Symbolism in Lucy's Dreams - Pt. 1
In the fifth chapter of The Call of the Horn, the POV switches and we get a look into Lucy's consciousness. Or rather, subconscious. I believe dreams are a deep look at a person's psychological state, and Lucy is no exception. I wanted a way to show how Lucy was feeling without shifting the story's focus too far away from Caspian - and voilà! I wrote about three dreams for Lucy. . . I say "about" because the second one was very, very long - stories sometimes run away with me - and I cut it down a bit.
In this first dream, I really wanted to stress how displaced Lucy is. She's suffering this major guilt trip - because even though transporting herself to Narnia wasn't her intention, she understands that continuing to love Caspian in England was wrong and by doing so, she caused herself to be brought back. The act of lovemaking, when Caspian was married and she shouldn't have been there in the first place, overwhelms her. She feels like she's betrayed Aslan - and certainly she's gone against his word - and as the most morally upright (besides Peter), as well as the most intuitively good, she's considerably upset. More than upset. Although she keeps a perfectly balanced smile around Caspian (and she does love him with her whole self and against her moral judgment), inside, she's a wreck. She doesn't know how to deal with all the things that are happening: she's done something wrong - actually, still in the act of doing so - and because she's Lucy, she can't handle it. In the books, Lucy's biggest vices are occasional selfishness and vanity; in the movie, she possess none whatsoever. Whatever the media, she's always portrayed as never wanting to harm another, as well as doing everything in her power to aid those in need. (Even when she's being a little selfish, it's always a contrast to her usual selflessness.) That's kind of what attracted me to write a story around this idea in the first place - that Lucy would indulge in something she was deserving of but shouldn't have, and suffers the consequences.
In this situation, Lucy has participated in wrongdoing, which it is established that her character would normally refrain from. She feels guilt - at disobeying Aslan, at acting as the "other woman" in foil to Ramandu's daughter, and at forcing Caspian leading this double life to take care of her. She feels ashamed: in my universe, Lucy was a virgin at the time Caspian called to her, including her first lifetime and any romantic encounters she may have during the Golden Age. Sex was a completely new thing for her. To sleep with Caspian - outside the bonds of marriage, as well outside the promise of his marriage - and suffer immediate repercussions causes some serious inner turmoil. That's why, in my mind, Lucy is a bit like the proverbial virgin mother. Even though Rilian was no immaculate conception, there's still a few similarities there: It's a conception helped (at least in part) by Magic. Aslan - and I'm going a bit out on a limb here - blessed their union. (In my other story, A Web Woven, it's established that Aslan intended for all of the monarchs of Narnia to come from the same house, in a direct line of descent. That's why his reprimand wasn't quite so harsh - he knew this was coming, because he meant it to be so.) Also, Lucy's also only 17 at this time (Caspian's around 22-25), which even for the time period is very young. She's quite alone for most of her stay, in more ways than one. She's in Narnia, but New Narnia, which is quite different - I actually had plans to write a one- or twoshot about Lucy venturing out into Narnia during her first month. (Maybe I'll write it if I ever have any free time!) And lastly, Lucy is pregnant. She's all hyped up with hormones that are affecting her emotionally. . . I actually researched dreaming during pregnancy, and it's pretty powerful stuff. So with all this going on, scary things are going to manifest in poor Lucy's subconscious.
Whew.
Now that I'm all done with rationalizing why Lucy's having these dreams, I'll actually explain them now. Which is really what I meant to do, but being me, I had to write like three really long paragraphs before I could get started.
The dream was completely based off the song "Lighthouse" by The Hush Sound. (It's a fantastic, marvelously written song and I recommend it to any music lover.) Anyway, I heard it and thought, Wow, this would make a great dream sequence for Lucy! And here we are.
The dream centers around Cair Paravel burning down. Cair was Lucy's home, back in the Golden Age. It represents stability, legitimacy, and safety. To have it dissolve in smoke and flame seemed appropriate, because Lucy's world has been completely upturned. It also ties in with Lucy's distinction as the youngest of the Four - innocent and vulnerable - because fire is often a fear of young children. (Sims, anyone?)
The scene opens with Lucy waking from slumber, looking for Caspian. Although I never explicity show it in the story, Caspian never leaves Lucy without formal parting. That's why it's disconcerting that he's vanished. The smoke symbolizes uneasiness; Lucy dons the handkerchief partly to breathe better, but also to protect her identity for Caspian's sake.
When she's out in the corridors among the courtiers, no one recognizes her. It's the same when she and Caspian make their way outdoors: "no exclamations of recognition, no scandalous accusations". In the dream, the Narnians don't care that Lucy is there. This is a manifestation of Lucy's fear that Old Narnia is dead and gone, and that nobody in Narnia remembers or cares about her. It's also showing how unsettled she is about the arrangement: Lucy understands that her role in these events will be virtually invisible, none of it will be recorded, because it's done in utter secrecy. No one will know that she is Rilian's mother, and her part in his life will be completely erased - his "mother" will be Ramandu's daughter, and no one will have any interest in her.
In the Great Hall, Lucy rushes around to find Caspian, a task that proves to be impossible - this is my comparison to difficulty of finding Aslan within England. It's chaotic and busy and confusing - this is the representation of the emotional turmoil that's going on inside her. As much as she loves Caspian, Lucy is terrified of losing him; terrified he'll abandon her, of their imminent parting, that he'll go back to his wife or declare Rilian illegitimate. (They don't have a marriage, or anything substantial for her to take root in. Don't forget Lucy's a very grounded sort of girl.) Her inability to locate him is representational of these fears. The muddle of people and sounds in the Great Hall is also a confirmation that Narnia is changed - after all, once it was rebuilt it certainly didn't look as it used to. She's lost, and it's frightening. "Ash was falling from the ceiling like snow": reminiscent of her first venture into Narnia, when she met Tumnus at the lamppost: that was also a strange and new world, just as this New Narnia/New Cair Paravel is. Also, the "sound of splintering wood" was originally gunshots, but I kind of figured it was a bit much, and that it was already clear that in Lucy's mind, Narnia as she knew it is collapsing.
"The noble stone was crumbling like pastry crust before her eyes". Wrenched with guilt at the consequence of her submission to lust, Lucy believes that everything that's happened is a direct result of her love for Caspian (which is technically true). Therefore, by loving him, she disobeyed Aslan and put the throne of Narnia in jeopardy. Her dream shows this most prominently: their love is the reason that Cair is burning. Outside, twin tornados threaten to destroy all of Narnia, the oceans rages tumultuous waves, and the sky is a murky purple - in other words, the end of the world, and their love caused it. Lucy is also aware that Caspian doesn't feel this way and doesn't carry around the same internal guilt - especially the morning their sin is brought to light by Aslan, Caspian brushes off their reprimanding in what seems to her a reckless abandon. That's why, in the dream, she is even more upset to hear his supposed-comfort, a whisper of "Don't worry, my love".
Susan appears on the scene as a tertiary character, acting as a sort of guide for Lucy. To Lucy, her older sister represents womanly knowledge, a superior source of femininity and romantic experience. She also represents sexuality: in both Narnia and England, Susan is the only female character given any kind of romantic inclination. In Narnia she has her many suitors and flirtations; in England she has her makeup, parties, and boyfriends. Her appearance is Lucy's wish that she would appear in real-life, to explain what's happening to her body as well as her heart. In my universe, Lucy is the only one of the Four to maintain her virtue - Peter is of course married, Edmund carries on relations with a Dryad and an illicit affair with Peter's wife, and Susan has romantic encounters with several courtiers, most notably Prince Rabadash. (Although actually, I kind of feel like Susan loved Rabadash so much that she didn't want to sleep with them until they were married, and that's why he was so enraged when they didn't work it out.) Lucy is confused and without another female to aid her into this final transition to womanhood (the only one she didn't experience when she was a grown queen), and she desperately wishes Susan were there to comfort her. Lucy's emotional confusion in the aftermath of sex with Caspian is beautifully done by Francienyc in her AU sequel, All the Dreams that Might Have Been.
Susan's strange appearance involves a lot of reading-between-the-lines symbolism. As much as she wants Susan with her, Lucy remembers that back home, Susan's relationship with the family is not so strong a bond as it used to be. That's why she appears a strange combination of both worlds: Narnian clothes, but painted with English makeup. Her mascara runs with tears, an indication of Susan's own struggle with identity and heartache, and her hair is cut extremely short, which is a direct contrast to her Golden Age "hair that fell almost to her feet". Shorn hair also signifies shame or dishonor in many cultures. In the dream, Susan is both sad and happy, wistful, I'd call it. She remembers the happy times in Narnia, and the pain of love. . . though of course is not how Susan feels, but how Lucy believes she feels. Susan instructs Lucy to "get of here" "to the beach" in the same flat wistful tone. I wanted it to seem that the elder queen was guiding the younger against making the same mistakes, while resigned to the fact the Lucy is governed by her heart and will go against her word.
We next see Susan at the beach, standing alone "with the burning castle to her left and the ocean to her right". That's a direct reference to Susan's choice to forget Narnia (the burning castle = destroying memories) and deny Aslan (who comes from the East, "beyond the sea"), sidestepping both into the grown-up world. In the water, Lucy's insecurities about Susan's faith in Narnia (and in herself) culminate in drowning - a horrific scene for the empathic Lucy. Watching her sister struggle, lose the battle, and be forced to move on without her are all representations of Lucy's concern for Susan. She is aware of Susan's floundering faith in the present, which her subconscious expresses in a tragic death. Her last words are a shriek to her sister, "Help me!", as Lucy is so very wont to do - and as the charitable soul that Lucy is, she wants to aid Susan - but is unable. It's exactly her real life fears: that Susan is beyond help and that eventually, they'll lose her.
The three jump into the churning waves on the whim of the Sea-Girl, Lucy's friend and guide from a less troubled time. The Sea-Girl and her Sea-World indicate how different a life Lucy has thus entered into, different than any she has led before. The turbulent water symbolizes the difficultly of change - because of course, water indicates a rebirth. Or, in Lucy's case, simply birth. They're in search of safe harbor, which only Caspian and Lucy are able to reach, implying that in their desperate love for each other, they will leave everyone else behind in the throes of pain, destruction, and death.
-
"Lighthouse" inspired and navigated this entire sequence. Take a look and see how closely everything matches up with the story. =]
In this first dream, I really wanted to stress how displaced Lucy is. She's suffering this major guilt trip - because even though transporting herself to Narnia wasn't her intention, she understands that continuing to love Caspian in England was wrong and by doing so, she caused herself to be brought back. The act of lovemaking, when Caspian was married and she shouldn't have been there in the first place, overwhelms her. She feels like she's betrayed Aslan - and certainly she's gone against his word - and as the most morally upright (besides Peter), as well as the most intuitively good, she's considerably upset. More than upset. Although she keeps a perfectly balanced smile around Caspian (and she does love him with her whole self and against her moral judgment), inside, she's a wreck. She doesn't know how to deal with all the things that are happening: she's done something wrong - actually, still in the act of doing so - and because she's Lucy, she can't handle it. In the books, Lucy's biggest vices are occasional selfishness and vanity; in the movie, she possess none whatsoever. Whatever the media, she's always portrayed as never wanting to harm another, as well as doing everything in her power to aid those in need. (Even when she's being a little selfish, it's always a contrast to her usual selflessness.) That's kind of what attracted me to write a story around this idea in the first place - that Lucy would indulge in something she was deserving of but shouldn't have, and suffers the consequences.
In this situation, Lucy has participated in wrongdoing, which it is established that her character would normally refrain from. She feels guilt - at disobeying Aslan, at acting as the "other woman" in foil to Ramandu's daughter, and at forcing Caspian leading this double life to take care of her. She feels ashamed: in my universe, Lucy was a virgin at the time Caspian called to her, including her first lifetime and any romantic encounters she may have during the Golden Age. Sex was a completely new thing for her. To sleep with Caspian - outside the bonds of marriage, as well outside the promise of his marriage - and suffer immediate repercussions causes some serious inner turmoil. That's why, in my mind, Lucy is a bit like the proverbial virgin mother. Even though Rilian was no immaculate conception, there's still a few similarities there: It's a conception helped (at least in part) by Magic. Aslan - and I'm going a bit out on a limb here - blessed their union. (In my other story, A Web Woven, it's established that Aslan intended for all of the monarchs of Narnia to come from the same house, in a direct line of descent. That's why his reprimand wasn't quite so harsh - he knew this was coming, because he meant it to be so.) Also, Lucy's also only 17 at this time (Caspian's around 22-25), which even for the time period is very young. She's quite alone for most of her stay, in more ways than one. She's in Narnia, but New Narnia, which is quite different - I actually had plans to write a one- or twoshot about Lucy venturing out into Narnia during her first month. (Maybe I'll write it if I ever have any free time!) And lastly, Lucy is pregnant. She's all hyped up with hormones that are affecting her emotionally. . . I actually researched dreaming during pregnancy, and it's pretty powerful stuff. So with all this going on, scary things are going to manifest in poor Lucy's subconscious.
Whew.
Now that I'm all done with rationalizing why Lucy's having these dreams, I'll actually explain them now. Which is really what I meant to do, but being me, I had to write like three really long paragraphs before I could get started.
The dream was completely based off the song "Lighthouse" by The Hush Sound. (It's a fantastic, marvelously written song and I recommend it to any music lover.) Anyway, I heard it and thought, Wow, this would make a great dream sequence for Lucy! And here we are.
The dream centers around Cair Paravel burning down. Cair was Lucy's home, back in the Golden Age. It represents stability, legitimacy, and safety. To have it dissolve in smoke and flame seemed appropriate, because Lucy's world has been completely upturned. It also ties in with Lucy's distinction as the youngest of the Four - innocent and vulnerable - because fire is often a fear of young children. (Sims, anyone?)
The scene opens with Lucy waking from slumber, looking for Caspian. Although I never explicity show it in the story, Caspian never leaves Lucy without formal parting. That's why it's disconcerting that he's vanished. The smoke symbolizes uneasiness; Lucy dons the handkerchief partly to breathe better, but also to protect her identity for Caspian's sake.
When she's out in the corridors among the courtiers, no one recognizes her. It's the same when she and Caspian make their way outdoors: "no exclamations of recognition, no scandalous accusations". In the dream, the Narnians don't care that Lucy is there. This is a manifestation of Lucy's fear that Old Narnia is dead and gone, and that nobody in Narnia remembers or cares about her. It's also showing how unsettled she is about the arrangement: Lucy understands that her role in these events will be virtually invisible, none of it will be recorded, because it's done in utter secrecy. No one will know that she is Rilian's mother, and her part in his life will be completely erased - his "mother" will be Ramandu's daughter, and no one will have any interest in her.
In the Great Hall, Lucy rushes around to find Caspian, a task that proves to be impossible - this is my comparison to difficulty of finding Aslan within England. It's chaotic and busy and confusing - this is the representation of the emotional turmoil that's going on inside her. As much as she loves Caspian, Lucy is terrified of losing him; terrified he'll abandon her, of their imminent parting, that he'll go back to his wife or declare Rilian illegitimate. (They don't have a marriage, or anything substantial for her to take root in. Don't forget Lucy's a very grounded sort of girl.) Her inability to locate him is representational of these fears. The muddle of people and sounds in the Great Hall is also a confirmation that Narnia is changed - after all, once it was rebuilt it certainly didn't look as it used to. She's lost, and it's frightening. "Ash was falling from the ceiling like snow": reminiscent of her first venture into Narnia, when she met Tumnus at the lamppost: that was also a strange and new world, just as this New Narnia/New Cair Paravel is. Also, the "sound of splintering wood" was originally gunshots, but I kind of figured it was a bit much, and that it was already clear that in Lucy's mind, Narnia as she knew it is collapsing.
"The noble stone was crumbling like pastry crust before her eyes". Wrenched with guilt at the consequence of her submission to lust, Lucy believes that everything that's happened is a direct result of her love for Caspian (which is technically true). Therefore, by loving him, she disobeyed Aslan and put the throne of Narnia in jeopardy. Her dream shows this most prominently: their love is the reason that Cair is burning. Outside, twin tornados threaten to destroy all of Narnia, the oceans rages tumultuous waves, and the sky is a murky purple - in other words, the end of the world, and their love caused it. Lucy is also aware that Caspian doesn't feel this way and doesn't carry around the same internal guilt - especially the morning their sin is brought to light by Aslan, Caspian brushes off their reprimanding in what seems to her a reckless abandon. That's why, in the dream, she is even more upset to hear his supposed-comfort, a whisper of "Don't worry, my love".
Susan appears on the scene as a tertiary character, acting as a sort of guide for Lucy. To Lucy, her older sister represents womanly knowledge, a superior source of femininity and romantic experience. She also represents sexuality: in both Narnia and England, Susan is the only female character given any kind of romantic inclination. In Narnia she has her many suitors and flirtations; in England she has her makeup, parties, and boyfriends. Her appearance is Lucy's wish that she would appear in real-life, to explain what's happening to her body as well as her heart. In my universe, Lucy is the only one of the Four to maintain her virtue - Peter is of course married, Edmund carries on relations with a Dryad and an illicit affair with Peter's wife, and Susan has romantic encounters with several courtiers, most notably Prince Rabadash. (Although actually, I kind of feel like Susan loved Rabadash so much that she didn't want to sleep with them until they were married, and that's why he was so enraged when they didn't work it out.) Lucy is confused and without another female to aid her into this final transition to womanhood (the only one she didn't experience when she was a grown queen), and she desperately wishes Susan were there to comfort her. Lucy's emotional confusion in the aftermath of sex with Caspian is beautifully done by Francienyc in her AU sequel, All the Dreams that Might Have Been.
Susan's strange appearance involves a lot of reading-between-the-lines symbolism. As much as she wants Susan with her, Lucy remembers that back home, Susan's relationship with the family is not so strong a bond as it used to be. That's why she appears a strange combination of both worlds: Narnian clothes, but painted with English makeup. Her mascara runs with tears, an indication of Susan's own struggle with identity and heartache, and her hair is cut extremely short, which is a direct contrast to her Golden Age "hair that fell almost to her feet". Shorn hair also signifies shame or dishonor in many cultures. In the dream, Susan is both sad and happy, wistful, I'd call it. She remembers the happy times in Narnia, and the pain of love. . . though of course is not how Susan feels, but how Lucy believes she feels. Susan instructs Lucy to "get of here" "to the beach" in the same flat wistful tone. I wanted it to seem that the elder queen was guiding the younger against making the same mistakes, while resigned to the fact the Lucy is governed by her heart and will go against her word.
We next see Susan at the beach, standing alone "with the burning castle to her left and the ocean to her right". That's a direct reference to Susan's choice to forget Narnia (the burning castle = destroying memories) and deny Aslan (who comes from the East, "beyond the sea"), sidestepping both into the grown-up world. In the water, Lucy's insecurities about Susan's faith in Narnia (and in herself) culminate in drowning - a horrific scene for the empathic Lucy. Watching her sister struggle, lose the battle, and be forced to move on without her are all representations of Lucy's concern for Susan. She is aware of Susan's floundering faith in the present, which her subconscious expresses in a tragic death. Her last words are a shriek to her sister, "Help me!", as Lucy is so very wont to do - and as the charitable soul that Lucy is, she wants to aid Susan - but is unable. It's exactly her real life fears: that Susan is beyond help and that eventually, they'll lose her.
The three jump into the churning waves on the whim of the Sea-Girl, Lucy's friend and guide from a less troubled time. The Sea-Girl and her Sea-World indicate how different a life Lucy has thus entered into, different than any she has led before. The turbulent water symbolizes the difficultly of change - because of course, water indicates a rebirth. Or, in Lucy's case, simply birth. They're in search of safe harbor, which only Caspian and Lucy are able to reach, implying that in their desperate love for each other, they will leave everyone else behind in the throes of pain, destruction, and death.
-
"Lighthouse" inspired and navigated this entire sequence. Take a look and see how closely everything matches up with the story. =]
Take what you need while there's time
The city will be earth in a short while
If I'm not mistaken it's been in flames
You and I will escape to the seaside
There is a storm in the distance
The wind breathing warning of its imminence
There is a lighthouse five hundred yards down
You and I will be safe there
There is a girl who haunts that lighthouse
She saved me, I was swimming
So young I almost drowned
Under the water she sang a story
Of losing her lover
She calls a warning
Love, you are foolish, you're tired
Your sleeplessness makes you a liar
The city is burning
The ocean is turning
Our only chance is the lighthouse
Her lover was a sailor
She went and she waited there
The door locked from the outside
Lover never arrived so she sings there
Soft as a siren luring the ships off their course, how alarming
We went in, we climbed up and looked out
The door locked from the outside
Three ghosts in a lighthouse
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Wow. That's seriously the longest story-interpretation I've ever done, and it wasn't even for a whole story. Like, without the lyrics it's still longer than two chapters of TCotH.