Hwin is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

from

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

's fantasy series ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...

''. She is prominent in the book ''

The Horse and His Boy ''The Horse and His Boy'' is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1954. Of the seven novels that comprise ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956), ''The Horse and His Boy'' was the fifth to be published. The nove ...

''. Hwin, a mare, was born as a free talking beast in the Land of

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been Adaptations of The Chron ...

, but was captured as a foal by the

Calormen In C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series of novels, Calormen is a large country to the southeast of Narnia. Lewis probably derived its name from the Latin ''calor'', meaning "heat". When using the name as an adjective or an ethnonym, Lewis ...

es, and has lived her life as the property of humans, hiding her true nature as a talking horse. However, to prevent her mistress, Aravis Tarkheena, from committing suicide (to escape an arranged marriage), Hwin has revealed her true nature to Aravis, and has persuaded Aravis to flee with her to freedom in Narnia instead. In ''The Horse and his Boy'', (the events of which all occur during the reign of the four Pevensie children in Narnia, an era which begins and ends in the last chapter of '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''), Hwin and Aravis fall into company with the talking stallion, Bree, to whom Hwin is distantly related, and the boy Shasta. In the course of their adventures, the companions thwart an attempted invasion of

Archenland Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. The world is named after the country of Narnia, where much of the ''Chronicles'' takes p ...

and Narnia, and Hwin, nervous, gentle and humble by nature, passes through testing grounds in which courage is developed in her.

Name

Hwin's name brings to mind the word "whinny", a sound that horses make. Primarily, "Hwin" is a contraction of "Hwinhynym", which, spelled "Houyhnhnm" is the name of the race of noble horses from

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

's '' Gulliver's Travels''.

Biographical summary

Prior story

Hwin was born in

, but was captured as a foal and sold into

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. She became the property of Aravis Tarkeena, a member of the ruling class in Calormen. During her years in slavery, Hwin did not speak, in order to hide her Narnian origin. However, not long before the appearance of Hwin and Aravis in ''The Horse and His Boy'', Hwin has revealed her nature as a talking horse to Aravis, while intervening to prevent Aravis from killing herself to avoid an arranged marriage. Hwin has persuaded Aravis that they should escape together to the free land of Narnia.

In ''The Horse and His Boy''

In this chapter, Hwin and Aravis make their first appearance in the story, driven together with Bree and Shasta by roaring lions. Hwin looks up to Bree as "a noble war horse", and prefers to accept his "assistance and protection" on their journey. Although Aravis is the acknowledged leader of the Aravis-Hwin pair, Hwin defends her right to compare escape stories with Bree: "No, I won't e silent Aravis. This is my escape just as much as yours." Hwin and Bree discover that they know the same places in Narnia, and that they are possibly distantly related. Hwin also plays a vital role in their escape through

Tashbaan Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. The world is named after the country of Narnia, where much of the ''Chronicles'' takes p ...

, but her plan of disguising themselves fails when King Edmund of Narnia mistakes Shasta for Prince

Corin Corin is a given name in English deriving from the Latin Quirinus, a Roman god. The meaning is unclear but is probably associated with "spear". The name is that of a character in William Shakespeare's ''As You Like It''. It is also used as a fami ...

of Archenland and Aravis is recognised by a friend. Eventually, the group reunite and head to

. Hwin remains friends with Bree, Shasta (who is later revealed to be Prince Cor of Archenland, Prince Corin's long-lost twin) and Aravis throughout her life, and it is mentioned that she later marries (though not to Bree).

Personality

Hwin's logical thinking and humility serve as the counter to Bree. Hwin is generally very clear-thinking and reasonable, and though she seems a bit shy at times, her advice is usually the smartest of the group's; it is she, for example, who devises the best plan for getting through

(though it doesn't work well for reasons beyond their control). Her wisdom is to be compared to Bree, who is somewhat less sensible and not quite as wise. He also seems to be more concerned than her with what others would think of him—for example, that the other Talking Horses might think his rolling in the grass is silly, while she replies she enjoys it and doesn't care what others think.

References