The Chronicles of Narnia
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- This article is about the series of books by C.S. Lewis. For the films, see The Chronicles of Narnia (film series). For the BBC miniseries, see The Chronicles of Narnia (TV miniseries)
The Chronicles present the adventures of children who play central roles in the unfolding history of the realm of Narnia, a place where animals talk, magic is common, and good is fighting evil.
- 1 The books
- 1.1 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- 1.2 Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
- 1.3 The Voyage of the ''Dawn Treader''
- 1.4 The Silver Chair
- 1.5 The Horse and His Boy
- 1.6 '''The Magician's Nephew'''
- 1.7 '''The Last Battle'''
- 2 Reading order
- 3 Christian parallels
- 4 Pagan influences
- 5 Influences on Narnia
- 6 Narnia's influence on others
- 7 Criticism
- 8 The Narnian universe
- 9 ''Narnia'' in other media
- 10 Further reading
- 11 References
- 12 External links
The books
The books that make up The Chronicles of Narnia are presented below in the order in which they were originally published (see reading order below). They are by far the most popular of C.S. Lewis's works, having sold more than 100 million copies[link] in 41 languages.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- Main Article: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
- Main Article: Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- Main Article: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
- Main Article: The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
- Main Article: The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
- Main Article: The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle
- Main Article: The Last Battle
Reading order
Fans of the series often have strong opinions over the correct ordering of the books. When the books were originally published, they were not numbered. The first American publisher, Macmillan, put numbers on the books in the order in which they were published. When HarperCollins took over the series, the books were renumbered using the internal chronological order, as suggested by Lewis's stepson, Douglas Gresham.
| Publication order | Chronological order |
|---|---|
| 1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | 1. The Magician's Nephew |
| 2. Prince Caspian | 2. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe |
| 3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | 3. The Horse and His Boy |
| 4. The Silver Chair* | 4. Prince Caspian |
| 5. The Horse and His Boy* | 5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader |
| 6. The Magician's Nephew | 6. The Silver Chair |
| 7. The Last Battle | 7. The Last Battle |
- * The Horse and His Boy was written before The Silver Chair, but was released after.
- "I think I agree with your order (i.e. chronological) for reading the books more than with your mother's. The series was not planned beforehand as she thinks. When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found as I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them. I'm not even sure that all the others were written in the same order in which they were published."
- "None of the children knew who Aslan was, any more than you do."
- "That is the very end of the adventure of the wardrobe. But if the Professor was right, it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia,"
Another argument for the original order comes from Prince Caspian. That book is subtitled "The Return to Narnia", which sounds very much like a sequel, and not like the fourth book in a series. Moreover, "Caspian" refers to "the other story," a statement which leaves one who is reading the books in Gresham's order wondering "What other story? Which of the previous three?" In the original order, on the other hand, the statement makes sense.
It should also be noted that in The Magician's Nephew, Lewis is quite clearly filling in some of the back-story of the series. It begins,
- "This ... is a very important story because it shows how all the comings and goings between our own world and the land of Narnia first began."
- "... the place where [the lamp-post] grew came to be called Lantern Waste; and when, many years later, another child from our world got into Narnia, on a snowy night, she found the light still burning. And that adventure was, in a way, connected with the ones I have just been telling you. ..."
Essentially, the argument is that an early reading of The Magician's Nephew spoils much of the wonder felt upon discovering Narnia through the wardrobe in LWW. Story events such as the creation story, the origin of the White Witch, the active wood of which the wardrobe is made, and the identity of the professor are all described before the reader knows much about Narnia or the story of the White Witch. For this reason, many think that children are deprived of the mystery that could have existed for them had the original order been used. This argument hinges partly on the claim that Chronology is not equivalent to Narrative.
Proponents of the original order also argue that if the series is first read in the chronological order, the published order can never be experienced without knowledge of the prequels. On the other hand, a first reading of the published order does not so affect a later reading in the chronological order.
It is important to keep in mind that this dispute only applies to the first reading of the books. For re-reading, as Lewis said, "perhaps it does not matter very much". Ironically, Douglas Gresham, who pushed the publishers to reorder the books, is now the co-producer of the Narnia film series—which is being made in the original order.
Christian parallels
- Specific Christian parallels may be found in the entries for individual and .
Although he did not set out to do so, in the process of writing his fantasy works, Lewis (an adult convert to Christianity) found himself incorporating Christian theological concepts into his stories. As he wrote in Of Other Worlds:
- "Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument, then collected information about child psychology and decided what age group I'd write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out 'allegories' to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn't write in that way. It all began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord."
- "If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair
[ a character in The Pilgrim's Progress] represents despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all."
Many parts of the books may seem rather out-of-place, but make sense in light of the symbolism they carry. In the 5th book in the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan turns from a lamb into a lion and tells the children that he brought them to Narnia to learn his other name on Earth. Christ was called the Lamb of God in the Bible, and it is almost certain that he meant the name Jesus. Also, in The Silver Chair, the dead King Caspian is brought to Aslan's territory, where Caspian lay in a river. Aslan commands Eustace to prick his paw with a thorn, and Aslan lets the blood drop on Caspian, who in turn comes alive. This is symbolic of how only Jesus's blood when he died on the cross could bring man to heaven (and give them life), and the water that purifies. The thorn is symbolic of the crown of thorns, and that Eustace pricked his paw is symbolic of how man put Christ on the cross. In the Bible, Jesus is also referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (see Lion of Judah).
Pagan influences
There are certain Christians and Christian organizations who feel that The Chronicles of Narnia promotes "soft sell paganism and occultism", because of the recurring pagan themes and the supposedly heretical depictions of Christ as an anthropomorphic lion. Satyrs, fauns, centaurs, dwarves, werewolves, giants, and even the pagan god Bacchus and the Maenads are depicted in a positive light, when they are distinctly pagan motifs. Even an animistic "River god" is portrayed in a positive light. , According to Josh Hurst from [Christianity Today], "not only was Lewis hesitant to call his books Christian allegory, but the stories borrow just as much from pagan mythology as they do the Bible."Drew Trotter, PhD, president of the [Center for Christian Study], noted that the producers of the film version of The Chronicles of Narnia felt that The Chronicles of Narnia closely follows the archetypal pattern of the monomyth as detailed in Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. [link] Joseph Campbell himself felt that the New Testament adhered to the archetypal monomyth and was but "one version of mythic stories that can be found in many cultures."[link] Both The Chronicles of Narnia and the New Testament are rife with Jungian archetypal imagery.
CS Lewis himself stated in an essay called Is Theism Important?:
- "When grave persons express their fear that England is relapsing into Paganism, I am tempted to reply, 'Would that she were.' For I do not think it at all likely that we shall ever see Parliament opened by the slaughtering of a garlanded white bull in the House of Lords or Cabinet Ministers leaving sandwiches in Hyde Park as an offering for the Dryads. If such a state of affairs came about, then the Christian apologist would have something to work on. For a Pagan, as history shows, is a man eminently convertible to Christianity. He is essentially the pre-Christian, or sub-Christian, religious man. The post-Christian man of our day differs from him as much as a divorcee differs from a virgin."
Influences on Narnia
Writing
Lewis' early life has echoes within the Chronicles. Born in Belfast, Ireland in 1898, Lewis' family moved to a large house in the country when he was seven. The house contained long hallways and empty rooms, and Lewis and his brother invented make-believe worlds while exploring their home. Like Caspian and Tirian, Lewis lost his mother at an early age, and like Edmund, Jill, and Eustace, he spent a long, miserable time in English boarding schools. During World War II, many children were evacuated from London because of air raids. Some of these children stayed with Lewis at his home in Oxford.Lewis was part of the Inklings, a literary discussion group associated with the University of Oxford, England. Its members included such notables as J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and Hugo Dyson. Readings and discussions of the members' unfinished works were the principal purposes of meetings. These readings and discussions were usually held on Thursday evenings in C. S. Lewis's college rooms at Magdalen College. The Inklings were also known to gather at a local pub, The Eagle and Child.
Name
The origin of the name Narnia is uncertain. It is possible that Lewis borrowed the name from his friend Tolkien or possibly vice versa. The latter wrote the Narn i Chîn Húrin or the Lay of the Children of Húrin about his anti-hero, Túrin Turambar. Narn is Sindarin for a lay or a poetic narrative, usually intended to be sung.According to Paul Ford's Companion to Narnia there is no indication that Lewis was alluding to the ancient Umbrian city Nequinium renamed Narnia by the conquering Romans in 299 BC after the river Nar, a tributary of the Tiber. However, since Lewis's first successes at Oxford were in the classics and ancient history, it is quite possible that he came across at least seven references to Narnia in Latin literature. It is also interesting to note that Aslan means lion in Turkish.
Narnia's influence on others
Influence on authors
A more recent British series of novels, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, has been seen as an "answer" to the Narnia books. Pullman's series favours science and reason over religion, wholly rejecting the themes of Christian theology which permeate the Narnia series, but has many of the same issues, subject matter, and types of characters (including talking animals) as the Chronicles of Narnia.The short story The Problem of Susan[link] written by Neil Gaiman tells the story of Susan Pevensie long after the conclusion of Lewis' series (available in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy edited by Al Sarrantonio). Additionally, Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel series, in its story arc entitled "A Game of You", features a Narnia-like "dream island".
Science fiction author Greg Egan's short story ['Oracle'] depicts a parallel universe with an author nicknamed "Jack" who has written novels about the fictional Kingdom of Nesica, and whose wife is dying of cancer. The story uses several Narnian allegories to explore issues of religion and faith versus science and knowledge.
Influence on popular culture
- Main article: The Chronicles of Narnia in popular culture
Criticism
C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia series have received various criticisms over the years, much of it by fellow authors. Allegations of sexism centre around the description of Susan Pevensie in The Last Battle. Other characters describe Susan as being "no longer a friend of Narnia" and interested "in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations".J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, has said:
- "There comes a point where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick. She's become irreligious basically because she found sex, I have a big problem with that."
- "Susan, like Cinderella, is undergoing a transition from one phase of her life to another. Lewis didn't approve of that. He didn't like women in general, or sexuality at all, at least at the stage in his life when he wrote the Narnia books. He was frightened and appalled at the notion of wanting to grow up."
In addition to the sexism accusation, Pullman has also implicated The Chronicles of Narnia series in fostering racism. He writes:
- "[For Lewis] Death is better than life; boys are better than girls; light-coloured people are better than dark-coloured people; and so on. There is no shortage of such nauseating drivel in Narnia, if you can face it."
There are Calormene characters portrayed in a positive light throughout the series. In The Horse and His Boy, one of the main characters, Aravis, is a Calormene princess that ends up marrying an Archenlander prince of white ethnicity. In The Last Battle, the Calormene Emeth is accepted by Aslan although he is a worshiper of Tash.
Lewis supporters point to the fact that Lewis writings have a particularly British Victorian era flavour that was much in fashion during his lifetime, but that may be seen as politically incorrect nowadays. The fact that Lewis and other similar-minded contemporaries such as J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams remained popular over such a long period of time suggests to some that many of the criticisms which have been voiced are minority views, not thought to be significant by the reading public. O'Connor writes, "In his time, people thought it was amusing to make fun of other cultures. We don't. Read the stories, ask questions, and remember that the person who wrote this story was altogether too human." They also point to certain parts of Lewis' Mere Christianity where certain Islamic practices are praised and to the fact that the Calormens' religion is not particularly Islamic in nature as it is polytheistic.
Some of the criticism may be related to Narnia's Christian content. According to Jacobs, "Those who dislike Christianity itself can be far more harsh: Thus the English novelist Philip Hensher chastised Lewis a few years ago because his books 'corrupt the minds of the young with allegory,' and suggested (only half-jokingly, I think) that parents should give their children Last Exit to Brooklyn to read rather than a Narnia tale."
The Narnian universe
- Main article: Narnia; see also: places, creatures, and characters.
Narnia in other media
Television
- (For details of the BBC miniseries, see The Chronicles of Narnia (TV miniseries))
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was turned into an animated television special in 1979. It was a co-production of Bill Melendez (Charlie Brown) and the Children's Television Workshop (Sesame Street and The Electric Company). The screenplay was by David D. Connell. It won the Emmy award for Outstanding Animated Program that year.
The Chronicles of Narnia were turned into a series of successful BBC television miniseries in 1988–1990 (see The Chronicles of Narnia (TV miniseries)). They were nominated for a total of 14 awards, including an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Children's Program. Only The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair were filmed. The four miniseries were later edited into three feature-length films (combining Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and released on VHS and DVD.
Radio
The critically acclaimed BBC Radio 4 dramatization was produced in the 1980s. Collectively titled Tales of Narnia it covers the entire series and is approximately 15 hours long.Between 1999 and 2002 Focus on the Family produced radio dramatizations of all 7 books[link]. Production included a cast of over 100 actors, an original orchestral score and cinema-quality digital sound design. Total running time is slightly over 22 hours. Douglas Gresham, the stepson of C.S. Lewis, hosts the series. From the Focus on the Family website:
- "Between the lamp post and Cair Paravel on the Western Sea lies Narnia, a mystical land where animals hold the power of speech … woodland fauns conspire with men … dark forces, bent on conquest, gather at the world's rim to wage war against the realm's rightful king … and the Great Lion Aslan is the only hope. Into this enchanted world comes a group of unlikely travelers. These ordinary boys and girls, when faced with peril, learn extraordinary lessons in courage, self-sacrifice, friendship and honor."
Stage
In 1998 the Royal Shakespeare Theatre premiered The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Dramatized by Adrian Mitchell and originally directed by Adrian Noble with revival directed by Lucy Pitman-Wallace, the production was well received and ran during the holiday season from 1998 to 2002.[link] The London Evening Standard wrote:
- "...Lucy Pitman-Wallace's beautiful recreation of Adrian Noble's production evokes all the awe and mystery of this mythically complex tale, while never being too snooty to stoop to bracingly comic touches like outrageously camp reindeer or a beaver with a housework addiction... In our science and technology-dominated age, faith is increasingly insignificant - yet in this otherwise gloriously resonant production, it is possible to understand its allure."
An original musical adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was performed by Trumpets [link], a Filipino theatre company, and premiered in August 1997. [link]
Cinema
- (For details of the films, see The Chronicles of Narnia film series.)
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Music
A musical retelling of the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was released in 1980 by Contemporary Christian group 2nd Chapter of Acts. It was titled The Roar of Love. British film and television composer Paul Stokes has risen to popularity partly through his work "Christmas In Narnia".The score to the movie was done by Harry Gregson Williams and included artist such as Alanis Morissette, Lisbeth Scott(Who is a frequent collaberator),Imogen Heap, and Tim Finn . The score for the TV series was done by Geoffrey Burgon.Further reading
- Bustard, Ned. The Chronicles of Narnia Comprehension Guide. Veritas Press, 2004.
- Duriez, Colin. A Field Guide to Narnia. InterVarsity Press, 2004.
- Ford, Paul. Companion to Narnia, Revised Edition. HarperSanFrancisco, revised edition 2005.
- Ditchfield, Christin. A Family Guide to Narnia: Biblical Truths in C.S. Lewis's the Chronicles of Narnia. Crossway Books, 2003.
- Bruner, Kurt & Ware, Jim. Finding God in the Land of Narnia. Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.
- Williams, Thomas. The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia: Knowing God Here by Finding Him There. W Publishing Group, 2005.
- Wagner, Richard. C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies. For Dummies, 2005.
- A Guide for Using The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the Classroom. Teacher Created Resources, 2000.
- The Lion, Witch & Wardrobe Study Guide. Progeny Press, 1993.
- The Magician's Nephew Study Guide. Progeny Press, 1997.
- Prince Caspian Study Guide. Progeny Press, 2003.
- Jacobs, Alan. The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.
- McIntosh, Kenneth. Following Aslan: A Book of Devotions for Children. Anamchara Books, 2006.
References
- <;!--Publication date: November 16, 2005-->
- [link]
- [The Lion King: C.S. Lewis' Narnia isn't simply a Christian allegory.], Meghan O'Rourke, Slate magazine, 9 December 2005
- [Drama: 'Narnia' A Children's Musical.], Stephen Holden, New York Times, 5 October 1986
External links
| The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis The World of Narnia | |||
| The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Prince Caspian | The Voyage of the Dawn Treader | The Silver Chair | The Horse and His Boy | The Magician's Nephew | The Last Battle | |||
| The Chronicles of Narnia>Books | Characters | Creatures | Places |
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