Grande figure de Narnia
Eustace Clarence Scrubb
The insufferable cousin of the Pevensies, turned into a dragon by his own greed, whom only Aslan can strip of his scales.
Repères
- Espèce
- Human
- Nom original
- Eustace Clarence Scrubb
- Autre traduction
- Eustace Clarence Scrubb (with hyphen, as per BnF Gallimard 2008); Eustace (original text)
- Autres noms
- Eustace · Scrubb
- Origine
- Home
- Nationalité
- Home · In brief · Did you know · On screen · Going further · The story · In the book · In the books · Trivia
- Allégeance
- Narnia, Aslan (after his transformation)
- Famille
- Harold and Alberta Scrubb (parents) · Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie (cousins)
- Première apparition
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, ch. 1
- Âge
- The Dawn Treader's Odyssey: 9 years; The Silver Chair: 9; The Last Battle: 16
En bref
Eustace is the cousins of the Pevensies, and he is detestable. An only child of very "modern" parents, vegetarians, anti-smoking and fans of experimental schools, he calls his parents by their first names, collects pinned insects and loves humiliating others. He only reads books about machines and farming, never fairy tales. He is very unprepared to be sucked into a painting of a ship at sea. His evolution is one of the most striking in the series.
« Once there was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. »
There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.
— The narrator, The Dawn Treader’s Voyage, ch. 1
Personality
At first, Eustace is vain, whiny and petty, but also lonely and disliked. After his transformation, he remains meticulous and a bit grumpy, but becomes loyal, brave and capable of humility.
Look and analysis
The scene where Aslan strips off Eustace’s dragon skin is one of Lewis’s strongest images on conversion. One cannot change oneself, one must accept being changed, even if it hurts. Lewis also slips in a satire of the "progressive" education of his time, which still sparks debate among readers.
Relations
- Edmund and Lucy : his cousins, whom he first despises.
- Reepicheep : his enemy then his friend.
- Jill Pole : his companion from the Experiment House and the quest of The Silver Chair.
- Aslan : who strips off his dragon skin.
Name
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader begins with a famous sentence : There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he deserved it. Scrubb means in English a small, scrubby creature. His parents, modern and vegetarians, call themselves by their first names.
Notable quotes (paraphrased)
- He tells Edmund that he tried to remove the dragon skin himself, layer by layer, but couldn’t. Aslan had to strip it off, and it hurt, but it was a good hurt.
Symbolism
The stripping scene is an image of baptism and conversion. Lewis also shows the ordinary relapse : Eustace sometimes remains grumpy afterwards, but he has changed.
Dans les livres
Son histoire dans les livres (révèle l’intrigue)
The story
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
On board the Dawn Treader, Eustace complains about everything, keeps a diary full of imaginary injustices and argues with Reepicheep. On an island, he wanders off to avoid chores and finds the lair of a dying dragon. He falls asleep on the dragon’s treasure with "dragon thoughts", greedy and spiteful, and wakes up as the dragon himself. Alone and trapped in this body, he discovers for the first time what friendship is : Reepicheep comforts him and the others do not abandon him. Aslan takes him to a pool. Eustace tries to peel off the dragon skin himself, in vain. Only the Lion’s claws, which hurt, manage to peel it off. He returns changed, not perfect but changed.
The Silver Chair
At the Experiment House, his school, he helps Jill Pole, a victim of bullies. The two of them go to Narnia, where they must find Prince Rilian. Eustace is now the "veteran" of Narnia, which does not prevent him from arguing with Jill and making mistakes.
The Last Battle
With Jill, he is called to help King Tirian. He fights in the final battle, is thrown into the stable with the others and enters Aslan’s Country.
Lieux liés
Objets liés
Peuples liés
Galerie
Eustache à 16 ans, en armure légère 
Eustache aspiré dans un tableau de navire 
Eustache malade dans une cabine 
Eustache découvre un trésor dans une grotte 
Un dragon vert-cuivre pleure au clair de lune 
Le dragon porte un tronc d'arbre pour le navire 
Aslan arrache la peau du dragon près d'un puits 
Eustache, redevenu garçon, s'excuse auprès des autres 
Eustache trouve Jill en larmes 
Eustache tombe d'une falaise et est soufflé dans les airs 
Eustache marche dans les landes du Nord 
Eustache combat devant une étable 
Eustache dans la neige d'Ettinsmoor, emmitouflé 
Eustache et la souris réconciliés sur le pont
Dans le même groupe
Archives de l’ancien site
Eustace Clarence Scrubb
He was born in 1933, he is the cousin of the Pevensies. Eustace was first projected into Narnia with Lucy and Edmund in *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*. He is a disagreeable boy (he was called Puzzle) who does not believe in magic and went through terrible experiences (including becoming a dragon) before becoming a much more pleasant person.
Eustace returned to Narnia with his friend Jill Pole in *The Silver Chair*, and together they helped King Tirian in his struggle to save Narnia in *The Last Battle*. In English, "scrubb" means "weak".
Presentation in the book
*"To his parents, he was Eustace Clarence, to his professors, Scrubb. I would be quite unable to tell you what his friends called him, for he had none." (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p. 9)*
Appearance in the books
*The Magician’s Nephew* *The Silver Chair* *The Last Battle*
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