Prince Caspian

“‘Look sharp!’ shouted Edmund. ‘All catch hands and keep together. This is magic—I can tell by the feeling. Quick!’

[...]

Next moment, the luggage, the seat, the platform, and the station had completely vanished. The four children, holding hands and panting, found themselves standing in a woody place—such a woody place that branches were sticking into them and there was hardly room to move. They all rubbed their eyes and took a deep breath.”

In this pivotal moment, the children are transported from the train carriage to a forest thicket in Narnia. The fact that magic forces them back into Narnia suggests that they have a special destiny to fulfill in that world that they cannot resist.

“‘We are in the ruins of Cair Paravel itself,’ said Peter.

‘But I say,’ replied Edmund. ‘I mean, how do you make that out? This place has been ruined for ages. Look at all those big trees growing right up to the gates. Look at the very stones. Anybody can see that nobody has lived here for hundreds of years.’”

In keeping with his leadership role and prior status as high king, Peter is the first to realize that the ruined castle is Cair Paravel. This quotation aims to pique the reader’s curiosity, presenting a strange mystery surrounding what happened to their castle and why it suddenly seems so old—a crucial plot point in the story.

“‘I remember now. I took it with me the last day of all, the day we went hunting the White Stag. It must have got lost when we blundered back into that other place—England, I mean.’ Edmund whistled. It was indeed a most shattering loss; for this was an enchanted horn, and, whenever you blew it, help was certain to come to you, wherever you were.”

Susan recalls where she left her magical horn, which is not in the treasure chamber with the other magical gifts. This quote helps explain how Prince Caspian comes to have the horn later in the story. It also establishes the horn’s function; as a promise of aid, it develops the theme of The Triumph of Faith and Courage.