Political Philosophy in Redwall
The story of Matthias in Redwall takes the main character out of his comfortable life as a novice and forms him to become not just a warrior, but a true champion of good. For this to happen, Matthias must gather four symbolic items, all of which are former effects of Martin the Warrior. In the order he obtains them, they are, a shield, a belt, a scabbard, and a sword. It might be just coincidental, but Matthias must also contend with four different ways of organizing a community. They are the abbey mice, Cluny’s horde, the sparrow kingdom, and the Guerrilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower (Guosim from here on). I hold that Matthias is formed as a champion by his exposure to these groups. All of these groups are best understood as governments. Therefore, within the story of Redwall, there is a rudimentary political philosophy being presented to the reader. Matthias must confront the strengths and weaknesses of all of these governments. I don’t think Brian Jacques had this in mind, this is a subtext I am asserting exists based on the text. However, it can be said that Jacques does explicitly make value judgments on all three of these forms of governments. I hope to refine the image that exists roughly, and probably unintentionally, within Jacques story. In short, this is the political philosophy of Redwall.
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