E. DuBose Post 1: Narnia 1

04APR12

Initial Thoughts on Narnia

One thing I thought interesting about the first book in the series, The Magician's Nephew, was that it was actually written after the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe.  I wonder if after writing the Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis thought to make a story explaining the creation of Narnia. 

I also found several bits of the "first book" (The Magician's Nephew) to be very engaging.  I thought it was rather wonderful that people of all age could read this book and get different life stories and morals.  The book appeals to the young and old audience and has so much symbolism within it.  I've always enjoyed Lewis' quote that says "One day you'll be old enough to read fairy tales again."  This is very applicable to the Narnia series.  I believe everyone goes through a middle stage of life in which they believe there is nothing left to be explored or learned.  That is completely untrue of course.  To be old enough to let go of one's made up reality and dive into other worlds makes it possible to read these books and get so much out of them.  

One quote that I thought was particularly interesting was from the Magician's Nephew, Digory's uncle states that "men with wisdom are freed from common rules and cut off from common pleasures."  I believe this is true and false.  Men with wisdom are not freed by common rules but enslaved by their wisdom.  Take King Solomon for example.  He had all the wisdom in the world but it had no purpose other than over whelm him with thought and pride.  Unless one acts out their and doesn't only lend it out to others, can one be free to use it.  With great knowledge and wisdom come great responsibility.  One is no longer bound to common law but to a greater law.  Therefore, one has not excuse but to follow the wise path or be tormented by the regret of not doing what one knew to be wise.  The other part of that statement can be quite true.  Wise men, or even adults, are cut off from common pleasures.  Going back to the middle ground in life, where one is not young enough nor old enough to read fairy tales, correlates with being cut off from common pleasures.  A child finds the most simple things pleasurable and Lewis even goes to say that a babies find things to be most astonishing because they are impressed with the regular and mundane.  As we get older the world in of itself is no longer surprising, it becomes mundane.  It is in that place that we cannot read fairy tales because we have lost pleasure in the simplest of joys.

So, if Lewis did write the Magician's Nephew to show the beginnings of Narnia, then where does he say the beginnings of Charn are?  I would've at least liked to know Jardis' sisters name and a story to go with it.  Regardless, this collection of stories encapsulated the notion of myth and how our realities are produced from myth.  This story, while untrue, has truth in it, many in fact.  It retells the story of Jesus and His sacrifice, it tells of temptation, forgiveness, and love.  In my mind, it revolves a lot around the questions produced by axiology and ontology.  The stories tell what it means to be human and what it does not.  The stories reveal value of our world and the meaning we hold of it as we live our life.