The Rose-Tree Dryad wrote:That's an interesting thought that losing her cool is what makes the LotGK revert back to her snake form... Lewis does describe that her voice, after Puddleglum stamps out the fire, is utterly different from the sweet tones prior to then. And it's easy to imagine the murder of Caspian's queen as one of hatred and jealousy.
Going back to
Rose's earlier quote, it was at the bolded point that I really started to wonder if LOTGK was a snake all along. And a snake might be too pragmatic to worry too much about hatred and jealousy of a Queen lying around snoozing too much. Unless the snake was annoyed by her being in the way, or being in what she might consider her own territory. Lying around too much, snoozing, is just about all snakes normally do, when not snacking on whatever they can get hold of. Snakes tend to lie low in winter, and in spring like nice sunny spots in the middle of a path or road, until disturbed by humans, who, if they know what is good for them, will stay in the car and not go near the snake. Even a talking, thinking, snake would be somewhat self-interested, asking what is in the situation for itself, rather than have a detailed knowledge of who's who in Narnian royalty, power politics or the laws and by-laws of Government in Narnia.
If a snake all along, all LOTGK wants is an endless supply of victims on tap, nothing more and nothing less, just like the Harfang Giants ate anything that moved. There is a good reason why LOTGK employs enchanted Earthmen to do everything for her. The minute they stop being enchanted, or they start getting stroppy, LOTGK knows what to do with them - serve them up for her own dinner, probably. No wonder all the Earthmen look sad and too frightened to sing or dance. And it was interesting that Prince Rilian said that when he got to the country he is to conquer, that he would be cured of what ailed him when he marries LOTGK. Well, what won't kill will no doubt cure, maybe....
But I'm not sure I'd want to be present at the wedding feast, quite frankly. Ugh!
I may not know enough about snakes, but I do know too much about the mating habits of praying mantises and spiders to be unaware of what constitutes "marriage" in the wild, and that the males of some species are expected to be a lot more "sacrificial" than is the case in human affairs. A lot of men yelp at the thought of endowing their brides with all their worldly goods - I'd say they get off lightly compared to Mr Praying Mantis, who gives himself totally to his Mrs to whom he most definitely is married for life.
The Rose-Tree Dryad wrote:That's an interesting idea! I don't know about needing Rilian around for that purpose, but it would give her possible motive for killing Ramandu's daughter: slaying the queen gave the serpent the ability to turn into a beautiful woman. I have always puzzled over what the queen was trying to tell Rilian before her death; perhaps this had something to do with it. And who knows what magic the blood of a star's daughter might have? So perhaps that's another reason the queen was targeted. Lewis does specifically mention that the blood of stars flowed through her veins during the owl's tale.
Yes, the blood of the stars does flow in Caspian's Queen's veins. But the point is really the blood, itself, not only that Caspian's Queen has hybrid, human-type blood. It also matters where exactly on her anatomy the snake bit her. Just as blood still is important for Caspian, himself, when he dies and is splashed with Aslan's blood. For the last three months I've been horribly ill with asthma, almost continual coughing and spluttering, itchy, irritated throat, hardly able to talk to anyone due to the extra dryness here, with poor air quality, due to backburning and sometimes actual bushfires, despite the freezing nights, and frosty mornings. This is how I realised there was a good reason why the Queen couldn't say anything much - the snake went for the jugular, to use JKR's own expression, invoking another memorable HP/Deathly Hallows scene involving Nagini killing Professor Snape, on a later occasion in the two films.
I don't really want to invoke HP too much, though, and find that SC the movie is an HP film rip-off, even though I can see how JKR was probably influenced by
Silver Chair and other Narnia tales when she wrote her series. But, as in that particular scene, once the Queen was munched in the throat she wouldn't stand a chance. Maybe the "blood of the stars" does enable LOTGK to become human and beautiful for a while. But it is also significant that Lord Drinian doesn't recognise the woman he sees as Caspian's Queen. Has LOTGK possibly munched on other people as well as Rilian's mother?
Anfinwen wrote:However, it is stated that when he wakes he has no memory of what happened. It is the queen and the gnomes under her control that tell him he turns into a snake; and as it is also stated that the queen is the only one with him in his madness, it is to be surmised that she instructed the gnomes to say that. My opinion is that the witch is a psychopath who is projecting her own evil condition onto the prince by saying that he is the one that turns into a snake.
Poor Rilian.
I don't think I want to see what is involved when LOTGK is left alone with Rilian. Again the rope against his throat suggests he would suffer at some point from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, the more he struggled, which would definitely make him faint. The Earthmen would just do as LOTGK says, so it is basically her word, and not reality. Yes Rilian's actually changing into a snake, himself, would be a terrible thing to happen to him. Screwtape would definitely laugh evilly.
Screwtape's turning into a centipede would be less of a problem than Rilian's turning into LOTGK 's pet snake and soulmate every night, in my humble opinion.