My husband, the marshwiggle

My husband is a marshwiggle. I intend to prove this to you with the following comparison of Puddleglum from the silver chair by C.S. Lewis with the dear
man I am married to. By the end of these statements you too will find this true. I say this with all affection and love as Puddleglum is one of
my all time favorite characters that Lewis ever created.
To begin I will introduce you to the Marshwiggle, puddleglum. In his first appearance in the Silver Chair we find his the most obvious element of his character immediately revealed--that of pessimism. He says, "Is the King dead? Has the enemy landed in Narnia? Is it a flood? Or dragons?
Always expecting the worst, he goes on to say as he puts Jill and Eustace(the heroes) to bed, "There you are. Best we can do. you'll lie cold and hard. Damp too, I shouldn't wonder. Won't sleep a wink most likely: even if there isn't a thunderstorm or a flood or a wigmwam doesn't fall down on top of us all , as I've known them to do. Must make the best of it--'". As the story continues, he has no hope for their quest to save the lost prince. He has no hope about good for anything from the very smallest detail, to the very survival of their lives.

Perhaps you already see the resemblence.

So you probably wonder...if Puddleglum has no hope for his quest why does he continue it?* Puddleglum has no hope, but the reason he continues his quest is because his king Aslan had asked him to. He goes into it believing that he will probably never return, and that they will most likely never find the prince, but he continues the journey anyway. He has the courage, and strength to follow this path because his leader, who he believes is right and good, wants him to. He has no hope in himself to be able to do the job, nor in his partners abilites, but he intends to do what he can at the task that his leader has called him to.


Finally, in the last scene, it is Puddleglum, and no one else who is as steady as a rock in his understanding of Aslan, and his loyalty and courage to follow the path--whether that path leads to life, or death. When overcome by the enchantment through of the witch, Puddleglum says to the witch, You wont' make me forget Narnia. We'll never see it again, I shouldn't wonder. You may have blotted it out for all I know...but I know I was there once. I've seen the sky full of stars. I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the moutains at night. and I've seen him(Aslan) up in the midday sky when I coudln't look at him for brightness."

And again when the whole group was nearly overcome and willing to give in to the witch it is Puddleglum who shows his bravery and courage. "He did a very brave thing..with his bare foot he stamped on the fire" (which incense held the narnians under the witchs spell). When no one else would, or was able to stand up for right, Puddleglum does. He says to the witch, "I am on Alsan's side even if there is no Aslan. I will live like a Narnian even if there isn't any Narnia."

Puddleglum doesn't change. He still believes the worst, and expects the worst. However, there is no creature in Narnia who deserves more respect, and admiration than this little frog-man who with his faith, integrity and courage is able to overcome the evil that was about to destroy the world and all that was good in it.

I respect and admire my husband so much, and call him my own little puddleglum. For all his pessimism, he has the heart and courage of a lion. He is loyal, and his strong faith and confidence in God make me proud to know that he is mine. There is very little more attractive to a christian woman than to know that the man they love is a man of integrity devoted to loving God; A man who desires their lives (his and his family)to reflect the image of Christ. God has given me such a perfect gift in my husband, the marshwiggle.

*Hope acccording to the Hebrew culture of the old testament is imbued with more meaning than we usually use the term today. Hope to them was not just a wish, or desire to see a certain outcome. It was in fact an expectation that a promise given to them WILL be fulfilled. There was no question about IF the result would happen. If God said it, then the hope was a question of WHEN not IF.