“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

It’s a part of human nature is to look for connections to stories by identifying to the characters. Whatever the media is – books, movies, fact, fiction, or fantasy, there will be one character that always sticks out to us and that we identify with. For the professionals out there who are in media for the money, they will create characters that target the human ego. I mean seriously, how many superhero movies do we have already? Or all the stories about that one unrelenting, super-focused, against-all-odds-but-never-deterred individual who overcomes every adversary? Yeah, there’s a few of those out there. Inspirational and feel-good stuff, but these tales are soon replaced by the next.

However, when you find a story that hits your soul, it can transform you.

I know I’m not alone here when I say how much of an impact the writings of C.S. Lewis have made – and continue to make – on me. The Chronicles of Narnia are still a magical collection of books to me. Epic tales of fantastic lands and creatures, battles between good and evil, characters you love and loathe…all inspired by and laced with the foundational truths of the gospel in a seven-book allegorical collection. *Sigh* Simply put: Yeah, me like them books a lots!

In “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” one character in particular, a boy Eustace Clarence Scrubb, an 11-year old boy and cousin to the main characters, is so obnoxious that through almost half the story, a reader could curse every time his name appears on a page. He is selfish, sneaky, devious, mean, a weasel in small human flesh. He causes nothing but strife for the protagonists, whom he is travelling with (although they never really invited him). The boy needs a good slap about every five pages, frankly, and yet none of the other lead characters, however annoyed or hurt they are by him, ever really give him the reaction he deserves. AND IT DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!! WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE JUST SMACK THAT SMUG SMILE OFF EUSTACE’S PUNY PRE- TEEN FACE ALREADY?!?!?!?

Finally, FINALLY, Eustace gets what’s coming to him: he befalls the consequences of his own actions and a curse transforms him into a wretched, smelly, scaly dragon!

“Sleeping on a dragon’s hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.” – C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

HA! Take that, Eustace! Thank you, Mr. C.S. Lewis.

But my righteous celebration was short lived, because very quickly we see how Eustace the Dragon is greatly suffering under the burden his new shape, both physically and emotionally. As the main story carries on, we see Eustace in the sidelines sinking into feelings of desperation as he longs to be delivered from this curse. In his scaly cage of isolation, he begins to ask himself whether the curse turned him into this beast, or whether the beast was already there, and the curse brought it out. Somehow, Lewis is able to actually make us readers feely sympathy and even empathy for poor, miserable, and annoying Eustace!

Up until this point in the story, I would have said I identified with every character except Eustace! My ego pointed out how I was like noble Edmund, and my vanity flattered me with comparisons to the compassion of Lucy. Eustace was only a symbol of every external interruption, annoyance, and tribulation I faced in my life! But like Edmund, I would persevere in my noble ways. And like Lucy, I would maintain a persona of compassion to those around me. At least, that was the story I was writing around myself.

Then Eustace, the wretched and cursed dragon, meets Aslan, the great lion, creator and one true king of Narnia. Interestingly, C.S. Lewis doesn’t actually let the reader “be” at that encounter, we just get Eustace’s testimony about it after he is found by his cousins again restored to his former, human self. As he recounts to them how, at first, he had tried to peel off the dragon scales himself only to see them instantly grow back, then finally submitted to Aslan – laying down at his feet to let the lion practically perform surgery on him.

“Then the lion said - but I don't know if it spoke – ‘You will have to let me undress you.’ I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.

“The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know - if you've ever picked the scab off a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away.” – C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

It’s scary, it’s painful, it’s disgusting – and it’s me. My soul pushed my ego and vanity out of the way and cried out, “That’s me! I am Eustace!”

As the bible constantly warns, we are our own worst enemies in many cases. But even stronger than the warning is the promise of freedom and restoration when we lay our dragon scales down before the Creator and one true king: Jesus. His grace is the ultimate dragon-slaying sword that will cut to the heart of who we are: Not perfect, but perfected.

Even after Eustace is released from the curse, it’s interesting how C.S. Lewis describes his transformation as a process:

"It would be nice, and fairly nearly true, to say that “from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.” To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun."

The cure had begun. Do you think this is how our Father in Heaven, the Author of all our lives, would write in His book about you and me today? “There were still many days when Alycia could be tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.” Can you see the One the bible describes as being “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2) looking at us like this?

As Jonathan Edwards once said, “Grace is but glory begun.” May the Lord’s grace perfect you today.