C.S. Lewis's Most Surprising Character

Timeline Cleanse

For this week’s Timeline Cleanse, I would like to discuss a Talking Mouse.

Lately I have been rereading C.S. Lewis’s entire Narnia series. I am now onto the last book, and there is much I could say about it. I will probably make one or more videos on the subject.

But for now, I only want to say a quick word about one of Lewis’s most appealing characters, the Talking Mouse known as Reepicheep.

Although he is only two feet in height, Reepicheep is known for his extraordinary gallantry. He is constantly demanding satisfaction for a slight against his name, stepping in to defend a lady, or pondering how best to avenge a friend.

The idea of a mouse who is constantly ready to dual with any available foe is of course inherently comic. Yet, Narnia being a Christian story, we may also infer the larger comedy of how silly we humans must look as moral midgets attempting to be righteous.

While we may be amused by Reepicheep’s legendary courage, we are also taken by his absolute certainty and resolve. He has a single heuristic with which to approach any challenge, and that is to apply maximum courage and honour.

At strange as it sounds, I believe the modern reader, enervated by our materialist, utilitarian age, will experience not just amusement and pleasure, but also admiration for the indefatigable nobility of this brave mouse. We moderns have no chivalric rituals, and no value higher than ourselves and our own comfort. The notion of deliberately putting oneself in harm’s way on a point of honour is wholly alien to us. Hence Reepicheep is a tonic for our weary spirits.