Imagine being asked to sacrifice everything you hold dear for the safety of someone you love. In P.S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, the protagonist is faced with this very challenge.
The Unicorn lived in a Lilac Wood, where it was always spring and no animal could be hunted or trapped. While the rest of the world knew loss and pain, this forest was free from the ravages of time. One day, as hunters wandered through the Lilac Wood, the Unicorn overheard them speaking of her people. The men were discussing the sad truth that, outside of her own forest, there were no longer any signs that unicorns walked the earth. She was the last of her kind, the last unicorn in the world. As the echoes of their conversation entered into her thoughts, the Unicorn’s hitherto unbroken tranquility left her and she began to doubt. She was filled with anxiety and restlessness as she contemplated the hunters’ words. Should she remain in her beautiful Lilac Wood, or leave her home to discover the fate of the other unicorns and liberate them if possible?
Everyone agrees the Unicorn is brave. However, some feel she should not have left the Lilac Wood, while, others maintain that she should have left her home. The Unicorn should have left the Lilac wood for three reasons: her nature, her feelings, and her quest.
The first reason the Unicorn should have left the Lilac Wood is her nature. Like all of her kind, she was immortal, wise, and brave. She was as graceful and beautiful as the dawn. She was endowed with natural healing power; a touch from her horn could bring the dead back to life and a walk by her side could revive a withered soul or broken heart.
The second reason the Unicorn should have left the Lilac Wood is her feelings. She loved the other unicorns abundantly and selflessly. Unicorns were meant to be characterized by hope, healing, and health, yet she would cherish no sense of peace if she did not leave her woods to discover the fate of her kind. The disappearance of unicorns had changed and darkened the world, and she yearned for mankind to remember her people and experience the brightness that unicorns bring.
The third reason the Unicorn should have left the Lilac Wood is her quest. She was resolved to find out whether the other unicorns were imprisoned, dead, or simply unrecognized by mankind. It was her mission to discover if she truly was the last unicorn breathing in the world, or if the others were alive yet needing her aid. She was a hero who purposed to sacrifice her own comfort and security in order to deliver her people from captivity.
Some claim that the Unicorn should not have left the Lilac Wood because of the threat of the Red Bull. The Red Bull was fiery death, fear personified. Ancient and powerful, the Red Bull was a dangerous enemy who had captured and imprisoned all the other unicorns and relentlessly sought the Unicorn herself every night. While this is a fearsome prospect, in all likelihood the Red Bull would discover the Unicorn’s enchanted forest before long. If she were encountered by the Bull in the comfort and safety of her home, she would surely be defeated. Leaving her home would heighten the Unicorn’s senses and increase her chances of vanquishing her adversary.
Others argue that the Unicorn should have been more concerned with the present safety of the Lilac Wood than with the unknown lot of the other unicorns. If the Unicorn remained in her home, the forest would flourish with eternal spring, the animals would be protected from hunters, and the Unicorn would be preserved from immediate danger. This argument is inconclusive because the Lilac Wood would undoubtedly suffer the doom of Unicorn’s loss eventually, either because she left at some future time or because the Red Bull discovered her there.
Thus, neither the imminent threat of the Red Bull nor the gradual decline of the Lilac Wood are considerations enough to dissuade the Unicorn from leaving her home in order to secure a future for others of her kind.
The Unicorn should have left the Lilac Wood because of her nature, her feelings, and her quest. This matters to every person living in the country, from the most powerful ruling authorities to the humblest outlaw of the greenwood. Because of the Unicorn’s willingness to sacrifice her comfort for the good of those around her, the citizens of the land would be able to know unicorns and experience the true beauty that they bring.