For the mountain range in France see Aravis Range

Aravis Range

The Aravis is a mountain range in Savoie and Haute-Savoie, eastern France. It is part of the French Prealps, a lower chain of mountain ranges west of the main chain of the Alps. Its highest summit is the Pointe Percée, at 2752m. The orientation of the Aravis is north-south, and it stretches from...

.

Aravis is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 in the children's fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 series The Chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...

by C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...

. She is a main character in The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy is a novel by C. S. Lewis. It was published in 1954, making it the fifth of seven books published in Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia. The books in this series are sometimes ordered chronologically in relation to the events in the books as opposed to the dates of their...

.

Aravis is a young Tarkheena, a female member of the ruling nobility of Calormen

Calormen

In C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series of novels, Calormen is a large country to the southeast of Narnia. Lewis derived its name from the Latin calor, meaning "heat". When used as an adjective Lewis spelled the name with an 'e' at the end . Narnia and Calormen are separated by a large desert...

. With her horse, Hwin

Hwin

Hwin is a fictional character from C. S. Lewis's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. She is prominent in the book The Horse and His Boy...

, who is revealed to be a talking beast from the land of Narnia

Narnia (country)

In C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series of novels, Narnia is the country around which the books revolve. It is one of several lands in the Narnian world.-Geography:...

, she flees from her home, in order to escape an arranged marriage to Ahoshta which is repugnant to her. Aravis is a strong character, whose confidence, bravery and loyalty are offset by arrogance and self-centeredness. She is also said to be an amazing storyteller

Storytelling

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...

, which is partly the result of her upbringing: the art of telling stories forms part of the education of the nobility. On their journey north to freedom in Narnia, they fall into company with the talking stallion, Bree

Bree (Narnia)

Bree is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. He is one of the title characters, and is featured prominently in the fifth book, The Horse and His Boy, Bree was born as a free talking beast in the Land of Narnia, but was captured as a colt by the Calormenes, and has lived...

, and the boy Shasta

Shasta (Narnia)

Shasta, later known as Cor of Archenland, is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He is the principal character in the fifth book published in the series, The Horse and His Boy, which is the third book chronologically...

. Aravis overhears a plot by the Calormenes to invade Archenland

Archenland

In C. S. Lewis's fantasy novels the Chronicles of Narnia, Archenland is a nation to the south of Narnia, and to the north of both nations' occasional enemy, Calormen. Its borders are formed by mountains to the north and by the River Winding Arrow to the south...

 and Narnia, and with this intelligence

Intelligence (information gathering)

Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...

 the four companions are able to warn the Archenlanders in time to thwart the invasion. In the process of their adventures, through a series of "lessons" and encounters, Aravis's character is transformed, and she acquires humility and sensitivity. Her companion, Shasta, is discovered to be the lost heir to the kingdom of Archenland, and, upon reaching adulthood, he and Aravis marry, and rule as king and queen. They are the parents of Ram the Great, the "most famous of all the kings of Archenland".

Biographical summary

Aravis says of her family, "...I am the only daughter of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Rishti Tarkaan, the son of Kidrash Tarkaan, the son of Illsombreh Tisroc, the son of Ardeeb Tisroc who was descended in a right line from the god Tash." (from The Horse and his Boy)

Aravis has spent her youth in the heart of Calormen, apparently in Calavar, the province over which her father is lord. Her mother and older brother have both died and her father has recently married an unkind woman, who makes no attempt to disguise her dislike for her stepdaughter. She also has a younger brother who is "but a child". Aravis' already difficult home life is rendered impossible when her father announces her engagement to Ahoshta Tarkaan, a wealthy but unpleasant courtier whom she despises. In response she decides to commit suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

. However, her mare, Hwin

Hwin

Hwin is a fictional character from C. S. Lewis's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. She is prominent in the book The Horse and His Boy...

, reveals herself as a Talking Horse from Narnia

Narnia (country)

In C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series of novels, Narnia is the country around which the books revolve. It is one of several lands in the Narnian world.-Geography:...

 and persuades her to flee to Narnia instead.

As the two ride through Calormen, they meet Bree

Bree (Narnia)

Bree is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. He is one of the title characters, and is featured prominently in the fifth book, The Horse and His Boy, Bree was born as a free talking beast in the Land of Narnia, but was captured as a colt by the Calormenes, and has lived...

 and Shasta

Shasta (Narnia)

Shasta, later known as Cor of Archenland, is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He is the principal character in the fifth book published in the series, The Horse and His Boy, which is the third book chronologically...

, the eponymous horse and boy, who are also escaping to Narnia. The four try to traverse Tashbaan undetected, but they get separated and Aravis meets her friend Lasaraleen, who is also a Tarkheena. Aravis and Lasaraleen explore the Tisroc

Tisroc

In C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, a Tisroc is a ruler of Calormen. His position is most like that of a Pharaoh, in that he is an absolute monarch, and is believed to be descended from the Calormen god Tash. Whenever a Calormen citizen speaks of the Tisroc, he adds "may he live for ever," and...

's palace, and accidentally overhear a plan by the Tisroc and Prince Rabadash

Prince Rabadash

Prince Rabadash is a human character and the main antagonist in C. S. Lewis's fantasy novel The Horse and His Boy. Rabadash is the heir to the throne of Calormen, being the eldest son of the Tisroc...

 to invade Archenland. When she meets Shasta and the horses again, they agree they must urgently warn Narnia and Archenland.

As they near the border of Archenland, they are chased by a lion (later revealed to be Aslan

Aslan

Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...

), who claws Aravis' back in admonition for her past cruelty to her slave. Her wounds force her to remain with the Hermit

Hermit

A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...

 of the Southern March while Shasta goes alone to complete the mission. She watches the battle through the Hermit's magic pool, appalled at the danger that Shasta faces. While in the Hermit's home, Aravis encounters Aslan, an event that changes her.

Marrying Shasta (or rather, Prince Cor), she becomes a princess of Archenland (later queen) and the mother of King Ram the Great. She is last seen in The Last Battle

The Last Battle

The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...

, and is present at the Great Reunion in Aslan's Country.

Race

Some critics consider the use of Calormene characters as villains to be evidence of racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

. Aravis is often presented as a counterexample to this (along with Emeth

Emeth

Emeth is a Calormene character from C. S. Lewis's book The Last Battle . As a Calormene, Emeth was raised to follow Tash, the antithesis of Aslan, and did so with an emphatic devotion and loyalty...

), since she is a sympathetically portrayed, and largely virtuous, Calormene heroine.
Aravis, along with the other people of Calormen, are described to be dark skinned and often with dyed hair, resembling darker Arabs and Indian people.