Susan Pevensie facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Susan Pevensie
Narnia character
Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie in the 2005 film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Information
Race	Human
Gender	Female
Title	Queen Susan the Gentle Marksman Queen Queen Susan of the Horn
Family	Mr & Mrs Pevensie (parents) Peter, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie (siblings) Eustace Scrubb (cousin)
Nationality	English

Susan Pevensie is an important character from the The Chronicles of Narnia book series by C. S. Lewis. She is the older sister and the second oldest of the Pevensie children. Susan appears as a child in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. She also appears as an adult in The Horse and His Boy. The books The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Last Battle also mention her.

When she ruled in Narnia at the castle of Cair Paravel, she was known as Queen Susan the Gentle or Queen Susan of the Horn. She was the only Pevensie sibling who was not on the train or at the station during a train crash on Earth. This crash sent the others to Narnia after The Last Battle.

In Disney's live-action movies, Susan is played by actress Anna Popplewell. This includes The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and Prince Caspian (2008). Actress Sophie Winkleman plays an older Susan at the end of the first movie. In the books, Susan has black hair. She is described as growing into a "tall and gracious woman" with very long black hair.

Susan's Story in Narnia
Susan's Portrayals in Movies and TV
See also

Susan's Story in Narnia

Early Life and First Visit to Narnia

Susan was born in 1928. She is 12 years old when her adventures in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe begin. By the time of The Last Battle, she is 21 years old.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Father Christmas gives Susan special gifts. She receives a bow with arrows that always hit their target. She also gets a magical horn that brings help when she blows it. Even though her bow is magical, she practices to be very good at archery.

Susan and her brother Peter discover Narnia after their younger siblings. Their sister Lucy had already been there twice, but no one believed her. Edmund also visited Narnia once with Lucy. However, he lied and said Lucy made it up.

The four children find the way to Narnia when they hide in a wardrobe. They are trying to avoid Mrs. Macready, the housekeeper. They are staying in a large country house to escape air raids in London.

Susan is told to stay out of the main battle. She and her sister Lucy watch Aslan's death and resurrection at the Stone Table. After the battle, Aslan crowns her as Queen of Narnia. She rules Narnia with her brothers Peter and Edmund, and her sister Lucy. She becomes known as Queen Susan the Gentle. Their time ruling Narnia is called the Golden Age of Narnia.

Throughout this book, Susan often acts as the voice of caution. She is practical and sometimes worried about being comfortable. After many years in Narnia, she advises against chasing the White Stag. She senses that chasing it might lead to an unknown change.

Return to Narnia and New Challenges

In Prince Caspian, Susan's magical horn is now an old treasure. Prince Caspian has it, given to him by his teacher, Doctor Cornelius. When King Miraz threatens Prince Caspian's life, Caspian blows the horn. The Pevensie children are magically brought back to Narnia from a railway station in England.

Susan finds her old bow and arrows in the ruins of Cair Paravel. She shows her amazing archery skills by winning a friendly contest against Trumpkin the dwarf. She is described as gentle and kind-hearted. She feels a bit embarrassed to defeat the dwarf.

Susan at first doubts Lucy's claims about seeing Aslan. However, she later admits she knew deep down that Lucy was right. Aslan tells Susan that she "listened to fears." But his breath helps her regain her faith. She then fully joins in their adventures, just like in the first book. She later goes with Lucy as Aslan brings the forest and river spirits of Narnia back to life.

At the end of Prince Caspian, Aslan tells Susan and Peter that they will not return to Narnia. He says they have finished what they needed to do there.

In the 2008 movie, Susan meets a boy in London before going to Narnia. She tells him a false name, "Phyllis." In Narnia, Susan and Prince Caspian become close friends. This leads to a sad goodbye when Susan must return to Earth. The movie gives Susan a more active role in the final battle. She fights well, using her arrows and bow against the Telmarines.

Life Outside Narnia and Mentions in Later Books

In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Susan travels to America with her parents. Peter is studying with Professor Digory Kirke. Edmund and Lucy stay with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb. Susan is seen as "the pretty one of the family." This makes Lucy feel a bit insecure. Lucy is tempted to use a spell from Coriakin's magic book to become very beautiful. She imagines Susan being jealous of her beauty.

The 2010 movie shows Susan briefly. She is seen writing a letter to Edmund and Lucy. Later, Lucy uses a beauty spell and sees herself as an adult, looking like Susan. She steps into a party where Peter and Edmund call her "Susan." They do not remember Narnia or Lucy. Lucy then wakes up and Aslan tells her not to judge herself by what others think. He reminds her that she helped her siblings discover Narnia.

In The Horse and His Boy, Susan plays a smaller part. This story happens during the Pevensie children's reign in Narnia. She is described as a gentle lady with long black hair. Shasta thinks she is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Susan acts like a mother or older sister to Prince Corin of Archenland.

She is asked to marry Prince Rabadash from Calormen for diplomatic reasons. She finds him charming at first but later sees him as bossy and unpleasant. The prince tries to keep her in Tashbaan by force. But Susan, her brother Edmund, and their group escape from Calormen. This makes Prince Rabadash angry. He plans to attack Archenland to capture Susan and then conquer Narnia.

Susan's Absence in the Final Battle

In The Last Battle, Susan is not present. Peter says she is "no longer a friend of Narnia." Jill Pole says Susan is now only interested in "nylons and lipstick and invitations." Eustace Scrubb remembers Susan saying, "What wonderful memories you have! Fancy you still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children." Polly Plummer adds that Susan "wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now." She believes Susan will "waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age."

Because of this, Susan does not enter the real Narnia with the others at the end of the series. It is not clear if Susan's absence is forever. C. S. Lewis himself said that the books do not tell what happened to Susan. He believed there was "plenty of time for her to mend" and that "perhaps she will get to Aslan's country in the end."

Lewis also wrote in a letter that the story of Susan's journey back to Aslan's country would be "longer and more like a grown-up novel."

Paul F. Ford, in his Companion to Narnia, calls Susan's story "one of the most important Unfinished Tales of The Chronicles of Narnia." He also notes that it's a mistake to think she is lost forever. He suggests that as a young woman who lost her family, she would have much to deal with. Through this, she might become the gentle person she was meant to be.

Some people think Lewis left Susan's story open for a possible sequel. In this new story, Susan would grow up, marry, and have children. These children might then have new adventures in a different world. However, Lewis never wrote such a sequel.

Susan's Portrayals in Movies and TV

In the 1979 Warner Bros. TV movie, Susan Sokol voices Susan.
In the 1988 BBC production, Sophie Cook plays Susan.
In the 2005 Disney movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Anna Popplewell plays Susan as a child. Sophie Winkleman plays her as an adult. Anna Popplewell also played Susan in the 2008 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. In the movies, Susan is shown as a warrior queen. This is different from the books, where she did not like battles. The movies also show Susan and Prince Caspian liking each other. She gives him a kiss before leaving Narnia. Anna Popplewell returned for two scenes in the 2010 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In one scene, Susan writes a letter in America. In another, Lucy uses a spell and temporarily becomes Susan.
In the 2005 audio play by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, Katherine Suchet plays young Susan. Sally Ann Burnett plays her as an adult.
In Epic Movie, a parody of Susan is played by Faune Chambers.