Griffle's Dwarfs

Griffle’s Dwarfs are a Narnian faction led by Griffle whose defining creed is that the Dwarfs belong only to the Dwarfs. They refuse the restoration offered after their rescue, reject allegiance to the King and Aslan, and turn their independence into armed opposition to both the Calormenes and Tirian’s side. Their role exposes how a liberating victory can fail when those rescued no longer trust the people who freed them.

Identity and Political Creed

The faction takes its name from Griffle, the black-haired and black-bearded Dwarf who speaks for it when Tirian’s company encounters the Dwarfs after their rescue. Griffle’s first response is not gratitude or relief but weariness with hearing about Aslan. The other Dwarfs agree that the situation is a trick. Their shared suspicion turns a reaction into a collective position: they want no more Aslans, kings, or stories about other worlds, and declare that the Dwarfs will look after themselves and answer to nobody.

That creed is repeated as “The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs.” The phrase works both as a boundary and as a justification. It rules out allegiance to Narnia’s king and refuses the larger account of events offered by Tirian’s allies; later, it also licenses hostility toward both the Calormenes and the Narnians. The faction’s independence is thus not an effort to restore a common Narnian order. It is a claim of exclusive possession: the Dwarfs want Narnia for themselves.

Rejection of Rescue and the King

When Jill explains that she and Eustace have returned from another world and that Aslan sent them, the Dwarfs answer her with sneering grins. Griffle says he has heard enough about Aslan, and the group dismisses the account as a trick. Tirian had expected the encounter to become a beautiful moment after the fighting; instead, the refusal makes it feel like a bad dream. The reversal matters because the rescue has succeeded materially, but it has not restored the trust or allegiance on which the King’s hope depends.

The Dwarfs also challenge Jill’s credibility and Tirian’s authority. Griffle says they want no more kings and questions whether the man before them is really Tirian. When Eustace reminds them that they have been saved from the salt-mines, Griffle answers that the rescue was done to make use of them and that the rescuers are pursuing a game of their own. The faction interprets aid as manipulation, leaving no shared basis on which the King’s appeal can succeed. They fall into marching order, sing their marching song, and leave rather than rejoin the community they have been freed to defend.

Conduct During the Battle

The Dwarfs’ detachment becomes more consequential during the fighting. After Tirian’s side repels an attack, they jeer at the defeated Calormenes instead of joining the King’s forces. Tirian calls them to use their swords, reminds them that they can fight well, and invites them to return to their allegiance. They refuse, calling both opposing groups humbugs and repeating their claim that the Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs.

Their later actions show that this refusal is not simply a decision to stay out of the conflict. When more than twenty Talking Horses charge up the hill, the Dwarfs shoot at them before they can reach the King. After Tirian’s people respond with anger and grief, Griffle’s group jeers that it never intended to help them win and does not want either side to prevail. The abrupt reversal makes the faction’s position unmistakable: it will strike at the Narnians even while the Calormenes remain a threat.

A short time later, arrows come their way, but it becomes clear that the Dwarfs are now shooting at the Calormenes. Griffle urges his archers to keep firing and says they want no Calormenes, monkeys, lions, or kings. The change in target does not amount to a return to Tirian’s allegiance. The Dwarfs stay in the battle to attack both sides, choosing opportunities to kill rather than helping either faction secure victory.

Strategy and Significance

The narrator describes the Dwarfs as brave and notes that they could have escaped to safety. Instead, they remain where they can harm both parties, except when the two sides make that unnecessary by fighting each other. Their goal is to keep Narnia for themselves. This distinction between courage and loyalty is central to their portrayal: willingness to face danger does not make them defenders of the country or allies of its other inhabitants.

Their tactics also leave them at a disadvantage. The Calormenes are protected by mail and have a leader, while the Horses had no protection; Rishda Tarkaan directs his forces against Tirian’s group and orders some to keep watch on the people by the white rock. The Dwarfs’ refusal to cooperate with either camp leaves them pursuing their own claim amid a battle whose organized forces have objectives and leadership. As a result, their repeated insistence on self-sufficiency reads less like secure independence than a refusal of every possible bond, including the common cause that might have helped them preserve Narnia.