Reepicheep
Encyclopedia
Reepicheep is a fictional character
from C.S. Lewis', Chronicles of Narnia
series. He appears in Prince Caspian
, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
, and also in The Last Battle
. He is a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier
, and wears a red plume
tucked in his golden circlet. He is an experienced warrior, utterly fearless, and faultlessly courteous, particularly to noble ladies. He is also pugnacious and quick to defend any affront to his honor.
to the Stone Table after the White Witch
had killed him; as a result of their service, they became talking mice. The mice that freed Aslan from his ropes at the Stone Table might be a reference to when Joseph of Arimathia asked Pilate for the body of Jesus Christ to bury in the tomb.
, Reepicheep is the leader of the twelve mice who help to fight against Caspian's Uncle Miraz in the Second Battle of Beruna, near Aslan's How. He and his followers run through the battle and plunge their rapiers into unsuspecting enemy's feet, causing them to fall, after which they are quickly dispatched. Reepicheep is badly wounded in the battle, and he loses his tail. He petitions Aslan afterward to have it restored, as the tail is "the honour and glory of a mouse." Aslan expresses concern about whether the mouse thinks too much of his honour. However, Peepiceek (the second in command of the mice) and the other mice prepare to cut off their own tails to avoid bearing an honour denied to their leader. This solidarity convinces Aslan to restore Reepicheep's tail, apparently not "for the sake of his dignity", as Aslan states, but for the love Reepicheep's people bear him.
In the 2008 film version
, Reepicheep led two other mice into Miraz's castle during a mission that did not appear in the book. The three bound and gagged a cat during the operation. Halfway through, they teamed up with Trumpkin the dwarf and opened the gate, allowing Narnian soldiers into the castle.
, Reepicheep accompanies Caspian
on his voyage in the hope of finding Aslan's Country at the end of the world. He believes it is possible to sail to Aslan's Country because when he was a baby, a dryad prophesied:
During the journey, Reepicheep teaches Eustace Scrubb
about honour, courage, and loyalty, even though at the start of their relationship Eustace
treats Reepicheep with great disrespect. They eventually become fast companions, further accentuated in the 2010 film adaptation with the mouse continually riding Eustace in his dragon form in the air.
Near the Eastern edge of the world, Lucy
, Edmund
, Eustace
and Reepicheep set forth from the Dawn Treader
in a small row boat to the edge of the world. The three children are returned to our world through a door in the sky, while Reepicheep embarks in his own small coracle
, paddles off in a different direction, and disappears. C.S. Lewis then implies, but does not explicitly state, that Reepicheep ultimately did reach Aslan's Country. Reepicheep re-appears in the final pages of the Last Battle ushering the children into Aslan's Country; see below.
In the movie version The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Reepicheep likewise joins the boat's company. When the journey is finished, Reepicheep asks for Aslan's permission to enter Aslan's Country
and Aslan says yes. Reepicheep bids farewell to his friends and Caspian before giving up his rapier and before paddling a small canoe up the wave to enter Aslan's country. The Last Battle
has not been filmed at this time, so his character's film progression is unknown.
to greet the last of the Narnians at the Emperor's Garden. He is exactly as the Pevensies remember him, not having died or even aged in the hundreds of Narnian years that have passed since their time. Because of this, he is sometimes compared to St. Peter, who, in Catholic
Christian tradition, is thought to guard the gates of Heaven
and welcome the saints. His living departure into a symbolic heaven, however, is more reminiscent of the Old Testament figures Enoch
and Elijah. Since Lewis was not a strict allegorist
, it is of course quite possible that all three associations were intended (or that none was).
Reepicheep's fate is also reminiscent of that of the main character from C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy
. In That Hideous Strength
, Dr. Elwin Ransom also ascends to heaven without dying.
In the 1989 BBC television miniseries Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Reepicheep is played by Warwick Davis
, who went on to play the part of Nikabrik in the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Eddie Izzard
voiced Reepicheep in the 2008 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
. Simon Pegg
took over the role for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
.
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...
from C.S. Lewis', 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...
series. He appears in Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, written in late 1949 and first published in 1951. It is the second-published book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, although in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.-Plot summary:While standing on a...
, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
, and also 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...
. He is a large, talking mouse who carries a rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
, and wears a red plume
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
tucked in his golden circlet. He is an experienced warrior, utterly fearless, and faultlessly courteous, particularly to noble ladies. He is also pugnacious and quick to defend any affront to his honor.
Ancestry
In Prince Caspian, Lewis states that Reepicheep is descended from a group of common mice who gnawed through the ropes that bound AslanAslan
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...
to the Stone Table after the White Witch
White Witch
Jadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' series, The Chronicles of Narnia...
had killed him; as a result of their service, they became talking mice. The mice that freed Aslan from his ropes at the Stone Table might be a reference to when Joseph of Arimathia asked Pilate for the body of Jesus Christ to bury in the tomb.
Prince Caspian
In Prince CaspianPrince Caspian
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, written in late 1949 and first published in 1951. It is the second-published book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, although in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.-Plot summary:While standing on a...
, Reepicheep is the leader of the twelve mice who help to fight against Caspian's Uncle Miraz in the Second Battle of Beruna, near Aslan's How. He and his followers run through the battle and plunge their rapiers into unsuspecting enemy's feet, causing them to fall, after which they are quickly dispatched. Reepicheep is badly wounded in the battle, and he loses his tail. He petitions Aslan afterward to have it restored, as the tail is "the honour and glory of a mouse." Aslan expresses concern about whether the mouse thinks too much of his honour. However, Peepiceek (the second in command of the mice) and the other mice prepare to cut off their own tails to avoid bearing an honour denied to their leader. This solidarity convinces Aslan to restore Reepicheep's tail, apparently not "for the sake of his dignity", as Aslan states, but for the love Reepicheep's people bear him.
In the 2008 film version
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
, Reepicheep led two other mice into Miraz's castle during a mission that did not appear in the book. The three bound and gagged a cat during the operation. Halfway through, they teamed up with Trumpkin the dwarf and opened the gate, allowing Narnian soldiers into the castle.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
In The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderThe Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
, Reepicheep accompanies Caspian
Caspian X
Caspian X, King of Narnia, Lord of Cair Paravel and Emperor of The Lone Islands, also called Caspian the Seafarer and Caspian the Navigator, is a fictional character in The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. He is featured in three books in the series: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn...
on his voyage in the hope of finding Aslan's Country at the end of the world. He believes it is possible to sail to Aslan's Country because when he was a baby, a dryad prophesied:
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter East.
During the journey, Reepicheep teaches Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
about honour, courage, and loyalty, even though at the start of their relationship Eustace
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
treats Reepicheep with great disrespect. They eventually become fast companions, further accentuated in the 2010 film adaptation with the mouse continually riding Eustace in his dragon form in the air.
Near the Eastern edge of the world, Lucy
Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of all the Pevensie children, Lucy is the closest to Aslan...
, Edmund
Edmund Pevensie
Edmund "Ed" Pevensie is a major fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. He is a principal character in three of the seven books , and a lesser character in two others .In the live-action films, The...
, Eustace
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
and Reepicheep set forth from the Dawn Treader
Dawn Treader
The Dawn Treader was a Narnian ship in the fictional world of The Chronicles of Narnia. It was built by King Caspian X and is featured primarily in the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...
in a small row boat to the edge of the world. The three children are returned to our world through a door in the sky, while Reepicheep embarks in his own small coracle
Coracle
The coracle is a small, lightweight boat of the sort traditionally used in Wales but also in parts of Western and South Western England, Ireland , and Scotland ; the word is also used of similar boats found in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet...
, paddles off in a different direction, and disappears. C.S. Lewis then implies, but does not explicitly state, that Reepicheep ultimately did reach Aslan's Country. Reepicheep re-appears in the final pages of the Last Battle ushering the children into Aslan's Country; see below.
In the movie version The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia . It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media...
Reepicheep likewise joins the boat's company. When the journey is finished, Reepicheep asks for Aslan's permission to enter Aslan's Country
Aslan's Country
Aslan's Country is a fictional location from C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia series. It is the home of Aslan, the great lion. It is described as a series of mountains, thousands of feet high, but without snow or ice. Instead, Aslan's Country has a clear blue sky, lush green grass, colourful...
and Aslan says yes. Reepicheep bids farewell to his friends and Caspian before giving up his rapier and before paddling a small canoe up the wave to enter Aslan's country. 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...
has not been filmed at this time, so his character's film progression is unknown.
The Last Battle
Reepicheep appears at the very end of The Last BattleThe 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...
to greet the last of the Narnians at the Emperor's Garden. He is exactly as the Pevensies remember him, not having died or even aged in the hundreds of Narnian years that have passed since their time. Because of this, he is sometimes compared to St. Peter, who, in Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Christian tradition, is thought to guard the gates of Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and welcome the saints. His living departure into a symbolic heaven, however, is more reminiscent of the Old Testament figures Enoch
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...
and Elijah. Since Lewis was not a strict allegorist
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
, it is of course quite possible that all three associations were intended (or that none was).
Reepicheep's fate is also reminiscent of that of the main character from C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy
The Space Trilogy
The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis, famous for his later series The Chronicles of Narnia. A philologist named Elwin Ransom is the hero of the first two novels and an important character in the third.The books in the trilogy...
. In That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra and once again feature the philologist Elwin Ransom...
, Dr. Elwin Ransom also ascends to heaven without dying.
Portrayals
Warwick Davis
Warwick Ashley Davis is an English actor. He is most notable for playing the title characters in Willow and the Leprechaun film series, as well as for his roles in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and the Harry Potter movies. Davis currently stars in the sitcom Life's Too Short, written...
, who went on to play the part of Nikabrik in the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
voiced Reepicheep in the 2008 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
. Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
took over the role for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia . It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media...
.