“This is one of my favorite of the Narnia Chronicles, because of the ending. It is so sad, not only the loss of Susan, but the way in which Jill and Eustace die, thr treachery of the Dwarfs, and the end of Old Narnia.The reviewers of the movies complain about inevitably happy endings- ha! wait 'til this one comes out.”
“I think Susan's fate is actually supposed to represent the choice faced by every single one of us, just as Edmund was supposed to represent every one of us as well. Essentially, the question is, now that you have heard the story, what are you going to do about it? Don't forget though, that she never died, so her fate is an open-ended one.”
“So in this book, is child-like wonder a metaphor for faith in Christ, or is it akin to faith?”
“i didnt read it yet so i wouldnt know”
“When I read the comments afterwards, I can see that it is more C.S. Lewis's vision that faith alone brings salvation and when Susan turned her back on Narnia. However, why Susan? It seems that she is not allowed to "grow up." Does this imply that men are immature or that women who attain maturity are to be less appreciated? The professor owned a great house and achieved at least a relatively good living from maturing yet Susan is not. It is possible to say that in Lewis's view it is by faith alone but it would seem that there is at least a thin sheen of sexism on the book. It seems that there are two possible views, 1) Susan has experienced maturity and is now punished or 2) Lewis viewed excessive commercialism as sinful.”
“I agree, the reason Susan cannot come immediately is because she has lost the awe of Narnia. I remember one character saying that she went so far as to say that their adventures were imagined and she didn't care to talk about it anymore, or something to that effect. She, in essence, rejected Narnia, so Narnia rejected her. But if she ever feels connected to Narnia again by letting go of her ties with materialistic things and believing in Narnia again, she can come back. Thats what I remember from the books.”
“I think it was because she now longer believed in Narnia. She was too wrapped up with earthy things.I'm a girl and I took no offence at it. I think it was a warning against getting too wrapped up in worldly things.”
“I want to thank everyone who has been a part of this conversation. I believe we have started to explore the topic of race in Narnia. I am going to put out another topic for exploration: Why do you think that Lewis stated that Susan was not allowed to come, "she's interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations." and that Lewis stated that "The books don't tell us what happened to Susan. She is left alive in this world at the end, having by then turned into a rather silly, conceited young woman. But there's plenty of time for her to mend and perhaps she will get to Aslan's country in the end... in her own way." I find this type of statement misogynistic. Susan represents a woman who cares for herself but Eustace, who is a terribly rude and egotistical, is allowed to enter. The scale seems to be weighted against women in the Lewis vision of England.”
“I believe that C.S. Lewis is a masterful author but it seems that as he grew older, he seemed to have become more irritable. Perhaps he found the England of his youth to have been lost, or that he watched the walls of the British Empire collapse, but for me, the magic and mystery of the series was fully deflated by what I perceived as bigotry and misogyny. I have read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe so many times that my copy has water damage, drink damage and general yellowing but I could only read the Last Battle twice because of my shock for the themes presented.”
“Hey guys, I think the argument here is that Lewis was purposefully targeting Hindus, like myself, as well as other Eastern cultures. I personally was never offended by any of the obvious references to Christianity, it was pretty easy to just read the stories of Narnia as they were and ignore the politics in it.But there is a difference between disagreeing with someone and believing that they are evil because they believe something different. Its just a different way of living, and portraying an entire culture as inherently evil or wrong does make me respect Lewis less as a person; but I love the stories he's created and can look past it. Like Mary G said, if you don't like it or can't get past it, don't read it.”
