Suzume

The Moles are small Talking Beasts whose quiet, physical acts of care and resistance help distinguish genuine loyalty from the paralysis produced by the False Aslan’s rule. They first approach Tirian while he is bound and hungry, then join the effort to free the enslaved Horses; in the final passage through the Door, they belong to the multitude of creatures whose fate is disclosed by their response to Aslan.

Identity and Place in Narnia

The Moles are presented as Talking Beasts, not merely as animals observed by humans. Their scale is relative: the narrator explains that Narnian Talking Beasts of their kinds are larger than the corresponding dumb beasts in England. That difference makes the small visitors physically able to reach Tirian’s knees, while their bags and quick, close movements give them a distinctive presence in the dark.

Their characteristic role is collective rather than solitary. They arrive in a group with Mice and a Rabbit, speak together in a chorus of small voices, and later answer Tirian’s order as a band of nimble, sharp-toothed helpers. Their size does not make them politically insignificant: the task they undertake depends precisely on the teeth and speed that larger allies do not possess.

Care for the Captive King

After Tirian has been tied up and left alone through the afternoon and into evening, the Moles come with other small Beasts to comfort him and bring supper. They stand on their hind legs, lay cool paws on his knees, and give him animal kisses. Their tenderness is practical as well as affectionate: they cannot safely untie him, they explain, because they fear Aslan might be angry, but they have brought food and drink.

A Mouse climbs the rope across Tirian’s chest and holds a small wooden cup to his lips. The Beasts refill it and pass it up repeatedly, giving him enough to drink in small measures before he eats. The scene makes their compassion tangible through the restraint imposed on it: they cannot release the King, but they find a way to relieve his thirst without abandoning him to isolation.

Their caution reflects the confusion of Narnia under the False Aslan. The Beasts believe the violence and enslavement carried out in Aslan’s name may truly be his command; some think they must have done wrong and are being punished, while others are distressed that they have not been told what offense they committed. Against that uncertainty, one Mole insists that helping Tirian is worth the risk and says that the deed would be done again. The others hush the bold speaker and prepare to leave before they are caught. Their courage is real, but it operates under fear rather than under a clear understanding of the deception.

Resistance and the Horses’ Release

Later, when Tirian calls for support, only a small number of Beasts come forward openly. The Talking Dogs rush to his side, and little animals—including Mice and Moles—arrive with them, but Tirian sees that most of the assembled creatures have not moved. Many are afraid that Tashlan will be angry and beg to be shielded from him. Their hesitation shows how thoroughly the false religious authority has obstructed solidarity.

When the Mice report that the Talking Horses are tied at the foot of the hill and have been forced to work, Tirian gives the small Beasts a specific mission: find out whether the Horses will join them, then gnaw through their ropes and bring them back. The Moles are included in this command alongside the nibblers and gnawers. They accept willingly, and the group darts away with tails whisking. The Moles’ contribution is therefore not a symbolic declaration alone: their teeth are the means by which imprisoned allies can be reached and released.

The mission also forms a pointed contrast with the weak response around them. Tirian has to rebuke the larger gathering for its fear, yet the small Beasts do not wait for certainty or safety before acting. Earlier, one Mole had already accepted the danger of secretly aiding a captive king; now the Moles turn that willingness into an organized attempt to free the Horses. Their resistance is modest in scale but concrete in consequence and method.

The World’s End and the Moles’ Fate

At the Door, the final gathering brings together creatures from across the world, including Talking Beasts and many other peoples. Aslan summons the end, the stars are called home, and the old world is brought to its close. The narrative then shows each creature looking into Aslan’s face: those who respond with fear and hatred turn away and disappear into his shadow, while those who love him, even if frightened, enter through the Door. The Moles are included in the great company of creatures running toward it, placing them within this final scene of judgment and passage.

Their earlier uncertainty about apparent divine cruelty is not erased from the story’s emotional landscape. They had heard that Aslan ordered the enslavement and harm of Narnia’s inhabitants, and some feared that their own suffering meant he was punishing them. The final scene instead presents a direct encounter with Aslan as the decisive test, separating creatures according to their response to him rather than according to the false authority that had claimed to speak in his name.

The ending also refuses to treat the destruction of Narnia as something that should be met with uncomplicated relief. Lucy says that it is not wrong to mourn what lies dead and frozen behind the Door, and Tirian agrees that it would be discourteous not to grieve for the world he has known. The Moles’ place in the final company thus belongs to both movements of the ending: the old Narnia is lost, and the faithful creatures pass into a new reality where the story continues. Their small acts of mercy and liberation have prepared them for that passage not through power, but through the choices they made while fear and deception still ruled their world.