The Chronicles of Narnia: From a Perspective Susan

Photograph from Goodreads

"...some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again" (110).

In 2004, I was seven years old, and word of a new, large-scale movie adaptation series of Lewis's beloved collection of stories surrounding the fictional world of Narnia prompted my mother to buy a copy of all seven books (the copy pictured here with "A  Major Motion Picture - Holiday 2005" inscribed on the front) and begin reading them with me.

As the collection was arranged in chronological order, we began with The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Before beginning The Horse and His Boy, however, we learned that the chronological order was not the original order, and of course true Lewis fans read the books in the original order, and they suggest you do the same. Naturally, in 2005 fashion, my mother and I printed a section of the article we read including the list of books in both original and chronological orders with a comment at the bottom: "A little different, I know. The bottom list is the chronicles in chronological order. I would suggest reading them in the original order...please!" As you can possibly surmise by my ability to quote this paper, I still have the printout tucked into my copy of The Chronicles of Narnia, which means I know we discovered this information on December 30, 2005, just a few weeks after having seen the first installment of the movie franchise in theaters. I tried to reach the link on the bottom of the page to revisit the full article and perhaps give credit to its author here, but unfortunately the link is to a website (geocities.com) which, as of 2019, no longer exists.

Over the next few years, my mom and I read and re-read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspain, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader at least two to four times each. I attribute my love of reading to these times I spent in Lewis's Narnia with my mom. I developed an embarrassingly intense crush on both Lucy Pevensie and her actress, Georgie Henley. I often rewatched the movies with friends. I owned Lego sets and action figures. I wrote about Georgie Henley in my journals. Overall, the world of Narnia became a huge part of my life, and continued to be for a long time. I still hold a fond place for the nostalgia, and I enjoy rewatching the movies. Unfortunately, however, by the time what would become the final installment of the franchise was released in December of 2010, I, along with the actors in the films, was getting older. My mother decided, as I was about to be entering high school, to go back to work. Both of our schedules suddenly becoming busier as well as a lack of interest in the franchise from the general public (as evidenced by the box-office numbers from the newest release) resulted in us never having returned to finish the rest of the series.

A few years later, when I was just out of high school, around 2015, if I remember correctly, I decided to revisit the series myself, finally reading The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy. I began reading The Last Battle as well, but I never finished it. I knew essentially what was going to happen, and the beginning did not hold my interest.

In 2019, I began what many might say to be the antithesis of fairytale stories such as Lewis's Narnia and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (at least according to the evangelical Christian community within which I was raised), Harry Potter. As I continued with Rowling's story over the next few years (you might recognize a theme of my general incapability to read through an entire series consecutively, thanks be to my mood-reading tendencies and my interests in a variety of genres which leads me to get bored of one and long for another within the span of one or two books), a small prick of guilt for my younger self made me feel as though it was somehow wrong of me to complete the devilish fantasy series (which I was prohibited to read as a child, if you hadn't gathered) before returning to complete the series which had been such a huge part of my childhood.

Nevertheless, I finished The Deathly Hallows in December of 2021, and therefore resolved to reread the first six books of The Chronicles of Narnia before finally reading the seventh and final installment. This time, I read the books in chronological order (given I had already mostly read the series in original order and the only book I hadn't read was last either way), and, despite my typical reading habits, finished the entire series in just about two months from January 2022 until March 2022 (which I attribute to the fact that the entirety of the series totals nearly 350,000 words whereas most series I read these days total more words than that in just two or three books).

Now that I have finally reached the end of what I would call a foundation of my childhood experience, I can say that I wish two things vividly above all else when it comes to the world of Narnia. For starters, I wish I had finished reading all of the books with my mother as a child. I would be interested in knowing how both me and my mother felt about the subtle messaging present in the final installment at that time in  our lives (I would still be interested in her opinions now, though I doubt she will ever read it at this point, or that we would discuss it). Secondly, I wish, given I had finished the series as a child, that I never read it again.

I think we all have movies, books, or other things that garnered our affection as children which only hold up in our minds as adults through nostalgia. Naturally, the books are written for a younger audience, as Lewis admits himself in the forward of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe written to his goddaughter, Lucy, whom he realizes upon finishing the story has likely grown too old for its contents, but, as the quote at the beginning of this post reveals, he hopes she will grow to appreciate it again one day. I don't know at what age Lewis presumes Lucy, or people in general, will find his stories engaging once more; perhaps I am too old and yet still too young. I do know, however, that, had I no nostalgic connection to these books as I picked them up at the age of 25, I do not think I would have had the motivation to trudge through the misogyny, racism, and elitism present against the will of my conscience (especially given the lack of detail and character development; these books could have been so much longer and more engaging).

Of course, I recognize that this is the product of a time in which these ideas were more popular and lacked any challenge. A time when, at least in the United States where I am from, women, black and indigenous individuals, and members of the LGBTQ+ community were just beginning to break through the patriarchal, white supremacy barrier to grasp at the human rights they deserve. And thankfully, in the movie adaptations which were created between 2005 and 2010, the stories veered away from these issues. Some of them are also easy enough to look past throughout the series given its historical context, such as Lucy and Susan being told by Father Christmas essentially that they should let men lead and remain behind to be caretakers. Some are harder to ignore, however, such as the dark-skinned "savage" and "vile" people of the southern lands of Narnia who threaten not only the safety of Queen Susan and her compatriots in The Horse and His Boy, but also her purity and honor, and who ultimately bring about the fall of Narnia in The Last Battle by their duplicitousness, vile greed, and devotion to a false Aslan.

What really sent me over the edge, leaving me disheartened and unsatisfied as I left Narnia for the last time alongside Peter, Edmund, Lucy and the rest of Narnia's citizens, was the way in which Lewis discarded Susan in the end. It is no secret that Lewis was a devout Catholic having eventually found God through the help of friends such as J.R.R. Tolkien following tragedy and general disgust he held toward God and religion throughout the early stages of his life. It is also no secret that The Chronicles of Narnia is a resulting theological allegory wherein Aslan is a symbolic God, the White Witch a representation of Satan, the Ape an analogical antichrist.

The Pevensies themselves could be multifaceted symbols, but I think what fits best is a collection of different types of Christians. You have Lucy, with a childlike faith. I see her as the epitome of what Lewis envisions the best a Christian or Catholic could be. She is tempted, she doubts, she makes mistakes, but she always finds the correct path, often bravely guiding others along with her despite their suspicions or pride. Edmund is like the prodigal son. In the beginning, he is jealous, conniving, and self-serving, but he has his redemption arc, and all is forgiven in the end. Susan is like a doubting Thomas. She struggles with blind faith. She often needs logic and reassurance. But she is fierce and kind, and when she is sure of something, she chases it with all she has. Peter, although I don't think Lewis intended to create him this way, is very much the character with greatness thrust upon him through perhaps no other reason than patriarchal standards. Not to say that he is a bad person or character, but he overcomes relatively nothing to achieve the title of High King, at least in comparison with his siblings, other than being alive longer. He often follows Susan's logical lead, only challenging her when she's already begun to see her own errors. He must be persuaded by Lucy most of the time to see what is right and follow that path. He often lets his pride best him.

Perhaps Lewis did mean to criticize patriarchy on some level, at least within the church, but his writing often contradicts itself almost as much as the theological text to which it pays homage. The girls are instructed to focus on womanly things, and Queen Susan is held in high regard in Narnia for her focus on her duties as a Queen in regards to feminine appearance and seeking a husband to whom a marriage could be politically beneficial as well as emotionally fulfilling. On the other hand, Lucy holds little interest for such things. She rides out to battles and rendezvous, she seeks adventure, and she holds little regard for romantics. While it does seem that this is against Narnia's expectations for her as a Queen, and indeed to some extent Lewis's own view of womanhood, he holds a special place for Lucy in his heart, and his bias only becomes more evident as the story unfolds into the final chapter.

It is apparent from the ending of Prince Caspian as well as moments in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader that Peter and Susan have outgrown the world of Narnia. Aslan tells them in the end of Prince Caspian that they will not be able to return, and likewise tells Lucy and Edmund the same thing in the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It is resutlingly clear that, just as Lewis said to his goddaughter at the onset of his first book, he believes that Narnia is something children grow out of. He does give the Pevensie children a glimmer of hope, however, comforting them with the knowledge that Aslan will always be with them, even in their home world, though he is known by a different name there (God, Jesus, etc.).

The basis for the world of Narnia is what it is, and as a young Christian, I enjoyed thinking about God and Jesus and Heaven in terms of the fantastical world of Narnia. As an adult, however, the implications of Lewis's bias toward his beloved, faithful Lucy; his prodigal Edmund; and his patriarchal Peter as well as his blatant dismissal of the logical, worldly Susan left me feeling disheartened and dissatisfied with the story that I held so dear as a child.

Growing up, I saw bits of myself in all the Pevensies. I loved them all, Lucy and Susan being my favorite characters in the whole of the series. In the end, however, it seems to me as if Lewis cast Susan aside for following the life of a woman which seems more aligned with moral correctness than that of Lucy and Polly and Jill. Infuriatingly, in The Last Battle, she gets less than half a page of explanation as to her whereabouts when the entire rest of the cast of characters finds themselves back in Narnia, ready to move on to the next stage of their lives. The "explanation" consists of the rest of the characters spewing misogynistic insults about her interest in physical appearance and parties. While there is some merit to Polly's assertion (that Susan's eagerness to grow up and ensuing hesitance to grow old are not mentally healthy), much of their view of the blights on Susan's character has more to do with her lack of interest in Narnia, and her great interest in fashion and fun.

I think that Lewis wanted to use Susan's character as a multifaceted symbol for children to help them understand certain Christian teachings that might be difficult for young people of faith to grapple with. One of these teachings being the inherent warning to be wary of the temptations of the world and instead to stay on the "righteous" path. In addition, in some twisted way, I think he wished to convey some kind of comfort surrounding the Christian idea that not everyone you love will be with you in Heaven when you die. The symbolism backfires on both fronts, and results, at least for me, in the downfall of the series as a whole. Whether intentionally or not, Lewis's depiction of Susan implies that enjoying things like fashion and society is inherently sinful and will result in your being lost (which is ironic considering her adult life on earth doesn't appear much different from her adult life as a Queen of Narnia, a life which she is lauded for in The Horse and His Boy). In addition, the way the other characters treat her with callous disregard as they readily agree to forget her and move on with their lives (again, within the span of less than half a page of text) makes me not want to be like them at all. It definitely doesn't seem heroic or noble or loving or anything worthy of respect.

Maybe one day I will grow to the age Lewis referred to in which I will "be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." But, considering the fact that I currently read and enjoy other fairy tales, I highly doubt that. I will forever hold Narnia in my heart as a world where I garnered many fond memories, and I will probably watch the movies again from time to time (maybe one day they will complete the series, or begin it again and follow it through, and maybe they will come up with a better ending), but I doubt I will ever venture to read the books again and further tarnish what is left of the lighthearted nostalgia. In my mind, Susan the gentle will always be a Queen of Narnia. "Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen" (194).

• Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia. HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.