To continue on from my previous installment of my commentary on the worldview of Watership Down, I will now attempt to reveal how I see the characters and plot of the story lend themselves to a Christian perspective.
Recall that the main characters of the tale are Hazel, Fiver, Woundwort (the antagonist) and another rabbit called Bigwig. There are many other characters that play minor to semi-major parts, but these four will suffice in getting to my point. Let’s start with Hazel – here is the typical epic hero. Beginning the story unsure of himself, quiet, reserved, filled with doubt, insecure, and filled with the folly of youth, he has no idea how to lead, but it is quite apparent from the start that he is a natural leader. Others instinctively follow him which (following the folly of youth), quickly goes to his head and lands him in some tight spots. There are many times where he has to humble himself and confess that he was acting out of pride. Over the course of the tale, he eventually grows in wisdom, patience, and eventually possesses the one trait that sets true leaders apart from their counterfeits – self-sacrifice. He eventually models a Christ-likeness found in the greatest novels to date. (Yes, I meant to make such a strong statement)
His best friend is Fiver – a scrawny, apparently weak rabbit generally pushed around by everyone else. The significant piece of distinction about Fiver is that he has a strange gift – he can go into a trance and see into the future. He often does not know that he is doing it, nor can he always recall what he has told the others while in his trance, but his gift plays a key role in the story. Now, I know that I have lost some of you at this point because it sounds either hooky or heretical, but bear with me. When I first read it, I grimaced my way through those parts as most Christians might, but I don’t think that Fiver is the Coven member I first thought he was. As I see Hazel as the Christ-like leader of the warren, I see Fiver as the prophet. As an Old Testament prophet often did, he spoke of the supernatural, the unseen. He was the spiritual touchstone for the group. He guided through the supernatural and he was often either mistaken as being crazy or selfish, but his prophetic utterances where never for personal gain but for the sake of the group.
The last of the main characters is a very large, incredibly strong rabbit named Bigwig. What he lacks in brains, he makes up for in loyalty. Once convinced of who is in charge, he rarely wavers in his dedication. His part in the story is probably the most crucial. He will be the one who lay’s down his life for the others. I am not ready to go into his role just yet, just suffice it to say that without him, the story has no real Christian worldview. I will come back to him.
That is all for now – stay tuned.
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