Original artwork, not a still
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader • 1952
There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A Narnia book that begins by mocking its own hero. Lewis lets the narrator be wry about a child who thinks he is modern and clever, and the joke carries the whole arc, since Eustace has to be remade before he is bearable. The sentence is often quoted as a model first line that sketches a character and a tone in one stroke, and as a verdict on anyone whose behaviour matches an unfortunate name.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderShow the scene
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens with Chapter 1, "The Picture in the Bedroom", and a narrator's dry joke about a boy whose name almost fits his behaviour. Eustace Clarence Scrubb is cousin to the Pevensies, and the first page paints his household: parents he calls Harold and Alberta instead of Father and Mother, vegetarians, non-smokers and teetotallers, in a home with hardly any furniture and the windows always open. He likes books of information, with pictures of grain elevators, not stories. The chapter goes on to a painting of a ship that will draw him into Narnia.
Sources (2)
- Fandom Narnia Wiki: Eustace Scrubb (books)page opening quote boxReference checked
- Wikiquote: The Chronicles of NarniaDawn Treader (1952), 'Opening lines' and Ch. 1 entriesReference checked
Context reviewed
