Fantasy Novel Emphasizes Importance of Prayer
Graphic Novel Depicts Heroine’s Dependence on God
Rod Espinosa, author of Neotopia, brings us a story of dependence upon God in his new graphic novel The Courageous Princess. Not counting phrases like “God speed” or “thank God,” there are sixteen depictions or mentions of prayer over 238 pages, making the importance of prayer a central theme in the book.
Princess Mabelrose is the only, and long prayed for, child of King Jeryk and Queen Helena of New Tinsley. The King and Queen teach her the positive values of humility, kindness, and generosity, “but most important of all, they [teach] her always to pray.”
A Depiction of The Importance of Prayer
The above quote comes from the book’s most striking depiction of prayer. The King and Queen are shown adorned in simple robes. They are kneeling on folded blankets, heads bowed. Queen Helena covers her head with a shawl. King Jeryk wears no crown.
Between them kneels little Princess Mablerose with her head bowed and her hands clasped in prayer. Her mother and father lean their heads slightly towards her and smile as they listen to what she prays. The panel dominates the bottom half of the page.
Just a dozen pages later, after receiving an invitation to a ball, a somewhat older Princess Mabelrose kneels by her bed to offer a prayer of thanks. When she is treated poorly by other guests at the ball, however, she momentarily forgets the importance of prayer. She wishes for a prettier dress and a little jewelry – things which have no power to help her.
The Importance of Prayer to Overcoming Evil
She is immediately snatched away by the dragon Shalathrumnostrium who takes her to a crumbling castle in the middle of a desolate kingdom. He gives her plentiful food, beautiful clothing, and access to his treasure hoard as he holds her for ransom.
Princess Mabelrose soon remembers her parents’ instruction, and when she is presented with an immense feast stops to offer a prayer of thanks. On the next page we see her saying bedtime prayers.
She tricks the dragon into leaving the castle so she can escape. Not only does she pray for strength and help before she tries to escape, she prays during the attempt and immediately after.
Princess Mabelrose sets out on a journey to find her home. She displays humility, kindness, and generosity through every hardship along the way, but above all she shows her dependence on prayer.
In the mean time, King Jeryk sets out on a quest to find his daughter. His effort is supported by the prayers of Queen Helena. Princess Mabelrose is seen praying most frequently in the book, but her mother is the second most prolific in prayer.
The climactic battle of The Courageous Princess features prominently the importance of prayer. Princess Mabelrose comes to a kingdom of anthropomorphic animals who have been enslaved using a magic flute.
She acquires the magic flute and a book of lyrical spells that belongs with it. When she discovers the song needed to release the slaves has been torn from the book she plays a prayer, breaking the curse and freeing the enslaved kingdom.
Is The Courageous Princess a Christian Fantasy?
In spite of its emphasis on the importance of prayer The Courageous Princess should not be considered a Christian fantasy. Nowhere in the story is it said or implied that Princess Mabelrose and her parents are praying to one, true god or even a creator god. The book contains several more traditional, Pagan elements of fantasy fiction including references to multiple gods, magic items, and spells.
The emphasis on the importance of prayer is never distracting, and should not be troublesome for anyone who believes in a higher power. The Courageous Princess sets itself apart from other fantasies, however, by stressing an important aspect of many readers’ lives too often overlooked in contemporary fiction.
The Courageous Princess
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Neotopia
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