Tumnus

Age: 100-115+ (LWW), 114+ (HHB), Unknown (LB)

Species: Faun

Home:A little, dry, clean cave of reddish stone located a little to the east of Lantern Waste in Narnia.

Physical Description: Man part: From the waist upwards, he is very much like a man. He has curly hair, a short pointed beard, and a "strange but pleasant" little face. Goat part: His legs are shaped like a goat's with glossy black hair and hoofs instead of feet. He also has a tail, two horns (one on each side of his forehead), and rather reddish skin. Height: A little taller than Lucy.

First Appearance: "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" Chapter 1 (1950)

LWW - Tumnus stepped into the light of the lamp-post on a cold night in Narnia and received a shock when he saw a Daughter of Eve. After asking some questions, he learned that the girl's name was Lucy, and that she was apparently from "the far land of Spare Oom." As the White Witch's kidnapper, Tumnus invited Lucy back to his cave where he intended to lull her to sleep and then hand her over to the Witch. But after seeing what Lucy was like, Tumnus found he could not go through with it. When Lucy came back the second time, he told her that he didn't think the Witch had found out about the encounter. But after learning everything from Edmund, the Witch then sent her secret police (led by Maugrim) to arrest Tumnus and destroy his home. The Witch turned him into stone and he remained in her house until Aslan rose from the dead and came there to breathe on the statues and restore them. At their coronation, Tumnus received honours and gifts from the Pevensies. Years later, in the golden age of Narnia, Tumnus brought the news to the Pevensies that the White Stag had been sighted.

HHB - Tumnus traveled to Tashbaan with King Edmund, Queen Susan, and other Narnians so that Susan could consider Prince Rabadash's proposal of marriage. When Tumnus the faun walked into the Narnians' lodging in Tashbaan, Shasta (mistaken for Corin) nearly jumped out of his skin with surprise. Tumnus listened to King Edmund's suspicion that Prince Rabadash intended to make Queen Susan his wife by force. Tumnus then told them of an encounter he'd had with Rabadash where he hinted that intention to marry Susan, regardless of her answer. The Narnians were unsure of how they could safely escape Tashbaan until Tumnus suddenly had an idea. He suggested that they invite Rabadash to a banquet aboard the Narnians' ship, the Spendour Hyaline, so that they could go to their ship without arousing suspicion. Susan loved the plan and said "Oh Master Tumnus, dear Master Tumnus, you have saved us all." After the plan was agreed upon, Tumnus gave Shasta food (thinking he was Corin).

LB - Tumnus was there to welcome the friends of Narnia at the final reunion.

Quotes:
"Excuse me - I don't want to be inquisitive - but should I be right in thinking that you are a Daughter of Eve?" (LWW-2)
"This is the land of Narnia, where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea." (LWW-2)
"Daughter of Eve from the far land of Spare Oom where eternal summer reigns around the bright city of War Drobe, how would it be if you came and had tea with me?" (LWW-2)
"Would you believe that I'm the sort of Faun to meet a poor innocent child in the wood, one that had never done me any harm, and pretend to be friendly with it, and invite it home to my cave, all for the sake of lulling it asleep and then handing it over to the White Witch?" (LWW-2)
"Don't speak to me, don't speak to me. I'm thinking. I'm thinking so that I can hardly breathe." (HHB-5)
"The further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside." (LB-16)

Comments:Even though he only has a few scenes, Mr. Tumnus the faun is one of the most memorable and iconic characters in the Chronicles. He is the first strange creature to be introduced in the seven books, and also the first character to say the word "Narnia." The stories that Tumnus tells Lucy help to fill in the blanks a little between where MN ends and LWW begins. One of the things he mentions is that, before the hundred-year winter began, Bacchus and Silenus used to visit Narnia, and of course they turn up later in PC.

Inspiration: CS Lewis' inspiration for The Chronicles of Narnia came from an image he'd had in his head since he was 16. It was a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in snowy wood. "From that simple, but unusual image," Douglas Gresham said, "came the classic story called The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." Perhaps this is the reason Tumnus is one of the most well-described characters in the book.

Illustrations:

[ILLUSTRATIONS OR LINKS HERE]

Portrayals:
James McAvoy - LWW Disney/Walden film 2005
Born: 1 January 1979

Other Portrayals:
Philip Sherlock (voice) - Focus on the Family Radio Theater, 1999-2002
Jeffrey S. Perry - BBC TV series, 1989-1990
Norman Bird (voice) - BBC Radio Tales of Narnia
Victor Spinetti/Leslie Phillips (voice) - LWW TV animated film, 1979
Angus Lennie - LWW Television series, 1967