Revisiting Narnia: The Magician's Nephew
The first time I can remember hearing of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis was sometime in my childhood, and I remember two specific details about my introduction to the series of books.
For the first detail, I remember being in the backyard of Cordelia's house. Cordelia was our friend and neighbor-down-the-street, and her mother often used to buy us McDonald's Happy Meals whenever we hung out, if I recall correctly. Although we were young, Cordelia had learned some of the Greek alphabet, and that was the first time I heard the letters Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as being associated with anything other than the Alpha Beta grocery store that existed in our neighborhood in those days. What we were doing, besides talking and using our imaginations - as children do - I do not remember. But I believe I remember noticing the cover to Voyage of the Dawn Treader and being captivated by the cover - it looked like some sort of dragon ship. I probably asked Cordelia about it, but the interest really took hold in me sometime later when I went home and talked with my mom about it.
In fact, my mom had two or three versions of the Chronicles of Narnia lying on our bookshelves (so it's possible that my timeline got mixed up), but I remember my mom being quite happy about my interest in the Narnia books, and I recall my mom being the main person who I talked to about these books. There are some other stories I'll mention about how she would make references and comments relating to the various books as I would read them, but I'll save those for other revisits when I get to the other books. [Also, my childhood best friend Chris O. and I shared lots of moments while reading these, but I'll share about that in other entries.]
As far as the main thing I remember my mom mentioning about The Magician's Nephew it is that it wasn't necessarily written as or meant to be the first book. In doing some quick research for this post, I noticed that it was actually the 6th (of 7 books) to be published, which I now remember is what my mom told me back then (in the days before the internet). [It operates as a prequel, and as a setup for the final book, which we'll get to in another post....]
But I am starting with The Magician's Nephew for this series of posts because it was in reading this book a couple weeks ago that I felt the inclination to write about it and continue with the rest of the books. Also, there are a handful of themes in it that resonated with me in a surprising way, and I'd like to share those.
One theme - which is a theme that appears throughout the entire Chronicles of Narnia - is the idea of children being in on a secret and therefore a knowledge that the adults around them do not realize. In the books, this is presented as being distinct and different from using their imaginations, and The Magician's Nephew is a good example of this. There are several adult characters who operate as the main active characters who spur on the plot and move it forward. Digory and Polly act primarily as hosts in the story, except for a critical scene (involving a bell and a hammer). They also are the characters who seem to have spent enough time in the magical lands (yes, there are multiple alternative worlds, and Narnia is presented as only one of them in this book) to understand that there is more going on than the title's "magician" realizes. Uncle Andrew, Queen Jadis, and the cabby all become important and critical characters in this story's plot, and there are multiple other characters "in the real world of England" who are affected by the messy consequences of Uncle Andrew's actions.
Another theme, of course, is adventure. One of the things I appreciate and like about the Chronicles is how diverse they are, and The Magician's Nephew is a good example of just how weird these stories are! The plot is bonkers! Sure, the second half of the plot has some recognizable motifs, but the plot getting there is like something out of a weird sci-fi/fantasy TV special. Some chapters are just kids exploring their own houses. Other chapters are them exploring new worlds (and rooms). But other moments within those chapters often involve pausing to soak in the environment of some strange settings. There are also a couple funny encounters including one between the townspeople of England encountering Queen Jadis "in our world" and a parallel moment of the talking animals in Narnia encountering Uncle Andrew and thinking he's some sort of shrubbery.
A darker theme/motif that I never quite noticed before is Digory's home life and sick Mother. Having lost my mom to cancer five years ago (almost exactly to the date of posting this), the frequent mentions of Digory's concern for his Mother resonated in a way that I still haven't recovered from... It was just a day or two before my Mom's birthday and the anniversary of her passing that I started this blog post....
Which brings me to some of the (unfair) critiques of this book and others that some have raised about C.S. Lewis and his use of allegory. It is true that these books are written with specific allusions to biblical texts at times, but in re-reading this book this time, I noticed that it includes observational details that are more about human nature than only 1-to-1 allegorical plot points. As an example of this, I'd like to point to Queen Jadis. While her role in Narnia and a particular garden on a mountain hill do echo the fall of humanity in the original Garden, and the children are referred to as descendants of Adam and Eve, the actual characters and plots that make up the bulk of the story are a bit more well-rounded than simple allegory. Queen Jadis resembles corrupt political leaders, and her defects - including pride, greed, vanity, and selfishness - are as timeless as history, and I had a few moments while re-reading her descriptions these last couple weeks that made me pause and think about some of the current bumbling and foolishly arrogant folks in power around the world today.
So, while Aslan does operate as a literal Creator in this text, and his interaction with the characters is used to reflect a bit of what Lewis wanted to express about how God interacts with people, there are several character moments within the text that ring as essentially true, and I believe Lewis was writing based on his observations and real personal understanding of people than only trying to make specific parallels to things in the scriptures. In other words, the development came from a true creative source that was very personal to him (and some of the ways that they were personal is beyond me because I did not know him). The ideal of an Animal Land came long before he became a believer. And he became a believer in part because of Tolkien describing Christianity as "a True Myth." And he wrote characters that had quirks and personality I believe because he based them on people he knew.
Which brings me back to my Mom and Digory and his Mother. There is a poignant moment in this book where Digory struggles between his longings (esp. to help his Mother) and wanting to do what he was instructed to do. Within this struggle is a look at the consequences of Death, and questions people have in asking God, "Why??" I know I've been upset with God about my Mom's passing, and although I've had peace at times with him about it, it still breaks my heart.
So, I think Lewis had been wrestling with his own versions of what his characters wrestle with, and I think that it is fair for an artist to create characters that allow them to write scenes and stories that help them make their own sense of the world and express their own perspectives. I wouldn't call the Chronicles of Narnia allegorical tales, but I will say that they borrow from the genre of allegory at times and borrow biblical themes at times. But Lewis seems to be doing it in a way that is honest to me. And there have been plenty of other authors who have drawn from various mythologies and histories and fairy tales while crafting their own stories. And Lewis certainly displays enough originality in his own stories for me to enjoy them when I am in the mood.
And, as I have written, I am still wrestling with what he wrote about Digory's mother.
For the first detail, I remember being in the backyard of Cordelia's house. Cordelia was our friend and neighbor-down-the-street, and her mother often used to buy us McDonald's Happy Meals whenever we hung out, if I recall correctly. Although we were young, Cordelia had learned some of the Greek alphabet, and that was the first time I heard the letters Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as being associated with anything other than the Alpha Beta grocery store that existed in our neighborhood in those days. What we were doing, besides talking and using our imaginations - as children do - I do not remember. But I believe I remember noticing the cover to Voyage of the Dawn Treader and being captivated by the cover - it looked like some sort of dragon ship. I probably asked Cordelia about it, but the interest really took hold in me sometime later when I went home and talked with my mom about it.
In fact, my mom had two or three versions of the Chronicles of Narnia lying on our bookshelves (so it's possible that my timeline got mixed up), but I remember my mom being quite happy about my interest in the Narnia books, and I recall my mom being the main person who I talked to about these books. There are some other stories I'll mention about how she would make references and comments relating to the various books as I would read them, but I'll save those for other revisits when I get to the other books. [Also, my childhood best friend Chris O. and I shared lots of moments while reading these, but I'll share about that in other entries.]
As far as the main thing I remember my mom mentioning about The Magician's Nephew it is that it wasn't necessarily written as or meant to be the first book. In doing some quick research for this post, I noticed that it was actually the 6th (of 7 books) to be published, which I now remember is what my mom told me back then (in the days before the internet). [It operates as a prequel, and as a setup for the final book, which we'll get to in another post....]
But I am starting with The Magician's Nephew for this series of posts because it was in reading this book a couple weeks ago that I felt the inclination to write about it and continue with the rest of the books. Also, there are a handful of themes in it that resonated with me in a surprising way, and I'd like to share those.
One theme - which is a theme that appears throughout the entire Chronicles of Narnia - is the idea of children being in on a secret and therefore a knowledge that the adults around them do not realize. In the books, this is presented as being distinct and different from using their imaginations, and The Magician's Nephew is a good example of this. There are several adult characters who operate as the main active characters who spur on the plot and move it forward. Digory and Polly act primarily as hosts in the story, except for a critical scene (involving a bell and a hammer). They also are the characters who seem to have spent enough time in the magical lands (yes, there are multiple alternative worlds, and Narnia is presented as only one of them in this book) to understand that there is more going on than the title's "magician" realizes. Uncle Andrew, Queen Jadis, and the cabby all become important and critical characters in this story's plot, and there are multiple other characters "in the real world of England" who are affected by the messy consequences of Uncle Andrew's actions.
Another theme, of course, is adventure. One of the things I appreciate and like about the Chronicles is how diverse they are, and The Magician's Nephew is a good example of just how weird these stories are! The plot is bonkers! Sure, the second half of the plot has some recognizable motifs, but the plot getting there is like something out of a weird sci-fi/fantasy TV special. Some chapters are just kids exploring their own houses. Other chapters are them exploring new worlds (and rooms). But other moments within those chapters often involve pausing to soak in the environment of some strange settings. There are also a couple funny encounters including one between the townspeople of England encountering Queen Jadis "in our world" and a parallel moment of the talking animals in Narnia encountering Uncle Andrew and thinking he's some sort of shrubbery.
A darker theme/motif that I never quite noticed before is Digory's home life and sick Mother. Having lost my mom to cancer five years ago (almost exactly to the date of posting this), the frequent mentions of Digory's concern for his Mother resonated in a way that I still haven't recovered from... It was just a day or two before my Mom's birthday and the anniversary of her passing that I started this blog post....
Which brings me to some of the (unfair) critiques of this book and others that some have raised about C.S. Lewis and his use of allegory. It is true that these books are written with specific allusions to biblical texts at times, but in re-reading this book this time, I noticed that it includes observational details that are more about human nature than only 1-to-1 allegorical plot points. As an example of this, I'd like to point to Queen Jadis. While her role in Narnia and a particular garden on a mountain hill do echo the fall of humanity in the original Garden, and the children are referred to as descendants of Adam and Eve, the actual characters and plots that make up the bulk of the story are a bit more well-rounded than simple allegory. Queen Jadis resembles corrupt political leaders, and her defects - including pride, greed, vanity, and selfishness - are as timeless as history, and I had a few moments while re-reading her descriptions these last couple weeks that made me pause and think about some of the current bumbling and foolishly arrogant folks in power around the world today.
So, while Aslan does operate as a literal Creator in this text, and his interaction with the characters is used to reflect a bit of what Lewis wanted to express about how God interacts with people, there are several character moments within the text that ring as essentially true, and I believe Lewis was writing based on his observations and real personal understanding of people than only trying to make specific parallels to things in the scriptures. In other words, the development came from a true creative source that was very personal to him (and some of the ways that they were personal is beyond me because I did not know him). The ideal of an Animal Land came long before he became a believer. And he became a believer in part because of Tolkien describing Christianity as "a True Myth." And he wrote characters that had quirks and personality I believe because he based them on people he knew.
Which brings me back to my Mom and Digory and his Mother. There is a poignant moment in this book where Digory struggles between his longings (esp. to help his Mother) and wanting to do what he was instructed to do. Within this struggle is a look at the consequences of Death, and questions people have in asking God, "Why??" I know I've been upset with God about my Mom's passing, and although I've had peace at times with him about it, it still breaks my heart.
So, I think Lewis had been wrestling with his own versions of what his characters wrestle with, and I think that it is fair for an artist to create characters that allow them to write scenes and stories that help them make their own sense of the world and express their own perspectives. I wouldn't call the Chronicles of Narnia allegorical tales, but I will say that they borrow from the genre of allegory at times and borrow biblical themes at times. But Lewis seems to be doing it in a way that is honest to me. And there have been plenty of other authors who have drawn from various mythologies and histories and fairy tales while crafting their own stories. And Lewis certainly displays enough originality in his own stories for me to enjoy them when I am in the mood.
And, as I have written, I am still wrestling with what he wrote about Digory's mother.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for directing me to this post. It is beautiful, poignant, compelling and enjoyable to read. The thoughts you share about how you first came across the Chronicles is refreshing to recall. ... The neighborhood, the friends, our bookshelves, Cathy's eagerness to share the written word with you and C.S. Lewis in particular.... Your identification with Digory and his Mom is very touching for me. I am grateful that Cathy is healthy today enjoying "Aslan's" presence, voice, beauty and healing, joyful, creative power. It is a glorious mystery how the Living God works. Real, imagined, allegorical, personal, however one describes it, the "Magical" story out of the mind of Lewis is profoundly true to LIFE.
I had a difficulty reading the Narnia Stories in my 20's. Some how starting with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I couldn't get past the wardrobe. I couldn't allow myself to experience the realities that were revealed in the Land of Narnia. There were too many realities within myself that I hadn't faced or understood about myself to be free to let Narnia be my guide into more profound truths. Instead, I stayed guarded (shutoff from myself and the world around me) to enter in to the vibrant world of the Chronicles. I'm glad that now in my seventies I am finally open enough, child-like enough to open myself to this wondrous world. I look forward to exploring more truth through C,S. Lewis' writings.
BTW Mark your writing is excellent. It reminds me of the Magician's Nephew.