LWW Chapter 2
In chapter 2, Lucy goes to the home of Tumnus the Faun for tea, then discovers that he meant to lull her to sleep and turn her over to the White Witch. After meeting her, Tumnus decides that he cannot betray her, and helps her get back home.
There are few direct Christian references in this chapter. One that I detect is that the Faun calls Lucy "Daughter of Eve," a term which she does not understand. Another is Tumnus' repentance for a premeditated sin and Lucy's forgiveness of him.
From the storytelling point of view, the reader detects fairly quickly that something is not quite right in the interaction between Tumnus and Lucy. The first hint is that he says nothing to her until he has picked up his packages. Then, instead of immediately introducing himself, he takes some pains to ascertain that she is really human, and we learn that he has never seen a human before. After establishing that she is human, he is about to say something and suddenly stops, then presses her to go home with him for tea. Probably, for many people today, the thought of a stranger inviting a girl home would immediately raise red flags. Those must have been more innocent days.
After luring Lucy into a trap and trying to lull her to sleep so that he could turn her over to the Witch, Tumnus realizes that he cannot go through with it, and repents with bitter tears. To show that his sorrow is genuine, he confesses what he meant to do, and tries to make it right by helping Lucy find her way back home, even at his own peril. He begs forgiveness, which Lucy freely and gladly offers. While we applaud her forgiving spirit, we also get the impression that in her childhood innocence, she does not fully comprehend the horror of what she would have faced had Tumnus carried out his original intent.
We also learn that Narnia is a land under an evil spell: the White Witch is a usurper who makes it "always winter and never Christmas." The message here is that evil shows its power by making others miserable. It also depicts the frozen state of the soul without God, and prepares for the depiction of the thaw and healing that comes when God enters.
There are few direct Christian references in this chapter. One that I detect is that the Faun calls Lucy "Daughter of Eve," a term which she does not understand. Another is Tumnus' repentance for a premeditated sin and Lucy's forgiveness of him.
From the storytelling point of view, the reader detects fairly quickly that something is not quite right in the interaction between Tumnus and Lucy. The first hint is that he says nothing to her until he has picked up his packages. Then, instead of immediately introducing himself, he takes some pains to ascertain that she is really human, and we learn that he has never seen a human before. After establishing that she is human, he is about to say something and suddenly stops, then presses her to go home with him for tea. Probably, for many people today, the thought of a stranger inviting a girl home would immediately raise red flags. Those must have been more innocent days.
After luring Lucy into a trap and trying to lull her to sleep so that he could turn her over to the Witch, Tumnus realizes that he cannot go through with it, and repents with bitter tears. To show that his sorrow is genuine, he confesses what he meant to do, and tries to make it right by helping Lucy find her way back home, even at his own peril. He begs forgiveness, which Lucy freely and gladly offers. While we applaud her forgiving spirit, we also get the impression that in her childhood innocence, she does not fully comprehend the horror of what she would have faced had Tumnus carried out his original intent.
We also learn that Narnia is a land under an evil spell: the White Witch is a usurper who makes it "always winter and never Christmas." The message here is that evil shows its power by making others miserable. It also depicts the frozen state of the soul without God, and prepares for the depiction of the thaw and healing that comes when God enters.
posted by John at 6:54 PM
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