LWW Chapter 1 Observations
The Memphis C. S. Lewis Society is reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the first of the Chronicles of Narnia. Here are some of my observations, chapter by chapter. Among them, I hope to point out the Christian and biblical references that I notice.
The book begins with a dedication to Lucy Barfield by her godfather Lewis. No doubt Lewis based the character Lucy in the story on her, somewhat as A. A. Milne included his son Christopher Robin in the Pooh stories. I do not know whether the other children were based on the real Lucy's siblings or not.
The dedication expresses hope that fairy stories are not just for children, but also for those who have matured enough to appreciate them once again, at a new level. In that spirit, let us proceed.
Chapter 1 begins the story by telling of the four siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, as they are sent to a country house for safety during the Blitz of World War II. I do not recall their surname Pevensie being used in this first book. It is clear from their initial appearance that Edmund is the problem child of the family. He has to hide his laughter at their host when he meets him. There is a hint of his short temper and pessimism. His problems will trigger the crisis in the story later.
On a rainy day, the children decide to explore the house. The very immenseness of the house and its unexpected hallways and rooms depict adventure, new horizons, and the sense that something unusual is going to happen and could be waiting around any corner. One of their discoveries is a series of rooms full of books, as Lewis says, "most of them very old books and some bigger than a Bible in a church." This is the first hint, however indirect, that there is a religious air to the story.
When they encounter the magic wardrobe while exploring the house, only Lucy stays behind to examine it. Lewis thus portrays her as a bit more inquisitive, a bit more venturesome, even perhaps a bit more in tune with her surroundings and with life, than the rest.
Once Lucy enters the wardrobe, Lewis begins a running joke combined with a bit of advice: it is very silly to shut yourself in a wardrobe.
The wardrobe, it turns out, is a portal: one of the magic places that open between this world and Narnia. We shall learn more about this portal later. Lucy's reaction is the natural reaction of one who encounters something unexpected and unexplained: frightened, inquisitive, and excited. This could apply to learning unexpected spiritual truths as well.
Making sure that she can get back, Lucy ventures into this unknown world of winter and encounters a lamp post in the middle of a wood and a Faun. The first is unexplained, the second clearly unearthly. One does not ordinarily encounter a functioning lamp post in the woods, but it might be understood as the result of human action. A Faun, however, is not in our normal realm of experience.
Thus the chapter ends, leaving Lucy and us to ponder her encounters. There are no specifically Christian references yet, except the offhand reference to a Bible in a church. But we sense that, in the midst of a very ordinary experience, we are being taken out of the realm of ordinary experience and into a different world. This in itself is preparation for the possibility of spiritual experience and change.
It is also important that Lucy just stumbled onto the experience. She was not specifically looking for another world. She was just being inquisitive about something that she enjoyed in this world, and it became for her a portal into another. So, perhaps, Lewis is saying, we can encounter the spiritual world in unexpected ways in the course of our "ordinary" experiences.
The book begins with a dedication to Lucy Barfield by her godfather Lewis. No doubt Lewis based the character Lucy in the story on her, somewhat as A. A. Milne included his son Christopher Robin in the Pooh stories. I do not know whether the other children were based on the real Lucy's siblings or not.
The dedication expresses hope that fairy stories are not just for children, but also for those who have matured enough to appreciate them once again, at a new level. In that spirit, let us proceed.
Chapter 1 begins the story by telling of the four siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, as they are sent to a country house for safety during the Blitz of World War II. I do not recall their surname Pevensie being used in this first book. It is clear from their initial appearance that Edmund is the problem child of the family. He has to hide his laughter at their host when he meets him. There is a hint of his short temper and pessimism. His problems will trigger the crisis in the story later.
On a rainy day, the children decide to explore the house. The very immenseness of the house and its unexpected hallways and rooms depict adventure, new horizons, and the sense that something unusual is going to happen and could be waiting around any corner. One of their discoveries is a series of rooms full of books, as Lewis says, "most of them very old books and some bigger than a Bible in a church." This is the first hint, however indirect, that there is a religious air to the story.
When they encounter the magic wardrobe while exploring the house, only Lucy stays behind to examine it. Lewis thus portrays her as a bit more inquisitive, a bit more venturesome, even perhaps a bit more in tune with her surroundings and with life, than the rest.
Once Lucy enters the wardrobe, Lewis begins a running joke combined with a bit of advice: it is very silly to shut yourself in a wardrobe.
The wardrobe, it turns out, is a portal: one of the magic places that open between this world and Narnia. We shall learn more about this portal later. Lucy's reaction is the natural reaction of one who encounters something unexpected and unexplained: frightened, inquisitive, and excited. This could apply to learning unexpected spiritual truths as well.
Making sure that she can get back, Lucy ventures into this unknown world of winter and encounters a lamp post in the middle of a wood and a Faun. The first is unexplained, the second clearly unearthly. One does not ordinarily encounter a functioning lamp post in the woods, but it might be understood as the result of human action. A Faun, however, is not in our normal realm of experience.
Thus the chapter ends, leaving Lucy and us to ponder her encounters. There are no specifically Christian references yet, except the offhand reference to a Bible in a church. But we sense that, in the midst of a very ordinary experience, we are being taken out of the realm of ordinary experience and into a different world. This in itself is preparation for the possibility of spiritual experience and change.
It is also important that Lucy just stumbled onto the experience. She was not specifically looking for another world. She was just being inquisitive about something that she enjoyed in this world, and it became for her a portal into another. So, perhaps, Lewis is saying, we can encounter the spiritual world in unexpected ways in the course of our "ordinary" experiences.
posted by John at 3:04 PM
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