Peter Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and is the eldest of the four Pevensie children (the others are Susan, Edmund, and Lucy). He appears in three of the seven books: in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, he is a principal child character, and in The Last Battle, he is an adult. He is mentioned in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and in The Horse and His Boy.

Portrayals

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In the 2005 Disney film The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter is portrayed by a British actor William Moseley.

In the 1988 television serial produced by the BBC, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter was played by actor Richard Dempsey.

Synopsis

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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

As the eldest brother, he tries his best to protect his other siblings and to act like a responsible young adult. He is evacuated to the countryside with his siblings by train because of the air-raids of World War II. In the countryside, they stay at the old mansion of Professor Digory Kirke until the end of the war.

When Lucy first stumbles on the wardrobe, Peter doesn't believe her, thinking it is just her imagination until he and the other Pevensies enter the wardrobe themselves; "A jolly good hoax, Lu"Lewis, C.S., The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950; Collins, 1980; Grafton, 2002) p. 28.. He later apologizes to Lucy for not believing her and is quite angry with Edmund for earlier denying Narnia's existence; "Well, of all the poisonous little beasts"Lewis, C.S., The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950; Collins, 1980; Grafton, 2002) p. 55.. This is caused by Edmund's revelation of his deceit when, upon entering Narnia, he says; "I say...oughtn't we to be bearing a bit more to the left, that is, if we are aiming for the lamp-post?"Lewis, C.S., The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950; Collins, 1980; Grafton, 2002) pp. 54–55..

Peter is knighted as Sir Peter Wolf's-BaneLewis, C.S., The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950; Collins, 1980; Grafton, 2002) p. 121. by Aslan after he kills Maugrim the wolf, chief of the White Witch's secret police, who was trying to kill Susan. This is Peter's first battle. (In some editions of the books and in the 1979 animated film, the chief wolf is named Fenris-Ulf, after a figure from Norse mythology. In those versions, Peter is given the epithet "Fenris-bane".)

After defeating the White Witch Jadis, self-styled Queen of Narnia, and her evil allies, during the battle, he is crowned by Aslan as His Majesty King Peter, High King of Narnia, Emperor of the Lone Islands, Lord of Cair Paravel, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Lion. The ancient prophecy of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve coming to sit on the four thrones of Narnia at Cair Paravel has come to fruition. This marks the end of the hundred years of winter and the reign of the White Witch, and is the beginning of Narnia's Golden Age.

Commentary

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Even before entering Narnia, Peter demonstrates his strong moral fibre. Perhaps for this reason he undergoes the least development of the major characters; his experiences in Narnia serve primarily to strengthen his innate tendency towards humility and courage. He possesses the traits of maturity and discernment, as befits his position as King Peter the Magnificent, High King over all kings of Narnia.

Given Lewis's penchant for the use of significant names (for example, Aslan is Turkish for lion), the surname "Pevensie" is worthy of notice. Pevensey, on the southeast coast of England, is the site of a medieval castle that figures importantly in British history at several points. In Rudyard Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill (1907) at least one of the characters refers to Pevensey as "England's Gate", which the celebrated wardrobe in Lewis's books quite literally becomes. The surname "Pevensie" does not actually appear in the Chronicles until the third published book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

We can notice the tie between Peter Pevensie and St. Peter, who was one of Jesus's original twelve disciples. In the story, Peter is the leader of the children as St. Peter is considered the leader of the twelve disciples. Peter leads the army of Narnia to fight against the White Witch as St. Peter led the early Christian church in spreading Christianity. Like St. Peter, who was given that name from Christ, Peter is given the name Sir Peter Wolfsbane by Aslan. The biblical St. Peter, according to Catholic tradition, was given the key to the gate of Heaven and Peter Pevensie shut the door, with a golden key, sealing the destroyed Narnia after the judgment in The Last Battle.

Footnotes

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Narnia_characters | Fictional kings

Peter Pevensie | Peter Pevensie | Peter Pevensie | Pedro Pevensie