Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series, introduced as the disagreeable, self-centered cousin of Edmund and Lucy Pevensie in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.[1]
Raised in a household favoring modern, materialistic education devoid of traditional stories or myths, Eustace initially embodies traits of selfishness, arrogance, and skepticism toward the supernatural, often whining and bullying his cousins during their involuntary transport to Narnia aboard the ship Dawn Treader.[2][3]
His defining arc occurs on what becomes known as Dragon Island, where greed over a hoard of treasure—fueled by "dragonish thoughts"—physically transforms him into a dragon, an event reversed only by the intervention of the lion Aslan, who painfully peels away multiple layers of his scaly skin in a symbolic act of repentance and rebirth, fundamentally altering Eustace's character toward humility and faith.[4][5]
Eustace reappears in The Silver Chair as a more mature companion to Jill Pole, assisting in the quest to find Prince Rilian, demonstrating his growth into a reliable ally shaped by prior Narnian experiences.[6]
This transformation narrative underscores themes of moral redemption through supernatural encounter and rejection of materialism, central to Lewis's allegorical storytelling.[7]