Eustace and Jill on a First Name Basis
Posted: Apr 06, 2020 5:43 pm
One thing that I wonder about in a Silver Chair adaptation is should Jill and Eustace refer to each other by their last names, as they do in the book, or should they call each other by their first names?
The problem with Jill being called Pole is that viewers might get confused and think that's her first name. It's not as bad with Eustace because everyone will remember his name from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, though it could be confusing if newcomers don't remember his surname from there (since he'll presumably be called Eustace mainly) and think Scrubb is some sort of nickname. Pole and Scrubb are also sort of odd sounding names taken out of context. We don't want, say, Jill to dramatically scream Eustace's name when he falls off a cliff and have it come across like she's desperately urging him to wash behind his ears.
But on the other hand, if Jill and Eustace don't address each other by their last names initially, we lost that great moment towards the end when they finally call each other by their first ones.
The problem with Jill being called Pole is that viewers might get confused and think that's her first name. It's not as bad with Eustace because everyone will remember his name from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, though it could be confusing if newcomers don't remember his surname from there (since he'll presumably be called Eustace mainly) and think Scrubb is some sort of nickname. Pole and Scrubb are also sort of odd sounding names taken out of context. We don't want, say, Jill to dramatically scream Eustace's name when he falls off a cliff and have it come across like she's desperately urging him to wash behind his ears.
But on the other hand, if Jill and Eustace don't address each other by their last names initially, we lost that great moment towards the end when they finally call each other by their first ones.