Susan Margaret Pevensie was the second-born of the Pevensie children (after Peter) and the eldest sister.She is also known as Queen Susan the Gentle. She was logical (to the point of being stubborn), motherly, and more serious than her sister, Lucy. During her reign at the Narnian capital of Cair Paravel, she was known as Queen Susan the Gentle or Queen Susan of the Horn.
Susan was also known for her great beauty and her archery skills. She was headstrong, talented and intelligent. During the Golden Age, she was courted by many princes of neighboring countries, including Prince Rabadash of Calormen. After the Pevensie's second visit to Narnia, she was told that she would never again return.
During this last visit, there were some indications that Susan was having trouble believing in Narnia. She was the last of the children to believe and see Aslan during the nighttime hike to Aslan's How. When she finally saw him, he told her she had been "listening to fears", and comforted her. However, back on Earth, she began to convince herself that Narnia was just a game, and she thought her siblings silly to continue seriously entertaining such childhood fantasies.
Early Life[]
Childhood[]
Susan was born in 1928. When she was two, her brother Edmund was born, and when she was four, in 1928, her youngest sibling Lucy was born. It is likely that in 1937, at the age of nine, she began attending a boarding school away from home. In 1940, when Susan was twelve, World War II began. The Pevensies, who lived in London, sent all four of their children away to to escape the German Blitz bombings over the city. Susan and her siblings were sent to stay in the country with an old man, Professor Digory Kirke. After several weeks there, Susan's sister Lucy began to allege that she had visited a magical land. Susan and her elder brother Peter began to fear that Lucy might be going insane.
Susan looking for Lucy
The Winter Rebellion[]
Susan's fears were laid to rest when all four of the Pevensie children stepped through a magic wardrobe into a wintry forest, proving Lucy's claims to be factual. Lucy took them to see Mr. Tumnus, a faun she claimed to have befriended, but upon arriving at his home they found it ransacked, with a warrant for his arrest on the door. The four children then met with a bird who led them into the forest and took them to a beaver. The beaver told them that Mr. Tumnus had been arrested by the Queen of the country, who had declared all humans illegal. He also explained to them that according to a prophecy, the four Pevensies were the proper Kings and Queens of Narnia. Though Susan was unenthusiastic about this prospect, she agreed to help the Narnians.
Susan and her siblings arriving at Narnia
Mr. Beaver took them to his own home to meet his wife. After a warm welcome, Edmund mysteriously vanished. For fear of betrayal, the Beavers and his siblings set out to join the Narnian army already preparing to fight for them at an ancient and magical location known as the Stone Table. This army was led by the true king of Narnia, a lion known as Aslan.
During their journey the travellers met with Father Christmas, who gave each of them royal gifts to recognize their coming. Susan was given a bow and arrows along with a magical horn to blow in difficult times.
Susan is given a horn and bows.
It was said of the horn that if she blew it, wherever she was, help would come to her. Shortly afterward, Peter, Susan, Lucy and the Beavers reached the Stone Table in time to meet Aslan. While being shown the camp and made comfortable, the new princesses Susan and Lucy were attacked by wolves sent by the White Witch. Blowing the horn given to her, Susan summoned Peter, Aslan, and several soldiers to rescue her, Lucy, and their ladies-in-waiting. Immediately after saving his sisters, Peter was made a knight.
Susan and Lucy watch as Peter became a knight.
The following morning, a rescue party returned from the Witch's Camp, bringing Edmund with them. He was penitent for his betrayal, and all four immediately made up. That same day, the Witch visited Aslan's camp, with the intent to retake Edmund as he prisoner. After holding a private counsel, she renounced her claim and departed. After this Susan noted Aslan to be very sad as he prepared the troops for battle the following morning. That night, Susan, along with Lucy, followed Aslan away from the camp. Noting his open distress, they attempted to comfort him. He departed later and went to the Stone Table, where Susan and Lucy saw the Witch and her army waiting. They secretly observed Aslan turning himself in to the enemy, followed by torture and eventually, his death on the Stone Table. The two princesses stayed with his body through the night, weeping over him and helping to untie the body.
At dawn, they were startled to see the entire table crack into two pieces as Aslan's body vanished. Moments later, he reappeared, living again and joyfully declaring to them that he had been brought back by Deeper Magic to live again. Aslan then took the girls onto his back and carried them to the White Witch's castle in order to release the creatures which were turned to stone or imprisoned by evil magic during the last one hundred years of the Witch's reign.
Susan and Lucy found Mr. Tumnis in stone.
After freeing the oppressed, the group returned to the fords of Beruna, where Peter, Edmund, and the Narnians were waging battle against the Witch and her army. Susan fought briefly in the last moments of this battle, and witnessed her brother Edmund's knighting.
Susan using her bow.
After the battle, a Narnian victory, the Narnians traveled east to the castle of Cair Paravel, where Susan was crowned by Aslan as "Queen Susan the Gentle" a few days later. This took place in 1000 NT. She and her siblings shared the monarchy, and remained in power for fifteen years.
Golden Age of Narnia[]
The period of their reign was known as the Golden Age of Narnia. Susan was well loved by her countrypeople and had many suitors during this time, as the country allied with several others, including the realm of Archenland. Their reign was one mostly of peace, and they enjoyed many banquests, feasts, and jousts.
Queen Susan the Gentle
After living another year in Narnia, news of the sighing of a magic White Stag came to the four siblings. It had been seen in the woods, in Lantern Waste. The legend of the Stag was that those who captured it would receive all of their wishes. The Kings and Queens set out to hunt it, and came across the lamppost, which brought back memories of their old life before Narnia. They followed the path to the wardrobe door and were brought back to England.
War of Deliverance[]
The four arrived in an unknown forest on an island. After exploration, they found the ruins of an ancient castle. That night, as her siblings prepared to go to sleep, Susan found a well near the castle, and a golden chesspeice.
Susan found a chesspiece.
Recognizing it as one of their old chesspeices during their former reign, the children concluded that they had returned to Narnia, and were in fact on the ruins of their former home, Cair Paravel. To prove their theory, they uncovered the long lost Treasure Room of the castle, arming themselves. While searching for her bow, Susan discovered that she had lost her magic horn in the forest during her hunt for the White Stag. The next day, the four came upon two foreign soldiers trying to drown a dwarf. Immediately firing off two arrows, Susan frightened away the soldiers. She and Peter dove into the water to rescue the dwarf and the boat. After bringing him to land, they asked the dwarf about the current state of affairs.
The dwarf revealed to them that by magic, 1300 Narnian years had gone by, putting the current Narnian year at 2303. Telmarine foreigners had attacked Narnia and taken it over, driving the magical creatures into hiding. The dwarf explained that the Narnians were being led in war against the Telmarines by a prince called Caspian. Caspian had come upon Susan's magic horn and blown it to summon the four Kings and Queens back to Narnia to help him in the war. The dwarf, named Trumpkin, was a scout sent to bring them to the prince.
After proving their identity and worth in a series of competitions and tests (including an archery contests between Trumpkin and Susan, at which Susan was the victor), the Pevensies were led by Trumpkin to Caspian.
Susan and her siblings rowing to Caspian,
The group was lost several times, even after Lucy claimed that she had recieved instructions from Aslan as to which way to go. Her companians, most openly Susan, ignored her advice, and after meeting with several dangers, turned around were forced to go the way she advised. Susan at last admitted to Lucy that she too could see Aslan leading them. He rebuked her for her disbelief, but quickly forgave her after she expressed penitence.
The four arrived at Caspian's camp at Aslan's How (formerly the site of the Stone Table), where they split. Aslan, Susan, and Lucy went to wake the hibernating tree-spirits and bring them to war. After rousing the forests and being joined by Bacchus, Silenus, and many Maenads, they entered the city of Beruna and persuaded many of the inhabitants to join their fight. Shortly thereafter, Susan witnessed the Second Battle of Beruna from afar, though she did not participate.
At the end of the battle, the Telmarines surrendered to the Narnians. After meeting Aslan and the two Queens, Caspian was made a knight. A few days later, Aslan called Peter and Susan to a private meeting, where he told them that they would never again return to Narnia. At a public assembly later that day, he allowed many of the Telmarines the choice to live in Earth. Susan and Peter led their siblings and many Telmarines through a magic portal back to Earth.