I appreciate your take on this series. It's been a while since I've read the books but, like you, they were a big piece of my childhood. Some of what you note here I was immediately able to say, "Yes!" and other things (to my surprise) had me wondering if I would have caught that and yet I agree with your interpretation. Which is to say how insidious the prejudice can be.
Glad you were able to share these with your kids. Have you talked with them about these issues specifically? We can never escape the messages imbued in our culture but talking about them strengthens our critical thinking muscles (as you know, of course!) I'd love to hear what your kids think about some of these prejudices and inequities.
I don’t know how this fits but Aslan is the Turkish word for lion. We would have named our son Aslan had we lived in Turkey but felt that it’s not nice to give an American kid a name with the sound “ass” in it. (His name is Emre, which apparently sounds like a girl’s name to the English speaker). Check out this link: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2016/a-turkic-world-connection-in-the-chronicles-of-narnia
I’m not familiar with the books you mention since I didn’t care much for fantasy as a kid, but haven’t there been movie adaptations of those books? I ask this because it seems most (?) people first encounter classic stories in film and TV adaptations, not in the original texts. In which case, they’ve already been rewritten, for a variety of reasons, but undoubtedly one reason was to smooth the “sharp edges.” Did that cause any real mischief? A good story is generally pretty durable.
The books I did like as a kid, for example Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, have been adapted many times, almost always abridged, certainly “sanitized” in some ways, but even in modern form still seem capable of stimulating the imagination, which is what those books did to me way back when. (Crusoe, in particular, has been reworked in countless variations, for example in the rebooted Lost in Space series, which takes elements of Crusoe’s shipwreck and stranding, adds strong female characters, and combines this with the sturdy family-in-jeopardy dynamic, with its emphasis on loyalty, sacrifice and honesty.)
I enjoyed reading this post for similar reasons. I already bought four of the seven old-school Collier Edition books to read to my daughter when the time is right. Looking forward to that moment! And it was no fluke that I got those books first, even if they are for a certain age. I fall into the "rush to defend" camp because Lewis is my fellow author and Narnia is some of the best literature ever written: but also, frankly, I don't think there's anything bad to defend here. The issues you mention are either misinterpretations (power), only part of the entire picture (gender), or totally irrelevant. (race)
I'm curious what you think about the donkey and the ape in The Last Battle creating Tashlan. It may not look like it at first glance, but it's one of the most powerful things any author has ever done in literature.
Love reading your thoughts about Lewis, one of my favourite authors and critics (which is not to say he’s without his problems!). In my other life, I inhabited a world where a lot of people were writing peer-reviewed articles about exactly these topics. So I know that children’s books are well worth close reading!
I think it’s so important to keep revisiting the issues of power, gender, race in Lewis’s books because they are potent narratives that continue to enchant. Each generation can draw on richer and more diverse (and hopefully more equitable) perspectives to use as lenses for encountering Narnia - even if they don’t have to be conscious of doing so at every story moment. PS I’m v. Interested in experiences of rereading childhood books alongside children - or not - as a fascinating insight into the layers of reading selves we embody and the odd dance that memories lead us into over the course of our reading lives.
I appreciate your take on this series. It's been a while since I've read the books but, like you, they were a big piece of my childhood. Some of what you note here I was immediately able to say, "Yes!" and other things (to my surprise) had me wondering if I would have caught that and yet I agree with your interpretation. Which is to say how insidious the prejudice can be.
Glad you were able to share these with your kids. Have you talked with them about these issues specifically? We can never escape the messages imbued in our culture but talking about them strengthens our critical thinking muscles (as you know, of course!) I'd love to hear what your kids think about some of these prejudices and inequities.
To even things out, I'm sure your kids will read plenty of less-subtle books in school with dark-skinned heroes and white villains.
I don’t know how this fits but Aslan is the Turkish word for lion. We would have named our son Aslan had we lived in Turkey but felt that it’s not nice to give an American kid a name with the sound “ass” in it. (His name is Emre, which apparently sounds like a girl’s name to the English speaker). Check out this link: https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2016/a-turkic-world-connection-in-the-chronicles-of-narnia
I’m not familiar with the books you mention since I didn’t care much for fantasy as a kid, but haven’t there been movie adaptations of those books? I ask this because it seems most (?) people first encounter classic stories in film and TV adaptations, not in the original texts. In which case, they’ve already been rewritten, for a variety of reasons, but undoubtedly one reason was to smooth the “sharp edges.” Did that cause any real mischief? A good story is generally pretty durable.
The books I did like as a kid, for example Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe, have been adapted many times, almost always abridged, certainly “sanitized” in some ways, but even in modern form still seem capable of stimulating the imagination, which is what those books did to me way back when. (Crusoe, in particular, has been reworked in countless variations, for example in the rebooted Lost in Space series, which takes elements of Crusoe’s shipwreck and stranding, adds strong female characters, and combines this with the sturdy family-in-jeopardy dynamic, with its emphasis on loyalty, sacrifice and honesty.)
I enjoyed reading this post for similar reasons. I already bought four of the seven old-school Collier Edition books to read to my daughter when the time is right. Looking forward to that moment! And it was no fluke that I got those books first, even if they are for a certain age. I fall into the "rush to defend" camp because Lewis is my fellow author and Narnia is some of the best literature ever written: but also, frankly, I don't think there's anything bad to defend here. The issues you mention are either misinterpretations (power), only part of the entire picture (gender), or totally irrelevant. (race)
I'm curious what you think about the donkey and the ape in The Last Battle creating Tashlan. It may not look like it at first glance, but it's one of the most powerful things any author has ever done in literature.
I know this book's unicorn cover will set off academic alarm bells. But there's a great book I got last summer: The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy. Got it on a whim, but it's enriched my understanding of Narnia beyond all expectations. I highly recommend it: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-chronicles-of-narnia-and-philosophy-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-worldview-jerry-l-walls/11702975?ean=9780812695885
Love reading your thoughts about Lewis, one of my favourite authors and critics (which is not to say he’s without his problems!). In my other life, I inhabited a world where a lot of people were writing peer-reviewed articles about exactly these topics. So I know that children’s books are well worth close reading!
I think it’s so important to keep revisiting the issues of power, gender, race in Lewis’s books because they are potent narratives that continue to enchant. Each generation can draw on richer and more diverse (and hopefully more equitable) perspectives to use as lenses for encountering Narnia - even if they don’t have to be conscious of doing so at every story moment. PS I’m v. Interested in experiences of rereading childhood books alongside children - or not - as a fascinating insight into the layers of reading selves we embody and the odd dance that memories lead us into over the course of our reading lives.