96 THE FAITHFUL READER fear of the White Witch, he confesses a faint hope that one day “the four thrones at Cair Paravel are filled – and goodness knows when that will happen, or whether it will ever happen at all.” In fact, Mr. Tumnus recognizes Lucy as a Daughter of Eve and only addresses her by that title throughout their entire initial conversation. Later in the story, we learn more from Mr. and Mrs. Beaver as they entertain Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy. In a similar way to Mr. Tumnus, they always address the four as Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve in their initial meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver reveal their hope in the expectation that Aslan will return one day to defeat the White Witch, end the eternal winter, and install the two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve on thrones to rule over Narnia. Mr. Beaver states, Down at Cair Paravel – that’s the castle on the sea coast down at the mouth of this river which ought to be the capital of the whole country if all was as it should be – down at Cair Paravel there are four thrones and it’s a saying in Narnia time out of mind that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit in those four thrones, then it will be the end not only of the White Witch’s reign but of her life, and that is why we had to be so cautious as we came along, for if she knew about you four, your lives wouldn’t be worth a shake of my whiskers! The Beavers’ fear of the White Witch is kept in check by their hope in the power of Aslan and in their hope of the future rule of the four Kings and Queens. Hope feeds their faithfulness and keeps their fear from fueling faintheartedness. Edmund’s Mirage During this informative luncheon, Edmund had vanished. Why? Because he was ignorant of his part in the true dream, expectation, and hope of Narnia’s Kings and Queens; instead, he had believed another story. This story was neither true nor even had a possibility of being genuine. This alternate story was told to him by the White Witch when he first entered
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