Written by Vinnie C
Edited by Jairaj Vij
Illustrated by Hoonesha Peter
We've all hurried home from school in the hopes of virtually attending Professor McGonagall's lessons and persuading Gandalf to share his secrets. Dreams seem to be a sweet escape but wouldn’t it be nicer to escape to Medusa’s cave to witness Perse decapitating her?
Fantasy and Folklore are two of the most dominant genres of children's fiction because they are inherently connected to escapism. In this article, we are going to open the Pevensies’ closet and escape to some of the major myths referenced and paralleled in the first and third books of the Chronicles of Narnia (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe & The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) written by C.S. Lewis.
Let's begin with the Monomyth theory. Joseph Campbell invented the word "monomyth”, which translates to the hero’s journey. This examines the stages of a hero who embarks on an adventure, confronts a crisis, overcomes it, and returns victorious.
Clearly, C.S. Lewis walked so that Tolkien and Riordan could run.
In the first book, the White Witch is the story's main nemesis and she represents the traditional Snow Queen, which we see in folklores such as that of Skadi, the ice goddess from Norse mythology, Hans Christian Andersen's Ice Maiden as well as Disney's Elsa.
The four protagonists, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are unaware of their fate or the power they possess until they come of age, like King Arthur. In addition, the Four of them also revive the Arthurian legend of a saviour who brings hope to a distressed kingdom.
Aslan the lion is another key character who plays the role of 'The Saviour.'
Due to the books being full of examples to back up that idea, his character can be assumed to represent Christ.
This also highlights belief in Animism, one of Egypt’s first religions that attributes a soul to all living things, including plants, animals and other natural phenomena.
Aslan's death and resurrection is one of the most heart-wrenching plot points in the first book.
His resurrection is eerily similar to Christ's. Furthermore, the Stone Table on which he is sacrificed conjures the stone tablets that Moses carried down from Mount Sinai. The markings and inscriptions engraved into this unimaginably old artefact appear to be remains of an ancient Narnian religion, the religion invoked by the Witch when she invokes the Deep Magic. The breaking of the Stone Table heralds the end of an era. Narnia goes through a transformation from an old, harsh faith to a new, dynamic, and compassionate one.
Moving on to the third book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we see that Eustace encounters Aslan and he goes through a baptism-like experience.
Eustace also goes through a self-confrontation and rebirth process that is reminiscent of Christian concepts about being "born again." His transformation into a dragon appears to be nothing more than an external manifestation of what has already occurred to him spiritually: he's terrible, buried behind layers of rough unpleasantness. Before Eustace can be thrown into the pool (i.e. baptised), he must shed his cruel and selfish exterior and return to his true self. Eustace turning into a dragon can also be a reference to Fafnir’s curse. Fafnir was the son of the dwarf king in Norse mythology. His father had demanded a sum of gold from Odin and was slain by Fafnir so that he could get the gold instead.
Odin handed the gold over, but not before cursing it. When the curse was cast, the greedy Fafnir transformed into a dragon to protect his wealth.
Eustace isn't the only one in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader who is going through a spiritual transformation. The ship's journey to the far east in pursuit of Aslan's homeland is akin to a pilgrimage to a holy site – or to the metaphorical "pilgrimage" that every Christian believer undertakes in order to enter heaven. Although everyone on the ship participates in the pilgrimage, it is Reepicheep who puts the most time and effort into it, and who is given the opportunity to sail the final stage of the journey alone. Reepicheep's last sighting is of him vanishing at the crest of a mysterious wave:.
They observed its shape for a single second, with Reepicheep's face at the very top. Then it vanished, and no one can legitimately claim to have seen Reepicheep the Mouse since that time. But, in my opinion, he arrived safely in Aslan's land and remains there to this day.
Reepicheep, who sails straight into Aslan's domain, is akin to Elijah, the great Christian prophet who didn't die but was "translated" into heaven in his physical form.
Another striking connection here is that of Homer's Odyssey.
Both Caspian and Odysseus, as well as their crewmates, embark on a journey where they encounter monsters, curses, and other themes that are typically associated with the unnerving side of fiction.
Despite Lord Rhoop's warnings not to think about their deepest fears for worry of the mysterious Green Mist feeding on them and bringing them to life, Edmund unintentionally creates a sea snake by fearing it as they arrive on the Dark Island.
This can be aligned with Odysseus and his crew's encounter with Scylla, the six-headed monster' who devoured six sailors from any ship that sailed close to her rocky outcropping.
To summarize, every narrative is unique; it has many elements impacted by the writer's mental state, as well as the people, objects, and stories that surround them.
Every series presents itself to be a massive tapestry that is always flowing, dramatic, and its own multiverse. It's a kaleidoscope of hues, memories, experiences, ideas, and words (said and unsaid).
Lewis admitted to including Bible parallels, and Narnia's relationship to Norse tales may be traced back to his upbringing in North Ireland, where he was immersed in ancient legends. This emphasizes the importance of storytelling to humans. We always find a way to keep them alive, whether through words, gestures, visual arts, or, in this case, by inserting easter eggs from them in other stories.
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