Susan’s later rejection of Narnia in The Last Battle all the more heartbreaking, but that’s a discussion for another day. ↩
Elijah David
Elijah David lives and works in the Chattanooga area. He spends far too many nights reading when he should be sleeping and frequently finds his bookshelves have shrunk overnight. He is the author of Albion Academy, the first book in the Albion Quartet, and Paper and Thorns, the first novella in the Princes Never Prosper series. Though his only magical talent is putting pen to paper, Elijah believes magic lurks around every corner, if you only know how to look for it. He and his wife are busy raising a small Hobbit and a calico cat.
Website · Facebook ·
  1. Bethany Fehr says:
    November 18, 2021 at 9:09 am

    This is beautiful, Elijah. “That is the very reason you were brought to Narnia…” Is one of my all-time favorite quotes. This story has meant so much to me over the past year, and reading your response gives me joy.

    Reply
  2. mha6106 says:
    November 18, 2021 at 11:47 am

    One of my top three favorites of the Narnia series! The chavalier Reepicheep is one of the best characters in the entire 7 books, IMO., The scene where he renders Eustace corporal punishment with the flat of his sword – classic! Eustace’s “de-dragoning,” likened to pulling a scab off you skin, is hands down the best metaphor of conviction, repentence, and the happy release of forgiveness I have ever read. I was disappointed, but understand, that to show the dragon being skinned visually in the movie version was considered too intense. Ah…but we we did get a lovely Lilandil in Laura Brent — be still, my beating heart! Caspian, you lucky dog!

    Reply
  3. Stephen Smith says:
    November 28, 2021 at 8:51 pm

    Thank you for writing this article, it really pulled on my heart strings. I was a young unbeliever when I devoured the entire series. Dawn Treader was and still is my favorite. After I became a Christian in my mid-teens I reread the series with new insight and loved it all the more.

    Reply

Share your fantastical feedback. Cancel reply

  • "These are tools, not toys," says Father Christmas in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"C. S. Lewis Despised 'Exmas' Cards and Cosplays, But Loved Serious Cel...
  • The Horse and His Boy, C. S. LewisWhy ‘The Horse and His Boy’ is the Best of Lewis’s Chronicles of Narni...
  • Stories Disciple Your Child’s Moral ImaginationStories Disciple Your Child’s Moral Imagination
  • Perelandra, C. S. LewisPerfect Characters Don’t Have to Be Boring
Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors and publishers:
Reach new fans with Lorehaven


Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.