"Went Away to War"

Curubethion · 07-18-2006, 07:58 PM

Okay, this was never mentioned in the books, IIRC, but in the movie, Tumnus says (in reply to Lucy's line: "My father's fighting in the War.") "My father went away to war, too."

I never took the time before to think about just what war that might be. Now, looking at it, was it possibly the war against the White Witch? If so, this actually starts to bring the pieces of Tumnus' betrayal together. His father was a member of the resistance, and so obviously was Tumnus. Tumnus also says, comparing himself to his father, "No, I'm not a good faun at all." This seems to imply to me that he did something bad (besides being a human-hunter) that his father didn't do. So, here's my proposed history of Tumnus...

His father was fighting in the Resistance. The Witch catches both Tumnus and his father, and threatens them with death. The father meets death bravely, but Tumnus is weak and agrees to help the Witch. And thus we have the human-hunting. It's basically the one thing keeping Tumnus safe from the Secret Police. And since he lets a human escape, there's his safety net gone.

This serves to enlighten Tumnus' character, when he decides not to betray Lucy. He's meeting the same temptation that he faced before, and this time he's resisting. Helped along, of course, by Aslan.

So...what do you think? Comments?

GreyMouser · 07-20-2006, 02:58 PM

Didn't catch that in the movie- good excuse to see it again

I think your idea holds up very well, bit...

Wouldn't necessarily have to catch Tumnus- he could've been just a kid at the time

hectorberlioz · 07-20-2006, 08:48 PM

Very good theory...I hadn't thought about it at all before...

Curubethion · 07-20-2006, 09:07 PM

It's my third watching, at least. And I tend to overanalyze everything.

ayra · 07-20-2006, 09:45 PM

That theory works with what I've seen... I have not really thought about it much but it would be the reason why he let Lucy go. I have seen about ten or more times and I like the theory.

Acalewia · 07-23-2006, 08:30 PM

I never thought of it that way. Which could explain why he had such a intenal conflict over it, book and moviewise

07-18-2006, 07:58 PM	#1
Curubethion Fenway Ranger, Lord of Red Sox Nation Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: College! Posts: 1,976	"Went Away to War" Okay, this was never mentioned in the books, IIRC, but in the movie, Tumnus says (in reply to Lucy's line: "My father's fighting in the War.") "My father went away to war, too." I never took the time before to think about just what war that might be. Now, looking at it, was it possibly the war against the White Witch? If so, this actually starts to bring the pieces of Tumnus' betrayal together. His father was a member of the resistance, and so obviously was Tumnus. Tumnus also says, comparing himself to his father, "No, I'm not a good faun at all." This seems to imply to me that he did something bad (besides being a human-hunter) that his father didn't do. So, here's my proposed history of Tumnus... His father was fighting in the Resistance. The Witch catches both Tumnus and his father, and threatens them with death. The father meets death bravely, but Tumnus is weak and agrees to help the Witch. And thus we have the human-hunting. It's basically the one thing keeping Tumnus safe from the Secret Police. And since he lets a human escape, there's his safety net gone. This serves to enlighten Tumnus' character, when he decides not to betray Lucy. He's meeting the same temptation that he faced before, and this time he's resisting. Helped along, of course, by Aslan. So...what do you think? Comments? __________________ Adventure...betrayal...heroism... Atharon: where heroes are born. My wife once said to me—when I'd been writing for ten or fifteen years—that I could always go back to being a nuclear engineer. And I said to her, 'Harriet, would you let someone who quit his job to go write fantasy anywhere near your nuclear reactor? I wouldn't!' (Robert Jordan)

07-20-2006, 02:58 PM	#2
GreyMouser Elven Warrior Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 301	Didn't catch that in the movie- good excuse to see it again I think your idea holds up very well, bit... Wouldn't necessarily have to catch Tumnus- he could've been just a kid at the time Last edited by GreyMouser : 07-20-2006 at 03:01 PM.

07-20-2006, 08:48 PM	#3
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Very good theory...I hadn't thought about it at all before... __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

07-20-2006, 09:07 PM	#4
Curubethion Fenway Ranger, Lord of Red Sox Nation Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: College! Posts: 1,976	It's my third watching, at least. And I tend to overanalyze everything. __________________ Adventure...betrayal...heroism... Atharon: where heroes are born. My wife once said to me—when I'd been writing for ten or fifteen years—that I could always go back to being a nuclear engineer. And I said to her, 'Harriet, would you let someone who quit his job to go write fantasy anywhere near your nuclear reactor? I wouldn't!' (Robert Jordan)

07-20-2006, 09:45 PM	#5
ayra Elven Warrior Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kalia. YOU HUMANS CAN'T GO THERE! Also land of boredom Posts: 230	That theory works with what I've seen... I have not really thought about it much but it would be the reason why he let Lucy go. I have seen about ten or more times and I like the theory. __________________ I am Queen Tallie Falcon. Do not mess with me. US KALIANS WILL RULE THOSE FROM THE REPUBLIC! Kalia rocks!

07-23-2006, 08:30 PM	#6
Acalewia Halfelven Daughter of the Dunedain, President of Entmoot Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: In trouble. As usual. Posts: 4,674	I never thought of it that way. Which could explain why he had such a intenal conflict over it, book and moviewise __________________ "Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life!"~ inked Don't meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. "Don't be such a sour wolf" Stiles ~ Heart Monitor http://www.wattpad.com/user/IceQueenofMitera